Eating Disorder Support Thread: "Take Action" (part 3)

[letsallmakeit]

btw something i’m curious. when people say low bf. should abs be showing?

[AdamWW]

btw something i’m curious. when people say low bf. should abs be showing?

Stop worrying about it.

[Strawng]

btw something i’m curious. when people say low bf. should abs be showing?

Not necessarily, no. At 153 lbs and your height, your abs are likely not muscular enough to really "pop" out. My abs didn't really start to pop until I started a solid bulk tbh. I had less of a "six pack" at my lowest weight. That's neither here nor there though. Also, fwiw, my mom has chronic anorexia & her cortisol was through the roof on her bloodwork for a long time. She went to several doctors and no one could find out the cause. She recently found a very skilled doctor who told her to quit doing her intense exercise sessions 3x per week and switch to once. Lo and behold, she seems far more "present" when I talk to her and her cortisol is now normal. Your body is possibly having a very extreme stress response to your workouts given your concurrent body weight. As you get more social and relax more (video games may just be a great relaxation tool), details like this will worry you less. You're in a very hard position with such little social support, but it will come in time!

[letsallmakeit]

Stop worrying about it.

true this.

[letsallmakeit]

Not necessarily, no. At 153 lbs and your height, your abs are likely not muscular enough to really "pop" out. My abs didn't really start to pop until I started a solid bulk tbh. I had less of a "six pack" at my lowest weight. That's neither here nor there though. Also, fwiw, my mom has chronic anorexia & her cortisol was through the roof on her bloodwork for a long time. She went to several doctors and no one could find out the cause. She recently found a very skilled doctor who told her to quit doing her intense exercise sessions 3x per week and switch to once. Lo and behold, she seems far more "present" when I talk to her and her cortisol is now normal. Your body is possibly having a very extreme stress response to your workouts given your concurrent body weight. As you get more social and relax more (video games may just be a great relaxation tool), details like this will worry you less. You're in a very hard position with such little social support, but it will come in time!

thanks so much for replying! yup! i’m already looking for social groups for sure even if i don’t know the people and get to know them.

i have to admit that if i take a long break and get better idk if returning would be an idea lol. why return to lifting when i got better? but hey i’m living in the now so idk what could happen

[letsallmakeit]

welp, today is the last day of weightlifting for a while. who knows maybe i’ll take something else. the lack of interest, motivation and desire to train is all gone. i even feel like dragging myself. weights feels heavier than usual.

i’ll also see if my hormones normalize by stopping exercise for a while

[ropeop]

Why would you eat no carbs?

You're likely binging on carbs because you're restricting them. Stop restricting carbs and you'll stop binging on them.

oh god I think I might have been doing this for 6 entire years now, not just carbs but literally everything. its like this binge-restrict cycle which progressively got worse, never eating more than 1800 calories/day except when binging then kept increasing exercise/dropping calories everytime and slowly getting to the point of the PSMF log jesus. I wasnt even mentioning on the log the 2-3 hours of cardio I still kept doing everyday. maybe its why im so weak and have no muscle basically. The minnesota study hit so damn close to the past years of my life that it kind of creeped me out man. I am just going to bulk and eat and start enjoying life because somehow this became an obsession that slowly got worse and worse and worse.

started eating well and a lot a week ago and its like im coming back to life again and enjoying stuff I basically ended up getting 0 enjoyment out of them gradually, just gonna lift and eat and sleep and see where it gets me in a few months, thought these mental health things were just excuses and not real but im starting to think i might have been a bit wrong

[Grappa]

Not necessarily, no. At 153 lbs and your height, your abs are likely not muscular enough to really "pop" out. My abs didn't really start to pop until I started a solid bulk tbh. I had less of a "six pack" at my lowest weight. That's neither here nor there though. Also, fwiw, my mom has chronic anorexia & her cortisol was through the roof on her bloodwork for a long time. She went to several doctors and no one could find out the cause. She recently found a very skilled doctor who told her to quit doing her intense exercise sessions 3x per week and switch to once. Lo and behold, she seems far more "present" when I talk to her and her cortisol is now normal. Your body is possibly having a very extreme stress response to your workouts given your concurrent body weight. As you get more social and relax more (video games may just be a great relaxation tool), details like this will worry you less. You're in a very hard position with such little social support, but it will come in time!

One of my docs told me that ppl with anorexia has higher lvl of cortisol in them naturally cuz they have born with cortisol inbalance. And actually one of the few mental disorders what could be inherited from a parent with a pretty big%.It is so scary tho, my mom too was an anorexic.

[letsallmakeit]

One of my docs told me that ppl with anorexia has higher lvl of cortisol in them naturally cuz they have born with cortisol inbalance. And actually one of the few mental disorders what could be inherited from a parent with a pretty big%.It is so scary tho, my mom too was an anorexic.

but what if my weight is not of an anorexic?

[AdamWW]

but what if my weight is not of an anorexic?

This question doesn't make sense.

There is no such thing as an 'anorexic' weight.

You can be obese and have anorexia... it's a MENTAL disease....

[letsallmakeit]

This question doesn't not make sense.

There is no such thing as an 'anorexic' weight.

You can be obese and have anorexia... it's a MENTAL disease....

so eating disorder is part of anorexia?
like restricting is this eating disorder or anotexia?

[AdamWW]

so eating disorder is part of anorexia?
like restricting is this eating disorder or anotexia?

I don't understand the question...

restricting food in an obsessive/compulsive way to suppress bodyweight which leads to mental and physical complications IS an eating disorder...

Anorexia IS an eating disorder...

They're all the same thing...

[letsallmakeit]

I don't understand the question...

restricting food in an obsessive/compulsive way to suppress bodyweight which leads to mental and physical complications IS an eating disorder...

Anorexia IS an eating disorder...

They're all the same thing...

so im guessing that high cortisol when having anorexia occurs by restricting calories and the body releases cortisol to protect our system? once we stop restricting the body stop sending cortisol from restricting and restore hormones?

[AdamWW]

so im guessing that high cortisol when having anorexia occurs by restricting calories and the body releases cortisol to protect our system? once we stop restricting the body stop sending cortisol from restricting and restore hormones?

No idea... your body can release cortisol for many reasons.

[letsallmakeit]

No idea... your body can release cortisol for many reasons.

yeah, but i was asking about anorexia, but i’m guessing thats why.

[AdamWW]

yeah, but i was asking about anorexia, but i’m guessing thats why.

Yeah, but you can have anorexia AND other issues which cause high cortisol... so...

[letsallmakeit]

Yeah, but you can have anorexia AND other issues which cause high cortisol... so...

i know hehe was refering to anorexia especifically. i know stress and other stuff causes cortisol

[Grappa]

so im guessing that high cortisol when having anorexia occurs by restricting calories and the body releases cortisol to protect our system? once we stop restricting the body stop sending cortisol from restricting and restore hormones?

Your body releases cortisol cuz it thinks you are in danger. It is a survival instinct. Cortisol makes u more alert and sharp and reduces your sleep time. Actually your brain thinks you are in a possible scenario where you can die.
Cortisol is good if u are in a battlefield or you are in a street fight etc. But on a daily basis... It can srsly harm your addrenal glands and can lead to addneral fatigue

[letsallmakeit]

Your body releases cortisol cuz it thinks you are in danger. It is a survival instinct. Cortisol makes u more alert and sharp and reduces your sleep time. Actually your brain thinks you are in a possible scenario where you can die.
Cortisol is good if u are in a battlefield or you are in a street fight etc. But on a daily basis... It can srsly harm your addrenal glands and can lead to addneral fatigue

it seems cortisol is needed to survive which is a good thing. it’s the constant high amount of cortisol release that makes it a bad thing

[Grappa]

it seems cortisol is needed to survive which is a good thing. it’s the constant high amount of cortisol release that makes it a bad thing

Cortisol is present in your bloodstream every time. And the amount can differ in a daily, or even every hour during the day. After lifting it is really high, if u are under pressure etc. But keep in mind if u have anorexia (diagnosed by specialists not via google or somebody) u ll have naturally higher lvls inside your blood. If i am totally relaxed and my stress lvls are low, i still have higher lvls of cortisol than a normal person. One of the indicators of anorexia is this.

[Grappa]

btw something i’m curious. when people say low bf. should abs be showing?

I had 0 definition when i was skin and bones, abs started to pop up when i gained weight. But to this day i do not get the obsession about abs... Not big of a deal. Where abs can lead you to be honest? Stop measuring humanity in abs. It was an obsession when u was a TEEN. No 1 cares about abs when you are a grown man. What matters is your confidence. Abs and gym will never going to give you confidence, if you not have it naturally.

[AdamWW]

I had 0 definition when i was skin and bones, abs started to pop up when i gained weight. But to this day i do not get the obsession about abs... Not big of a deal. Where abs can lead you to be honest? Stop measuring humanity in abs. It was an obsession when u was a TEEN. No 1 cares about abs when you are a grown man. What matters is your confidence. Abs and gym will never going to give you confidence, if you not have it naturally.

Not to mention nobody walks around with their shirt off anyway, girls don't get with you because of abs, you don't get paid to have abs, having abs doesn't make you healthier... they don't matter.

[letsallmakeit]

I had 0 definition when i was skin and bones, abs started to pop up when i gained weight. But to this day i do not get the obsession about abs... Not big of a deal. Where abs can lead you to be honest? Stop measuring humanity in abs. It was an obsession when u was a TEEN. No 1 cares about abs when you are a grown man. What matters is your confidence. Abs and gym will never going to give you confidence, if you not have it naturally.

i was asking because of my weight and had/have no abs.

[letsallmakeit]

question. so i’m not training right now and tbh i don’t feel interested or motivated enough to come back which is sad tbh because i have goals and reasons to go but idk i don’t feel it. i wonder if it could take month or months to regain this?

also i feel like restricting more when not exercising even when i like to eat more :/ i started to feel cold again already.

[MengShu57]

Felt like asking a genuine question and sharing honest thoughts. Is it really appropriate for a thread like this to be located on a bodybuilding forum where people are constantly talking and giving nutritional information out to the public; as well as flashing their abs and preaching for an ideal body; and promoting diet culture? This relates to the topics of both bulking and cutting alike.

Personally, I find the exposure to be a little triggering and not ideal to those recovering from an ED; like Instagram and Social Media fitness models.

Just an opinion so please do not take this the wrong way.

[AdamWW]

Personally, I find the exposure to be a little triggering and not ideal to those recovering from an ED; like Instagram and Social Media fitness models.

Indeed it CAN seem an unfitting environment, but that is where the subjectivity and 'personal' nature of recovery comes in

Like you said, you find it personally triggering to have such close proximity to body-focused, food-focused information while trying to get help. Others might feel very different, that's what makes recovery such a unique and customized period.

I used to also find it triggering, and I had to stay away for short periods in order to get the perspective I need to understand how to ignore the stuff that doesn't serve me, and focus on what does.

I now view the gym and food VERY differently to how I used to... I see eating lots of food, eating more than other people, etc, as a means to push my gains in the gym and gain weight, not as a means to compare or encourage myself to control it.

Everyone's triggers are different, so I recommend if it personally triggers you, get away from it all and focus on YOUR journey.

[Xpiro]

Anyone else struggle with bulimia? Been with this sh!t for over a decade and things are getting rough again. What’s helped you?

[PrepaidExpress]

I feel suicidal, i've under eaten for years because iwanted to look good and sacrificed my testosterone.

In the last mnth for the first time in over 4 years i've been eating big and the difference is huge. My libido is high, i feel more confident, more ambitious etc.

god what could of been.

i feel suicidal

[letsallmakeit]

update: so around two weeks after i decided to stop training, i had ups and downs, but i’m getting my motivation and interest back to train. i still have the food restriction when not training and even the thought of needing to move to eat more. i do feel more recovered even with less sleep. going to stop training until a month or more. i even dropped 5-6 pounds.

[letsallmakeit]

update, so after a month or so without doing any weightlifting (just walking). i kinda feel almost the same tbh. i will start tomorrow because i have become lazy. i got a question thought. i have been doing greyskull lp which is a full body routine and i'm tired of it. is there any other recommendations for beginners that you guys have tried?