I feel like a fake too because for months, I have been eating normally. But in that time, what I have really come to appreciate is that it isn't about how much or how little we are eating, it's about the mentality that drives it all and the feeling of what we are doing never being enough, by the standards that our EDs set us.

I would imagine that if you did restrict further, there might be a part of you that might not feel satisfied with that number either. Its like setting a goal weight, achieving that goal weight and then lowering whatever it was originally (I don't know if this has been a part of your experience but it seems like quite a common example of how our EDs are never satisfied

I would hope that nobody would actively encourage you to lower your intake further; yes, it might increase the rate of weight that you are losing but it might also lead to binging/overeating etc. further down the line and if your goal is weight loss, it might ultimately end up being quite counterproductive.

The choice is ultimately yours though X

 

You aren't fake, but i understand your plight. I've been off track with tracking my intake and exercise for like a fricking month now bc it's just been stressful thing after stressful thing for me that takes up all my mind space with no room for anything else and I've felt like well if I can't focus on my ED no matter what, then clearly I don't have one. But that's not true and you are just as valid as me and anyone else on this site

 

you are not fake and i understand you. currently i eat 600 and that is a VERY big stretch for me and very very hard. it's horrible honestly. i started at 13-1400 acutally. but yeah, i too, feel invalid and that led me to restrict more.

if i logically look at it tho? what did i gain from reducing my intake? do i feel valid now? NO. because there are always people who eat less, work out more etc. always will be. this disease is bad enough and damaging every single one of us enough. at the end of the day... it IS better to do some kind of damage control than to just destroy yourself and your life faster. because no one is gonna give you (or me) a medal for suffering more. but yeah... the competition aspect, i have it too and constantly compare myself (but mostly to my youger self who was able to restrict so much more and with less consequences then now).
So, 600 is my line that i will not cross. i agreed on that with my ed (that sounds cringe lol). also i try to implement days where i eat more and yes it is so hard mentally but... damage control. my poor body man...

pls take care of yourself as much as possible and find like a middle ground. do some damage control pls. really, your body will thank you. if not now, than later, i promise you.

 

This is literally me to a T. I feel like I'm just pretending, that I'm not actually like this. I see people crying over having to eat even just a tiny bit, and all I can think is just, really? I feel like the whole reason I'm losing weight is to just be able to eat like a normal person without guilt (?). I love eating, I can and will devour anything in one go - but I can't help but question myself on that, because aren't anorexics meant to hate/fear food or something? For the past 8 nearly 9 years of my ED, I've constantly gone through long phases of eating like a normal person, not thinking about my weight or calories at all, like I kind of feel like I don't actually have an ED, and I'm just periodically dieting. Though, if you think about it for a second, I don't reckon that this stuff even crosses normal people's minds - about weight, calories, bmi, bmr, tdee, fasting, and whatever else. Hell, I don't think most would even consider going down to 1000 cal to lose weight, that's strongly advised against and unhealthy (most of the time). At the end of the day my conclusion is that if you have these thoughts - you do have an ED. It's a mental disorder, not a weight or intake one.

 

I feel like the whole reason I'm losing weight is to just be able to eat like a normal person without guilt (?)

I relate to this so much.

 

I'm pretty sure it's impossible to have every single ana symptom and experience. Yet our illness always latches on to whatever we don't feel/ haven't done and uses that to trick us into getting sicker (or just keeping us trapped not getting better). It's brutal. And the illness and reasons behind it are different for everyone. And some people are simply more emotional than others (I don't mean this unkindly).You are not fake ❤❤

 

You aren't fake I eat about 1000! Low restrictions in the long run cause malnutrition faster. 1000 calories is way more sustainable and helps people to get to their goal we eight faster.