Expert: Joanne - 10/23/2008

Question
Hi.
Im 15 years old and i feel my body is discosting. I can stand to look at it. Others say im pretty and im not fat just chubby but i disagree. I barley eat breakfast but when the evening comes i pigout. I try and think positive but i just get depressed. I have major depression so eating makes me feel better but the more i gain weight the less happy i am. I have tryed to eat heathy and u did lose weight but my doctor said im not eating right so i stoped at the fear of getting sick. but now im to the point were i dont care how sick i get i just want it to all go away. Can anyone help me to understand my problem?? Give Me some advise to solution. I NEED HELP!!!

Answer
Angelia

It is good to hear that you have been and seen a doctor!  Were you honest about your eating habits? Did you tell them everything?

I think that you are 'pigging out' at night due to not eating breakfast!  If you starve your body too much throughout the day, when you do eat, you will struggle to control it so much more due to the feeling of hunger, and also your body over-riding your brain in order to get food into it!  If you try to eat proper meals regularly throughout the day, or a number of small meals, you should find that you won't need to eat so much in the evening, and this should also help keep your weight stable.  You are much more likely to struggle with your weight if you eat a lot at night.  Supposedly you don't digest it as well, you don't burn much of it off (most is stored), and you may not realise just how many calories you are consuming at once.  Little and often is the best way to do it!

You need to return to your doctor and ask for help for this!  You also need to address the depression, and I should imagine that they are very much linked, and need to be treated together, and when one begins to improve, the other should too!  You need professional help in real time to real beat this.  It is so hard to overcome eating disorders and depression without having someone 'real' to support you and give you the advice you need.  I would recommend visiting your doctor and asking for a referral to someone such as a counsellor, therapist or psychologist.  Also enquire to see if there are eating disorder services in your area as if you can get into a specialised programme, that will really help, or even if there are self-help groups in your area, they are better than trying to do this alone!

But please get yourself to a doctor soon!

Joanne