Feelings
Are you a perfectionist, a person who always wants to be in control, an overachiever and/or do you think no matter what you do it is never enough?
Do you find that you are always questioning your own judgements and/or actions, and/or do you scrutinize yourself over small faults?
Within your family and/or circle of friends are you considered “the strong one” who everyone will come to with problems, and/or you never seem to talk much about your own?
Do you find yourself often comparing your appearance and weight to others, strangers and/or fitness models and figure competitors, and wishing to be as “muscled” or as “lean” as they are?
Do you continuously feel that you are overweight even though others have told you that you are not?
Do you often feel numb or empty inside, like your life lacks fulfillment and happiness, like something is missing or there is a void inside?
Behaviour
Do you eat, self-starve or restrict, binge and/or purge, and/or compulsively exercise when you are feeling lonely, badly about yourself or about a situation, or when you are feeling emotional pressures?
While eating, self-starving, or binging and/or purging do you feel comforted, relieved, like emotional pressures have been lifted, or like you are in more control?
Do you feel guilty following a binge and/or purge episode, after eating or during and/or after periods of restriction/self-starvation?
When eating do you ever feel out of control or like you will lose control and not be able to stop; and/or do you try to avoid eating because of this fear?
Do you typically feel guilty after a binge, or after any snack or meal, and like you have almost instantly gained weight, like you are a failure, and/or like you have sabotaged yourself?
Do you use self-starvation, purging, diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, and/or obsessive exercise as a way to attempt to lose weight?
Do you drink a lot of water, tea or coffee, eat a lot of candy or junk food and/or gum, smoke, and/or take caffeine pills as an attempt to control appetite and/or feel more energetic?
Do you weigh yourself often and does the number on the scale dictate your mood and/or self-worth for the day; and/or do you find you are continuously trying to get that number lower?
Are you constantly “on a diet”, and/or counting calories and fat grams; and/or do you feel like you’ve tried every “nutrition plan” or “competition prep diet”?
Do you spend a lot of time obsessively cooking for others or reading recipes, and/or studying the nutritional information on food (calories, fat grams, etc.)?
Do you set weight-goals for yourself only to find when you reach it that you want to lose more?
Physical Symptoms
Are you temperature sensitive (always feel cold or hot), and/or do you get tingling in you extremities (hands and feet)?
Do you find that you bruise easily, have a very high tolerance for pain, and/or you are extremely noise sensitive (even only slightly loud noises irritate you).
Are you unrealistically tired relative to the amount of energy expended (ex. do you feel winded or dizzy after climbing a flight of stairs), and/or do you find yourself often fatigued?
Do you suffer any of the following: heart palpitations and/or chest pains; fainting spells, blackouts or dizziness; chronic lower back pain, headaches or lightheadedness, tingling in arms or legs, numbness in face or other parts of the body, joint pain, excitability, mood swings, hyperactivity; low blood pressure and/or body temperature or escalated blood pressure or cholesterol; and/or chronically sick with cold or flu symptoms.
Do you suffer any of the following: disruption in menstrual cycle and/or irregularity, infertility, decreased sex drive, irritability; lack of ability to concentrate, blurred vision; kidney and/or urinary tract infections; sore throats, dental problems; stomach cramping, blood in stools or vomit, diarrhea, constipation and/or incontinence (loss of bowel control); insomnia, fatigue, and/or anxiety or depression?
This was my life. See all the questions here
Did you know
- The syndrome, dubbed by the researchers as “eating disorder, bodybuilder type (ED, BT),” is characterized by rigid adherence to a high-calorie, high-protein, low-fat diet eaten at regularly scheduled intervals. ED, BT was found in 55 of the 75 study subjects. Nontraditional gender role, the second syndrome identified in 55 of 75 study subjects, is characterized by a strong preference for stereotypical masculine clothing, occupations and games or pastimes, and a strong preference for male friends.” Sixty-five out of the 75 study subjects reported extreme dissatisfaction with their bodies in accord with the early described syndrome called “muscle dysmorphia” in which even bodybuilders in top physical condition feel small and weak. Gruber states, “These patterns of eating behavior, gender role behavior and body image disorder caused profound effects on the social and occupational functioning of women bodybuilders. We encountered women who held degrees in law, medicine or business, yet had abandoned these careers to pursue an all-consuming lifestyle of rigorous dieting and spending many hours at the gym,” said Gruber. ~ Women and Steroids
- Today’s experts believe that eating disorders are especially common among athletes because of the pressure on them. Competition reinforces characteristics such as perfectionism, obsessive behaviour, the desire to control physique and attention to detail. Most successful athletes are more determined and disciplined than the average. They set the highest goals and work extra hours to achieve them. The same pressure that will drive one athlete to bulk up by the illegal use of steroids is the engine that drives another to shed weight through anorexia and bulimia. They just see different paths to producing what they believe will be the perfect and winning body. ~ Body Image Produces a Distorted Image
- One-third of female athletes and a smaller number of males struggle with food. Bizarre eating habits can seem almost normal among sports-active people. These athletes think (or feel pressured by the athletic community to believe) that by restricting their food to lose weight, they will exercise better, look better and enhance their overall performance. Ironically, restricting food in an attempt to improve performance can actually result in depleted fuel stores, muscle wasting, stress fractures, fainting, weakness, fatigue and eventually, impaired performance. Some athletes may manage to exercise well for a while without an obvious decline in performance. But injuries and lack of energy will eventually catch up with them. ~ Eating Disorders: A Guide for coaches, parents and friends