Eating when hungry v Eating every 2-3 hours ??
Hi all, I am finally beginning my journey of Recovery having battled with an ED for many years. I am not financially in a place to pay for therapy so I am getting alot of tips from this website and reading books/articles. I am 100% sure that I am ready to leave my ED behind...........I just don't have another diet in me, emotionally I can't batttle anymore. I want to nourish my body, to look after it, to see food as fuel and feelings as just feelings that don't have to be stuffed down or starved!
I am interested in nutrition and what has amazed me is how little I know about good, healthy, nutrionally dense food. I thought I knew everything about what's healthy and what's not. (I don't ever want to drink a diet drink again, they are so awful!!)
Alot has been written about eating every 2-3 hours to fuel your body and boost your metabolism etc. but I am wondering how those in recovery/recoverd feel about listenting to your body and eating when you are hungry? I know it can be hard to detect hunger/fulness signals, but I would like to try this way to see how I get on. I haven't begun yet.............hoping to feel free. Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks :)
WOOHOO well done u! I too am in recovery&know how confusing things can seem. After years of ED my body signals r haywire so my nutritionist has advised me to eat something every 2/3 hours. This helps me to recognise my real body signals&ensures that my blood sugars dont dip...all of which means that I have the fuel&nutrients to repair my poor body&enough energy to do the things that put a smile on my face. Its quite an excting time as u can b really creative in preparing meals. Iv really enjoyed introducing new healthy foods to my diet. In fact my whole family have become involved and we're all enjoying trying lots of yummy nutritious snacks. Things Iv found hard though are those times that u think you're really not hungry enough for your snack so you start getting all those old familiar thoughts saying "Ah sure this regular eating thing is crazy, lunch was only 3 hours ago, wel just skip this snack"...BEWARE DONT LISTEN TO THIS VOICE!!! That is the voice of your ED not the voice of your body! Your ED hates the fact that you're trying to get rid of it so like a spoiled child its starts shouting for attention! So this is what u must do in this situation (im only just starting to get the hang of this after three weeks of mechanical eating)-Ignore the voice of your ED, look deep deep inside you&trust that you do infact need this snack! This is so so hard to do because now your ED is screaming at you trying to make you feel guilty for having this snack! Just laugh it off&stick to your meal plan&after a few days the ED will eventually tire itself out screaming&when it does you'll hear the real true loving voice of body, which has been there all along but just couldnt be heard because the ED was shouting so loudly, & your body will say "Thank you, I did really need that snack. Now that you've heard my voice please trust that I'll never decieve you or trick you, I only want the best for you. Thanks for the fuel now lets get out there and start having fun."
Haha so now for some tips Ive picked up:
Try include a source of protein in every meal and snack. Preparing mixtures of nuts and seeds and berries is a really good way of doing this. I start every morning by filling a small container with flaked almonds, cashew nuts, chopped hazenuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, sultanas, dried figs, dried apricots, goji berries....then I can pop this into my bag to enjoy during the day as a snack or to add to my porridge or yoghurt. Another snack I enjoy is oat cakes or rye bread with almond butter.
Anyway I hope some of this has been a help! Im 3 weeks in&I can honestly say the first few days are the hardest but it does get easier n by god is it worth it!! Sure there are hard days&some meals which seem almost impossible but in those moments I get great comfort in knowing that im not alone...there are so many of us ignoring the voices of our infuriated EDs&battling ahead on the path to recovery! Best of luck Katy :)x
Hi Katy,
That's good advice from Saldoo. I think a lot of people will have experience of this issue.
There are some benefits to eating mechanically every 2-3 hours. Firstly, it will mean that your body does not reach that deprived state that can lead to moods that tend to be more negative. Also, depending on the type of ED that you are experiencing, eating regularly helps avoid binges that are brought on by being over-hungry. Finally, your body is used to running in starvation mode at the moment, because most like it is experiencing an uneven eating pattern. It will need to relearn its relationship with food and in some ways you are the teacher in this.
I expect that there will be more discussion on this because a number of people have posted here in the past about challenges and tips that go hand in hand with this particular hurdle on the road to recovery.
Well done for starting a discussion on it!
- IM
Hello.
I want to start by saying congratulations on taking the first step on your road to recovery and life beyond. In a way an exploration of food is part your journey to recovery, by that I mean as you walk along the road explore the taste of food crunchiness of a salad or the mushiness of a bandanna this helped me when I stared to take my first steps. One thing I found is that some fruit can be just as satisfying as sweet if not more so e.g. peaches blueberries chreys. One of the tips I picked up from my body was I was in recovery to listen out for this tiny little gurgle let me know needed. Hope I was of some help. Best of luck. M
Hi Katy, welcome on to Recovery Path.
I too am on this journey after many years of ED. I am only early stages and as yet am afraid of the 3 hourly eating. I'm afraid that I'll lose the run of myself, afraid of too many calories, afraid of where that might take me, afraid that I'll be caught off guard and won't have saved up enough calories to get through a social obligation etc..
Well I'm slowly taking risks and have come around to taking fortisip, initially I thought, why on earth would I take all those calories in a few mouthfuls. Well now, I'm embarrassed to say I nearly look forward to it, its so packed with goodness, powerful stuff and my every cell is celebrating every time I take one. My skin, my hair, my thinking, my sleep all so much better for it. So I choose to switch focus and focus on the dense nutrition in it as opposed to such trivial and less important calorific data. And more importantly for me, it just seems to vanish in my body,I had imagined I would immediately start gaining weight if I took them, but no, my body just seems to use it up as I go!! A mystery!
I suppose pre conditioned thinking has had me stuck for a long time and it seems some or alot of my thinking and beliefs were untrue. So slowly but surely I will break out of old patterns and and embrace freedom.
kiz
Hi Katy,
Welcome to Iceberg and congratulations on beginning your journey of recovery :)
You say, "I actually haven't a clue how or what to eat in a normal way.......crazy isn't it!?" well, no it's not crazy at all - nobody with ED really knows what it is to eat 'normally' but for that reason, it is SO, SO important that you speak with somebody who can guide you with the nutrition. Everybody with ED has different medical problems, different behaviours and therefore very different nutritional needs. You say that your grandmother always said eat little and often but if you have no idea what is normal then possibly your idea of 'little and often' may be completely inadequate for what your dear body needs?
When we are in recovery from ED, our nutritional needs are more often than not more than the average person. We have so much healing and repair to do and in order to do this, we need a lot of fuel. At the moment try and look at food as your medicine because it really is just that.
Nutritionally dense foods are basically foods which contains high levels of the necessary macronutrients (i.e. proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to both heal and maintain your body and its organs and functions. Throughout my own recovery, protein was a big help. I found nuts a lifesaver! Although I resisted the idea at the beginning, when I started to introduce them I found them great because they did not bloat me but gave me energy and helped lessen the dreaded food thoughts that constantly tortured me. Eggs, chicken and fish were also great and I started having hard-boiled eggs as snacks as they were quick, easy and no bloating at all! Slow-release carbohydrates are vitally important, particularly for our blood sugar levels which will suffer if we avoid them (see my blog on the brain at http://www.eatingdisorderselfhelp.com/blog/c/2010/july/31/take-care-your... to see just how important stable blood sugars are for your brain). Oatcakes are a fantastic snack option. They are lovely with houmous, tuna mayo, peanutbutter and banana... this options are endless! Porridge with cinnamon, dried fruit and ground nuts/seeds or muesli makes a great breakfast option. Many people find protein in the morning helpful e.g. eggs and wholemeal toast or ryebread. Brown basmati rice, quinoa, bulgar, buckwheat are good options for main meals and work very well in stir fries etc.
Again Katy, these are just a FEW ideas but your body's needs are going to be unique to you and your needs so when possible, please try and speak to somebody with a good knowledge of ED and nutrition who can guide you in the right way.
Good luck hun.
C (recovered and a nutritionist)
Thanks so much for all the food ideas x
Iceberg Ads
Healing Your Hungry HeartA comprehensive and effective recovery program for women with eating disorders. Click here to order it now. More information at: http://eatingdisorderrecovery.com/ |
JS Fitness SolutionsHealth and fitness solutions specialising in reversing the bone-degenerating effects of osteoporosis. Certified by the BEST Training Programme, University of Arizona. |
Dr Sinead O'DeaMB BCH NUI, DCH, MICGP |
Iceberg Online
Thank you all so much for the replies. I think eating every 3 hours sounds like the way to go.( My grandmother always said to eat little and often!) When you talk about nutritionally dense foods, I know that means healthy food, but at the same time I know it doesn't mean diet food! What exactly are nutrionally dense foods?
I'm sorry, I don't mean to be talking too much about food. I have an ED long enough to know that ED behaviours/focusing on food are only symtoms of a bigger problem, but I am trying to get off to a good start and after all these years of abusing my poor body, I actually haven't a clue how or what to eat in a normal way.......crazy isn't it!?