Mister Meanpants--
Standardizing your calorie intake doesn't mean that you have an eating disorder.
Generally, that would be defined as good eating habits. Now, if you're purging
after you eat something you shouldn't or if you're restricting your calorie
intake below what would be considered healthy (I would generally consider it to
be somewhere below 1100-1200 calories) and weigh more than ten pounds
underweight then you might be well on your way to an eating disorder. You have
to evaluate your life, though. Do you spend all of your time worrying about
food, your relationship to it, your inability to consume it or your compulsion
to eat tons of it? An eating disorder literally consumes your life. If you
really think you have a problem GET HELP. Eating Disorders have the highest
mortality rate of any mental illness, including schizophrenia. It's estimated
that 10-20% of eating disorder patients die of complications due to the abuse
their body takes in the course of the illness -- typically cardiac dysfunctions.
There's an important difference between eating disorders and body dysmorphic
disorders. Eating disorders, although having the facade of seeing oneself as too
large, is not really about physical appearance. Eating disorders have to do with
a person's relationship with food and through food, their relationship with the
other people and the world. Body Dysmorphic Disorder, however, does have to do
with an obsession with a perceived imperfection of one's physical
characteristics -- it is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The following
is an excellent site on BDD, including case files, a clear description, tests to
evaluate yourself and information on how and where to get help:
http://www.worldcollegehealth.org/031199.htm . In addition, here is a link to a
BDD FAQ: http://www.btinternet.com/~david.veale/bddinfo.html .
BDD can cause eating disorder -like symptoms and eating disorders can (and often
are) linked with a delusional perception of what their suffer's bodies look
like. I can't tell you what it is, but it sounds less like an ED and more like
BDD. Review the information, evaluate your thoughts, beliefs and behaviours and
decide if you need help. Just remember -- I can't diagnose you with a disorder,
you certainly cannot diagnose yourself nor can your friends or parents -- it is
necessary to obtain diagnosis and treament from a mental health professional;
financial inability is no excuse. There are plenty of programs out there that
offer low-cost therapy for people who do not have the cash to pay $90-300+ for
therapy. In the end you need to decide if this problem hinders you so
significantly that you need to seek mental health treatment -- if you're willing
to live with the problem, if it's just a minor annoyance, if you can live from
day to day without it interfering, causing you pain -- all of these things you
have to answer for yourself.
I hope I've been of service.
Julian Zakharia Andromalius
"Truth suffers from too much analysis."
mister_meanpants <marcmax@...> wrote:I've been monitoring my food
intake, eating higher protein when I am
not exercising and if I have a Blizzard I adjust the rest of my
calories for the day. But when I look in the mirror I just see love
handles and a gut, which I probably don't have since I am 6'1" and
about 155 lbs.

How do you see yourself as others see you. Jesus, I sound whiny.


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