Expert: Ryan Hale - 3/1/2010

Question
hi,
i am 35 and have three kids since xmas i have been having problems eating i dont have anything to eat until about 6 or 7 at night and then i only have what i feel like eating when i have tried to eat before that time the food just seems to grow in my mouth and after i have eaten my meal at 6 i have stomach ache.
do i have a eating disorder and what is it .
i went to the doctor and she is refering me to a dietician she was talking about dulimia but i told her i dont make myself sick and i am not sick ever .
can you give me some idea please

Answer
Lindsey- it sounds like you have some preoccupations with food and some issues surrounding eating, but I'm not sure you meet the diagnostic criteria for bulimia (at least not here in the states).  Your eating behavior is concerning though.  I can also say that the more you don't eat the less you may feel like eating so hunger is not always a good way to tell if your eating behavior is normal.  Also, if you wait until late in the day to eat, your body's metabolism has not been "woken up" and will remain at a minimum the whole day, conserving calories instead of burning them.  There is tons of research on the effects of eating breakfast for weight control, all of them say that if you do, you will moderate hunger the rest of the day, help kick start your metabolism for the rest of the day and many find they actually lose weight.

My suggestions would be to get on a more normal eating schedule that includes breakfast and many small meals throughout the day.  I would also talk to the dietician about your thoughts and behaviors around eating.  They are a good resource.  You may not have a clinical level of eating disorder, but the dietician can help "normalize" your eating a bit.