Eating problems?

[mosskid]

So I've been struggling with eating. I don't think I have anorexia or anything that severe, but as I am right now I constantly obsess over how many calories I intake everyday. Usually I have a set amount of 400 calories a day, and if I go over that amount on a certain day, the next day I don't eat anything in order to balance it out.


I really don't want my parents to worry about me, so I lie to them and tell them I'm eating stuff when I'm actually not. My mom is kinda seeing through it at this point, and she even called me up saying that she's worried about me going off alone to college next year because of it.


I'm getting pretty nervous because I'm starting to get lightheaded often because of it, and I don't want to seriously mess up my body internally or anything. I just worry that even a tiny bit over my set amount of calories will make me overweight, which I know is impossible, but I just can't stop.


I know that there really isn't much advice for this, so I understand if you can't offer help. Just putting this out there to be read just kinda feels like I'm getting stuff off my chest.

[anoni]

The average adult eats roughly 2,000 calories a day, a good diet would be something reducing it to maybe 1,000 but 400 is way too small.

You say you probably don't have anorexia but it sounds like you may do, having only 400 calories a day is bad for you, especially because you're probably not getting the vitamins and minerals that you need. So, you may be "losing" weight but you're definitely not getting more healthy. I'd talk to a professional about it as soon as possible, these sort of health problems can be really bad and can even be life threatening if you're not careful.

[mosskid]

Thanks so much. I think I was equating anorexia to not eating at all, but I guess if I'm eating that far below the norm I really have a problem. I really want to get help, but I just don't want my parents to worry about me. My mom is pretty much living off child support and my dad isn't fairing much better, and I feel like if I told them they'd dry up all their money trying to help me. I don't want them to see me as broken or dysfunctional either because they'd blame themselves.


Thanks a lot though, I think I didn't think this was as much of a big problem until I heard it from another person's mouth. Maybe I can try and find a school counselor to help me for free and hopefully not tell my parents.

[anoni]

If you're at school I'd definitely recommend talking to a school councilor or even just a teacher, doesn't matter who. If you're in the US, or Australia or a similar country, teachers have the responsibility of caretakers and are thus oblidged to help you with these personal problems, legally. You can tell them and you can discuss your concerns with your parents and financial troubles and I'm sure they'll help you out.

[Vosur Aekira]

For males, the lowest caloric intake for "safe" weight reduction is 1800 per day. While for females the lowest for "safe" weight-reduction would be 1600. Any lower would cause the body to possibly go into a starvation-mode.

If you're not trying to lose weight, and you're below either of those two numbers, you're putting yourself at serious risk. If you feel you need help keeping track of what you eat, my suggestion is to keep a food-diary. The one I use for myself is actually online, MyFitnessPal is the name of the site that I keep track for myself as it contains a search system for foods and what they contain.

But again, keep track of exactly how much you eat and what you eat. Don't overeat or under-eat.

[MrRazot]

There is more danger in this than you think...

The problems are in foods with empty K calories that have all the calories but none of the nutrition. If you don't get the nutrition, you're missing out on all the important vitamins, minerals and amino acids that are needed to keep your body functioning. It doesn't surprise me that you have started becoming light headed, but it can only gets worse and eventually you could end up comatose, being rushed to hospital where I think what you're trying to avoid will be reality.

Drinking tea or coffee doesn't count as a meal, try eating fortified cereals with milk for breakfast, fat isn't automatically bad for you, try eat a protein every day (fish, chicken, beef, soya, etc), stay away from crisps and high sugar foods or anything that says "low fat"

I have lots of good food advice I can give you, but chances are your mum knows best. Talk to someone about it before you end up in a hospital bed.

In the west we say a balanced diet is 5 fruit and veg a day, but that was before we understood nutrition. I prefer what they in Japan, that a balanced diet is eating 30 different things every day.

[mosskid]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I've really been thinking on it.


Because my body is so used to eating so little each day, every time I tried to eat a normal amount of food my stomach hurt. So maybe I can gradually increase how many calories I eat overtime? I should definitely get a journal to keep track, and I'll try to make an appointment with my school counselor and explain to them our financial problems too. I'm just really scared telling people about this.


I really really want to get better in a lot of ways, but it's really hard trying to fight myself telling me just a tiny amount over what I usually eat is bad. I wish I could just magically eat healthy again without freaking out, if you know what I mean.

[anoni]

Yeah it's a mental issue too, which is why talking to a professional could really help with this

[Traum]

Yea just gradually increase your calories. Body is surprisingly well at adapting but it needs time. And even though you do understand that 400 is unhealthy and you want to change it you still feel bad when eating more. It's perfectly normal, but the good thing is that this feeling will disappear with time. Good luck 

[mosskid]

Thanks a lot. I couldn't quite eat past 400 today but I set a goal on at least getting my calorie intake back up to 900 in the next couple weeks and start eating normally in the next two months. I've even scheduled a visit with my school counselor for Friday. I've been clinically diagnosed with OCD is the past and I think my eating problems stem from it going untreated, so hopefully I can work on coping with it in therapy.

I'm really hoping to improve upon my mental and physical health as best I can before I go off on my own, and I really owe it to you guys for confirming my fears and letting me know I have a problem to fix.

I'll keep you updated!

[MrRazot]

Please also eat healthily, not just from a calorie point of view, but a nutritional point of view...

[mosskid]

Yeah, I'll make sure to get the vitamins I need, I'll definitely start with fortified cereal. 

[Traum]

or better yet eat unprocessed products

[MrRazot]

or better yet eat unprocessed products

Technically all foods go through a process to get onto the shelf. You want to avoid processed meats like sausages because of the high amounts of sodium and otherwise questionable contents.
Rule of thumb is that it's fine as long as you can tell what it was, but that doesn't necessarily hold true any more.
This is something for another time though.

[mosskid]

Thanks a ton! I'll look out for shady food. I actually live very close to a farmer's market, so I should be able to find some slightly better food there than at a normal store. I'm learning that saying I'll eat more is much easier that actually doing it, but I hope I'll get there eventually, especially after I see a counselor.