Eating disorders.?

Question

I have purged only once a few months ago. And I exercise constantly. I try not to eat much. Does this make me bulimic? And can I get over it without help from a clinic?

This has been going on for a couple months but I havent't purged in a while. Is is too late to stop without help?

I'm 17 and I weigh 146lbs.

Answer 1

If you're being honest about purging only once, then you're probably not bulimic. However, people with eating disorders are typically not honest about their problems -- they're manipulative and covert. My sister had bulimia right at the beginning of her teen years, so I speak from experience. She had it actively for about 10 years, but I know she battled it for the rest of her life. She exercised constantly, too. She also ate constantly and purged constantly -- at her lowest weighing under 60 lbs.

It sounds to me from what you say that you may be more of an anorexic than a bulimic. Both of those disorders cause people to be obsessed by their weight, leading to constant exercising. While the bulimic will eat portions suited for three men and will eat continually, the food ends up in the toilet. Anorexics tend to eat practically nothing and swear that they're full, which is a virtual impossibility.

Neither disorder is something that you can "cure" on your own. My sister practically lived in a hospital (more than one) during certain periods; she was referred to many psychiatric-type clinics; she went to counselling countless times. This was back when people weren't very familiar with anorexia and didn't even yet have a name for what turned out to be bulimia, so nowadays help for eating disorders has improved tremendously.

The only one who can determine if you have an eating disorder is you and/or a doctor. Let me pass on some info from Web MD, which at least lets you know the symptoms of the two disorders:

Bulimia Nervosa

Symptoms of bulimia include:

Repeatedly eating large amounts of food in a short period of time (less than 2 hours).
Frequently getting rid of the calories you've eaten (purging) by making yourself vomit, fasting, exercising too much, or misusing laxatives, diuretics, ipecac syrup, or enemas. Misuse of these medicines can lead to serious health problems and even death.
Feeling a loss of control over how much you eat.
Having binge-purge cycles that happen at least 2 times a week for 3 months or longer.
Feeling ashamed of overeating and very fearful of gaining weight.
Basing your self-esteem and value upon your body shape and weight.

What is anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa, which is also called anorexia, is a type of eating disorder. It is both a physical and emotional problem that can become life-threatening.

A person who has anorexia severely limits the amount of food he or she eats, has an intense fear of gaining weight, and can become dangerously thin. Severe or long-term anorexia can lead to starvation, serious health problems, and even death.

Anorexia is not dieting. It may start as dieting, but it grows beyond your control. Anorexia is also linked to anxiety and an intense fear of gaining weight.

If you have anorexia, you may be the last person to know it. When other people say that you are very thin, you may not see it. This is called having a distorted body image.

Anorexia can become a lifelong illness, although it is possible to fully recover with proper treatment.

Anorexia Nervosa

Symptoms

Common feelings and actions that are linked to anorexia nervosa include:

Having an intense fear of gaining weight.
Restricting food or types of food, such as food that contains any kind of fat or sugar.
Weighing less than 85% of your expected body weight. (In a child or teen, losing or not gaining weight during a growth spurt is a concern.)
Seeing your body as overweight, in spite of being underweight. This is called having a distorted body image.
Overexercising.
Being secretive around food and not seeing or wanting to talk about having a problem with eating or weight loss.

Answer 2

I don't think once in a few months makes you bulimic. It sounds like you could be at risk to develop an eating disorder, though. I've been bulimic for the past 11 years. I would suggest getting help now. After you start purging regularly, the longer it continues, the harder it is to stop. There are some books out there about eating disorders. You can check one out at the library or buy one. You can also look online for information. It's very hard to stop on your own so my advice would be to talk to your doctor and maybe get a referal to a therapist. There are so many reasons people develop eating disorders and you don't have to fight it alone.

Answer 3

Hello. I can say that I understand compulsive exercising. I'm a personal trainer...but you have to know your body's limitations. Plus, if you are constantly working out, then your body needs food or in my field we call it energy. If by purged, you mean cleansing by throwing up...then it depends on if you induced it or not. But bulimic people tend to throw-up at least once a day. If you happen to be that person, then if you can't get your mind straight you may need help. A little help, never hurts. Go to someone you trust. But coming from a professional, it helps to know your Basal Metabolic Rate, to breakdown how much a day you need to eat to lose weight or maintain...or gain for that matter. This is most important. All of your exercise means nothing if you're not eating. When you starve your body, you are basically cannibalizing your muscle. You may see a weight loss on the scale, but if you took your body fat percentage, you would see you were losing muscle, not fat. And muscle is what makes your metabolism work harder, so you don't have to. Keep your muscle at all cost. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

Answer 4

I believed what you have is now called exercise Bulimia. You need medical attention! I don't think you can do this on your own this is difficult you turned to this because of some major problem in your life you should also seek group counseling for eating disorders. Talk to some one you trust to help you make the first step like you parents or a close friend or even your sister.You can email me back I'm a med student but this is not the field that I'm going into but I would like to help you as best as I can.But please get some help.

Answer 5

Take your food in a lunch pail. Eat a small meal every 3 hours. Eat foods like an apple, a bananna, almonds, a salad, canned chicken breast in water, etc. All these foods will keep you full and digest very slowly so you can eat, but not eat too much.

When exercising; do stretching and aerobics each day.
Do weightlifting every other day.

Answer 6

Your best bet is to ask your doctor before things get out of hand.