Do I have an eating disorder?

Question

I'm 14 years old and 5'6" tall. I weigh anywhere from 110-116 on a given day. I've always been insecure about my appearance, and I've since lost a pretty dramatic amount of weight. Most people tell me I'm skinny, but I cant help but feel like theyre telling me what I want to hear. My ribs do stick out and I HATE it. Its not because Im weirdly skinny, its just I have a weird ribcage. But the thing Im worried about is lately people have been telling me I need help because I'm showing signs of anorexia whether I realize it or not. I eat though. Just, not enough. On average, I'm lucky if I get 500 calories in a day. Is this bad? Help. Any advice, information, ways to cope, anything would help. Thanks

I would consult a doctor or tell someone about it, but the thing that scares me is that I like it. I like how I can have such self control. And honestly I never really have much of an appetite and I cant help but look in the mirror and want to puke. I still see the short, fat, akward little kid I used to be/still am(?)

Answer 1

It does sound like you are on your way to anorexia. That is how it starts. Eating less and less until you eat almost nothing. Eating 500 calories a day is not good for you. You should think about going to your school counselor or a therapist to see what may be causing you to feel this way.

Answer 2

Yes 500 calories a day for a growing 14 yo is a serious problem.
If you weigh yourself more than once a day, deliberately starve yourself, & honestly believe that you still need to lose weight then you may be suffering from an eating disorder.

Your ribcage is not WEIRD. It's sticking out like that because you are undernourished. If you keep this up, you will delay completing puberty, stunt your growth, & inhibit your full learning potential.

You are probably not doing this because of self-esteem issues. It's more likely because you somehow feel like you don't have much control over your life. But you have discovered that this is something that you can control, so by golly you are going to do it.
The sad truth is that in this aspect of your life, you are way OUT OF CONTROL.

Go to your school nurse, or seek out an adult that you really trust, & tell them about your concerns. You need help, & you need to get to it before it really gets out of hand.
You're not a bad kid, & you've done nothing to be ashamed of. Actually you should be very proud of how self-aware you are for a 14 yo.
So please take good care of yourself.

Answer 3

In all seriousness, 500 calories is not enough for anyone. I totally understand what your saying about having a weird ribcage, even at 5'6 and 140lbs, my ribs still show... but, that's not the issue here. I am a Mother of two children, hence my weight, but I use to weigh 128lbs and wear a size 4. I was a habitual dieter before children, and prided myself on being the skinniest of all my friends. Even then, my calorie intake was around 1000, and never below. By only eating 500 calories a day, you are starving your body, and causing it to basically digest your muscle for energy. Eventually you will run out of muscle, and your internal organs will no longer have the energy to work properly. At that point, you will die. I am sure that is not your intention or desire. The first, and most important thing you need to do is tell your parents. As a Mother to a young daughter, I can promise you, your parents will not be made you. Chances are, they will be able to get you a counselor and nutritionist to help you learn how to love the body God gave you and teach you to take proper care of it your precious gift, your body. It's okay to get help, and you won't become fat by getting help. You can still be skinney and pretty, but you can do it the healthy way by eating good proteins and excersicing. Look at Carmen Electra, she recently shared her diet, and it consisted of egg whites and vegetables for breakfast (protein and fiber), tuna salad and a coke for lunch, trail mix for an afternoon snack, and for dinner she eats sushi or chicken, and brown rice or sweet potatoes. That's way over 500 calories! Your friends are trying to help you see that your destroying your self, and you need to listen to them. Talk to your parents before it's too late, and we have to read about you in the news. I say this with out condemnation, judgement, or humor. I am a Mother, and although your not my baby, I speak all of this out of love and concern.

Answer 4

Having suffered from anorexia, I know exactly what you're talking about. The feeling of control you get from not eating and ignoring food are oftentimes very rewarding. But be aware that you are doing grave damage to your body. It is critical that you tell someone - or by now, somebody should notice - that you would like help. I remember eating around that much a day, worried to death that I would be fat. It will start to get to your body after time - my hair fell out, my skin turned dry, my digestion stopped - and after awhile, after all the muscle and fat has been eaten up, your body will turn to your organs, including your heart. Trust me, the scariest thing is wondering if you will wake up in the morning because you're having chest pains and you're dizzy.
One of the worst things about anorexia is that you are convinced that you don't have it, but trust me, you do. Even though you look in the mirror and you see a person who could stand to lose more pounds, it is very dangerous to your health. A couple of pounds less can seriously affect your health. Please tell someone...email me if you want...sometimes just having somebody who will listen can make all of the difference in the world!

Email = [e-mail]

Answer 5

500 clories a day is bad! The average person is supposed to get anywhere from 1300 to 2000 calories a day depending on how active you are. If you are only getting 500 calories a day, then I would say yes you do have an eating disorder and should seek help. Good luck.

Answer 6

It sounds to me like you are a little concerend about your weight otherwise you would not be asking this question in the first place. I think you do need to consult someone about this issue. You do know the some anorexic people do die from the horrible disease don't you? You are still very young and you have so much life ahead of you. Don't think for one minute that you are fat and ugly as this will only make things worse for yourself. You sound like you are a beautiful person so please go and see someone before it is too late for you. Take Care, fee..

Answer 7

You should be getting some professional help NOW! You are growing and should be eating WAY more than that. The fact that you are counting your calories and coming out with something under 4 digits is BAD!

Tell your parents, tell your doctor, and let them help you. It is not like you have to go through this alone. You might need both physical and mental help. You are the one that has to be strong enough to ask for the help.

Answer 8

If you keep restricting yourself from calories you'll be jeopardizing your growth spurt and not to mention your health. If you continue to do this you will set your body to starvation mode and decrease your metabolism. You should really talk to your doctor who can refer you to a dietitian and can modify your portion of food and calorie expenditure. Someone your age should be eating way more calories and as you get older your metabolisn will slow down, that is why it makes it harder for those to lose weight as they age. If your afraid to gain weight you should be exercising, get out there and swim, walk or do whatever you enjoy. You'll find that you'll increase your appetite for delicious and satisfying foods rather than being sedentary and telling yourself that your not hungry only to feel guilty when you reach for something to eat. Make a healty start by choosing healthy foods, and daily exercise and soon you wont have weight on your mind.

Answer 9

if your only eating 500 calories a day, then you definitely have a problem. being insecure about the way you look is normal for any 14 year old girl, but 500 calories a day, is basically starving yourself, your not taking in enough to sustain a growing body, your body won't develop normally if you starve it..forget what people think, you cant let what other people think control what you think about yourself.

Answer 10

your on perfect weight if you weight 110-116...but eat a normal meal and don't starve yourself. anorexia is bad...when my lil sister was nine she thought she was fat and she was on normal weight, but it was all in her mind. she used to see our older sister diet all the time and told her she didn't want us to be fat, so she would listen to her and sometimes we would eat but not enough. (i didn't listen and stayed pretty normal weight) when my lil sister was about 15 she was terrified of weighing her self, but she weighted 95 and was 5'7"(still is 5'7" but she's 17) she feelt bad when her friends invited her out for dinner and she wouldn't eat because "she was in a DIET." when her friends would go out and they would invite her but she would stay home because if she walked too much she would probably have a heart attack (she got tired really quick for not having enough energy). my parents thought she would eat all the time because she acted like it but really she didn't she would starve her self for about 2 days sometimes and the third day she would eat an energy bar or something like that. once we were at the mall shopping for clothes and she was trying on a dress that showed her stomach and this 3 guys passed by and were saying stuff like "look it's a walking toothpic" and my sister said if they were talking about me and i told her the truth and she got really upset and said she was tired of people saying she was way too skinny. we told my parents what she would do to stay skinny and starve her self and they imidiately decided to take her to a clinic. the doctors said that she was about to die, she at least had 3 months to live. but she went on treatment and got much better. now she's beautiful she weights 132lbs and she's 5'7" she is still concious on what she eats but because she has a diet from a nutrologist not a starving diet.