Expert: Joanne - 3/23/2009

Question
Hello :)
I am 15 and I got diagnosed with anorexia nervosia last year in about april, for about a month i was determined to just lose weight i was 55 kg and went down to 39 in a month my heart was finding it hard to beat so i got submitted to hospital for about a month and then i wanted to move to australia straight after that and live with my father, so through out the months till now i found it extremly hard doing by my self to put on weight and know what to eat I am going pretty good at the moment i think i would be around 47/48 but still cant get calorie counting or restricting out of my head.
I also really want to know why when i start eating i just keep eating till i feel sick, i just keep snacking and snacking straight after everything i eat Its like i dont no when to stop! im scared i am going to go from an under eating disorder to an over eating disorder.
Thankyou :]

Answer
Briar

Have you found things any better after moving to Australia?  Do you think that you are eating better now and made the right decision?

It is hard to forget about calories, and I think it is almost impossible to give up calorie counting completely, I think it is just a matter of looking at it in a different way.

When you were discharged from hospital, were you given a meal plan?  Did you receive any follow-up treatment?  Are you in treatment in Australia?  If not, then I think it could be a good idea to possibly get in touch with a doctor, therapist and/or nutritionist in order to really help you beat the eating disorder!

If you have a meal plan from hospital, or in hospital, were you given an idea of how many calories you should be eating everyday?  If you were, you need to focus on that number, and when calorie counting, just remember that you are eating this number of calories because you need to to keep healthy.  You need to eat them to beat your eating disorder.  You need to eat them as that is what a 'normal', healthy person would be eating, and the main aim of recovery is to try and get you back to more 'normal' eating patterns.  It is not good to count calories obsessively, and many people would argue that it is good to have an idea of how much you are eating everyday in order to protect your weight going unhealthily in the opposite direction.  It is about being able to eat a normal healthy diet, but learning not to become too paranoid if you eat something that you normally wouldn't, or slightly go over a normal daily calorie intake.  You need to learn to eat a healthy, balanced diet but know that it is ok to occasionally sit and eat ice cream or cake with friends and not worry about the consequences, for example.

Your eating patterns now are quite common.  Your body has been starved for so long, that it no longer quite knows the difference between feeling of hunger, being satisfied and being full.  It will take time, but you should soon be able to tell when you are hungry and when you are full and therefore to stop eating.  You need to try to get back into good eating patterns, possibly planning 3 meals a day with 2-3 snacks.  Try not to allow yourself to snack outside these times, but at the same time, try not to fret too much if you do.  At the moment, your body is just adjusting to being fed again, and it is also trying to rebuild and repair itself, possibly making you eating more than normal, trying to get all the nutrients that it has been deprived of for so long.

Basically, try to stop worrying about it too much.  Make sure that you are eating proper meals with a couple of snacks during the day, and try not to skip meals or restrict calories.  Please try to make an appointment to see a therapist or counsellor (you can do this by looking for one yourself, visiting your doctor, or you may possibly even have someone in school) in order to help you deal with any underlying reasons that led you to develop an eating disorder.  Maybe talk to your father about what is going on if you don't already to make sure that you get the support that you need at home.  It may be useful for you to sit for meals together, maybe you could make some of your meals if you don't already, cook together!  Basically you need to look inside yourself and work out what it is you feel that you need or want from your family and let them know!

Joanne