Eating Disorder

[skelly023]

I know there is the main eating disorder thread, so sorry if I am breaking any rules posting a new one. I was just wondering if anyone suffering from binge/compulsive overeating made the switch to being a vegan successfully, or did they find they began binging a lot beforehand?

I feel like a vegan lifestyle is a very peaceful, loving decision to make, but I wonder if, as one who suffers from an eating disorder, I am capable of making that decision safely right now?

[Cassiel]

I did not have a problem doing it (I flip from anorexia to exercise bulimia to binge eating periodically). Just don't think being vegan is going to save you! There is plenty of vegan food on which to binge. In fact, from some vegan friends I hear that my tendency to binge on cold cereals is pretty common. :)

[jenni-anti-fur]

personally I had a had a problem with being Vegan...and I have had three eating disorders.

I have EDs and am still dealing with them (cause its recovering not recovered) I am dealing with compulsive eating/binging..then the compulsive eating/binging and purging and then dabbled with anorexia...when I was Vegan It was easier for me not to eat as much and I hardly gave it a second thought...cause I thought it was healthy...I was wrong...sooo wrong and I caught myself doing it and falling into bad habits and quickly got right back on track....now I am doing alot better...but its progress not perfection for me...so its different for everyone....I agree with cassiel many people I know binge on a vegan diet...never heard about that cold cereal binging though..Hope whatever you decide works out well for you :)

[jenn198310]

i am facing same problem but i binge and purge in winter. i will go in no eating mode in summer when i can live on cold beverages. i really need help coz my brain hurts now at certain spots. and also i feel that my neck hurts now. i am trying to stay fruitarian coz eating vegetable is just hard to throw up on. my throat usually hurts

[skelly023]

Oh no, this wasn't what I meant at all -- I don't want to use being a vegan as an excuse to not eat food, I just wonder if I am setting myself up for danger. Are any of you also in therapy/further along in recovery? I really recommend the somethingfishy website -> It has taught me SO much. There is a message board there just like this one, and I've learned to really realize my disorder is not about the food, that I am worthy of love and acceptance, and how to establish healthy eating patterns, etc. I'm not worried about continuing my behavior or using this to fix it, I'm just worried restriction isn't a safe decision for me to make. But after watching Earthlings and finding out all that I did on the meat and dairy industries, I'm not sure I could eat those things if I even wanted to...

[jenni-anti-fur]

Yess...I have been in recovery and continue to be now...and am doing much much better...hope you guys are too:)

[skelly023]

That's good :)

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that so many people with eating disorders are also vegetarian, but at the same time it is a pleasant surprise that so many have overcome/are overcoming their eating disorder while remaining vegetarian. Gives me even more faith that my reasons are good ones.

[jenni-anti-fur]

That's good :)

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that so many people with eating disorders are also vegetarian, but at the same time it is a pleasant surprise that so many have overcome/are overcoming their eating disorder while remaining vegetarian. Gives me even more faith that my reasons are good ones.


personally I dont believe you ever overcome it...its always there with any other disorder..I havent binged/purged in many years and dont consider myself cured not at all....bigg HUGGZ and good luck to everyone whatever you choose to do:)

[skelly023]

Why do you feel you have not overcome it if you no longer engage in behaviors?

[Violet_cremes]

Why do you feel you have not overcome it if you no longer engage in behaviors?

whilst you don't engage in such activities, the mindset may still be there, and that is near impossible to cure, you can only learn to live with it x x

[cstadt]

People with true eating disorders never recover. They deal with it all the time like Violet says. and yeah, it doesn't matter what you binge on, a binge is a binge. It's all about the calories not what they're from

[skelly023]

Even though I don't consider myself recovered, I think that is a real negative outlook on the whole thing & I'd have to say I don't agree :-\. I've known & heard from people who consider themselves truly recovered & their mental state is far, very far, from what it once was...

[skelly023]

Also I did research for my senior project on eating disorders, and there was a percentage something around 33% fully recover, 33 continue recovering, & 33 don't...

[cstadt]

Well from an actual Psychology or DSM IV view, that's the sad truth.

I read your last post again and I think we're not getting a level definition on the word 'recover'

Of course people with ED's can get better! Yes their mental state can be very far from what it once was BUT they will never encounter a day where they don't battle that ED. It's always there. They can over come it but it's always there

[whitepeachtea]

i have had bulimia, anorexia, and more recently coe.

i would say it is possible to recover from the eating disordered habits,
but that somewhere in the back of your mind you're always going to be fighting with the unhealthy thoughts.

i have found that being a vegetarian (i don't really remember not being one)
that it is very easy to binge on junk food!!

[skelly023]

Why do you believe that the thoughts are always there? That the battle is always there?
That is just not something I can understand. That having an eating disorder means we will never find real peace.

Yes, struggles with life will always be there. Emotions, pain, anger, fear... there. But that is true for anyone; that is not specific to the disorder.

We can grow away from this. This way of thinking. This way of life.
I can't honestly believe that it's always there.

That's not recovery to me.
That's lost hope.

[jenni-anti-fur]

whilst you don't engage in such activities, the mindset may still be there, and that is near impossible to cure, you can only learn to live with it x x



exactly what I was going to say..even though I havent had a relapse in Many Many Years...Its always with me and on my mind and an issue I live with daily in my life...I am never going to be over it or have a day where its not present in my life...so its progress not perfection and I will always call myself recovering and not recovered.

[whitepeachtea]

i think it's a matter of opinion.
it depends on what your interpretation of recovery is.

of course there's hope. hope to progress, hope to love yourself, hope to take care of your body, your mind. all of that incredibly possible. but hope to completely eliminate any remnant of an eating disorder you have in your mind even on the emotionally draining days? i can't be confidant of that. if you can, kudos to you and you've proven me wrong.

[piratemoon]

Ah, Skelly, just found this thread - that's what you meant in the ED Support thread, ok.

Like I said, it does depend on how you define recovery. But you should always hope. Don't ever lose hope.

[jenni-anti-fur]

sooo agree never lose hope..I was at Rock Bottom...(to quote my fave actor Corey Haim...I was under the rock) and with all my strength and determination and a great support system of family and friends...I worked hard and I made it through:) and have been doing that evey second of every minute of every hour everyday since:) and fingers crossed so far soo good no slip ups and I have every intention of keeping that up...but I agree never give up hope...hope is sooo important:)

[skelly023]

Thanks. It's just too hard of a realization for me to think that I'll always carry it with me; that there will never be a moment where I truly forget it, or leave it behind; that I'll never know what it's like to feel "normal" around food and about my body. That's not something that sits well with me, so I cannot agree with it.

As long as you all still have hope :)

[piratemoon]

There's always hope, Skelly.

[jenni-anti-fur]

Thanks. It's just too hard of a realization for me to think that I'll always carry it with me; that there will never be a moment where I truly forget it, or leave it behind; that I'll never know what it's like to feel "normal" around food and about my body. That's not something that sits well with me, so I cannot agree with it.

As long as you all still have hope :)

Thats Cool....and Maybe its different for you...I hope it is:)