Help People with eating disorders pls help!!

[UninformedLover]

So long story short my ocd is getting to the point where I dont want to buy outside food because I don't want stranger touching my stuff.

But I have a few questions for anyone with eating disorders.

1. How long does it take for you to get used to the hunger pains?

2. What are some things that you typically eat in a day to survive?

3. Would caffeine be helpful in combating low energy/exhaustion? Bc I know you need food to have energy but yk since I'll be not eating I'm curious if there are ways to deal with this? Idk lol

And genuinely just please please please comment any tips or anything useful. Thank you so much.

 

[h4ppyhypoxia]

ill do my best here but i should warn you that im autistic which impacts my ability to recognise when im hungry physically, so for me, hunger is mostly a mental thing and i dont experience physical hunger that often, i usually do OMAD (one meal a day), for reference im anorexic with the binge purge subtype, if you dont know what that is, i restrict most of the time, but sometimes i have episodes of binge eating which are followed by purging

1. ill be honest and say that this isnt something i experience often but i have in the past, usually i find that they "reset" when i go to sleep, i could be ravenous at night but then when i wake up in the morning im less hungry, its hard to say how long it took me to "get used to it" as its always uncomfortable but its just something that ive learned to sit through

2. im what you would call a "junkorexic" which is basically a slang term for an anorexic person who lives off junk food, so basically i eat a lot of chocolate, crisps, etc, but im a big fan of yogurt i find that yogurt is one of the most filling foods especially when you combine it with musseli or some other type of "granola-like" food

3. caffeine doesnt really help me with energy personally but this is an individual thing ive just never been impacted by it BUT it does make it harder for me to sleep on days where i have more caffeine so i would say it most likely does, also green tea can help with you feeling more "full"

please try your best to stay safe and have balanced meals, ik its easier said than done, ive heard about how horrible ocd can be as plenty of my friends with eating disorders also have it, but undereating is very dangerous, i have issues with my digestion, problems with blood pressure, a heart rate that is too fast, and ive had a stress fracture on my foot before, if it feels safe for you, id recommend taking a vitamin supplement so at least youre getting something, also hydration is very very important when youre undereating, feel free to reply to this if you have any more questions im an open book or you can pm if you feel more comfortable with that

 

[ceilingabove]

I've seen anorexics on twitter saying the hunger pains are unbearable and they've been actively eded for years, so probably never

 

[ZwartHartje]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by not wanting to buy outside food, like, to what extent? How about packaged food?
I think a lot of people don't like their food being touched, myself included.

I'm an athlete, I used to have bulimia in my teenage but not any longer. I'm a vegetarian - not vegan sadly, since I do eat lots of dairy and I make extensive use of a protein supplement which is partially dairy-based too. Besides fruit mainly packaged food such as bread, granola bars, yogurt. Sugar-free energy drinks too. Caffeine can help with energy, but be advised that it can also possibly make you more hungry.
I take vitamin and mineral supplements, especially magnesium and potassium. B-vitamins are thought to help with energy too, that's why they're contained in most energy drinks too.
I don't have any specific times when I eat, only the rule that I don't eat after 4 PM.
I hope this helps somehow.

 

[N@te]

So long story short my ocd is getting to the point where I dont want to buy outside food because I don't want stranger touching my stuff.

But I have a few questions for anyone with eating disorders.

1. How long does it take for you to get used to the hunger pains?

2. What are some things that you typically eat in a day to survive?

3. Would caffeine be helpful in combating low energy/exhaustion? Bc I know you need food to have energy but yk since I'll be not eating I'm curious if there are ways to deal with this? Idk lol

And genuinely just please please please comment any tips or anything useful. Thank you so much.

Can you buy like fruits and packaged foods? It's not like people are gonna be touching the food inside canned sardines and yogurt tubs. If your worried about people touching the skin of your fruits you could eat fruits with thick skins, like avocados, oranges, and bananas. Unless your worried about the packaging being touched rather than just the edible portions. If you want to eat as little as possible while still having energy you can focus on calorie dense foods like dried fruits, nuts, fatty fish, and high-fat dairy.

And yes, caffeine (any stimulant really) would help. I use dexamphetamine (ADHD med) for energy and motivation; it's also a stimulant.

 

[discretionadvised]

1. i honestly don't know since i developed it years ago and don't remember how long it was until i got used to them, but i'd say not that long because you have 100 other things on your mind to worry about physical symptoms. i did start getting weird heart problems and physical sensations that were scary to experience later on (like hella fast and hard pounding heart for like 1 minute to the point where i could not breathe), so hunger pains are definitely the "easiest" to ignore.
2. my diet goes in periods where i fixate on certain foods and can only eat those, right now it's mostly berries, eggs, boiled vegetables, plain/not oily or greasy chicken and any type of yoghurt. but in other periods of my life it's been almost all junk food. sometimes i only drank liquids like sweetened coffee, juice, iced tea and got my calories from that, but that was when i felt physically the worst.
3. caffeine definitely helps with hunger supression, especially if it's hot coffee or tea (personally i've found fizzy energy drinks or anything fizzy at all makes me full easily but even hungrier soon after, but see for yourself). however unfortunately no matter how much caffeine you drink, at one point it does not help with the exhaustion and fatigue you get from undereating. unfortunately it's just something you have to get used to.

something else i want to say for you, i don't know much about ocd or your situation, but please stay safe and pay attention to your body and health overall.

 

[UninformedLover]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by not wanting to buy outside food, like, to what extent? How about packaged food?
I think a lot of people don't like their food being touched, myself included.

I'm an athlete, I used to have bulimia in my teenage but not any longer. I'm a vegetarian - not vegan sadly, since I do eat lots of dairy and I make extensive use of a protein supplement which is partially dairy-based too. Besides fruit mainly packaged food such as bread, granola bars, yogurt. Sugar-free energy drinks too. Caffeine can help with energy, but be advised that it can also possibly make you more hungry.
I take vitamin and mineral supplements, especially magnesium and potassium. B-vitamins are thought to help with energy too, that's why they're contained in most energy drinks too.
I don't have any specific times when I eat, only the rule that I don't eat after 4 PM.
I hope this helps somehow.

Ah sorry I should have been more specific .

I just meant any food and all food. I don't want to buy any type of food whether it be fast food, groceries, snacks at a convenience store - anything that requires someone else other than me touching it (cashier, stock person, people at the warehouse). Doesn't matter if its wrapped in plastic packaging or not. Nothing feels safe to eat anymore because people are just so gross you never know what could be contaminated. I KNOW it doesn't make any sense and is not a good way to live but yk that's why I'm gonna ctb soon anyway bc I don't want to keep living like this.

Thanks for your comment though. It was insightful . I'll definitely start taking vitamins to account for the deficiencies I'll gain.


ALSO***

Big thanks to everyone commenting I really appreciate all the help and concern :)

 

[thelostautistic]

I've been recovering from Anorexia for nearly 4 years. I can't really give advice on this because I don't want to encourage. But I will say that hunger pains is not something you get used to. Well I never got used to them. Hunger pains across a long period of time are dreadful.

 

[ih34rty0u]

1) when i was losing weight for the first time, it took me 2 months of restriction to stop feeling physical hunger, and i didn't experience those pains again until i was forced to gain.
now, after spending 2 years in this shit - i cant get used to it again. i cant fast for longer than several hours. i eat every day. i can go only a few hours with my hunger pains, sometimes i can fall asleep with them but only if im really tired.

2) i usually eat: protein bars, whole-grain toast with low cal jam, fruit (mainly berries and apples), yogurts, cottage cheese, protein puddings, tomato soup, sweet potatoes, fish, salads with chicken or light mozzarella cheese.

3) caffeine doesn't really help unless i drink a lot, but then it can also cause panic attacks so be careful. i still drink coffee with almond or lactose-free milk (less calories) in the morning but it's mainly for the taste rather than energy.
plan your meals throughout the day so that you can eat right before doing the most important stuff - studying, work, cleaning etc. you're gonna have less energy overall and you can't really do much more than that.