Sugar/bread can be addicting. But so can being skinny.

[Anonymous]

This might be triggering to those with ED, so please tread carefully if that’s an issue for you.

About a month ago I decided I wanted to lose some weight. I started running, eating a little less, and now I’m totally hooked. I like “feeling” skinnier and also - flame away - notice that people treat me more reverently since I’ve started to slim down. I skip breakfast sometimes now and feel proud of myself for being so strict with my diet. So I guess “nothing tastes as good as thin feels,” is something I’m really experiencing.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had anorexia for 20 years
My take. Many people feel this way. Same for those that work out and like muscles
For me, anorexia is a result of trauma. It does have the effect of numbing me and lowering my anxiety
Studies have shown those with anorexia tend to be calmed by starving. So it becomes a coping mechanism

If dieting makes you feel good, I think it’s fine. You do you.
I wish it was a choice for me.

[Anonymous]

I remember that feeling well from when I lost a bunch of weight before my wedding. I’ve been trying to lose the baby weight now for 7 years and keep trying to let that feeling motivate me but it hasn’t worked so far. I do remember that I started feeling a little out of control with that feeling and started being a little too controlling about diet and exercise so it was a slippery slope. Just be careful, OP.

[Anonymous]

Just be careful. I have had a low-key eating disorder (counting calories every day, stressing if I eat any candy or dessert) since I was 16 (I'm now 32). It got to the point in college when I was working out obsessively and eating nothing but fruit, vegetables, and occasionally lean meats like cold cuts. I lost way too much weight. Size 0 clothes were loose on me.

I'm at a healthier weight now (126 lbs. at 5'4'') but I still weigh myself every day and get upset if I gain 0.5 lbs. I want to lose 5 lbs. even though I know rationally that I don't need to.

It's definitely nice being thin, but be careful to not take it too far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This might be triggering to those with ED, so please tread carefully if that’s an issue for you.

About a month ago I decided I wanted to lose some weight. I started running, eating a little less, and now I’m totally hooked. I like “feeling” skinnier and also - flame away - notice that people treat me more reverently since I’ve started to slim down. I skip breakfast sometimes now and feel proud of myself for being so strict with my diet. So I guess “nothing tastes as good as thin feels,” is something I’m really experiencing.

Your body is enjoying less food and more energy. I support you fully. It’s a nice addiction to have. It’s clear to me now why I see skinnny women at the gym. They must be enjoying nice compliments and don’t want to lose them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had anorexia for 20 years
My take. Many people feel this way. Same for those that work out and like muscles
For me, anorexia is a result of trauma. It does have the effect of numbing me and lowering my anxiety
Studies have shown those with anorexia tend to be calmed by starving. So it becomes a coping mechanism

If dieting makes you feel good, I think it’s fine. You do you.
I wish it was a choice for me.

NP. I'm sorry for what you've been through.

I'm sorry that some people think it is some kind of glamorous game, or that restricting for 3 months makes them "ana."

[Anonymous]

Skipping breakfast is hardly an eating disorder, exercise is good for you given that most of us have sedentary lifestyle. There is nothing in your post to flame away as long as you are not 6' and aspiring to be 110lbs.

[Anonymous]

Hmm. I wish I felt a little bit this way, but I love chocolate too much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This might be triggering to those with ED, so please tread carefully if that’s an issue for you.

About a month ago I decided I wanted to lose some weight. I started running, eating a little less, and now I’m totally hooked. I like “feeling” skinnier and also - flame away - notice that people treat me more reverently since I’ve started to slim down. I skip breakfast sometimes now and feel proud of myself for being so strict with my diet. So I guess “nothing tastes as good as thin feels,” is something I’m really experiencing.

Your body is enjoying less food and more energy. I support you fully. It’s a nice addiction to have. It’s clear to me now why I see skinnny women at the gym. They must be enjoying nice compliments and don’t want to lose them.

One of the PPs here. Yes, sure, but it can also be damaging mentally. Like I said above I am 126 lbs. and 5'4''. I know rationally that I don't need to lose weight, but I still have a compulsive need to eliminate any fat that I see. I don't want to be dangerously thin, but I want to lose 5 lbs. I am upset when I weigh myself and I'm up by even 0.5 lbs.

I got hungry a couple of hours ago, but had already had 750 calories and I try to stay under 1,000 calories before dinner, so I got a red bull and a pack of gum.

None of this behavior is in response to anyone saying I look fat -- my husband always tells me I'm beautiful and before I got married I never struggled to find a date. It's all in my head and while I recognize it's a problem, I can't stop thinking I need to lose weight and that if I cheat at all on food I'll become really fat.

[Anonymous]

True that! I’ve lost about 20 pounds and get so many comments about how great I look. I love feeling hungry for meals now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:True that! I’ve lost about 20 pounds and get so many comments about how great I look. I love feeling hungry for meals now.

Yep. I lost weight over the summer between junior and senior years of high school and vividly remember a boy coming up to me in the cafeteria wanting to talk to me. I was flattered, but also wanted to be like "where were you when I was fat?!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. I wish I felt a little bit this way, but I love chocolate too much

^^^ +1 but substitute carbs iwith chocolate and we’re talking the same language.

[Anonymous]

OP: I think that if it has been only a month, that some of this is likely in your head. Congrats on the bump in self-esteem!

[Anonymous]

Not flaming, just wondering what “reverently” looks like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. I wish I felt a little bit this way, but I love chocolate too much

Me too. I love Thai food and booze.