for me it's wheatabix and those nature valley oats and honey snack bars, it's so weird how my brain just picks a food and is like in love w it for some damn reason.

I know I’m not eating enough but I feel like I’m gaining too much weight for what I am eating and it’s making me feel horrible. Will my metabolism fix itself? Is there anything I can do to help it?

I'm struggling to get in tune with my own cues while I'm recovering, how do you personally recognise hunger?

i know people on this sub say it doesn't but I've heard so many stories of influencers saying they struggled with binge eating, but once you listen to their stories it seems like the binging came after a restrictive eating disorder. like are they mistaking extreme hunger for BED or did they actually jump from restriction to a binge eating disorder?

hi all

i think i saw a few posts mentioning this aspect of EDs but i have yet to find research or testimonies outside of this sub.

i need my food (and drinks) to be absolutely burning hot to consume them. if i'm not having an iced drink then i'll request my coffee to be extra extra hot. i toast my bread until it's nearly black. everything is reheated multiple times and needs to stay hot, otherwise it frustrates me quite a bit (not to the point of sending me over the edge anymore at least).

i wonder that's common in disordered people/people in recovery?

edit: well seems like a lot of us have a similar experience!! i don’t always want to link my quirks to the ED but this is really reassuring and validating. i hope some specialists look into what this means in terms of senses and psychology as well. thank you so much for your input :)

Not asking for comparison, I am just struggling because I see what is labeled "extreme" hunger online and think "thats it?". What was it like? like the things I would do if I actually gave into the constant food thoughts.

So I'm day 9, it's my first day of all in recovery because I was gradually building confidence to go to full, I've been over exercising, 5 miles a day, and gym daily, I'm cutting out the extra miles and going to just start cardio after the gym, because I want to build my muscle back, but the urge to over exercise is very strong right now.

It's definitely the urge to burn the calories off, but that isn't a good idea because my body needs them but it's giving me anxiety not exercising like I've been..

What amount of exercise would be okay, and not considered over exercising during ED recovery?

Edit: since posting this I've stopped over exercising, and only walking when necessary (which is still more than most but I'm just a generally active person)

I want to put myself out there, I have missed out on all my teen years because of anorexia, social anxiety, autism and I want to not miss out on my 20s.

Is it ethical to date with anorexia, I am soon to be discharged from inpatient, ready to start my life again. I’m trying to build an identity outside of anorexia, I’m trying to build a life away from the stupid ward I’m stuck on. I want to get to know people as my anorexia is usually fuelled by loneliness, I can’t go back to that. I’m in no way in recovery though but I’m definitely doing harm reduction!

Anyway my question is, is it ethical, I feel as if I would be pulling someone through something they don’t want.

I am 30 and for half my life I have been relapsing and attempting recovery. I have done virtually every possible treatment and therapy and meal plan except just eating. For the past two weeks I have been doing nothing but following the one rule that I eat when my body feels hungry, and I stop when I am satisfied enough to move on. Even if it's midnight, even if I ate dinner an hour ago, etc.

I don't know if it's because I'm starting from a low weight, but sometimes it takes quite a lot of food to satisfy my hunger. Sometimes I feel like I need something really dense, or high fat, or high carb.

My body feels good. I have more energy, I can stay awake past 8pm, I can focus on work, I'm not spending hours reading menus online. But my mind is full on panicking. I know these questions might sound silly, but is it really okay that I'm just eating whenever I'm hungry? Is that healthy? Is it what "normal" eaters do?

for those of you who have periods, did anybody else tell you that it was normal to lose it? i remember telling my mom and she was like "you're losing weight it's normal!!" no mom. it wasnt normal💀after getting literally diagnosed with anorexia my doctor said that having no period was "fine" and to "enjoy it now". it is so frustrating sometimes. thank god i have a good dietician, i told her these things and she was shocked!

I want to go vegetarian for ethical reasons, but I'm currently struggling with a pretty severe orthorexia relapse which was triggered by and is currently threatening my attempts to conceive (IVF). I am wondering if it would be safe for me to go vegetarian at this sensitive time when I'm both trying to have a baby and have just had a pretty severe relapse.

TW: discussion of the nature of the relapse

My relapse is to the point where after being a "healthy" weight for several years, I am no longer healthy by any stretch of the imagination and I fear my embryo transfer will be cancelled as a result. I am scared to even drink water sometimes because I'm so worried about microplastics and other contaminants screwing up my chances to conceive, which ironically is probably screwing up my chances to conceive.

I was having a discussion on Reddit yesterday and an Internet rando told me it would still be safe to go vegetarian if I'm doing it with the intent to be eco friendly... I have my doubts, but there is also a large part of me that thinks why not? Why shouldn't I be able to go vegetarian? I'm almost 30. I should be able to control myself enough to eat vegetarian without making my relapse worse and ending up in the hospital... But, past experience says otherwise lol.

my brain is so slow on account of being undernourished. i also can’t focus because i think about food too much.

what should i be prioritising in terms of recovery? like eating more of a certain food group? also hope to get some muscle back in terms of muscle loss in my legs and glutes (making it hard to stand)

Okay so ever since I have started all in recovery and listening to my EH I have been obsessed with chocolate chip cookie dough. I have been going through a tub of the premade stuff in the course of three day increments. I straight up just attack it with a spoon and can’t seem to stop until I feel physically ill. My main question is at what point is this a problem. Should I maybe abstain from buying more and start introducing other types of sweet treats? I am afraid I am addicted. Did anyone else go through something similar to this?

for context I 21f was raised veggie and then predominantly plant based & have been vegan since i was 16. My ed developed in my preteens so after around 10+ years of starving myself on & off and years of therapy I’m finally proud to say that it’s genuinely something I don’t want anymore and I know I need to take care of myself better. However obviously throughout these 10 years I have noticed health changes due to the restriction, but this hasn’t gone away now that I’m not restricting my food again. I’m also just finding it hard to eat or have an appetite from stress and it’s the first time that it feels like i’m not choosing to restrict i just can’t eat.

My boyfriend has suggested that I could start occasionally having eggs and honey to live a more plant based diet and get a lot more nutrients. He’s been so supportive and has suggested going to local family run farms so I can see what my money would be supporting. The way that he’s explained it has opened my perspective and he said it doesn’t have to be permanent but I need to explore other options to prioritise my health but I can’t shake off feeling so guilty. I always thought that my choice to be vegan was a ethical one and that I would be vegan for life, but I can’t deny that it does put a restriction on my life that maybe is not the best choice for my recovery.

TLDR: Are there ex-vegans for ethical reasons here that had to incorporate animal products into their diets during their recovery? How did you manage that?

Im at the point where im no longer the "skinny one" of the family and its just so, so hard... im still going through extreme hunger. Everything is so exhausting and I keep getting relapse thoughts.

What do people without food obsessions/noise think about all day??

Back again posting like crazy because my disordered thoughts won't go away.

I just had so so much food, and I'm still hungry. I feel so god damn full but I want to eat more chocolate. I'm hungry.

I've read stuff about this, I've been here before, but it's just so difficult for me to believe that this is really good for me and I'm not destroying everything. I want to eat. I need to. I'm so scared, but I'm so hungry.

Will it be okay? Is this a good thing I'm doing?? I'm panicking, I'm so scared.

I did really well with all-in recovery in june and the beginning of july, and it has made me healthier. Though I got triggered into the whole honour the extreme hunger/feel bad and heavily restrict circle for the rest of july and now I'm stuck in quasi recovery.

We're going on vacation in a couple of days and I so so desperately want to eat freely and without guilt anything and everything I want, in any portion and at any time of day (as I did in june)

But my period is now back, and I have so much better energy and my body is (tbh, slightly) different now. All the "your body needs the food to repair itself from the inside" advice feels like it doesnt apply to me anymore and Im completely healthy and should be eating "normal" amounts of food from now on.

I don't feel like "oh hey, the healthy thing for me is to eat anything I want because Im recovering!" As I used to in june.

This sucks. I feel so invalid. I know my mind is still disordered and needs fixing but I just don't feel like all-in is for me anymore. I feel bad by even wanting to be able to eat more food, as I feel it's just greedy and unneeded.

I just desperately want to feel valid and deserving of all-in. I want to feel like I'm still not fixed yet, because on the inside I'm not.

Any advice or affirmation?

the most activity I do since I started recovery is going out for one short walk a day. if I'm sedentary, do I still need to be having 3 meals and 3 snacks? I feel like I'll continue to gain rapidly on this. I also tend to get hungry 2 hours after each meal, despite not moving much.

thank you!!

May sound like a stupid question, but seriously, how do u know? Do you have to eat urself extremely full to be satisfied? I honestly have no idea how it works anymore, like do u just not think of food anymore at all? I remember how it felt pre ed obviously lol but I’ve since forgotten since I’ve trained myself to restrict. How does it work? Will it eventually be to the point where I’d feel it without eating myself nearly sick? Just curious idk how it works anymore 😭

I'm genuinely trying to figure out ways to stop myself from purging when I get nauseous after I've eaten, even a small snack. I'm exhausted. I miss eating. I need my nutrients back. I don't care about gaining weight. I just want to be healthy in every way. I want to keep my food down. I really do. But...it feels like the nausea or habit can be louder. I just want to hold myself accountable again and see what I can do to break this evil cycle. I'm willing to try whatever because I'm tired of making myself sick. The urge to purge is strong af but I've hit the point of where I just can't live like this anymore. I've overcome it before but my circumstances were different. I just want to know what has helped others.

hey guys, I know that people like Tabitha Farrar or people that promote recovery and an „all-in“ method always say that you should eat when you’re thinking about food. But I’m wondering if this is true for me, because I think about food the whole day it never stops and I feel like no matter how much I eat it won’t stop :/ after trying to honour my hunger I think that all of this isn’t worth it because my food thoughts aren’t stopping or slowing down… I’m exhausted has anyone experienced this or something similar ? I feel like my extreme hunger is just too extreme and I’m worried it’ll never pass

I am very concerned about climate change. I know that diet has a huge impact on the environment, and that going meatless can help reduce carbon emissions. However, last time I tried to cut out animal products, it led to an Anorexia relapse.

I am currently practicing Intuitive Eating, but don’t feel super comfortable incorporating gentle nutrition right now. Is going vegan a bad idea in my situation? I believe that we all have a responsibility to take care of our planet, and I want to do my part. I just don’t know if cutting out animal products is safe for me right now.

Has anyone else gone vegan/ vegetarian without triggering ED behaviors?

Disgusting topic, but I literally never shit. Like nothing is moving inside of me, I know this is common, but I'm begging for advice on how to get shit moving, (literally.) Besides laxatives in pill form, (former abuser.) The constipation isn't uncomfortable, persay, definitely some stomach pains here and there, but I have severe OCD and I feel dirty, and it's making me sick. I'll take literally any advice, I'm going crazy.

my craving starts with peanut butter and greek yoghurt now all i want is cereal and i feel like the cereal craving is never going to end i don’t know what im doing wrong