I look forward to your blog. Another area that I am interested in is how pregnancy and motherhood affect how women view thier bodies. I know several women who had great body image pre-pregancy but following the birth of thier children, went on crash diets and became scary thin. I wonder if it's the image of having it all taking a stringer hold. A husband, 2.5 kids, a house and a car, and a nice figure.

Hi,
I'm a 23 year old female who has been living with an eating disorder for 9 years. I'd like to learn more about the experiences of other girls and women regarding changes in their bodies during and after recovery (successful or not). I am 5'3" and at the age of 20 I weighed 57 lbs. I went through a period of recovery, after being told I was likely going to die, but even though I look healthier, I am now SEVERELY bulimic.
Anyway, during my brief recovery attempt, after the initial acute changes due to prolonged starvation, for about a year and a half, I suffered from mysterious sharp chest pain, difficulty breathing (tight heavy pain as well as asthma worse than I'd ever had before), worsening environmental and food allergies (hives, rashes, itching, wheezing) and severe total body pain where all my muscles went rigid if I sat or slept in the same position for too long. Even after bloodwork was done and everything was relatively okay and even when I went to the ER many times, nobody could tell me what was happening with my body. Some doctors even suggested it was ALL in my head!!! These symptoms have all lessened a fair amount now (except the asthma) even though I am really struggling with bulimia. Was it some type of reaction to my extreme malnutrition before?
Anyway, I'd like to hear about other experiences because I know it wasn't my imagination!
Sorry for going on and on... And thank you for starting this important blog!

Hi,
I'm a 23 year old female who has been living with an eating disorder for 9 years. I'd like to learn more about the experiences of other girls and women regarding changes in their bodies during and after recovery (successful or not). I am 5'3" and at the age of 20 I weighed 57 lbs. I went through a period of recovery, after being told I was likely going to die, but even though I look healthier, I am now SEVERELY bulimic.
Anyway, during my brief recovery attempt, after the initial acute changes due to prolonged starvation, for about a year and a half, I suffered from mysterious sharp chest pain, difficulty breathing (tight heavy pain as well as asthma worse than I'd ever had before), worsening environmental and food allergies (hives, rashes, itching, wheezing) and severe total body pain where all my muscles went rigid if I sat or slept in the same position for too long. Even after bloodwork was done and everything was relatively okay and even when I went to the ER many times, nobody could tell me what was happening with my body. Some doctors even suggested it was ALL in my head!!! These symptoms have all lessened a fair amount now (except the asthma) even though I am really struggling with bulimia. Was it some type of reaction to my extreme malnutrition before?
Anyway, I'd like to hear about other experiences because I know it wasn't my imagination!
Sorry for going on and on... And thank you for starting this important blog!

I was wondering how I could find the articles you have written. I am writing a research paper for school on how hollywood media affects the body images that teenage girls have and how this creates eating disorders. I would really like to have more information on the first topic in this blog!

Hi, I am 25 years old white female going on 26 in December. I have been inconsistently bulimic since age 15 which= 10 years now. I go through periods of not throwing up for a week or two but then 3 days in a row. It is so inconsistent. I am in weekly individual therapy for over a year and on anti-depressant/anxiety medication and I still seem to have uncontrolled eating binges. Sometimes I think about food obsessively and other times I think of food negatively and avoid it completely.

I need to learn some techniques to start recovery that are not expensive. I don't want to have long term affects on my health and I'm scared.

If anyone has any suggestions... I live in NYC and would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,
Amy

I also see that most girls don't like to eat infront of others. Although it is a natural thing and it must be done to survive I agree that most girls would rather buy a box of tampons than a candy bar if people are watching even though buying tampons are natural as well. I'm not sure why that is but I just agree.

The Weight of My World

There some many prodigious of the world we live in. This is my story of what weight causing when weight weights down your heart.

In High School I was so slender to the point of being called skinny. I actually drank Sport Shakes to gain to 100 lbs before graduation. When you are in High School being active comes easy. I cheered, ran on zero energy and went dancing often. My Pageant dress was a size 2.

At 19 I got married but remained somewhat active. Married life put a small amount of pounds on me. I remember my Mother – in – law saying that if I did not watch it I would be fat. Therefore her son would be fat. I never thought of a size six as fat. I started trading in the bikini for the one piece by age 22. My husband’s family was always critical. I was never good enough. My smalls became mediums. My husband worked a lot so I was alone a lot. I ate to compensate.
At 24 I was pregnant. No one could really tell until I was 5 months. As time got closer for delivery and anxiety got worse I ate more. I felt like this baby was the only things that I was good enough for. After returning to work I remember the horrible day I ordeedr a new suit. It was size 12. I blamed it on the having to have a C-section.
The baby grew and her Dad worked more hours’ so I ate more. I worked, changed diapers, ate and slept. This was the life. Size 14 crept up on me as did my age. Right after I turned 27 my grandmother died. I lost one of the good guys. She did not judge by my weight.
In 1994 my husband did not even by me a valentine’s present. Valentine’s had been special because that is when we started dating 11 years before. 2 days later I lost my Grandfather. He was my protector from what evil in my childhood. This loss was devastating. I stopped eating. I was so depressed. My husband took me on trip. We sat on the side of a mountain and he told me he wanted me to get better and that he would never leave me.

In March of 1994 my daughter walked into my room and told me she had a secret. “Daddy told Uncle Mike that he does not want to be married to you anymore”. I put my daughter to bed and I asked him if this was true. He replied look at you. Can you blame me? You are a mess and I cannot love you enough to make you better. That night I wanted to die. The only thing I had was my daughter. I lost weight then but probably not the right way. My to be ex-husband had me checked in to a facility to help me with my depression. Joy or Joy he would later use it against me as he did my weight.

I just loved your article. I definately can relate to the "snickers" bar. It was interesting to know that we see women as smaller. I feel that I compare other women's bodies and think they look big if their shape is similiar to my own. Especially, the pear shaped woman, which I certainly am.

Hey!

I am doing a research paper regarding eating disorders and the social influences that trigger the onset of eating disorders. I am trying to prove that biological factors only make individuals more vulnerable to eating disorders and social factors are more influential in the development of eating disorders. I was wandering where I could find your articles regarding social factors affecting eating disorders?

Thanks