Hey I'm struggling with eating. I don't think I have an eating disorder but I just don't think about getting something to eat for myself. It's that I still live with my parents and they cook or I wouldn't be eating as much as I am now. Only since this month I gained enough weight to be on a healthy BMI. I want to soon start living on my own but I'm worried I will not eat enough. Also don't really like eating because my family used to bully me during dinner. Tag rainbow pizza.
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with your eating right now. It’s great and a really positive step that you have acknowledged that your eating isn’t the greatest at the moment and that you are unsure of how you will cope eating wise when you do move out of home. This is really good because it means that we can help you put things into place to help you eat and not restrict before you move out of home so that hopefully when you do move out of home by yourself, you’re feeling more confident and in control of your eating habits. I also want to tell you how proud I am of you for gaining enough weight to have a healthy BMI, so congratulations on that, I know it wouldn’t have been easy to do at all!
Have you ever received any professional help for your eating issues, perhaps even seeing a dietitian to help with meal plans? It’s OK if you haven’t but maybe it might be beneficial to see one for when you do move out of home so that you know that you’re eating the right foods and eating regularly. This is just an idea though so please don’t feel pressured into seeing one, I myself find it very hard talking about food and what I do and don’t eat in a 24hr period and so I know it can be difficult talking about food!
Do you ever help out with making meals? Sometimes this can be helpful as it can help you get excited to eat and help you feel like you deserve to eat the meal you have prepared after putting in all the hard work. Doing this whilst you’re still living at home can be good too as you will have the support and help from your parents if needed whilst you prepare and cook the meal and it will also get you into the habit of cooking for yourself when you do move out of home.
We also have a page that may be helpful for you to check out. It’s a self-help page for eating disorders but there are 2 sections on this page that I strongly encourage you to read. These two sections are tips on preventing restricting and things you can do if you do end up restricting. To access this page please click here and then scroll down to those sections.
In terms of eating and your family bullying you in the past, I am so sorry that you have had to go through this. This definitely wouldn’t help at all when it comes to eating food and especially around those that did bully you at meal times. Try to block them out and what they say to you though the best you can, maybe you could even write down some helpful things for you to remember. For example “I’m worthy of eating this food and I deserve to eat” or “eating is a normal part of life and gives us fuel to help us get through the day”. Can you think of anything helpful that you could tell yourself?
I really hope that this has been helpful and please know that we are here for you and that you don’t have to go through this alone! I can imagine that moving out of home will be really scary and daunting at first so if you need to talk to anyone we are always here!
I’m thinking of you and wish you all the best!
