pidgeypony Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Has anybody here kept a food diary during any part of an ED? If so, why did you keep one? What did you learn from it, did you pick up pointers to help you stay with your ED, or maybe something that halped/is helping you overcome your ED. I started keeping a food diary two weeks ago, not sure why to be honest, but it has quite shocked me. I can see it working in two ways, it could either make a sufferer think "oh my god, do I really eat/drink that much/that many calories, I must cut back" or possibly it could make someone realise how little they are consuming, that maybe what they eat/drink could be dangerous to their health, kidneys for example. Would this help some overcome their ED, or would they not worry about that side of things. Mental Health problems are so complex, and ED's seem to be becoming more complex all the time, no longer just Bulimia or anorexia. Please share your thoughts and experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrippleAndStarfish Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I've kept a food diary at several points both when i was in the throes of my ED, and also through recovery. for me, it helps to see it all written down and compare it to a mood diary which i keep too, and see what is likely to make me eat more/less, times of day i'm more likely to binge, etc. It helps me to see myself approaching my (recovery) goal weights and feel a sense of acheivement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdagger82 Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I have kept a food and weight diary on and off foe the past 2 years although I have not been formally diagnosed with an eating disorder. I do it as a form of control, if the rest of my life is falling aprat the one thing I can control is what I put into my body. Sometimes it is good as I don't have a hunger mechanism so it reminds me to eat but of the negative I cna look at it think Oh My God have I really eaten that much or isn't it great I only had a banana today etc. So it can work both ways. As I said I have not been formally diagnosed with an ED as i still have my periods and I don't fit into the Anorexia or the Bulimia catagories in the DSM-TR-IV, but my Dr is concerned as I do not have a hunger mechanism and I don't like to eat and feel very guilty if I do eat. I have to weigh myself every morning and even the slightest increase can make me feel like shite. I have been taking both diet pills and laxatives for a while but have told no-one in my life this. They think that they are suppliments to counter the side effects of hte medication I am on. Sorry Rambled on there and hijaked the thread BD xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidgeypony Posted May 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Go ahead balkdagger, it may help you to offload anonymously. Very interesting replies actually. I have kept a weight diary for 18 months, but try to rstrict myself to a once weekly weigh-in. If I lose weight, I too feel like shite and get really (more) depressed and refuse to eat for a day or two. I rarely if ever feel hungry, but go into binges every so often. I know what and when this is likely to happen already. Wondering if I should tell my GP I have kept a diary and show him. I am in such a confused state right now. I seem to know what is right and what I should do, but just can't, because of some inner 'thing' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdagger82 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I know exacty how you feel Dunkey. A friend took me out to dinner the other night and I ate about half my meal slowly but surely but then felt that I shouldn't eat the next day as this would counter what i had eaten the night before. I think you should tell your GP that you do this as it may help them help you. I wish I knew what that inner "thing" was as well so that I could switch it off. Maybe then I could get people to understand what the hell is happening with me. I hope your feeling ok today BD xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidgeypony Posted May 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 This is where the problem comes, as I mentioned somewhere before ED treatment and understanding seems not to exist in Cornwall. It's fine a GP not being much good, but there seems to be nowhere to refer people. I have already said what I am like with my eating, but he really didn't get it. I will explain again tomorrow, see what he says. Although I am in the BMI Healthy range, as we all know, BMI ranges are a very basic guide. My body is nothing but a boney object covered with masses of excess skin (I was very obese 18 months ago). My BMI says I am fine, but my body says otherwise. I now that, but can't accept it, due to the ED mental health blockage 'thing' (Yeah, that 'thing' again!) Despite the tablets I have been prescribed being one frequently used to encourage weight gain, in the 4 weeks I have been on them, my skinny frame has still managed to lose 11 lbs -plus one suicide attempt.Can't even get that right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdagger82 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 :bigarmhug[1]: again Dunky there does seem to be this blockage in the health service no matter where you are that if you are not anorexic or bulimic in the traditionals sense then you must not have a "Proper" ED. I was given some homeopathic tablets to take to encourage my appitite which made me feel sick so obviously did not eat and lost more weight. It didn't help that the other tablets i was on gave me night terrors. I am also still in the healthy range for my BMI, just, but on other scales I am seriously underweight for my height. I have never been obese, at my largest I was a size 16, but I feel obese and gross. That "Thing" is something that anyone with an ED or a Mental Health Disorder has and that is what makes it so hard to explain to someone what is happening to you. I hope it goes better at the Dr tomorrow BD xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon. Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I've been encouraged to keep food diaries by dieticians, psychologists, counsellors etc. for years, but have never managed to do so without it causing me a lot of distress - in addition, that is, to it impacting negatively on my eating (anorexia). Not only do I find it quite horrifying to have it written down and so made more permanent it a way, but that food becomes even more of a question of numbers, which can always be reduced, while all I could see were where a few more and then a few more calories could be shaved off or simply cut out. What is worst for me though, is the idea that someone else will then see and apraise it. This really magnifies all the questions of shame, guilt, anger etc. but then I get into a state as to what I can bear them to see, what it should be so I look like I'm being 'good', let alone what I've actually eaten and how I feel about it. In fact, I find that having to acknowledge what I'm thinking and feeling about the food I've eaten, is simply too much for me and makes it all worse. The only way I seem to manage food is by ignoring all that stuff as much as I possibly can, and doing my very best to find a distraction. Not the healthiest approach, I know, but so far it's the best I've been able to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidgeypony Posted May 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I do tend to agree anon. the more I see of what I have eaten, the more shocked at how many calories, and so how can I cut back more. It is so strange how 'we' are able to see the truth yet not see it. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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