Expert: Sally - 2/7/2009

Question
QUESTION: now i am not dieting anymore. i am eating rice,noodles, consuming at least 2 servings of dairy products everyday and drinking plenty of water, ensure that i don't skip my breakfast, eat fruits,etc.

i was on diet for 6 weeks. i was 58kg and my height is around 1.7m.i aimed to achieve 50kg initially then decided to achieve 51kg.i aimed to lose 2 kg per week and I did.
Basically the first two weeks of my diet,my calorie intake was not consistent.
the first week I tried to follow the atkin’s diet but it wasn’t consistent because I did consume fried food that are high in carbohydrates. I exercised for 4 days. One day I went cycling. The other 3 days I just jogged 1 round around the field near my house that is about 1.2 km. as I said, my aim was to lose 2 kg per week. I checked my weight regularly and when I notice that didn’t not achieve my target,began to cut down my food intake.there was even one day where I only had fruits(mangoes and an apple) just so that I achieve my target for that week.
The second week of my diet. My calorie intake is still not consistent. I exercised for 5 days ( jogged  1 round around the field for 4 days and for the other day jogged 1 round and walked 5 rounds). I tried to ate as little as possible but I still ensure that I had something that day.the very least is to eat some fruits and milk or my granola bar.not saying that I just had fruits the whole week. I did ate eggs one day, spicy bbq stingray and tomyam soup and fruits on another day, chicken and plain water the next day.  Checked my weight daily. This time round, I noticed that I didn’t reach my target, that is to achieve 54kg by Sunday morning. I was only 54.5kg.I ate very little (2 curry chicken and plain water) and increase from 1 round of jogging to 6 rounds(1 round jog, 5 rounds walk).
The third week:I was 54kg.i wanted to lose weight. On that Monday, I did like the previous day, jogged 1 round and walk 5 rounds. I forgot what I had for that day. But I remembered that I had one full cup of HL milk. After exercising I checked my weight and saw that my weight went down from 54kg to 53kg. I was surprised that I lost 1 kg after exercising. I thought maybe I would do that for the next few days since I can lose 1 kg a day. The next day did the same but found out that I didn’t lose any weight. The next day, decided to rest so I didn’t exercise and I did not eat except drinking plain water. On Thursday morning checked my weight, and see that my weight was still 53 kg and I panicked. I called my bestfriend and she tried to calm me down. She’s the one person whom I always consult when I had a problem. I tell her everything from my diet; what I ate every single day to how many rounds I did, etc.throughout the diet, I did constant research online about losing weight and suddenly came across an article about metabolism and how important it is when losing weight. I told my best friend about this and I asked her if maybe I am doing this wrong and if I should eat small meals (4 to 5 meals) everyday. She encouraged me. I did more research about boosting metabolism, etc. by Friday, I start my new diet. I ate  4 to 5 small meals and had my granola bar,green tea,milk and plain water everyday. I also ensure that I ate either chicken or fish everyday.my weight went up back to 54kg. I also exercise but I cut down. I start with just walking a few rounds.
Fourth week: this time my food intake was consistent.i also exercise everyday. I start with walking and then I increase it slowly as days passed. I did 4 rounds everyday. at first I walk for all 4 rounds. Then I jogged 2 rounds and walk 2 rounds. Then I jogged 3 rounds and walk 1 round and maintain it that way.  I had the same thing almost everyday, same timing(10 am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm). The only different is the chicken or the fish (depends on what my mum cook that day. Sometimes I didn’t eat my mum’s cooking at all because I already ate canned tuna for breakfast. Oh ya, I start to ensure that I had breakfast everyday.Then on Saturday had family event in the evening. I ate a bit more than the other days and found out I gained a kg the next day. I told my bestfriend the next day.
Fifth week:I changed my diet.everyday I ate the same thing. At 10 am I had 1 wholemeal bread spread with olive oil and I had green tea. At 1 pm I had yogurt and apple and plain water. Had another cup of plain water around 3pm. at 4 pm I had my granola bar and plain water. Had another cup of plain water around 6pm. at 7 pm I had a slice of wholemeal bread spread with olive oil and plain water. At 8pm I went to exercise. After exercising I had a cup of plain water. I had this for the whole week. My weight went down from 55kg to 53kg.
The sixth week: I had the same thing. The only difference is that I changed my 7 pm meal from wholemeal bread to a cup of HL milk. Exercise everyday just like the previous week. I noticed that my weight didn’t go down. I then thought that maybe that is the furthest I can lose. Then I decided to end my diet. However when I checked my weight on friday morning, I found out that I lost another 0.5 kg. I then thought that maybe I can still achieve my goal and that is to get down to 51kg.i wanted to checked my height so that I can check my bmi.i am 52kg. I found out that my height decreased from 1.72m to about 1.7m. I do not know if the measurement was taken correctly because I used the measuring tape at my house. I got my mum,my dad and my sister to check it for me.my mum gave me different measurements from my dad and sister. I continue my diet until Sunday , I researched about height loss and came across a website on eating disorder. I panicked and talked to my bestfriend about it. I was freaking out as I don’t want to be anorexic. I had some of the signs of an anorexic person. The only difference is that I don’t feel lethargic,I feel fine, I do not use any drugs, etc. But I do check my weight often, I do look for food recipes which I intend to make and eat once I finish dieting, I do look at the nutrional facts of food products and I count my calories.
Now I am not dieting anymore because I am scared. I do not know if I am an anorexic. And I am freaking out about height loss. I just wanna ask you if throughout my diet, am I an anorexic?was that severe? And is it possible that within that six weeks of dieting, i can actually experience height loss??i do consume dairy products? Before the fifth week of my diet, I do not drink milk daily, sometimes but I exercise daily under the sun (vitamin d).only on the fifth week that I started exercising at night. Will I still able to grow taller because I don’t want to be any shorter than 170 cm? I know I am underweight now and I am eating without worrying about the calories anymore. and i am trying to increase my weight to my ideal body weight. i am trying to increase my weight from 52kg to 54kg.


ANSWER: Hi Nur,

Thank you for your message.

It sounds like you have been thinking quite a bit about the changes that have occured in your health lately.  Eating Disorders including Anorexia are often idenified by a number of factors however what seperates a diet from an eating disorder is when the individual's relationship with food begins to interfere with the person's life and stops him or her living from day to day.  For example, someone who once used to enjoy going out wih friends for lunch or to the shops no longer can go because of the fear that she or he may have to sit down and eat around/with other people; or a student who was doing well in school, and now is failing because they can no longer concentrate due to the constant thoughts of food, calories, exercise etc. that goes through their mind.

Based on your message, it sounds like you have made a decision/choice to eat healthily in order to reach an ideal weight and I am happy to hear that you are aiming for a relaistic weight range.  My best recommendation would be to visit you doctor if you are concerned as they will be able to carry out the proper tests to assess where you're at.

Good Luck and All the Best

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So according to you im healthy?as in the 6 weeks of diet, is not severe? while i was on diet, i don't really want to go out and meet my friends or my cousins because i just don't like to tell them that i am on diet (especially in my second and third weeks), even though i did went out some of the days to watch movie with my bestfriend and went to a bbq party at the beach (forced by my dad) and went out with my parents to look for my shoes and I was schooling.i do have other friends (arnd 3 to 4 friends who knows I am on diet, other than my bestfriend and family); I told them.But there was a time where i have family gathering to celebrate my grandfather's birthday at a restaurant. i didnt follow because i was sure that if i were to be present, one thing i have to eat the food and another thing was that my mum would be telling everyone that i am on diet and everyone would be like nagging and all. so i avoided it. i don't mind going out with my family and my bestfriend and friends who knows about my diet  because I don’t have to pretend that I am not on diet and that they don’t ask me too many questions. I am the kind of person that follows my plan. So if I set a goal in this case to reach 50kg(initially), I will just focus on it until I achieve it or if I already set timings for my meals, I ensure that I consume them on time. So I were to go out with friends or cousins who do not know that I am on diet, it is really frustrating because first thing, if I were to eat my granola bars instead of joining them and eating fast food, I am sure they would be asking me lots of questions. Hence, I avoided them so that I can just follow my diet routine without disrupting it and skipping my exercise. I did go out with friends who suggested to exercise together. Also I did think a lot about food (I think around the 4th week of my diet);the different restaurants to go with my bestfriend once I end my diet and I always look out for baking recipes(until now) to try out at home. I did some baking lately and eating them a lot. I am a big eater so to actually not able to eat what I used to eat when I am not on diet, is kind of disturbing, especially my mum’s cooking.

So basically, I did tried to avoid gatherings (especially where there’s going to be a lot of unhealthy food) because I know I will definitely eat a lot. But some, I have no choice but to attend. I did try to avoid some friends,those who do not know about my diet, just so that they won’t ask me too many questions and that I would be able to eat my meals on time and peacefully. So far, my school work was not affected. I am able to concentrate. Not really thinking of food, exercise, etc all the time. Distractions allowed me to stop thinking of them. Just that when I am not doing anything, I did think about them. I just wanna end my diet fast so that I can go out and eat again. But ya, now I am not dieting. Just trying to stay positive. Do you think in the 6 weeks of my diet, I would have done damage to myself? And oh ya, I missed a period. As in there’s this one day, I thought I am having my period because I saw blood (only a bit) and then after that no more.i think it was during my 4th week of diet.was it because I am underweight or was it because I was exercising too much? And will I be able to have my period for this month?what should I do to ensure that I have my period again?

By the way,Thank you so much for your previous reply!:)


Answer
Hi Nur,

As mentioned previously, it is a bit hard to say whether or not your healthy as I cannot see you and only a doctor would be able to assess this.

Sufferers will often not go out with friends because of the fear that there will be food there and they tend to avoid any situations that will involve food.  Also, ED's can be long term ilnesses and tend to be around 24/7 and not every now and then.

As previously mentioned, from what you told me it sounds more like that you made the choice to go on a diet... the difference with ED's are they are not the individual's choice.  The sufferer does not decide one day that they are going to be anorexic or have an ED etc.  Often, ED's can start out as a diet however I encourage you to see your doctor to be assessed properly.

As far as your period is concerned, the absence of 1 could be due to a number of factors however, if you do become underweight, these are one of the things that can be affected.  As long as you maintain a reasonably healthy weight, you will continue to have your periods.

Hope this helps.