So is it an eating disorder if I just don’t care or pay attention to how much I eat? I was talking to my friend earlier and I realized that I had only eaten a piece of fried chicken and a corn dog in the last 48 hours. I’m not trying to starve myself or anything as I’m already underweight and comfortable in my weight, I just don’t know if it’s an eating disorder.
HELP YOURSELF:
- Thanks for reaching out to the TeenCentral community for feedback. It’s good that you are taking steps to look into your eating habits as it’s such an important part of your overall health. We like that you are comfortable in yourself and brave enough to put this story out there. Body image can be difficult to talk about. Good job!
- We do have some great resources here that can assist you in understanding your eating habits and impact on your health. Under the LEARN tab there’s a section on Eating Disorders that could help you. If you are looking to make any adjustments to your eating habits, we have a guide to nutrition labels under our TOOLS tab. You also could ask your doctor about this. Sometimes information you find online may not answer the questions that relate to your specific health situations, so talking to your doctor who knows your health history can be helpful.
- Even though we are a great source of help and information, it’s always recommended to speak to someone directly in your own life also. A trusted adult such as a parent or guardian could have good insight and be another source of feedback. This could feel kind of weird at first but sometimes talking face to face to someone can really help.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE:
- This is an important question to answer – so, keep working on it. Paying some level of attention to your food intake is really beneficial to your overall health. It’s not just a question of eating disorders but how your diet can affect all aspects of your life. Maybe you could try paying some extra attention to what you eat, even if just for a short time by journaling or listing your meals. This way you can ensure you at least are eating a healthy minimum daily. There’s a great app called Recovery Record which has positive messages, reminders to eat meals and snacks and helps you journal meals. If you are working with a therapist, your therapist can be linked to the app and see how you are doing on a daily basis. It’s great for accountability.
- It’s great that you are comfortable in your weight (as long as it is healthy for you) and trying to be aware of your diet. Thoughts of having a potential eating disorder could cause some extra anxiety depending on how they are managed. We encourage you to keep paying attention to any thoughts and feelings related to you working through this concern. On our HELP tab there are hotlines about eating disorders that could give you experts to talk to if you are interested.
National Eating Disorders Helpline
Available Mon.-Thurs. 9:00am – 9:00pm, Fri. from 9:00am – 5:00pm (EST)
Support, resources and treatment options for people struggling with eating disorders
Hotline 1-800-931-2237
- Don’t forget about other aspects of your health. It’s always a great idea to make sure you take at least 10 minutes a day to do something positive that makes you feel happy.
