Expert: Leigh-Anne Persing, PA-C - 1/3/2007

Question
I was diagnosed with an eating disorder about 3 or 4 years ago, having lost about 40 pounds within a month and a half. My doctor put me on an anti-depressant for a little while, and I gained my weight back that same year. Since then, I felt like I had made a full recovery. I considered myself somewhat healthy again (other than still feeling cold all the time and still having a fear of gaining too much weight back). So, recently, within the past few weeks, I figured I could try to lose a few pounds to get into a little better shape to take up a personal training career. However, I feel like I'm starting to fall back into the same boat because I've been constantly thinking about my weight. I'm going about it in a much healthier way, but slowly I'm afraid it's going to become an obsession again. I am satisfied with my weight right now, but I admit that I can feel that part of me that wants to keep losing, even though I don't want to go into a full relapse. I know there's nothing wrong with wanting to lose a lose a little weight, but after having dealt with anorexia and its effects in the past, how can I make myself stop before it goes too far?  

Answer
The first thing you do is recognize that there are situations that you are in that are causing you to resort back to your eating disordered thoughts. You need to keep yourself away from those situations... plain and simple. You don't want those thoughts to become actions of losing weight in an unhealthy manner. In addition... you may benefit from a little therapy that may help you deal with these feelings and anxiety...