~ Recovering "Anorexic"

[SilverShinku]

The tittle might startle a little, if it does let me first apologize, I don't exactly mean anorexic. But, you see. Ever since 5th grade, I've skipped meals.

Basically in these last 5-7 years. I've mostly eaten only dinner. Unless, on the off chance that I was very hungry. Or there was some event which recommended me to eat more.

Last year was when I started my recovery. I actually tried to eat when I was hungry. It would be small things to be suffice. But, I've recoiled some times.

In reality, my skipping meals is both because of financial reasons and because of choice. I got so used to doing it in my younger childhood years that I just don't think about it anymore. But, you know. The stomach doesn't know the difference between those two. blaugh

Anyways, Shink has another question for you lovely people. heart
I was wondering what eating habits you guys would suggest. I want to get healthy, because I know that if you don't have food your stomach starts to eat away at itself, or at muscle. But, I don't want to eat so much that I'm becoming of a bigger size than I already am. sweatdrop  

[BobbySoxer01]

Well kudos for admitting your porlbem, it may be hard but that's the first step in recovery. I can't say I know what your going through ( I eat way too much sweatdrop ) but look online for sources, even if you aren't truly anorexic their can still be good material out there for you. You aren't alone in this, I reccomend you get in the habbit of eating, always eat breakfast it's extremely important and don't scrimp on eating healthy meals, your body needs food, and crash dieting isn't a healthy way to lose weight. It may be hard but I'm sure you can break this habbit by maing wise food choices. best of luck and if you ever need someone to talk to go ahead and send me a PM  

[Divash]

I've posted Weight Watchers' "Good Health Guidelines" in the Weight Watchers Discussion thread. I suggest reading those; they've got the other mods' seal of approval, and I've lost 60 pounds in 11 months by following those guidelines.  

[dangerousfish]

I'm a proponent of eating small frequent meals. I've seen this rec'd by many trainers and weight lifters. My uncle's trainer friend (who trains Johnny Depp, when he's in town<3) believes in the 3 hour diet, were you eat every three hours no matter what it is - to prevent sugar drops, I guess. I don't exactly follow the 3 hour rule but I do eat throughout the day.I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not (which is before I'm "full"), if it's a couple bites that's cool and if it's a whole plate or more of foods that's cool too.

Other people say you should eat three meals and two snacks a day, I'm told this is Bob Greene's approach (Oprah's trainer).

If you do start eating when you're hungry and listening to your body you'll find out what works for you. I actually do turn inwards and ask my body what it wants, we have conversations. Those conversations usually lead to good healthy foods and every once in a while it wants ice cream or something.

And now for some background stuffs about how many calories you need to maintain and live and lose.

Good news! Eating makes your body shed fat (you've already mentioned the "eat muscle bad" thing so yay). When you eat too little your body says, "ho, no! famine! Hold on to precious life-sustaining fat at all costs!" so your body isn't inclined to give up as much fat as it would if you gave it enough nutrients and calories to do all it stuff and then you workout and burn calories and you also cut a few hundred calories from your diet and you gradually will lose. Of course the scale pretty much sucks as a way to tell how "fat" you are and keeping a record of how many inches around your body parts are will help keep things in prespective. Anyway, if you lose healthily that weight should be mostly fat.

So, how many calories to do you need just to stay alive? That's your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and to that you add any activity you do such as sitting up in bed! xd Or typing, walking to work or class, cooking, reading, standing, sleeping - all that good stuff. Now you have your daily metabolic rate and of course it changes everyday and of course the online calculators aren't going to be 100% but they're just a guide. Sedentary is being mostly bed bound, lightly active would be most students and office people, moderately active would be people in more of a standing/moving around job place. If I was doing barn work that day it would most likely bump me up to moderately active, very active would be people training for a sport or farming and the like, extremely active would be like highly physical worker people like lumberjacks or construction workers.

Once upon a time I found a calculator that would let you break up your day into all the different activities, with a list of what counted as what but alas, I can't find that again. crying So we just guesstimate.

Now you have your BMR + daily life acitivity and we want to lose, not maintain our weight. One pound of fat is 3500 calories and 500 calories would equal that over 7 days. If we want to lose a healthy 1-2 pounds a week everyday we cut out half those calories, 250-500 calories, of food and we want to burn the other half of those calories, 250-500, through exercise.

From a calorie in calorie out standpoint as long as you're eating to lose you will lose but what you're putting into your body affects what is getting burnt fat or muscle? Muscle is much more tasty to eat than lumpy fat (geez, no one wants itXD) and if your body doesn't have adequate protein intake and the vitamins and minerals your body needs it will take them from your muscles, like you said.

The RDA for protein is 50 grams, I believe, so aim for that at first if you aren't already (if you start doing weight lifting and increased exercise you want to aim higher than that, to feed teh muscles), another good goal is your fiber intake which I believe is at rec'd at 25 grams (not sure). Keeping saturated fat to 10% of less of your fat intake (generally around 30% of your total calorie intake) is another good goal. Eating good fats in flax seed oil, olive oil, and others are something we want in our diet.

Okay. Heh, sorry for the longness. Rock on.  

[dangerousfish]

Oh yeah. My dad follows the "only eat dinner diet" *tsk* and while it is great for maintaining I do think eventually it leads to after dinner snacking and then some extra poundage and then that is hard to lose. He did start exercising for cardiovascular health and cut out all the caffiene he drank during the day, which is awesome. Now if only to fix the food. sweatdrop

Eat breakfast
Drink water
Listen to your body
: D  

[Captain Cuddles]

dangerousfish

Oh yeah. My dad follows the "only eat dinner diet" *tsk* and while it is great for maintaining I do think eventually it leads to after dinner snacking and then some extra poundage and then that is hard to lose. He did start exercising for cardiovascular health and cut out all the caffiene he drank during the day, which is awesome. Now if only to fix the food. sweatdrop

Eat breakfast
Drink water
Listen to your body
: D

best advice you can get  

[Divash]

I highly recommend following the Good Health Guidelines that Weight Watchers has established. I've posted those in my Weight Watchers Discussion thread in this guild. If you spread your meals out throughout the day, you'll keep your metabolism working, instead of making it shut down so that it can save up nutrition (in fat cells!) for the famine it thinks it's undergoing.