Expert: Nafeesah - 10/9/2008

Question
on and off i've felt the need to not eat and im constantly weighing myself but
im never satisfied with my weight. i feel as if i dont eat anything for one day
then i can reward myself by eating a little the next.. but if i let myself down
and eat when im not supposed to, i feel the need to try again and not eat then
next day. its gotten to the point where im hardly ever hungry anymore, and i
cant eat when im hungry because i get so disgusted with myself. i refuse to eat
infront of others and go the whole school day without eating. im 5'3" and used
to weigh an average of 123. now i weigh around 115, which i know it isnt a lot
of weight to lose, and you cant really tell that ive lost weight, but im
wondering if im starting to develop anorexia. please tell me if its all in my
head or if this is going to be a serious problem soon. thanks so much.


Answer
If you're finding yourself exercising, measuring food and snack portions constantly, and not eating regularly. These are classic signs of anorexia and usually over time it can also be the precursor to developing bulimia which is after you find that starving yourself isnt going help keep weight down then you start experimenting with laxitives(which can kill you if you abuse them) and other things like diretics(water pills) and even self-induced vomiting through using stuff like ipicac(which is constantly abused by bulimics) which can cause serious complications such as heart and kidney failure. Here's a website you want to look at it's called something-fishy.org and they provide listings for counseling and other information to help those struggling or recovered from eating disorders.