Carbs?

[cateka]

Can someone please help me... I'm not so good with this.
I'm currently attempting to recover from bulimia nervosa on a diet that is healthy but won't cause me to gain weight. I seem to find it extremely difficult to get enough carbs into my body and find myself exhausted, faint and starving on days where I do not binge. I think I get everything else in proportion - vitamins, protein, etc but everytime I look at the back of a high-carb food wrapper (bread, rice etc) the calorie total makes me want to run for the hills! I find it really hard to eat these foods... it panics me and I either resort to eating nothing or overeating because it seems like there is no winning.

Is it possible that anyone could tell me what "good" carbohydrate foods are (if there is such a thing) so I don't have to feels so scared all the time?

 

[annaphylactic]

Hi Cateka,

The best carbs are 'natural' - get a low GI book... essentially, grains, seeds etc... not white bread and white floury pasta etc.

However, looking at your height and BMI... you really shouldn't be trying to lose any weight. The second you go below 18.5 you will be underweight and this is incredibly unhealthy and can lead to all sorts of problems.

I can see you have suffered in the past, but I think you'd be better off trying to put on a few pound and maintain with the use of a nutritionalist, rather than hanging around here on a weight loss forum - it won't help get your mind free from all the jumbled thinking you've had through B.N. etc. Have you asked your doc about an eating plan?

In general though - the best, common sense way of eating is low gi - you stay fuller longer and the sugars in the carbs release really slowly.

Stay healthy x

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

I agree with annaphylactic your BMI looks like it is low already so getting the advice of a nutrionalist would be a better option for you.

Take Care and Good Luck xx

 

[nexangelus]

I'm currently attempting to recover from bulimia nervosa on a diet that is healthy but won't cause me to gain weight....
Is it possible that anyone could tell me what "good" carbohydrate foods are (if there is such a thing) so I don't have to feels so scared all the time?

Well, first off, attempting isn't going to cut it...I am also a recovering ana/bulimic/compulsive overeater...you don't attempt, you just have to do it...fear aside...I will always be recovering or at least have this addiction as I have an addictive personality...but I am in a more steady place now than I have been for many many years...

Being scared of food is the second problem...you cannot be scared of something that fuels your body and gives you life...without food you will die...I am no longer afraid of food...I am in a good place with regards any food, even nuts, carbs and anything (even junk food, as I have cheat day once a week)...being scared of food is going to disallow you from eating healthily...you cannot be near what you are afraid of, no?

I am also thinking you might need to either see a therapist or try exercise and weight gain (lean mass gain prgramme)...sorry if this sounds serious, trying to lose weight is NOT the answer (dieting is a trigger for me big time) if you are suffering from any eating disorder...even possibly being on here is exascerbating your condition?! (yes, yes, I know, I am also recovering, but I can say with hand on heart I am in control of food, it no longer controls me)

If you are prepared to maybe gain lean mass, then you have to up your proteins by a long way (even supplementing with protein powders and bars) and then eat healthy carbs such as brown rice, whole meal bread, raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses, grains with husks...cut out white flour, sugar and trans fats and coffee (as these are problems for many and create unhealthy blood sugar spikes due to insulin upping and downing and make for bad cholesterol levels) Up your healthy oils (omega 3 and 6) by eating fish and supplementing with a good oil (olive or hemp or even flax seeds, etc)

I'm not sure giving you this info is going to help as you sound quite desperate...not in the right place to be experimenting with food yet...I don't want this to come across as harsh...it is not meant to be...it's just that I've been there and done it and I'm now 34...and I have been fighting this since I was 16/17...it's been a long hard struggle and at certain points I could not experiment with food, it was the wrong time...I just had to eat to gain strength and lean mass, as bulimics and anas lose their muscle tone and their lean mass very quickly...it wastes away...lean mass is healthy mass...that is what I am working on lately...

Please, try and get help and support either from someone on here or locally to you...it does sound like you need it...I can only hope what I have posted may help you in some small way...PM me if you wish...

 

[cateka]

Hey there nex, I am glad as anything you've popped up because all the sympathy and medical research doesn't generally solve the fact that not many people understand the extent of control the illness has over you.
(Not at all suggesting I am 'glad' you have the illness :8855

I want you to know that although I have this carb 'fear' I am nowhere NEAR as afraid of food as I was a few weeks ago. I used to panic just at the thought of what could happen if I went to the cafeteria at college, "what if the smell of burgers gets me", "what if the salad doesn't fill me up" and sadly, thoughts like this either lead to a day of fasting or bingeing. The last few days I have been able to walk into the cafeteria and purchase pieces of fruit (almost) indifferent to the other food around me. I am still in a stressful state of robotic control while making/buying food and am always thinking "just get out of here as quick as you can!" but I've begun to notice the small improvements here and there.

I find that drinking a black coffee immidiatly before or after eating a piece of food helps to suppress the appetite greatly while the "full" impulses reach my brain, unfortunatly because I am trying to break my meals up and spread them throughout the day, this leads to a lot of caffine going into my system which in turn makes me twitchy and unable to relax so the control is lost slightly. My plan is to attempt to eat a small piece of food once every two hours instead of sticking rigourously to three set meals.

I also want you to know that although I have an ideal weight in mind I am not attempting to 'diet' as such right now. I recognise my priority is regaining control of my eating patterns. The reason I am choosing to monitor myself on this site is that every bulimia support site I join seems to let the odd pro-ana/mia member slip in. Its very soul destroying to hear people say "what do you MEAN you can't carry on exercising at 105lb? Anyone can do that, you're just being lazy!".
Not really productive, is it?

This website has been more productive for me because I believe talking to people with a 'rational' perspective on food may eventually help to change my perspective. Also, the recovery stories from binge-eating and overeating are very encouraging. I have only found one case of a recovered member on a bulimia support forum, the trigger for it being that she "found Jesus".
I'm not an atheist or anything, but I don't think its Jesus' job to cure me.
I go to the gym several times a week, talk to a concellor and am taking prozac as drug therapy, prescribed by a psychiatrist. I think I have taken up all the local help available.

I might not be ready to experiment with new foods yet, but its good to know what "good" food is when I am ready Cheers hun, and to the rest of you.

 

[nexangelus]

Hey there nex, I am glad as anything you've popped up because all the sympathy and medical research doesn't generally solve the fact that not many people understand the extent of control the illness has over you.
(Not at all suggesting I am 'glad' you have the illness :8855

No, you're right, it is hard for people who haven't had a food addiction or problem to understand it (get their heads round it) fully...

I want you to know that although I have this carb 'fear' I am nowhere NEAR as afraid of food as I was a few weeks ago...but I've begun to notice the small improvements here and there.

Good and keep going, baby steps, keep on stepping...never give up...

My plan is to attempt to eat a small piece of food once every two hours instead of sticking rigourously to three set meals.

Sounds sensible and in fact I have found the only way to stop the hunger (that in turn causes the binge/purge cycle) that once hounded me is to eat every two hours (obviously smaller portions)...if I feel full and satisfied I don't have the urge to binge...

The reason I am choosing to monitor myself on this site is that every bulimia support site I join seems to let the odd pro-ana/mia member slip in. Its very soul destroying to hear people say "what do you MEAN you can't carry on exercising at 105lb? Anyone can do that, you're just being lazy!".
Not really productive, is it?

I suddenly realised this after I had posted, I didn't mean that you shouldn't be here, it sometimes can be a trigger, the food talk and the diet stuff for some...I used to post on a bodybuilding website (as I am improving my lean mass), but realised that it wasn't the right place for me, there are some really strongly obsessive folk on there too and that could've sent me reeling, this feels safer for me, and more encouraging overall.

A great reply Cateka...thanks...I don't feel so concerned now...

 

[annaphylactic]

Hi Cateka - you have set my mind at rest too. You're right, I don't understand, and would never assume to - I was only concerned that you popped up on our lighter life thread... now, there are balanced areas of the site and I think you're approach is balanced and well thought through - but looking at threads for any VLCD (like lighter life, cambridge etc) is not going to help you.

I hope you regain control honey - you're stunning and you've obviously got your head screwed on right Good luck on your journey - wherever it takes you.

A x

 

[beefy99]

i heard that if you do extreme things, such as eat virtually no carbs for say 3 days, then the fourth day, an extremely high amount of carbs, the fat just melts right off of you