Expert: Meg - 6/1/2007

Question
Hi, I’m 16 years old and recovering from bulimia on my own right now. I’ve been purging after going on binges for over a year now and I’m finally ready to quit. I’ve gone four days eating normally and keeping all my food down but it’s so painful. I haven’t been eating more than 1200 or 1300 calories each day but I experience painful bloating. I’ve also gained weight. I’m 5’8 and at my lowest weight I was about 120. Currently I’m probably 134 but I’m not sure because I’ve felt so fat that I did not want to check the scale for fear of going back to bulimia because of anxiety and depression over my weight change.

I used to purge anywhere from 2 to 4 times a day and then I got down to just once a day and then every other day. Now I’m trying to stop for good. I read that this is just part of recovery and that it will soon pass. I wondered if you could give me an estimate of about how long it will take because I’m just so uncomfortable right now that it’s hard to focus in school and other areas of my life. Also, is there is medicine you recommend I take to ease this bloating? Can I recover on my own? (Because I’m just too ashamed to tell my dad or a medical professional so getting a doctor’s help really is not an option because I’m just not going to do it.)

Also, I didn’t have my period for about 14 months and I just started bleeding for the first time today. I went to an OB-GYN and she gave me Ortho-Provera (I think that’s the name) but she doesn’t know anything about my bulimia. Now I have to get some blood work done because she wants to figure out what stopped my period. Will they be able to figure out about my ED through the blood work? Can I lie my way out of it?

And my last few questions involve my diet. I love sweet potatoes and I often eat one of those ones that are sealed in the plastic and cooked in the microwave with ¾ cup of low-fat cottage cheese and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray (no calories or anything). So do you think that is a good meal? Is it too much? I’ve lost track of how much I should eat at once. I also like to slice up a banana and eat it will instant plain oatmeal and add Splenda and cinnamon. Grilled chicken and Steamfresh vegetables are good too. I also eat yogurt, strawberries, low-fat soymilk, and Kashi cereal with lots of fiber. Oh, and apples too. Are those good options? Do you have any recommendations??

Thank-you so much for any and all of your help.

Oh, and if it helps to tell you this….I also workout 6-7 days a week. I do 40 to 60 minutes of cardio on those days and I lift weights 2-3 times a week.  

Answer
Hello Allison,

Thanks for your question and I hope that I can be of some help.  

It sounds like you are very motivated to beat this and have taken a lot of positive, pro-active steps.  Good job!  While it is possible to recover on your own from an eating disorder, its honestly a lot easier if you do get professional help.  Also, there are generally underlying issues that caused you to develop your eating disorder in the first place.  Sometimes, if these are not dealt with, then relapses can occur.

That said, you are doing great right now in ending a lot of your behaviors and should be very proud of yourself.  Its not easy to do, and you're doing it!  I agree that not weighing is generally the best bet as you are recovering.  I found it most helpful to focus on the positive behaviors (like eating enough calories, not purging, etc) and trying to tell my mind that my weight would take care of itself as my body started to function normally again.  Obviously, this is not easy to do (and I struggled with it too so that is normal) but it really is the truth.  Plus, focussing on your weight now, as your body is just trying to find some equilibrium, is frustrating as its going vary for awhile until your metabolism and body gets healthy again.  

As for how long this part of recovery will take, its hard to say (I'm sorry, I wish I had a more concrete answer for you).  It really depends on how long your body endured your eating disorder, how much damage has been done, etc.  Hopefully, it will be a very short term time for you and I can say that I believe it will get easier with every day that you stay on track and let your body get healthier.  I don't advocate using diuretics but eating fiber and drinking water and doing light exercise (walking or yoga or the like) will help your body get less bloated.  I know that you're in the midst of feeling uncomfortable right now but as your body gets used to digestion and having regular food again, it will get a lot better.  And, this difficult time is worth the result of your body and metabolism working again, and your feeling a lot better.  So, hang in there and know that this WILL pass.

As for your doctor and the blood work, she may be able to detect your ED through the deficiencies that will most likely appear in the results of your test.  But, again, this is really variable on your body and even how your diet was during your ED.  If she brings up an eating disorder, you might want to talk with her as that takes the oneness off of you in terms of having to bring it up.  And, its possible that she won't know.   

Your diet sounds good right now.  The main goal, as you recover, is to get as much variety and make sure that you are getting all of the food groups and do not have any glaring deficiencies.  Also, it sounds like you are eating really low fat (which is fine but its important to keep *some* fat in your diet).  Your calorie level might be a little bit low with all of the exercise you are doing, but I would base that on if you're hungry and if you have energy to get through your day and workouts.  

Hope this helps and please feel free to write again if anything in this answer is not clear or if there is anything else at all that I can help with.

Take care!

Meg