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Mental health
1

Hi,

​My wife for a while has been wondering if I have an eating disorder and I', beginning to wonder if she's right.

​Once upon a time in my life I didn't think at all about weight, calories etc. One day though I realised how much weight I'd put on.

​Since that time, about 6 years ago, I;ve lost - and kept off - about 4 stone, going from 14 stone 2 to about 10 stone 0/2.

​However, I am now absolutely terrified of putting weight back on. I will be extremely careful what I eat in the week, in order to give myself permission to have a splurge day on my day off (Friday). I will then be excessively monitoring myself to ensure I have gone back down to where I should be on a Friday.

​An example: by Friday I normally weight about 10 stone. On Friday/Saturday if I somewhat loosen up a bit, I will, by Monday, weigh about 10 stone 2. This absolutely terrifies me: the thought of putting weight on again scares me to death. I will then weigh myself at least twice a day over the week to make sure I've lost that weight in order to give me permission to eat what I want.

​It's so crippling: tonight for example is Wednesday: i currently weight 10 stone 1.4. I know if I am really careful tomorrow I will be back to 10.0 for Friday. What I want more than anything though is to have a takeaway pizza with my wife this evening and chill out - I know I'll feel guilty though and it will mean I can't kick back on Friday.

​This is the endless cycle. I can't share it with anyone and it's so crippling.

2

Hi James,

I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties. I think that it is important to speak to a GP about this. I'm not a qualified professional (only qualified by experience) but even if you don't have an eating disorder, there are clearly some things which are making life difficult for you.

You may want to log how you are feeling when you weigh yourself, or eat something to see if there are any patterns which emerge.

Could I encourage you to get in touch with Beat - the UK's eating disorder charity. They run free and confidential helpline services, which are open every day from 3pm - 10pm. You can also contact them via chat facilities, email and twitter, if picking up the phone isn't your thing. They also run online support groups, including for men (I'm assuming you're a man, apologies if not).

I'd encourage you to look through some of their resources, as they have a "preparing to meet with your GP" style leaflet.

Take care