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Question
I have been anorexic all my life. My mother was anorexic, so my eating habits are more of a learned thing, rather than a body image thing. I know that I am at least 20 pounds underweight, and I am so depressed about being so scary thin, only I don't know where to start. What do I eat, and how much, how often? Should I be exercising at all, because I don't now, partly because I don't have the energy to and partly because I'm afraid of losing more weight. I'm 5'6 and weigh 110 pounds. I don't know who to talk to because no one really wants to hear complaints about being too thin, and all of the weight gain articles I find online are geared towards bodybuilders who are already eating/living healthy.
Hi Nicole,
Yeah, it can be quite difficult to find guidance from the internet when it comes to the area you're asking about. I am not a doctor or a dietician but I have a few suggestions.
A great starting place would be an overeaters anonymous group. I know you're far from being an over eater but some groups are geared more towards those with any type of disordered eating.. not just over eating. I actually attended some of those for several years. I found a great home group of all woman who had a wide variety of food issues... anorexia, over-eating, bulimia, binge eating, ect. The reason In that group, there were sponsors who made up meal plans and held you accountable to them. It's also a great place to find support for the deeper issues. You can find OA meetings at www.oa.org.
Another support group would be ANAD meetings. I don't know if they would be able to help you with a meal plan but I know they could point you to someone who could if they can't. You can find them at:
http://www.anad.org/22322/index.html
But my biggest recommendation would be to hook up with a dietician who specializes in eating disorders. It's important that they specialize in eating disorders because there can be a lot of complications with the refeeding process if not done properly.
I hope this helps and good luck.
Melissa
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Answers by Expert:
Melissa
Expertise
I battled anorexia and bulimia for 6 years. I am not a doctor, but I learned a lot about the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of having an eating disorder and how scary it is to feel like you are alone in your illness. You are not alone. I can answer questions based on my experience with anything relating to anorexia and/or bulimia. I can provide information on treatment options, some specific treatment centers, resources that may help you find a treatment center, and my opinion on all of the above. I was a patient at a few outpatient and inpatient programs so I am happy to answer questions about those experiences. I am not affiliated with any of the resources I may provide. It’s strictly my opinion based on my experiences. I can NOT answer medical questions. I will NOT answer questions on how to become anorexic or bulimic or how to lose weight in an unhealthy matter.
Experience
I have recovered from a six year struggle with both anorexia and bulimia. I hope my experiences and the time I spent in and out of treatment will encourage others to never give up. I never thought I would or could recover because I couldn’t picture myself ever having a normal relationship with food. Since then, I have grown and learned that I can overcome what I once thought was impossible. Hold on to the idea that recovery is attainable!
Education/Credentials
I am attending college for an unrelated degree.
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