So, I've never really been able to eat much. And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that. I've never had a reason to eat much, I haven't done any sort of sport or real exercise in several years. But I can't ever eat a full meal, it seems. I don't think I have an anorexic or bolemic mentality, as I rather enjoy eating, and I hate the feeling of puking. But it's gotten to the point where I barely ever eat anything. Eating in the morning makes me nauseous more often than not, so I've pretty much stopped doing that. I always forget to bring a lunch with me to school, or any money to buy a lunch, and I don't like to be a burden and steal someone elses food even if they offer it. I'm not even hungry, most of the time. By the time I get home from school, I'm starving so I make myself something, generally just a somewhat large snack. Then, I can barely finish half of my dinner. Occasionally there are days when I seemingly cannot stop eating. My parents don't seem very worried about it, but I've been slowly but steadily losing weight. I stand at 5'6" or so, and now weigh 105lb. I've always been rather "petite", but now I'm starting to get a little freaked out. It's not that I starve myself. I hate that empty feeling in my stomach, as it tends to make me want to puke. I try to always eat as much as I can. But I seem to hit a wall, after a certain amount of time. I physically start gagging, if I try to pass that point. If there's food in my mouth I have to spit it out or I feel like everything is going to end up back on the plate. It's incredibly annoying, and lately I've been sort of comparing myself to others, and how all of my friends are at least a little bit more "substantial" than me. I realize that part of it is just my body type, most likely, but I'm starting to be able to see my ribs and hip bones more profoundly now. Does anyone know how I might be able to "fix" this?
Eating disorders are seriously conditions; they're among the most life-threatening of mental iilnesses. As such, I would strongly urge you to find a therapist. However, since you're in Kenai (fellow Alaskan, I know where it is), I don't know how easy it will be to find therapists, so if you have any resources to help you find one (e.g. ifyou're in high school or college talking to a trusted teacher or student services) you may want to use them.
This is sounds physical. I still have problems with ednos, but I've never heard of anything like this. It could be some kind of anorexia that works from within your subconscious or maybe even a of somatoform disorder.
My mother is more or less a psychologist/psychiatrist (I can't remember which), though that isn't her main profession. She knows my eating habits, as I've never tried to hide them or anything. She's never shown any sort of worry or distress, but I know my appetite is not exactly common. I don't even know how I'd sort of bring up the subject, if I ever managed to work up the nerve to do so. The time before last that I weighed myself, which was maybe a month or two ago, I was at 118lb, if I remeber correctly. My weight has always sort of fluctuated between 120 and 110, but I've never seen it go below 108 before. Although, with the frequency with which I weigh myself, it's possible that I've just never noticed before. But yes, being in such a small town in such an underpopulated area does throw a wrench into the equation. As far as I know, there aren't exactly many people trained for dietary disorders around here. My family isn't exactly as healthy as it could be, we do order takeout occasionally, but lately my mom has been trying to get us to stop eating junk food, plus there's the fact that my dad's a vegetarian. I mentioned the fact that I cannot eat past a certain point without the risk of puking once to my mom. She said that she was the same when she was my age. Something about missing a flap at the top of her throat. I don't really remember. I don't know if that's actually a thing, but I guess that's why she isn't really worried about my eating.
When I was younger I experienced anorexia sadly. It was not because I thought I should lose weight or anything like that, it was because my sister was at the hospital and my parents didn't take care of my brother and I as they used to. I know it sounds awful but I was only 12. I went to a specialist because I kept saying that I couldn't swallow anything. It was like my throat was close and nothing would go down there. The specialist didn't find anything and the diagnosis was anorexia. After a few monts and a lot of struggle for me and my parents I get out of it, but it was psychological. Of course it could also be physical and maybe your stomach is full with not so much. But please consider that the psychologic side of things could impact a lot on your body. I hope things will get better for you, the only advice I can give you is to not think about what you are eating, have a conversation and don't look to much at your plate it helps me a lot. If it is physical get some test maybe though.
Thank you for the advice. I think it may be more psychological, though I'm not sure why. It's probably possible that I just have a small stomach and therefore a small appetite, but I feel like it might be a bit more than that. I tend to eat very slowly and chew for much longer than is really necessary, so it could be possible that my brain is telling me I'm eating more than I really am? I'm not sure. All I know is I'm always the last to finish eating, even when others have eaten practically three times what I have.
I have bulimia, and to me it's very much a psychological problem that manifests itself physically. It sounds (but I'm not trained in this, just have personal experiences) like it could have been just a general trait about you, that you never really ate that much, and as you've got older you've become used to it? I don't know where you are, and what your health services is like, but I would recommend going to see a doctor, if you can? A few of the most significant psychological effects bulimia has on me are: Fear of eating, that if I eat I'll eat everything, that I'll be out of control It's very much all or nothing for me, I feel if I eat something above what I've said is 'okay' I'll feel out of control and that I just need to eat everything If I've deemed the food to be 'okay' and it fits 'requirements' that I set food, I generally cope okay with eating I don't know if any of these relate to you? The others are quite bulimia specific, which from what you've written I don't think would apply. I really hope you're okay and are able to get help if you feel you need it.
The process of eating is quite complexe I learned that when you eat slowly and chew more than other the feeling of fullness (don't know how to say it otherwise) is send by the brain. So when you chew a lot and for a long time the brain register that the hungry feeling is not yet necessary because you eat enough. Just to be sure I would go see a doctor, if it is in your mind you first have to relax while you are eating, and not think about what you are eating it helps me a lot. Do not hesitate to keep us update about that.
I'll try to talk with one of my school counselors first, possibly the school nurse (the one that actually seems to care about the students at least) and if they seem worried, or think it's something problematic, I'll definitely do my best to check with a professional. School starts up again in a few days, here at least, I have no idea about anywhere else, and I'll visit with someone the first chance I get.
I think this is more physical than anything, because if it were an eating disorder you'd probably have some psychological manifestation of it. You could talk to a doctor, or run some tests, I suppose. I don't really know what to tell you, sorry feel better!
So, I talked to my mom. She said she's pretty much happy as long as I eat what I can. The school nurse pretty much just said the same. They think it's just that I have a small stomach, and an odd eating schedule. So, I guess I pretty much worried about nothing, but hey, at least now I'm sort of reassured that I don't have an eating disorder?
Ok so yeah, I don't think you have an eating disorder either, because unless you're not telling us the whole story, you don't seem to have any of the psychological symptoms of eating disorders. So yeah, that's good. What's bad, however, is how you lost 13 pounds in a month. That's some dramatic weight loss for someone your height and age (I'm assuming you're between ages 14-18, what's your exact age?). At this point, you must do everything in your power to not lose one more pound, because you can't really spare any. I think part of the reason why you feel you can't eat much is because your body is used to not eating. The less you eat, the less you want to eat. So you have to start small. Snacking throughout the day, eating high-fat foods (avocados, peanut butter, cheddar cheese, etc), and drinking things that have a lot of calories in them (drinking calories is a lot easier than eating them), such as smoothies made with high-fat yogurt, frozen fruit, some sugar, and a teaspoon or two of canola oil, or a bottle of Boost or Ensure. Another possible reason would be stress and anxiety. Has anything been going on lately that worries you?
I find that if I eat more quickly, I can eat more without feeling stuffed. It's all to do with the hypothalamus. If you can eat more before your hypothalamus realizes that you have put food in you, it may help you. You happen to be at a somewhat dangerous weight, as I am a lot of the time, so if good, old-fashioned face-stuffing doesn't seem like enough, you may want to see what kind of supplements are best for you.
I can give u couple of advices that helped me: 1) when eating your big meal of the day, eat it fast, and if u can, add a snack afterwards like some kind of sweet chocolate Why? because eating fast will allow u to eat more before u'll feel full 2) eat something before going to sleep. yes again, sounds silly, but its the opposite of ppl trying NOT to eat before sleep because they'll get fat 3) take small meals in the time of the day. for example, every 2 hours eat 10 peanuts, or some energy drink that has a lot calories in it (I don't know exactly how it might be called in there, but those things exists, u can look it up) 4) if u can, progressivly do muscle-workout. NOT aerobics. the reason is that u'll get bigger muscles thus would make u gain some weight, and for me it also helped by getting more hungry If u dont have dietry-professionalist in your area, u can always try to make a meeting via phone, telling her it's very important for u, and it don't last too long anyway, just so u know what u can eat and have a program for the month
