You can download and listen to this podcast here:
https://eatingdisorderrecoverypodcast.podbean.com/e/atypical-anorexia/
Atypical Anorexia (Podcast)
You can download and listen to this podcast here:
https://eatingdisorderrecoverypodcast.podbean.com/e/atypical-anorexia/
Hello. In the beginning you asked for some ideas for future podcasts. I would love to hear another conversation between you and Shan Guisinger. Particularly as it relates to those of us who are older (late 40’s), have had anorexia most our lives, and can’t seem to get to full recovery.
Thank you!
I would love to hear on your podcast an In Depth conversation with a doctor on hormone imbalances associated with underrating and overtraining
I.e sex hormones, elevated cortisol and dhea-S, etc
I’m glad this has come up. You may as well have described what recently happened to me with your BMI’s. I lost from a BMI of 25.3 to a BMI of 22.1. I was also down to 7.2% bodyfat. I’m in a manual job which needs a significant amount of muscle mass. With less than 5kg of fat on me, needing every gramme of lean weight I had and immediately after losing 9.5kg in 11 weeks, I was severely compromised, as there was nothing there if I was ill and was more likely to become ill in that state. 58 days on, I’m up to a BMI of 25.2 and 14.0% fat. I’m not hungry or cold all the time, I have more energy and feel proud of myself for getting my BMI over 25. I now see BMI of 25 as a minimum because of a high level of unavoidable exercise. My cheeks are no longer sunken and I don’t see ribs in the mirror all the time. Obsession with BMI fuelled my self destructive behaviour and the sick thing was that people were complementing me on how “well ” I looked. I knew I was thin but felt powerless to stop because I felt if I tried to even maintain my weight, I could regain some and people would have me down as a failure. Qualified gym instructors don’t recommend going below 12% fat in a man, let alone down to 7 or so. It was a sign I was starving and inappropriately light for the job I’m doing. As I lost the weight, I got sicker and sicker. As I’ve regained the weight, I’ve felt increasingly well. For me, this serious business. I was struggling with my job and could have lost it. If I’d lost my job, I’d have become profoundly depressed and with the way the benefits system is in the UK, not being able to work would have spelled disaster.
I am still struggling with the increased hunger part of it even though I am at a normal weight since I am an atypical anorexic. Does your other advice also apply to me? I experience everything you said in this podcast. Either way thank you for opening this blog and helping others including myself through recovery!!!
In your book I did not find entrenched shame and worthlessness (self invalidation) discussed as conditions associated with anorexia. Is this because these states fail to meet criteria of co-morbidity and hence are individual specific or is there just insufficient data to make a connection. Could you elaborate on this area of concern?