I've had an eating disorder for thirteen years, give or take. Sometimes I feel like it really began when I was 6 and had a workout routine and became ecstatic when a tummy virus made me lose weight. Either way, this is a long-haul issue for me and for many others. I've bounced between bulimia and anorexia my entire life, with weights ranging from clinically underweight all the way to "technically obese"right after giving birth.
I lost 90 pounds. I've been accused of gastric bypass because of the stretchmarks on my arms. The look on their faces when I tell them all it took was a little self control is priceless. If you're an adult and still battling an ED, many professionals won't take you seriously. ED's are like addictions - once you've got the addiction, that substance is forever a danger to you. The difference is, with eating disorders, we can't just avoid food, toilets, nausea, mirrors, and every corner of life that could possibly make us yearn for control.
Because that's what it's about. Control. Here is a realistic list of tips for surviving an Eating Disorder relapse.
1. You probably drink coffee. A lot of it. Add some soy milk or almond milk. Not for the calories, since they're actually fairly low in calories, but for the protein. You need your muscles.
2. If you like to fast, don't limit yourself to water only. Get some tea, make homemade juice or buy some you feel comfortable drinking. Get a blender and make fruit smoothies. You won't have to feel food digesting, your caloric intake will stay low, and you'll still get nutrients.
3. If you're prone to binging and purging, drink a lot of water while you eat. Chew. Don't make the process more damaging than it has to be.
4. Keep sports drinks and Pedialite in your house whether you're bulimic or not, but ESPECIALLY if you're bulimic. Drink some after a purge, and drink it if you take laxatives, which brings me to...
5. Choose laxatives wisely if you must take them. I know having food moving around in your body can be extremely uncomfortable during a relapse. Magnesium Citrate is a soda-like laxative beverage you can get at any pharmacy and it works within about 3 hours. It gets the job done, and it's not painful. I used to drink these in college like a normal person would drink a Dr. Pepper.
6. Chocolax and baby laxatives are good choices if you bounce between fasting/restricting and binging/purging. Your digestive system slows down and you're sitting there feeling putrid because the food isn't moving. Take a gentle laxative and get hydrated.
7. Drunkorexia- you know what I'm talking about - keep sports drinks with you at all times. When you're not getting drunk, you better be drinking fluids. Electrolytes. Water.
8. Be aware that lack of food will alter your mood and ability to make decisions. Take your time with big choices and avoid high-strung conversations that will make you snappy. You can come out of your relapse and be healthy again, but people will remember the things you said to them when you were starving.
9. Do your best to avoid weighing. Weighing inspires one to compete with themselves. If you have to do it, only do it once a week.
10. Try to let go of the need to control, and figure out what exactly in your life triggered the relapse and address it. The Eating Disorder may be active while you're putting the pieces together, but it will be easier to recover when you understand what caused it to come back to life.
Recovery is the goal, but relapse is always possible. Better to survive it than to pretend it doesn't happen.
Dizzy.
I lost 90 pounds. I've been accused of gastric bypass because of the stretchmarks on my arms. The look on their faces when I tell them all it took was a little self control is priceless. If you're an adult and still battling an ED, many professionals won't take you seriously. ED's are like addictions - once you've got the addiction, that substance is forever a danger to you. The difference is, with eating disorders, we can't just avoid food, toilets, nausea, mirrors, and every corner of life that could possibly make us yearn for control.
Because that's what it's about. Control. Here is a realistic list of tips for surviving an Eating Disorder relapse.
1. You probably drink coffee. A lot of it. Add some soy milk or almond milk. Not for the calories, since they're actually fairly low in calories, but for the protein. You need your muscles.
2. If you like to fast, don't limit yourself to water only. Get some tea, make homemade juice or buy some you feel comfortable drinking. Get a blender and make fruit smoothies. You won't have to feel food digesting, your caloric intake will stay low, and you'll still get nutrients.
3. If you're prone to binging and purging, drink a lot of water while you eat. Chew. Don't make the process more damaging than it has to be.
4. Keep sports drinks and Pedialite in your house whether you're bulimic or not, but ESPECIALLY if you're bulimic. Drink some after a purge, and drink it if you take laxatives, which brings me to...
5. Choose laxatives wisely if you must take them. I know having food moving around in your body can be extremely uncomfortable during a relapse. Magnesium Citrate is a soda-like laxative beverage you can get at any pharmacy and it works within about 3 hours. It gets the job done, and it's not painful. I used to drink these in college like a normal person would drink a Dr. Pepper.
6. Chocolax and baby laxatives are good choices if you bounce between fasting/restricting and binging/purging. Your digestive system slows down and you're sitting there feeling putrid because the food isn't moving. Take a gentle laxative and get hydrated.
7. Drunkorexia- you know what I'm talking about - keep sports drinks with you at all times. When you're not getting drunk, you better be drinking fluids. Electrolytes. Water.
8. Be aware that lack of food will alter your mood and ability to make decisions. Take your time with big choices and avoid high-strung conversations that will make you snappy. You can come out of your relapse and be healthy again, but people will remember the things you said to them when you were starving.
9. Do your best to avoid weighing. Weighing inspires one to compete with themselves. If you have to do it, only do it once a week.
10. Try to let go of the need to control, and figure out what exactly in your life triggered the relapse and address it. The Eating Disorder may be active while you're putting the pieces together, but it will be easier to recover when you understand what caused it to come back to life.
Recovery is the goal, but relapse is always possible. Better to survive it than to pretend it doesn't happen.
Dizzy.
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