ex anorexic?

[Hoping]

Re: ex anorexic?

I wanted to add something else.
I think you need to reevaluate how you see yourself. It's hard to go through traumatic experience physically, but especially mentally.
Have you ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding? There's a line and it goes something like: Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become.
In other words, don't define yourself as a former anorexic, define yourself as you are, as Hayley (I think that's your name, took it from Shelia's post), and as all of your positive attributes. There are so many more positive things about yourself that will outweigh the fact that you fell into an unhealthy eating pattern.
But before you can truly see your beauty you need to forgive yourself. Forgiving yourself is one of the best things you could do, and I think to some extent you're testing the waters in this department but keep at it and before you know it, you'll be swimming! Stay positive and keep lifting yourself up. Think positive thoughts!
It's difficult, believe me I know.
Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts. If you ever need to talk just PM me

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Well ive only been going about 3 days but ive been having eggs for breakfast (sometimes with bacon), tinned salmon for lunch with some avocado, and veges with melted cheese for dinner? Its usually along those lines anyway. And i always drink lots of water and take my vitamins!!

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Everyone is so nice and supportive, thank you Hoping! x

Oh and as well as with my menu i sometimes have a black coffee with a little cream. Is it ok if some days you dont manage to get ur veges in? I also read that in the old atkins book you were allowed to consume diet soda's etc, i wonder why they changed that??!

[Hoping]

Re: ex anorexic?

No, you have to get your veggies in. It's super important. Aside from being malnourished from not eating your veggies you can also get "stopped up." If you ever have that problem try some jicama, very high in fiber. Try decaf coffee that way you don't run the risk of stalling and use splenda to sweeten.
Try to spread out your veggies through out the day.
And remember to get in at least 64oz of water and then 8 more ounces for every 25lbs that you need to lose. And yes, it does make you go to the bathroom a lot!

[katarina7]

Re: ex anorexic?

Hi HayHay.

I just wanted to say: I used to have an eating disorder. It was very mild as far as eating disorders go. But after I started eating regular food, I gained a lot of weight. And I just kept gaining. That upset me, so I ate more, so I gained more. It's just the body storing fat in case it goes through a starvation period again. I've been up at my high weight for about 2 years now. I just started Atkins 8 days ago, and I'm down 7 pounds.

So. I am an ex anorexic who has had success on this diet.

Keep posting.

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Thanks Katerina! And thats great to hear! Congratulations! I know how hopeless things can feel when you do everything right and weight sticks like glue! x

[fatty mcfatison]

Re: ex anorexic?

yes I have been successful with atkins hay. But it took my body several years before it was ready to let go of weight. But one thing to be careful of is you have to eat. That was really hard during introduction for me. Even after years of eating again my body is still programmed to skip meals. If I do not eat the instant I feel hungry or before, my body says ooops she isnt eating and forgets all about being hungry. So i have to be thinking all day about when I am stopping to eat and what and how much. I have had better luck with small snack like meals throughout the day, but that is not always possible. I wish you the best of luck. Just remember it will be alot slower for you, because your body is still adjusting. If you don't like scales. I would measure so that you have some way of measuring your success. You will need to know roughly your weight loss at the end of the 2 weeks so you can figure out your weight loss resistance and to help in finding you CCL in OWL. I check my weight several times a day and yes it can be depressing and obsessive, but I only write the weights I like down. Its my weigh of controlling the scale and winning. But anyway best of luck and feel free to ask anything and come for support.

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Thanks so much for sharing that with me i wil definately take that advice on board! When you say that it took a couple of years for your body to start letting go of the weight, do you mean a couple of years on atkins? How long have you been on the atkins plan for? x

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Is it normal for me to not have noticed ANYTHING after 4 days? I know i impatient! My jeans almost feel tighter!!

[fatty mcfatison]

Re: ex anorexic?

I tried atkins for about 4 days a few years ago and it did not work, but I wasn't eating enough I believe. I was still only eating 1 meal a day and limiting that meal. Over the years, I tried watching my calories and other methods, but nothing happened but I gained weight. I gained weight for about 3 years then I maintained by excerise and eating semi-right. It wasn't till this year when I started atkins that I acturally tried to lose weight. I am a strong believer now that your body knows whats best. It is amazing because I used to think 99 pounds was fat and I feel skinny at 161 pounds now. As long as you are eating right and following the doctor's advice just keep going on and relax. It is going to be a longer tougher journey for you. Your body has to rebuild muscle and just me that takes time.

[albs75]

Re: ex anorexic?

YES! I had the same experience of ballooning after an eating disorder and I now know it isn't uncommon. Whether or not it happens is most likely due to your personal body chemestry.

The short version of my story is that I had an eating disorder when I was in my late teens. When I stopped I ballooned up by 40 pounds in a very short period of time. I was able to loose some of it over the course of a year. My weight stablized at about 135 until I was 35 when I ballooned again seemingly out of the blue. I have made the rounds of MDs (endocrinoligists, allergists and kidney specialists) and nutritionists from Manhattan to San Francisco to Los Angeles and have finally determined that I did serious damage to my insulin receptor cells back when I was a teenager.

One of the most important things that someone with a former eating disorder can do is commit to eating regular meals and snacks. The habit of skipping meals is one very associated with the disorder (also plenty of people have this habit-or even need-who don't have the disorder). The truth is, your body might resist loosing for a while because it has been so deprived. However, please stick to the low carb lifestyle! Your metabolism will return to normal if you are patient. The good thing is that you are getting on a good plan with a lot of support very soon after stopping your disordered eating.

Also, to the rest of you I ask that you lighten up a little bit on the fact that she she won't give her stats. We all feel uncomfortable with our weight...that's why we are here. For some it is harder to face than others. There isn't a person alive besides my MD's who knows my numbers. Posting my weight here was really hard. Give HayHay time...

[katarina7]

Re: ex anorexic?

Give it time. Your body is still adjusting. Don't give up, ok?

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

Thanks albs i really appreciate that! And thanks for telling me your story in great detail...i am probably experiencing a similar aftermath with my body. I am so glad i have found a place i can come for support and to get honest answers and good advice when i need it xx

[Butterfly73]

Re: ex anorexic?

Is it normal for me to not have noticed ANYTHING after 4 days? I know i impatient! My jeans almost feel tighter!!

It is ABSOLUTELY normal to not see a difference in only 4 days--

Especially if you are already within 20 pounds of a 'healthy weight'. Not everyone goes through a two week induction losing 10 or 15 pounds. Usually people who can report this are significantly overweight or have a problem retaining fluid. Please try to remember that the reports of "big" early losses usually do NOT represent fat loss but water, as carb stores are broken down and being flushed out.

Also, if you feel your clothes are tighter, you might consider either constipation or dehydration as the culprit. Obviously if you are eating normal amounts of food and your output is not similar to your input, it may just be a matter of moving things 'out'. Not drinking enough water will signal your body to hold onto whatever fluid it has until you let it know you are not in a desert. I'm 5' 4", not severely overweight or a heavy exerciser and can easily drink 3 liters of water per day when in a very low carb cycle. Every person has their own idea of what drinking lots of water means, but I figured I would throw that out because if we don't actually measure, it is easy to overestimate and think we drink a lot more than we are.

Or if TOM or ovulation is close, it is possible to bloat and put on some water weight due to hormone shifts. I have noticed that while keeping carbs low, I seem to be more susceptible to weight gain during that time and the scale can go depressingly high.

As F. McF mentioned, it is entirely possible to eat too little. I was just paging through my copy of Dr. A's book and he does recommend eating several smaller meals or 3 meals plus snacks. Although he does not hugely stress calorie counting, it may be what you need to do to make sure you are not eating too little for your size and activity level. If it does turn out you are eating too few calories, you could try increasing your daily calorie count by 100 or so once every week until you reach a more appropriate number. I know that seems like a long, slow process, but I have read it is a good way to keep from shocking your body and causing it to store calories as fat instead of burning them. Maybe your doctor or trainer has some thoughts on that?

Just sharing thoughts. Please don't give up after just a few short days as this isn't long enough to determine whether this plan will work for you.

[HayHay]

Re: ex anorexic?

No i will not give up! Unfortunately though i did not eat enough today! Smack on the hand for me! I will have dinner soon though. Havnt really eatin since breaky - SO WRONG! I'll try not to let it happen again tho!! x