Emetophobia and weight

[Gemmaaa94]

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[Flowerchild]

Yes , I think we all have been there at some point. I know I definitely have . Anxiety makes it difficult to eat and emetophobia makes it twice as hard. I believe that anyone on the board can chime in and say the same thing. The best way to deal with this is to tackle the anxiety at the root so you can feel more at ease eating.

[crd08]

Start eating snacks. Carry around snacks with you like nuts/protein bars/etc. Your body has adjusted to how it is now, you won't be able to just jump into eating large meals.
I still don't eat "right", but I do have my weight back to a healthy weight. I eat just enough to maintain/my body has adjusted somehow.
I am working on it though. A few years ago I would go days without food, I rarely do that now. Right now I feel anxious/stressed/sick/bloated/everything we hate.. and I managed to eat some toast. We have to push ourselves sometimes

[jkl81]

So overall you're 95 lbs? That's a little underweight according to the BMI, but not extremely. I would focus on minimizing anxiety, meeting nutritional requirements, and enjoying what I do eat. Don't worry about the number at any time unless you are in the range where you are at risk of severe health problems on one side or the other. I think if you take care of your needs and keep the anxiety under control, the numbers will take care of themselves. Are you feeling ok or having issues that make you think you might not be getting enough nourishment?

[Gemmaaa94]

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[thecheesecake17]

Ohmygosh I'm so glad someone posted about this!!
I'm currently 47kg when I should be at LEAST 56kg...and I'm 5'8....and sadly, people have began noticing and telling me I looked so much healthier.... I've spent most of today leering at old pics of me when I had hips and I saw my reflection and my head is so square that I look unwell, even though I do love my food when I have a good day.

Do your parents or friends mention it?
My mum went mad at me again last week as its been a month since I've seen her and she said 'you've dropped what you gained since being back at Uni. Please don't go there again' and in all honesty I was eating fine until I'm back again for the November/December season and I'm 10x more anxious cos I'm constantly around people and every spec of n* I panic so badly.

Worst part is, I suffer when I don't eat...I've had another bad day of eating...been up since 9 and its nearly 8pm and I've had a piece of cold pizza and mcds fries and a coffee and the acid is making me feel rough which makes me not wanna eat...you guys who live with your parents make the most of it! I'm so scared of cooking red meat and even chicken so I'm living off beans, bread, cheese, bland sandwiches and pure junky chocolate...this makes it easy for me to relax but even now I know my poor body is awaiting a good meal and I am at the point where I'm too scared to eat in case I feel n*. I really need to sort my life out...

Rant over.
What do you like eating Gemma? I find junkier food helps as its more-ish and gets the appetite up!!!

[Gemmaaa94]

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[Kittycat319]

This is a thread I've been waiting for for a LONG time.

When my emet was at its worst about 3 years ago I stopped eating almost entirely and lost a significant amount of weight.

Another thing I've noticed about emet is how disordered my eating has been my entire life as a result. Even as young as 5 I remember having foods that were "safe" foods such as soup or bread and foods that were "fear" foods such as hot dogs or fish or any food that I could someway associated with being sick.

My mom definitely noticed when I lost weight in high school and it was part of what got me back to counseling back then. That was about 3 years ago now and for the most part I've gained my weight back. As I work on my recovery now I try to challenge myself into eating foods that scare me and not only sticking to safe food diets.

[Bebopy5]

Snacks is key! I carry around so many different snacks in my purse and my one desk drawer at work is dedicated to snacks. lol. It really truly helps. I usually have crackers, nuts, granola bars, protein bars, just to name a few.

Sometimes I get so stressed that when I don't feel like eating at all and try to stick with safe foods or brat foods. I hate getting to that point because I feel so low. I think I have been better about it especially with my weight, but I know I am not 100%.

It truly is a struggle sometimes, but we just have to push through it. xx

[horsewoman]

Oh wow, I'm just the opposite, too fat..lol.. I feel like if I can eat then I'm ok and not sick, so I eat...too much..

[Shubertgoddess]

I have foods I avoid because they make me feel sick (garlic mostly, since I'm allergic), or because I have a bad association with them (I didn't eat hot dogs or pepperoni for like 15 years and I still don't eat salami or a certain frozen ravioli meal)... But mostly, I'm pretty good with food. I actually really really love food. I don't eat to excess and have always eaten slowly, but that's really because those are things you shouldn't/should do, especially when you're a recovering binge eater (I just ate and ate and ate and got up to like 285lbs).

When it it comes to eating out, I'm incredibly picky, but that's more because I want the food to be better than what I can make myself at home if I'm going to spend money on it.

i find myself going to "safe foods" or avoiding eating, only if my stomach is acting up or until it feels better. And I have mild IBS so that happens from time to time. I had food poisoning in February and didn't eat for 2 days. Then for the next five, I ate the bare minimum. But it took that long for me to really feel better and like myself.

im about 5'4", just under, and at a pretty decent weight. I've been bigger and I've been smaller and I've certainly been less healthy than I am now. I'm currently between a US woman's size 8 and 10, though I try not to let the size in my pants or the number on the scale define me. As long as I'm healthy.

[thecheesecake17]

All so true guys except I envy those who can just have food and enjoy it even if you're gonna feel* after...I suppose the amount doesn't even count but in my head its like -if you have one more bite, you'll feel sick so be careful! Crazy!

Also as Gemma said, I can eat a full bag of doritos, a full bar of chocolate, and a bottle of Pepsi. YET, I can't finish a burger and fries which is one of my fave things!! At home though I go into autopilot and know that my family will comment and enquire about how I'm eating if I don't finish the plateful. I suppose that shows ALOT of the mental aspect ; At Uni, its like - Finishing this meal is Not an option. It's too much. Can't be feeling sick in class. Whereas at home its the opposite - Leaving this meal is not an option! Everyone will force me to eat and make comments about my health.
Blah....

Soooo many people would kill to be on the emet diet haha..if only they knew

[tiredofitall]

I would like to drop about 10 pounds but my body seems content where it is. Sigh.... I eat healthy and work out several times a week. I have no "safe" foods. I eat out regularly and never starve myself so I don't feel sick because that makes me feel worse. I also feel like if I can eat then I'm definitely not sick so I tend to eat when I feel n and it often makes it go away. There was a time when I was much younger when I stopped eating due to the constant n but I still felt n so I just started eating again and began feeling much better. The body needs fuel to keep running efficiently.

[LadyM18]

@Gemmaaa94 :
I have always been an emetophobic but I haven't always been "underweight". I've had ups and downs. Some periods where I could eat normally ("safe" food but in normal quantities). I felt like if I could eat, I was not sick so I would eat without being anxious (Just like @tiredofitall). And some where I barely ate. I dropped a lot of weight back in 2012 because my emetophobia was at its highest level. I gained it back, but now that I have a job and feel constantly anxious, I barely eat again. I feel like I'm dropping weight fast and it scares the hell out of me.
I agree with everybody, snacks are the key I guess ... When I can't eat anything, I carry snacks in my bag.
I totally understand what you're feeling like ...

You'll get through it x