Stick Figure discussion

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight. It affects women and men of all ages.

When you’re struggling with bulimia, life is a constant battle between the desire to lose weight or stay thin and the overwhelming compulsion to binge eat.

You don’t want to binge—you know you’ll feel guilty and ashamed afterwards—but time and again you give in. During an average binge, you may consume from 3,000 to 5,000 calories in one short hour.

After it ends, panic sets in and you turn to drastic measures to “undo” the binge, such as taking ex-lax, inducing vomiting, or going for a ten-mile run. And all the while, you feel increasingly out of control.

It’s important to note that bulimia doesn’t necessarily involve purging—physically eliminating the food from your body by throwing up or using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. If you make up for your binges by fasting, exercising to excess, or going on crash diets, this also qualifies as bulimia.


Am I Bulimic?

Ask yourself the following questions. The more “yes” answers, the more likely you are suffering from bulimia or another eating disorder.

◾Are you obsessed with your body and your weight?

◾Does food and dieting dominate your life?

◾Are you afraid that when you start eating, you won’t be able to stop?

◾Do you ever eat until you feel sick?

◾Do you feel guilty, ashamed, or depressed after you eat?

◾Do you vomit or take laxatives to control your weight?

The binge and purge cycle

Dieting triggers bulimia’s destructive cycle of binging and purging. The irony is that the more strict and rigid the diet, the more likely it is that you’ll become preoccupied, even obsessed, with food. When you starve yourself, your body responds with powerful cravings—its way of asking for needed nutrition.

As the tension, hunger, and feelings of deprivation build, the compulsion to eat becomes too powerful to resist: a “forbidden” food is eaten; a dietary rule is broken. With an all-or-nothing mindset, you feel any diet slip-up is a total failure. After having a bite of ice cream, you might think, “I’ve already blown It, so I might as well go all out.”

Unfortunately, the relief that binging brings is extremely short-lived. Soon after, guilt and self-loathing set in. And so you purge to make up for binging and regain control.

Unfortunately, purging only reinforces binge eating. Though you may tell yourself, as you launch into a new diet, that this is the last time, in the back of your mind there’s a voice telling you that you can always throw up or use laxatives if you lose control again. What you may not realize is that purging doesn’t come close to wiping the slate clean after a binge.


Purging does NOT prevent weight gain

Purging isn’t effective at getting rid of calories, which is why most people suffering with bulimia end up gaining weight over time. Vomiting immediately after eating will only eliminate 50% of the calories consumed at best—and usually much less. This is because calorie absorption begins the moment you put food in the mouth. Laxatives and diuretics are even less effective. Laxatives get rid of only 10% of the calories eaten, and diuretics do nothing at all. You may weigh less after taking them, but that lower number on the scale is due to water loss, not true weight loss.

covers what is it and what it's symptoms are: http://www.something-fishy.org/isf/si...

Here is what it says;

Noticing the Signs and Symptoms

BE AWARE: A sufferer DOES NOT need to appear underweight or even "average" to suffer ANY of these signs and symptoms. Many men and women with Eating Disorders appear NOT to be underweight... it does not mean they suffer less or are in any less danger.

Anorexia/Bulimia


1.Dramatic weight loss in a relatively short period of time.
2.Wearing big or baggy clothes or dressing in layers to hide body shape and/or weight loss.
3.Obsession with weight and complaining of weight problems (even if "average" weight or thin).
4.Obsession with calories and fat content of foods.
5.Obsession with continuous exercise.
6.Frequent trips to the bathroom immediately following meals (sometimes accompanied with water running in the bathroom for a long period of time to hide the sound of vomiting).
7.Visible food restriction and self-starvation.
8.Visible bingeing and/or purging.
9.Use or hiding use of diet pills, laxatives, ipecac syrup (can cause immediate death!) or enemas.
10.Isolation. Fear of eating around and with others.
11.Unusual Food rituals such as shifting the food around on the plate to look eaten; cutting food into tiny pieces; making sure the fork avoids contact with the lips (using teeth to scrap food off the fork or spoon); chewing food and spitting it out, but not swallowing; dropping food into napkin on lap to later throw away.
12.Hiding food in strange places (closets, cabinets, suitcases, under the bed) to avoid eating (Anorexia) or to eat at a later time (Bulimia).
13.Flushing uneaten food down the toilet (can cause sewage problems).
14.Vague or secretive eating patterns.
15.Keeping a "food diary" or lists that consists of food and/or behaviors (ie., purging, restricting, calories consumed, exercise, etc.)
16.Pre-occupied thoughts of food, weight and cooking.
17.Visiting websites that promote unhealthy ways to lose weight.
18.Reading books about weight loss and eating disorders.
19.Self-defeating statements after food consumption.
20.Hair loss. Pale or "grey" appearance to the skin.
21.Dizziness and headaches.
22.Frequent soar throats and/or swollen glands.
23.Low self-esteem. Feeling worthless. Often putting themselves down and complaining of being "too stupid" or "too fat" and saying they don't matter. Need for acceptance and approval from others.
24.Complaints of often feeling cold.
25.Low blood pressure.
26.Loss of menstrual cycle.
27.Constipation or incontinence.
28.Bruised or calluses knuckles; bloodshot or bleeding in the eyes; light bruising under the eyes and on the cheeks.
29.Perfectionistic personality.
30.Loss of sexual desire or promiscuous relations.
31.Mood swings. Depression. Fatigue.
32.Insomnia. Poor sleeping habits




Compulsive Overeating/Binge Eating Disorder


1.Fear of not being able to control eating, and while eating, not being able to stop.
2.Isolation. Fear of eating around and with others.
3.Chronic dieting on a variety of popular diet plans.
4.Holding the belief that life will be better if they can lose weight.
5.Hiding food in strange places (closets, cabinets, suitcases, under the bed) to eat at a later time.
6.Vague or secretive eating patterns.
7.Self-defeating statements after food consumption.
8.Blames failure in social and professional community on weight.
9.Holding the belief that food is their only friend.
10.Frequently out of breath after relatively light activities.
11.Excessive sweating and shortness of breath.
12.High blood pressure and/or cholesterol.
13.Leg and joint pain.
14.Weight gain.
15.Decreased mobility due to weight gain.
16.Loss of sexual desire or promiscuous relations.
17.Mood swings. Depression. Fatigue.
18.Insomnia. Poor Sleeping Habits.