Do you have an eating disorder?

[gamergirl 4,609]

I subscribe to Dr. Sharma’s blog where he is currently talking about weight regain and all the reasons it happens. Today’s topic happened to be about Mental Health and regain. To quote him:

We found substantial evidence for the role of mental health factors both in failure to lose adequate amounts of weight or to regain any weight lost.

Out of the sixteen studies included in the review, all studies that examined this factor, implicated uncontrolled mental health issues as an important cause of weight regain.

These included, binge eating disorder, depression and addictive behaviours (alcohol and drug use)…… Overall, patients with two or more psychiatric conditions were approximately six times more likely to either lose no further weight or regain weight than patients without psychiatric problems.

Of course this sent me searching for Eating disorder screens and this is the one I took. NEDA. Thankfully I didn’t have one, but if you do, the news is not all doom and gloom. To quote him again,

Interestingly, one study found that completion rates of behavioural modification therapy increased to 91% when performed post-operatively, compared to 14 % when done pre-operatively.

So if you’re sleeved and struggling, get thee to a shrink and maximize your chances for success.

Link to the study abstract HERE

Happy Monday to one and all!

[Richard Foor 655]

I tried the screening using the answers as I would have answered them before I had the surgery and it cam back negative, I then took it again with my current answers and it was still negative. That being said I think we all probably had some sort of eating disorder or we probably wouldn't have ended up here in the first place, but I guess if the tests come back negative that's probably a good sign that our disorders were minor enough that we should be able to overcome them. Anyhow, thanks for the interesting post.

[Poolguard 55]

Most people do not get obese with out some form of eating disorder.

[Poolguard 55]

My particular problem was more of an eating ordermoreandmore.

[PrettyLilButterfly 124]

I was what I call a closet eater. I would eat very little in front of people..but once they weren't looking, oh man. I would start nibbling. I wouldn't consume mass amounts, it was just the fact I would eat a second meal when no one was around.

I'm blessed I have that under control now. I am able to eat 6 mini meals and that keeps my happy. And since it's only 5 bites a meal, I dont worry about it. i've lost what I wanted to and have maintained where I'm at for about 2 months now.

[QueenCityGal 76]

I get annoyed when eating disorders are the major blame for obesity. Yes I'm sure some overweight folks are affected by some sort of eating disorder; but not all of us have eating disorders. Being born into a family with a long history of heavy people means genetic predisposition. Who in my family is NOT heavy?? I've always been heavy regardless of a healthy food diet and exercise. Also there are medical issues. In a Quest once again to get thin years ago I went low carb and heavily used soy products - soy milk, tofu, and eating edamame by the bags... in an effort to replace dairy and meat Proteins (98 pound weight loss there). Slowly, no matter if I starved myself and worked out like mad, the weight came back. Well unbeknownst to me, I killed my thyroid and my metabolism. No one ever warned me of the dangers of too much soy and the internet wasn't what it is now. A light bulb went off when I was at a chiropractor visit, I told him to be careful where he touched me because of these weird fatty lumps I had in random locations. He asked me "have you ever ingested large amounts of soy?" - I said yes, I did for almost a year. He said "well there's your problem, you probably have a bad thyroid and the excessive hormones in all the soy caused these lumps"...

Anyway long story short, I got my thyroid tested and bam, goiter and horrible thyroid levels. I've been on thyroid meds now for over almost 10 years and now have autoimmune thyroid too. Even on meds, the numbers on paper are good but the weight just won't come off.

So, I kind of get mad when I'm pooled with the genpop of overweight people, blaming an eating disorder. Especially by thin people who have never struggled with weight issues. I'm told by my potential surgeon that something about the surgery can boost a bad metabolism like mine, the process is still not fully understood, but it does happen when the nasty part of the stomach goes away. That is my only hope left, but I'm keeping it real and not expecting a fast loss (due to this bad thyroid of mine) so I won't be disappointed after the procedure (if I ever get that far).

Oh and PS: BEWARE OF SOY.

[lilbearzmom 584]

I took the screening and it said I was positive for an ED which does not surprise me in the slightest. I feel like I'm the opposite of an anorexic. Is there a classification for a ED-NOS? That's me. Even post-sleeve I am preoccupied by food. The difference is that I log and pre-plan almost obsessively. I think I might have some control issues...LOL I do see a therapist BTW.

[gamergirl 4,609]

I get annoyed when eating disorders are the major blame for obesity. Yes I'm sure some overweight folks are affected by some sort of eating disorder; but not all of us have eating disorders.

Actually I have to agree, I never thought I had an eating disorder. I don't binge, I don't hide my eating, I don't vomit, use laxatives, etc. My idea of a binge was TWO, count them TWO pieces of cake in ONE day! I felt bad when i ate THREE pieces of thin crust, half cheese, veggie pizza. Even pre-sleeve, people loved going out to eat with me because they got to eat half my food plus I don't drink so I was a cheap date even then.

I monitored calories carefully but because of a completely jacked-up metabolism, ruined with all kinds of starvation for years, inflammatory diseases that keep you from losing weight, an under-active thyroid, medications, genetics etc. nothing was working to lose weight.

So I agree, not all of us have eating disorders. We may well however have metabolic disorders.

I will also add that I DO have a very unhealthy relationship with food. I love tastes, smells, cooking for people etc. But I have an unhealthy relationship with food because while loving it, I also hate it. I think of it as "that which makes me fat", rather than "that which fuels me". It has been a source of great pleasure and companionship (when feeding others), but great sorrow and guilt (when my ass keeps getting bigger).

My colleagues this week said they'd have a tough time with the surgery because they would miss food. I don't miss food. I'm glad that b*tch is out of my life unless I need her to fuel me.

So ummm..yeah, that's a problem

[Jen35 283]

I agree that not everyone with weight issues has an eating disorder. But I think that many of us do and have never realized it. I took the screening and it says that I do have an eating disorder (I answered as I would have before surgery) and I have never binged, purged, etc. Disordered eating starts with how you view, think about and abuse food. An anorexic has a disorder even if they are eating normally because of the way they view food, obsess about calories, use food as a control mechanisim and have a distorted view of their body. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? This is VERY familiar to me - the only difference is my unhealthy relationship with food makes me want to put food INTO my mouth rather than starve myself. Society is much more accepting of food disorders on one end of the spectrum. The disorders on this end of the spectrum are usually ignored and instead we are told our weight issues are all our fault, we are lazy, etc. So many people out there aren't getting the help they need because they are ashamed and feel like they are alone, when they really do have a disorder. Thank you for posting this information - I think more people need to see it to determine if they have an eating disorder and can get the help they need. I know that without therapy, I would gain my weight back after surgery. I have to fix my disordered thinking so that I don't end up right back were I was.

[Old self 16]

Frankly, I believe everyone can benefit from therapy. Especially when someone is making life altering choices or such huge changes it can help immensely.

[LeanerLena5426 61]

I took the screening and it said I was positive for an ED which does not surprise me in the slightest. I feel like I'm the opposite of an anorexic. Is there a classification for a ED-NOS? That's me. Even post-sleeve I am preoccupied by food. The difference is that I log and pre-plan almost obsessively. I think I might have some control issues...LOL I do see a therapist BTW.

I think there is. I think that Binge Eating Disorder is considered ED-NOS, or at least I heard somewhere!

I think many people--probably without even realizing it--have a very unhealthy relationship with food. When you call it an Eating Disorder, or Food Addiction, people can get pretty upset (both those who struggle with their weight and those who do not--everyone's got an opinion).

Many people who have an unhealthy relationship with food aren't successful with WLS alone. They can either gain the weight back, or, they can become obsessive about weight loss and go to the other extreme. WLS in and of itself certainly won't cure those of us who fall into that category. We also need to address the mental aspects: Learning other ways to cope with stress, anxiety, depression; getting social and emotional support; exercising; accountability; getting professional help for any other mental health issues (e.g., depression), etc, etc, etc...

The last few days have been rough for me. I can eat whatever I want now (or that's how it feels), and I'm struggling with guilt. There's no logical reason why I should feel guilty about eating 900 calories in a day, but it's a lifetime of a weird relationship with food taking it's toll. When I feel guilty and/or ashamed, what do I do to comfort myself? Eat, of course! Well, that's what I've always done. Anyway, my point is that I'm glad someone started this conversation. It made me get on the phone, and call up a therapist! I know I need help with the emotional side of things.

[gamergirl 4,609]

The last few days have been rough for me. I can eat whatever I want now (or that's how it feels)' date=' and I'm struggling with guilt. There's no logical reason why I should feel guilty about eating 900 calories in a day, but it's a lifetime of a weird relationship with food taking it's toll. When I feel guilty and/or ashamed, what do I do to comfort myself? Eat, of course! Well, that's what I've always done. Anyway, my point is that I'm glad someone started this conversation. It made me get on the phone, and call up a therapist! I know I need help with the emotional side of things.[/quote']

Oh the guilt I have when I go over my 50 calories! I've been beating myself up since yesterday because yesterday I ate 750 calories instead of 700. I don't trust my appetite, and I don't trust my body. I feel like the slightest excess is going to derail me.

It was the same pre-sleeve and it hasn't changed yet. Something I most definitely need to work on.

[gomekast 559]

Thanks for posting this...I am a research nerd totally.

Plus, it really helped to calm my inner worry wort since I'm pre op.

[Racheepoo99 33]

Thanks so much for posting this. I have never thought I had an eating disorder. Except now I throw up a lot. Not by choice. It was interesting to fill it out though because I am bi polar and have depression and anxiety. Thank u. I appreciate it.