I feel like I'm not allowd to IF because of my ED history.

Trigger warning: eating disorders I feel like I have no where else to talk about this. I have been in ED recovery for almost 2 years and 6 months abstinence. During recovery i relapsed here and there but not the daily occurencr it once was. Now that I am on all the right meds I really feel in my heart that I don't have bulimia anymore. A lot of the women in my family have metabolic syndrome and are obese. I, too have a 30 BMI do I'm up there [5'3" 170lbs, female]. I don't feel safe or comfortable talking about fasting with healthcare professionals or my family because it's always "no dieting or fasting with ED history". I resent that. My eating disorder IS history. I have tried the following to reduce weight: - High protein (90-120g day) - calore deficit with TDEE and excercise - IF 16:8 - whole foods with every meal - 70+ oz water a day - no foods with added sugar - I am vegetarian so typically get a lot of veggies No change in inches or clothes fit. The only thing that works is ADF. I have read that ADF is more beneficial to those with metablic syndrome ans insulin resistence. That's me! -- also why is it a rule we can't cite research here 😅 I want to go back to this lifestyle even though my history without feeling guilty, or foolish. I simply just desire the my set weight which is 140ish which is what I was before bulimia wrecked my metabolism.

Answer

The mindset is what distinguishes an IF practice from an ED. I’m worried that you believe you need to go entire days without eating or eating <500 calories to lose weight. This may lead to a slippery slope. What’s next if ADF doesn’t work fast enough?

Frankly, nobody needs to go entire days without eating to lose weight. That weight will come off slower if you sustain a slight calorie deficit every day, but it will eventually come off if you are consistent. I’m not saying this is easy, it’s incredibly difficult to be consistent because it just doesn’t take that many calories to maintain your body weight especially for an average-sized woman

I’m guessing total your daily energy expenditure is around 2100 kcal. If you believe you are eating under that but aren’t losing any weight, then you might just be having trouble tracking accurately, which is a problem that we all have. Measure the salad dressing, measure the tablespoons of nuts and peanut butter, measure every damn thing. I know it’s annoying, but that’s how people do this without having to resort to extreme extended fasting that can trigger an eating disorder/relapse.

But it sounds like you might find it to be a relief to not have to measure and count everything, which I totally get. It’s stressful! You’d rather just not have to think about eating every other day, which is less mental effort, initially. That’s the mindset that might be concerning. The idea that you don’t have control over food and need to have days where you just aren’t eating in order to have control can trigger ED relapse.

You are going to do what you want to do but checking in with healthcare professionals and people who love you is always a good bet. You deserve to be healthy and happy, and to feel good about your choices. :-)

Answer

Best of luck to you as you navigate these challenges.

I also need to let you know that I was trying to make a correlation between erectile dysfunction and fasting as I read the first paragraph and now I’m thinking of George Costanza eating a pastrami sandwich during sex.

Happy New Year!