Low Carb and Eating Disorders

LCE provides support to people following a low carb lifestyle. For most of us, that means we want to lose weight. Many have been struggling with unwanted pounds (and the physical and emotional ramifications of those pounds), in some cases for many years. Probably most of us here have tried numerous ill-advised and, in some cases, outright dangerous schemes to deal with the weight.

Myself included. You don't qualify as "morbidly obese" for 35 years of your life without trying a few of the traditional and not-so-traditional "solutions," after all. Some led me to lose a few pounds in the short term, but none of them allowed me to keep off what I'd lost. As soon as I quit the excessive behavior, the pounds came back in force.

Therefore, I understand the desperation and frustration that brings many of you here, very well. Starting at somewhere over 275 (I had pitched my scale), I understand intimately what it means to live life as a fat chick. I know it's no fun.

So it's not a surprise to me that many folks come here with a similar history. In some cases, the more desperate weightloss efforts would qualify for a clinical diagnosis of an Eating Disorder (ED), if you haven't been granted the label already. Eating behavior is on a continuum, and most people don't make it here without having spent at least some time in an unhealthy range of that continuum. Maybe you're not there yet, but you could be moving in that direction. Either way, it's no way to live.

But we're offering you a way out, if you're prepared to take it. You can continue the same maladaptive behavior you've tried in the past, just substituting extreme low-carb as your culinary punishment of choice...and expect the same kind of results. Or you could get a handle on your eating and your perspective, and find a healthy, sustainable way to manage your health and weight for the rest of your life.

Here's how:

• If you need help managing your emotional state and perceptions surrounding eating and weight, GET it. If your picture of yourself is "fat" inside your head, no amount of weight dropped can change that. Body image is multifaceted, most of it unrelated to what the rest of the world sees. And I can promise you that if your emotional issues are not resolved, there is no magic number on the scale that will erase your pain. This has to come first.
• Discontinue extreme/compulsive behaviors with eating and food. (And if you can't manage this on your own, get help before you even attempt to undertake a low carb plan.) This includes any purging, regular binging, frenzied exercise, fasting, etc. You know what I'm talking about if this is an issue for you.
• Please stop calling yourself "fat, disgusting, lazy, stupid," etc. ad infinitum. That's (probably) not true and it just makes me really, really sad. It also makes it much harder for you to take good care of yourself. If self-denigration worked for weightloss, fat people would be an extinct species.
• After you get a baseline, pack the scale and tape measure away. For most with a history of ED-related issues, these are powerful triggers that can spiral into depression and self-disgust. Put them out of sight; religiously stay away from anything that you know triggers upsets or excessive behavior. Don't allow yourself to pull them out again except at predefined intervals, if you decide it's safe for you (once a month, for example, would be reasonable - NOT daily)! If it makes you feel bad or triggers you, avoid it.
• Pick a reputable, established low carb plan, and follow it to the letter. Don't "sort of" follow it. Don't eat less than the plan suggests to lose weight faster (which doesn't work, by the way), or don't eat more sometimes and later nothing to punish yourself for your "weakness." (And if all you care about is losing weight and not what the process does to your body, this is still the best way to do it; eating erratically can actually stop losses as your body tries to compensate for imbalances and, eventually, you can damage your system to the point that it becomes all but impossible for you to lose weight, ever.)
• Focus ONLY on your progress. The only real failure is to give up, so by definition, if you're doing your best to take care of yourself, you ARE successful. Progress comes in many forms, by the way. Scales, measurements and clothing sizes are one way to measure. Energy level and  overall health are other ways. This will be a challenge, but well worth it. In fact, the most reliable indicator of long-term success we see here consistently is a positive attitude. Positive thinking does work!
• Monitor your emotional state, and get additional professional support as needed. While LCE can provide you with peer support for your low carb eating plan specifically, this is not the same thing as spending time with a therapist who understands treating EDs successfully and can help you cope with that and other challenging areas of your life.

Now, I happen to believe low carb is a solid, long-term choice for people who have ED-related issues, provided they have reached a place where they are able to follow an established plan without compulsive behaviors. This way of eating, faithfully followed, get cravings under control, manages hunger, and leaves adherents with lots of energy and overall improved health. But if you use low carb as just another version of the crash-diet-of-the-week and persist in extreme behaviors that wreak havoc with your system, you put yourself right back where you were before, still struggling, still feeling awful, and still slowly (or quickly) killing yourself.

I realize everyone has to make their own choices and your decisions are always your own, whether I agree or not. But Eating Disorders are something I take very seriously; the sad truth is that people die from eating disorders! I care about the folks that look to this site for support. So if you have active ED issues, please don't just tell yourself you can just "use them" for a little while to lose the weight or that it doesn't count if you can hide it. Your issues will not become magically resolved when the scale hits your happy zone. The issues aren't stored in the fat cells, OK? Get the professional support you need to live your life.

You do have a choice. I hope you choose to care enough about yourself and your loved ones to do whatever work necessary in order to have a happy, healthy life, free from the demons and obsessions. It can be done and it's very, very worth it.

I'm rooting for you!