Help, I'm unsure if I have an eating disorder.

[iwawawa]

Allow me to explain.

There's been a short period of time where I was doing an extreme diet but without knowing anything about anorexia, I did weigh myself a lot which motivated me to lose weight but after a period of time the starvation did stop. I do not self diagnose either anyway.

But I feel like since then something has been wrong even If I never really noticed it, sooner after that I've still had times or some days I heavily restricted or just starved then overate and it was a cycle. I'm 13 years old, I weigh average for my age and height. My weight is 55kg, but ever since then I still felt really conscious about my body shape to this very day. Then as time went by even if I wasn't starving. I'd just binge sometimes and feel extreme guilt then throw up my food, at least some of it. Some time has passed since then but in general my eating pattern is just out of control, it's making me really unhappy and I don't know what to do. I either snack really often or binge or heavily restrict or throw up if I feel very very bad about it. I can't stop thinking about food at all and It's making me really upset considering I'm also still really conscious about my weight. My parents are kind of brushing this off too when I bring up my problems with eating. Has anyone ever been in this situation before, or have any idea if these are signs or have any advice on this at all? Also I do get really anxious in real life but also I have no proof I could have anxiety and like I said I do not self diagnose nor really have a way to get help in case things like this have something to do with eating disorders. Thank you.

[kittens1989]

So one of the things I wish I had known when I was 11 is that skipping breakfast doesn't make you lose weight, it has the opposite effect. Cutting carbs does not make you lose weight, it means you binge. Your "weight" fluctuates between 1-3kg over any given day. Therefore weighing yourself daily is pointless, so it's better weighing before food/drink, in the morning and doing this fortnightly. Factor in your period as that means you retain water a lot more too.

If you weigh average, that's great too. Remember at 13, your body is still developing so you might have wobbly bits in places you weren't used to before. Some people develop earlier than others. A lot of my battle was comparing my adult body to the pre-adolescent girls in my year...I thought they were thin and I was fat.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive but try and eat meals which are balanced, regularly throughout the day. This will help get your metabolism back on track (which it won't be presently due to all the destruction you are doing to it.). In terms of shaping your body, maybe try some classes like pilates or yoga, they can help with toning as well as help your anxiety reduce.

Do you have an eating disorder? It's not for me to diagnose, but it sounds like there are a few things making you unhappy, so it might be worth getting some counselling.