[Yoda]

I am not sure if I have an eating disorder or just bad habits relating to food.

I was at my ideal weight in 2000 and then went through a traumatic event and was prescribed a medicine and gained one hundred pounds over two years. We stopped the medicine and I ate about eight hundred calories per day using mostly Adkins shakes and bars and I lost fifty pounds in six months.

Eight years later I am two hundred twenty pounds and steady. No loss, no gain. I binge eat potato chips so I seldom buy them anymore because of that. Because my kitchen is cluttered/dirty I have few clean dishes to cook with so my diet is things that can be microwaved/oven cooked without dishes and most often fast food.

A big problem is I get little exercise. My upper body strength is decent because I carry fifty pound bags of horse feed often but that is all I do.
I used to hike/walk but I am now lazy and also have asthma problems so I do little.

I am prediabetic and take metformin and usually avoid sugar but I do have a passion for Jones sodas. I don't buy them often but usually on payday I will buy a few.

I would like to increase my exercise and get back to my ideal weight.

Do I belong in this forum?

[*freak*]

I don't know if any of us here can diagnose you... But I'd say that if your eating habits interfere with your ability to function or make you very worried/upset, it is possible you have an ED. You mentioned binging on potato chips... How often do you do that? Does it happen with other food as well?

My advice is simple: if you are concerned about developing an ED go to your doctor. It is also possible that the meds you took or the one you're still taking may have altered your metabolism and this is another reason to talk to your doctor.

Hope this helps... Take care

[Christina86]

((((((((((Yoda))))))))))))) Do YOU think you belong in this forum?

Bingeing on anything is a sign of disordered eating, but it doesn't have to be called an "eating disorder" or fulfil certain criteria. If you think posting here will be helpful for you, then you belong here. If you want to learn more about yourself and how to take care of yourself and try to get more healthy eating habits, then this is the forum for you.

We don't turn people away.

Jones sodas are the ones you can buy from Starbucks, right? I've had them once or twice, not exactly my vice. I tend to binge on food, and on top of the "being a university student" thing and without a lot of money - my diet isn't great. Oh. And I hate exercise. And cooking. And I'm disabled.

It's hard to lose weight.

Have you talked to your doctor about perhaps getting a referral to a dietician? Or looked into getting a physiotherapist? Or someone to clean your place so you can't use dirty dishes as an excuse to not cook "real" food?

Whatever you do, do SMALL changes. Not major ones, then you're likely to get discouraged and quit.

Add more water to your diet. Try for an additional 2-3 glasses per day, and do that for a month. Cleans out your system as well, which is always good.

If that's not your thing, perhaps joining an aquatics program? Water relieves stress on joints/muscles, and it's usually more fun then other forms of exercise. Oh, and you can be "lazy" and sit in a hottub or the sauna afterwards as well. Good for your body, sweating out toxins and giving your muscles a massage.

Otherwise, slowly try to change your diet. Nothing major. Try snacks first, or breakfast, or lunch changes - but only one meal at a time, and keep that for a month and when the month is done, move onto something else WHILE MAINTAINING what you've done to change your diet/behaviour up until that point.

Hope that helps.

[Porcelain_doll_2004]

It is always possible. The best thing that anyone can tell you is to reach out and talk to your Dr. If you are worried that you may have an Eating Disorder then Please talk to someone in real life.

I am glad that you posted here, and should continue at least to have some support.

You are always welcome to my chats. Sunday and Monday at 9 PM EST.

But to know if you have an ED or not the best thing to do it to talk to your DR. THey will know, because EDs look different for everyone.

Doll