How can you tell if you are just dieting or if you are anorexic?

Answer 1

I think those that are anorexic are skinnier than the most well-fit athlete.

Just because they are skinnier than the most well-fit athlete doesn't necessarily mean they are anorexic. Some people are just naturally skinny. Some ways to tell if someone is anorexic are:

• They have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.
• They go to the bathroom after eating (you might hear the shower running, or the sink, or some other type of noise while they are in there. Anorexics/bulimics often do this to cover up the sound of them puking up the food they just ate to avoid gaining weight).
• They eat very little at meals, and cut up their food so it looks eaten.
• They skip meals altogether.
• They avoid eating in front of other people (some are very self-conscious while eating. They think everyone is criticising them, thinking "God, she/he's such a pig. No wonder she/he's fat.").
• When offered food they say, 'I'm not hungry' or 'I ate before I came/a little while ago'.
• When they do eat, they check to see how many calories/carbs are in the food they are ingesting.
• They will eat a TON, and then go days without eating at all.
• They are constantly cold (when the body loses its fat, it can no longer keep them warm).
• They start looking sickly, ie. pale, or start resembling a skeleton.
• They might have bad breath from puking, and there will be sores in their mouth, along with their teeth being worn down.
• They are constantly looking in mirrors, or comparing themselves to other people.
• When they pass a scale, they weigh themselves, no matter where they are.

There are many different signs to see if someone is developing anorexia nervosa, many more than I listed. I hope this helps the people who asked this question! They also are very tired and perform every day tasks with a lot of trouble and weakness

• All thin people are not anorexic. It is not true that anorexic people always purge (throw up their food) and Bulimics are the ones that can look a normal weight and purge their food after eating. Anorexics are the way they are because they are unhappy in their life and feel they have lost all control so psychologically the only thing they can control is to not eat food. Some anorexics will eat very tiny meals and spread it around on their plate to make it look like they are eating more and even some anorexics love to cook for others, but will seldom eat along with who they are cooking for. As anorexia takes over the body is basically starts feeding off itself until some anorexics can no longer tolerate the look of food and eventually they will die from not eating enough calories. There is help for anorexics and the sooner it is caught the more chance they will have getting over their problem. Unfortunately, many anorexics are able to hide their dissipated bodies for a little while by layering their clothing or making excuses they have been ill so those that love them are more willing to accept the excuse than watch how that person eats. With good psychologically counseling to get to the root of the anorexics problem and let them know they have more control over themselves there is a good success rate the person will recover, but they must always be aware throughout their lives especially during stressful times not to fall back into old habits.

Answer 2

Answer"Anorexics don't eat anything."

not exactly! it is a myth that anorexics dont eat anything. of course they do eat, just not enough. (or go through periods of time without eating) if they "overeat"(and when i say overeat its of course a normal amount-or even sometimes less than normal-for the ones without the disorder) they tend to over-exercise or use laxatives or even throw up. believe me when i say if you are anorexic you know(most of the time). even-though you feel fat and worthless you know you are anorexic. (not all the time of course. sometimes you think everything is fine. there is nothing wrong with you. you feel like you can stop whenever you want, but the truth is that you can't because weight loss and "becoming beautiful" has become your obsession) but to sum it up, you would understand you're anorexic when you:

-eat less and less every day

-count calories obsessively

-weigh yourself obsessively (everyday or even more than once a day)

-look into the mirror and are never satisfied with the way you look. You always think you look too fat, but if you were to ask anyone around you, they would say that you are thin...or too thin.

-are eating all alone and are ashamed of eating in public.

-have weird eating habits like cutting your food into tiny bits and pieces, chewing on a small piece for a certain amount of time. OR for a certain amount of chews. (chewing one piece of food 40, 50, 100 times, etc)

-have lost your period for more than two months because of weight loss.

-have more fine hair growing out of your body and the hair on your head is becoming more and more thin....you lose wads or chunks of hair and have random, small bald spots.

-like to cook for others, but never eat your own food.

and most importantly when you are lying about your eating habits to everybody else including yourself. because the main thing that anorexics don't want to happen is people finding out, because people will try to sabotage their efforts. they think that everyone else only wants them to eat and be fat...

Answer 3

As long as you are getting the daily requirement of nutrients and eating healthy food, you are just dieting. If you are not eating...or not eating frequently, you have an eating disorder. You should try to eat some healthy food to keep your metabolism high. After a hard breakup, I stopped eating, and my metabolism plummeted...not fun!

Answer 4

you tell if someone is anorexic if their breath always smells like throw- up and they are withering away!!!!!!!!!!!

it's so sad amke sure you keep an eye out!!!!!!!!!!

wow. anorexia isn't throwing up to the person above me, that's bulimia. you can tell if someone is anorexic if there skin has a yellowish tint to it caused my malnutriton, if they only eat small amounts of food, if their hair is falling off, if the complain of always being cold, if they avoid events with food, or if they have fuzzy hair growing all over their body. There are other ways but these are all i can think of.

Answer 5

You may have anorexia if you have a distorted view on your body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, if you count or restrict calories in a very low cal diet and if you feel like you can't be worth something or happy until you are thin, you probably have anorexia nervosa.

Answer 6

There are many factors and diagnositic steps to an eating disorder like anorexia. Weight is usually key, and the most impotant factor in diagnosing an eating disorder is weight in terms of BMI (Body Mass Index) and percentage muscle and percentage body fat. A diagnosis for anorexia also requires other symptoms or signs, such as low blood pressure, low heart rate, organ degeneration, hair loss, and a disordered mental state (desire to lose weight to an unhelahty and excessive level).

One key measurement is this: if your eating patterns allow you to lose about pound a day for 30 days in a row, chances are high that you're becoming anorexic. You are best advised to reach out to someone to talk with so that you can begin eating normally again.

Answer 7

They are deathly skinny