Have I got an eating disorder? (sorry bit long.)

[MummyPenguin]

Or am I developing one? It started about 4 weeks ago. I suddenly experienced loss of appetite. At the time my MIL whom I've always had problems with was staying with us for a few days and caused trouble like she always does. This was kind of a last straw for me, and I've told DH that I don't think I can have her here again. It was after she left that my eating problems started so I don't know if they've been caused by stress or something.

Anyway, I've basically 'gone off' pretty much all food. I haven't eaten a 'proper' meal in weeks. I cook for the family, but don't eat what I cook. A typical day goes like this:

Breakfast: a slice of toast or glass of fruit smoothie

Lunch: A glass of Slim Fast

Dinner: A bowl of soup with a few crackerbread (cracker type things)

Throughout the day I have about 4 cups of tea with sugar. I might also have one or two cups of herbal tea with small teaspoon of honey. I drink water when thirsty.

My Mum kept going on about me being on a 'diet' but it's not about dieting, I'm hopeless at diets normally, it's loss of appetite and just not wanting to eat much. I have lost a bit of weight, and as I have done so I feel like it's becoming more weight related. I have always had body issues but never food issues. I'm also analysing everything I've eaten or drunk in a day and always feel that it's too much. I have also been exercising more than normal.
My Mum is now worried and thinks I should see a doctor but I just don't 'do' doctors. I've been making sure that I take vitamin and iron supplements.

Any thoughts?

Do you think about food all day or are you just not interested?: Anorexics/others with food disorders are typically obsessed with food, how much they have or havent eaten.

You just sound uninterested. Could be a thyroid disorder (or other sign of illness). But tbh, similar thing happens to me intermittantly, DH is similar & I sometimes think it's a virus. As I get older I dont even lose weight each time, I think it's a getting older/metabolic adjustment thing.

are you normal weight?

I had two (thoughts)...well, three really.

First I thought 'hmm, people with eating disorders rarely think they have one, at least not early on - the rationalizing and justifying part of EDs is so strong you wouldn't realize you had one'

Then I thought '?? why SlimFast??' bit of an alarm bell, that does sound diet-y. How would you feel about eating salad/soup/sandwich instead? Even if you're not hungry?

Thirdly, I thought it sounds as though you can't 'stomach' your MIL, not surprisingly (she sounds tricky!) and for me, that often means I'm suppressing a lot of anger at someone, or turning it against myself.

Sorry, a fourth thought: hats off to you for posting and asking for help with this, wahtever the cause. Body issues + stress + change in your attitudes towards food are a very good reason to ask for, and receive, support IMO.

Keep posting

But if it's not a diet, but just general loss of appetite why are you drinking slimfast?

"I'm also analysing everything I've eaten or drunk in a day and always feel that it's too much.".

Until I got to that point of the OP, I was wondering if you had just lost your appetite due to stress. But the sentence above rings alarm bells - that you feel out of control with your MIL's behaviour (and possibly) other aspects of your life so you are trying to overcontrol your calorie intake. I think you need to try and nip this in the bud now.

If it's just loss of appetite then it's not an eating disorder. If it is more about controlling what you are eating then it could be the start of a problem but if it was a serious problem I don't think you would be worried about it at this stage. I have an eating disorder and for years I was certain I didn't have a problem although looking back it was obvious that I did.

You should go and see a doctor though, it could be something physical.

i have a stress related loss of appetite going atm and is v different to yours. im not analysing calorie content for example, even though i usually do as i am permently on a diet and am not consicoulsy trying not to eat either. just dont seem to be able to bring myself to eat a lot right now and when i do try i cant be bothered to finish it! my day reads a lot differently to yours too.

breakfast; nothing
lunch; usually nothing, occassionally a fishfinger sarnie
dinner; depends what dp is having if i am cooking ill have some of that if he is ordering from somewhere i like i might order something (yesterday was chow mien which i normally love but only ate half of it) and occasionally have nothing for dinner, esp if i ahve eaten any lunch as am just not hungry and usually feel sickly and bloated due to eating earlier.

it sounds to me like you are trying to diet rather too strictly and feel you maybe losing control? id try just eating healthier and stop counting calories for a while if that doesnt work go and see your gp.

Completely understand the slimfast thing - sometimes it was all I could stomach. But...

I do have ishoos with food. Not healthy ones. For me it's all about the control.

If you ate something really fatty, would you stress about it?

I haven't eaten more than 1500 calories a day for 8 years (have hormonal things too, so this doesn't mean I lose any weight). I used to aim for 800 a day (not so healthy), but have improved. You?

Thanks for replies. Well, the slim fast thing is, I actually quite like it. I've never really been a 'lunch' type person and am not a lover of sandwiches so will often have a glass of slim fast basically because I can't think what else to eat for lunch.

I've also developed an intolerance to lumpy food, hence the soup for dinner. Most foods to me just aren't appealing at the moment.

I'm not sure what my calorie intake per day is, but it can't be more than 1500, perhaps 1000. The sugar in my tea probably makes up a lot of that. I do check calorie contents on foods.

I don't know, perhaps I'm just barking mad which is what DH thinks!

It would prob be worth going to your doc, if nothing else, because your diet doesn't look particularly balanced.

I find my appetite is quite variable. I think it's important to know what is causing it.

I wouldn't go so far as to say you have a disorder, but what you are eating is neither a balanced diet nor healthy and nurturing in any way shape or form.

I don't know your height and weight, but you you are undereating and walking down a dangerous road. The elation about lost weight comes first, then the obsession about foods you can/can't eat, then the health deterioration (loss of hair, bad skin, sagging contours, etc.) Get yourself together girl, what's wrong with freshly chopped peppers, cucumber and carrots for lunch with a slice of dark bread? Or a bowl of mixed fruit salad? Drinking slimfast because you don't know what to eat is a ridiculous excuse. (I don't mean to be harsh, just opening up your eyes).

If you're serious about losing weight, how about egg whites for breakfast with wholegrain toast? Or muesli or porridge? Cut out the smoothie, it's full of sugars and a glass of OJ will do the trick nicely.Lunch could be chicken with rice or just veg or fruit. Tea or coffee for tea with a cracker but cut out the sugar, esp. the white refined stuff. Have a bar of dark chocolate if you crave sweets. So healthy and yummy. Stick with your soup for dinner and and eat a wholegrain slice of toast again. I think you know what I'm trying to say here.

You are not sustaining yourself and your health will pay the price if you don't change things.Don't glide into an eating disorder by thinking 'tis fab how you lost weight. It comes at a price.

Whatever is causing it is in your mind, not in your stomach. MIL has upset you somehow. I hope you find your old form back. You need to make sure you're strong and healthy to clearly think about what solution there is with MIL. Maybe it'll help if you tell us more about this or speak to your DH. So you don't do docs but like to self medicate with supplements and pills.

well i did say that i was going to try and have slimfast through the day as i dont have much of an appetite for food during the day but i dont have much of an appetite for slimfast either the hunger shots sometimes go down when i remember.

its not a good way to lose weight though! i lose more when i am dieting properly. if you are serious about losing weight you need to find healthy low fat foods you will eat regularly.

if you can only stumache small portions right now have 6 small meals a day instead of 3. is better for losing weight that way anyway!