Expert: Joanne - 6/24/2008

Question
for a long time now i've worried about my weight and how i look, not only what others think about me but how i feel about myself.
At 5ft 7, weighing 8st 4 its not often i get called fat, but somehow i've got this thought stuck so deeply in my mind i can't shift it.

There have been incidents where getting dressed to go out has been so stressful i've stayed at home, in my room, hating myself and longing to be someone else. This sounds beyond pathetic, but it's almost as if i have no control over those emotions.

i'm always trying to lose weight, recently, to try and shift the weight faster ive been trying diet suppliments which supposidly speed up the metabolism and taking ex-lax. the stated dosage of ex-lax is one tablet a day, ive been taking up to 5 a day, minuimum 3. And ive been doubling the recommended dosage of slimming pills to try and speed up the process. If i don't take them now, i start to panic because i don't have time to exercise as much as i'd like to, as it stands most days i do an hour or so of sit ups.

I'm so bloated that i look bigger than i ever have, i've restricted my diet to only fruit and one portion of carbs at dinner time, but never after 6pm.

I know i'm not anorexic or bulimic, i wouldnt dream of labelling myself anything, especially something as serious as having an ED when - to look at me - i so obviously don't.
Some of my friends have mentioned to me though, that they think i have a disorder of some kind, they don't know about the pills im taking or the sit ups, but they've noticed i have bad opinions about myself and food.

Sorry this is such a rant, but its driving me crazy.
i cant go to the doctor without someone finding out.
can you help me at all? i only want to know what could be wrong with me, this behavior can't be normal.

Thank you so much.

Laura.

Answer
Laura

I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering like this just now.

Although it may seem unlikely that you have something like anorexia or bulimia, I would definitely say that it is likely that you have some sort of eating disorder!

To have cut food intake as drastically as you have, as well as the laxative misuse is likely to be causing  the bloating.  Your body will retain a lot more of the water that you are taking in.  The laxatives are also likely to cause a bit of bloating themselves due to the nature of the 'job' they do.  

I personally don't believe in slimming pills!  I don't believe that they work and if you read many of them, they say that they work as part of a calorie controlled diet - if you are eating a calorie controlled diet, you should be losing weight anyway!  There are some that work, but they tend to be banned in most countries, and others are only available from your Dr who should only be prescribing them for obese people.

Some of these slimming tablets can't be guaranteed as safe as they are not regulated the same way as medications, and are considered a food supplement, so don't have to go through the rigorous testing, therefore could be risky, and sometimes herbal supplements can interact with medications, so if you are taking any sort of medicines, be careful and if you reckon that you are feeling unwell at all, go to your Dr!

Speeding up your metabolism - I wouldn't expect pills to do that.  You would be much better making sure that you are eating enough (cutting calories actually slows your metabolism) and exercising.  I know that you say that you don't have time, but it is just matter of substituting walking or cycling for driving where you can, trying to use stairs all the time, and simple things like that, either that or really making an effort to try and fit in proper exercise on a regular basis.  This would really increase your metabolism.  If you can get your heart to beat about twice as fast as normal for about 20 mins at a time, you should be burning fat and speeding up your metabolism.  It may be worth swapping sit-ups for a jog or invest in a step machine or something similar.  They can be found quite cheaply now, or a skipping rope, anything that can increase your heart rate.

I think ultimately though, you need to try to find someone to talk to - somebody that can provide guidance, such as a teacher (if you are still at school) or a counsellor, etc.  I think that you should discuss this with your parents as it is very helpful to have as much support as possible when trying to deal with something like this.  You sound as though you have quite severe body image issues and I reckon that these may need to be dealt with professionally before you can move on from this!

All the best
Joanne