Expert: Nafeesah - 8/29/2008

Question
Hi, and firstable, thanks

My name is Sebastian and im from Colombia, South America.

I’m 17 years old and I’ve been fighting eating disorders for almost 2 years now; im tired, i sometimes feel like this will never end.

Two years ago, after a exchange student program to Canada for learning English i began having anorexia nervosa symptoms, i induced vomit after eating, and then, lets say about 6 months later i began also to cut Carbohydrates entirely from my diet.

Of course that, covenanted with huge exercising periods at the gym made my body lost weight.

By that time my parents realized that i had an eating disorder and i began treatment in a specialized eating disorders medical center, with an psychologist, phsyquiatrist and nutritionist.

But i kept losing weight and then the worst happened, i ended up in a clinic for more than 1 month.

After i got out of the hospital I’ve never vomit anymore or cut carbohydrates or any food; but since then (like 7 months ago)i decided to only eat once a day, to eat only one HUGE meal per day.

The first months i ate 1800 calories in that huge meal, that included mostly carbohydrates such as muffins, cereals and sweet breads; that by the way, its always at night, right before sleeping.

But i've been cutting the calories in that daily meal.

At first i ate 1800 calories and did no exercise, then, i ate about 1500 and no exercise and i kept cutting them off until now, that i only ate 900/1000 calories per day and exercise 3 times per week.

The weird thing is that in all this process i've gain weight so all people think that after the hospitalization i overcame the anorexia (even my doctors and parents)but i keep cutting calories and doing more exercise. That besides that i have to hide that i dont eat breakfast or lunch.

The other thing, and probably the reason why im writing you is that now im always feeling VERY cold, i have attacks of 'pins and needles' in hands and feet and i don’t know what to do (of course i have MANY more symptoms, such as Pallid complexion, depression, mood swings etc) I’ve been reading and i dont know if my body went into starvation mode and got an extremely low metabolism and that’s why i gain weight.

I also want to know how bad its only eat once a day and if its the same eat lets say 1000 calories in 3 or 4 four times during the day than eating that same amount of calories in that big meal.

My last question its how many calories aprox i can eat if i continue doing the huge meal at night to maintain my weight?

Why if everyday I eat less and exercise more I keep gaining weight?

If I decide keep doing the only meal per day, of lets say 1800 calories, ill gain weight until one point and then stop or ill keep gaining weight like crazy for doing it?

Thank you very, very much!!! im going through a really hard time.

Ps: Ohhh, and sorry for my English writing.


Answer
You can't deprive your body of nutrients that can mess up your hormones and your periods can be off and that's not good. You need to seek a treatment program to help you work through some of the issues you're dealing with. The more you self-destruct the more the binging and purging will continue and you don't want to be in the hospital with tubes in you and other things just to keep your body sustained. Go to this website and locate an outpatient program so you can begin to deal with your issues with food and the binging and purging. It's called www.something-fishy.org and you should contact a clinic near you that allows outpatient treatment.