is this an eating disorder
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| Mon, 06-21-2004 - 2:47pm |
ok i'm a real health nut and i love fitness. I'm 18, 5'2 and weigh 100 lbs. I think i had and eating problem a year ago b/c i first of all lost weight and stopped having periods but then 6 months after controlling my problem i got it back again. But i haven't had once in a few months. I still get pimples so i know i have hormone activity going on. I eat bout 5 times a day but in that small meal pattern, and never ever skip breakfast(i have a cinn. raisin bagel and half grapefruit usually). I have meat twice a day and usually a whey supplement. I have a salad at least once a day b/c that's the only way i get my veggies in and i have fruits, almonds, and eggwhites throughout the day. I'm not sure how much calorie intake i have a day but i know it's over 1300. I try to exercise (wieght training; no cardio cause i don't wanna lose weight) at least 4-5 times a week. I feel the healiest i've ever been and i have muscle definition. I've been looking though at the healthy weight charts and it tells me i'm underweight but i also have a small frame. My pulse is 60/min.(i've heard that's the avg.) and i can't remember the last time i got sick(like a cough or cold). So i pretty much think im in good health except for the fact i haven't ahd my period in awhile and that i feel bloated often. Could someone give me an opinion??

Wow, that's frustrating! It sounds like you're in great shape and taking good care of yourself, yet you're not having a menstrual period. There are a lot of factors that play into hormones. Is your weight a lot lower than it was when you used to have periods? Could your body fat % be too low? Are you stressed a lot of the time? You may need to add more good fats to your diet (fish, fish oil, avocado, flax, etc.). Your calories could be too low for your activity level and individual metabolism. I want to advise that you talk to a doctor, but at the same time I'm worried s/he will recommend birth control pills. I don't believe BC is good for the body and I've had bad experiences with it. I have had some success using natural progesterone prescribed by my naturopathic nutritionist (I too have problems w/ amenhorrea!), although my period seems to have disappeared again. Anyway, just be cautious with the BC route and don't settle for the first one you try.
As for the bloating, do you notice any pattern with it? Specific foods, times, or situations? I didn't know I had problems with dairy and wheat (and other grains) until about a year ago when I stopped eating them and got some relief. Those are hard ones to avoid, but you might experiment to see if you feel better when you don't have dairy and/or wheat. I take a lot of supplements to help my digestion now, and I also find that eating plain yogurt helps me.
Keep us posted on how things are going and what you find out.
Take care,
Starfish :)
Thanx for replying. I used to be around 115 lbs. but at the same time I didn't eat any veegies what-so-ever, alot of junk food and no exercise. Then I realized that I wanted to get into shape. My dad is a marathon and triathlete so he helped me get into nutrition. At first though I took my diet into my own hands and it got out of control. I'm pretty sure I was on the anorexic route then i realized what was up! I recently joined Bally's so i'd have somewhere to work out and a trainer took my body-fat % and she said it was healthy; it was 11%. And she also didn't have any concern with my weight except that any much lower it wouldn't be healthy and I totally understood that. So now I eat fish(usually salmon) about three times a week, alot of chicken, turkey, egg-whites, almonds, yogurt, milk, spinach, lettuce, bagels, grapefruits, strawberries, oranges, apples, bananas, DARK CHOCOLATE:)(i hear it's a good antioxidant and well i just love it anyways haha) low-carb tortilla wraps, whey protien, rice cakes. I think i'm on the right track food-wise except i could incorporate more veggies(couldn't we all though). Yeah back to the bloating...during school I'd bring my food so I could eat in class and try to avoid the stomach grumbles haha though we all know sometimes that isn't avoidable. Now that im out of school I have control over what times I eat so I try not to allow my stomach to do that. But I've had what I think is constipation twice in the last 3 months and I took a laxative for that only once b/c I've heard of how it can get addicting and like i said earlier i don't want to lose weight; if i did i must be crazy. Now im just waiting it out and my mom jsut told me she scheduled me for my first "special docotor" visit. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh scared here(don't like the idea of someone poking around in my u know where). So yeah im problably going to get some feedbackfrom her. My dad says he has the same probelem with gas and constipation and he's also a health nut like me but alot more athletic so it makes me feel better that im not the only one ya know. Anyways u said u have some problems with your period also...may i ask y that is and how u've delt with it??
I'm glad you're still around. Sometimes I post replies to "newbies" and they never come back to tell us how they are or what happened... I like to know how things turn out or at least what someone is thinking!
Anyway, I really think 11% is way too low for menstruation. I've read and heard from numerous doctors, books, etc. that a healthy body fat percentage for women is at least 20%. Here are two links:
http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.html-command=TodayQA-pt=Question-questionId=53794
http://www.shapeup.org/bodylab/basics/know3.asp
Your diet looks really good to me, except that it's pretty low in fat. I was amazed by how much better I felt when I started adding fat into my diet (in the form of olive oil, oily fish, and nuts). You could have other nutritional deficiencies that are affecting your hormone balance. Zinc deficiency is a really common and significant problem among women with eating disorders. I've read about doctors who have seen a much greater success/recovery rate among ED patients with zinc supplementation. IMHO, I don't have a lot of faith in the nutrition info you get at a typical gym. If you have a good doctor, you might ask for a referral to a reputable dietitian. There may be other factors at work in your case, and hopefully the gyno will address that. About the exam... it's really not so bad! At least it's over quickly.
Even though your dad is really fit and healthy, it's not good that he has GI symptoms! Stomach issues are frequently hereditary. My little brother has the same sort of IBS as I do, and my mom has some issues as well. That's another thing to bring up with your doctor and/or a dietitian.
I've had problems with my period since I was about 14 and a pretty serious competitive swimmer. I was thin to begin with, and I developed anorexia and later a bulimia/anorexia combination. I've struggled since then and haven't had a normal period pretty much ever. I had a bone scan a year and a half ago and learned I had early osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis), which is a pretty big risk not just for anorexics but for any woman who is not having periods and/ or is at a weight too low for her. Because of my ED history, my mom has become really well-read on the subject of hormones, and was freaking out about my amenhorrea (among other things...) because hormones are so important for overall health and mental function. So she took me to a doctor who put me on birth control a year and a half ago, which did bring back periods but had no other good effects and a lot of bad ones. My periods were heavy and painful, my breasts swelled and hurt constantly, I retained water, I became more depressed/anxious than I was to begin with, I got headaches all the time, I was insomniac, I ran a low fever for a month straight... yada yada yada.
After trying several brands and methods of BC, I refused to take any more. At the same time I contacted the nutritionist that the CL of this board was raving about. He lives halfway across the country from me, so we talk over the phone. He has been phenomenal, although I still struggle. He put me on natural progesterone because my blood tests and symptoms indicated estrogen dominance (the opposite of what the BC doctor had said... she thought my estrogen was too low). In January, I had the most *normal* period of my life. It lasted a week, the flow was not too heavy nor too skimpy, I hardly even felt bloated, NO cramps... and I actually felt fantastic for the first couple of days (and I mean fantastic... my body felt good, my good hormones were soaring, and I just felt wonderful). A month later, right on schedule, I had another one that was the same way. However, the following month was a whammy-- school stress, I got a really nasty flu, and I was losing weight again. Somehow, I still haven't gotten it back despite the progesterone. My nutritionist and I are working on it.
Anyway, sorry that was so long. I hope you'll keep investigating and check back with us! I'll be praying for you, esp. that your exam goes well.
:) Starfish
So your a swimmer huh.....that's awesome! My sis is on our community swim team but I can't really say she's serious about it....she would rather sleep haha. I'm also thinking about swimming b/c I've heard it's like the best workout you can do and besides it's SUMMER! So despite all of your problems with osteroperosis have you felt your in pretty good health since you've been controlling your disorder? It's not surprising that you being a swimmer you had to go through the pressure of being thin... but atleast you noticed it and did something about it. I'm glad I did too otherwise I would have had alot of problems. Now i'm just known as the health freak hahah! But I love my chocolate...no one can take that from me! So I'm confused about this whole body fat percentage thing....... I've been doing the calculators that are on the internet and they ask for your waist, hip, wrist, and forearm measurements as well as weight and height. I've been getting results ranging from 15 to 20% and well I don't know whether to believe it or not. Are those caculators pretty accurate or not?
Hi Jaden and welcome to the board. It sounds like you are taking great care of yourself but I agree with Starfish that 11% seems very low. I would definitely check into that further.
Have you ever checked to see if your hydrochloric acid is too low? For almost 2 years now I would feel miserable by lunch time - bloated to the point of looking pregnant, water retention, lower back aches, and fatigue. This would start after breakfast and get worse and by dinner time all I wanted to do was go to bed. One doctor finally suggested I try supplementing with Betaine Hydrochloric Acid (typically called HCL). His instructions were to take one with the first meal, increase by two the next meal and keep doing that until my symptoms go away, I get a burning sensation, or I get up to ten. Well, I am taking about 5 to 7 per meal, dpending on teh size of my meal, and I feel GREAT. For the first time in many, many months I have evergy, I don't have pain, and my body is the same size in the evening as it is when i get up. Anyway, it may not be what you are dealing with at all, but it's a cheap and easy thing to try. Doctors can also check your acidity level to see if it's too low, but most doctors think we have too much stomach acid. Somebody recommended the book 'Why Stomach Acid is Good for You' by Dr. Jonathan Wright. I haven't started reading it yet so I can't tell you how it is, but if you try the HCL and it works for you, then you might want to check into the book as well.
I hope you get it all resolved.
Love & hugs, Kristina
The opinions I have expressed here are from my own experience and are not intended as medical advice or to take the place of your own physician's advice.
Love & hugs, Kristina