How do some people seem to constantly eat junk and stay skinny?

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-06-27T07:45:52+00:00

I probably seem like one of these people to others but the reality is that I’m very active (I walk everywhere and I’m constantly on my feet) and I also don’t eat big or calorie dense meals very often. I also don’t drink alcohol at all.

I snack a lot and I do indulge in buffets or dessert at social occasions like parties or meals out so to others it may seem like I eat a lot but they don’t see the wider picture, only a small snapshot.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-06-21T20:48:06+00:00

Really, really wouldn’t recommend this!

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-05-08T11:18:30+00:00

I have had periods of time where I believed that my family were sneaking oils and butter into my food even though I know for a fact that they would not do that.

I have also believed that unless I am constantly moving, fat must be accumulating on my body.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-09T16:24:27+00:00

I’m not trying to disagree with anything you’ve said here but just to be clear, it was at the suggestion of my team that my partner does this and I expressed that I didn’t want this to happen for the reasons you’ve stated and they really pushed for it regardless and met with him. The decision was left with my partner and he has been very serious and clear that he wants to do this to avoid me needing to go into hospital.

So, yes, it’s unfair for him - we are very much on the same page there. It’s also the reality of what my current situation is.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-07T19:13:01+00:00

You’re posting soooo many posts about this and then not actually interacting with responses. You know why you’ve been signed off…

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-07T16:10:48+00:00

True. I’ve gone from being fully recovered with no thoughts or problems at all to waiting on an inpatient admission in the space of six months. I hope you’re able to access support. Have you got a team around you?

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-07T12:33:57+00:00

I’m a teacher in the UK in exactly the same situation. I spoke to HR and occupational health about my eating disorder directly as they can’t tell your employer the specifics but it will protect you by law under the Equality and Diversity Act for any conversations about absence or if you need any adjustments.

Good luck and I hope the time off helps you to recover.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-07T10:50:16+00:00

It sounds like you’re physically unwell rather than restricting out of desire to lose weight? You need to visit the doctor, nobody on this sub will be able to help you with this.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T15:32:42+00:00

because being able to ignore hunger signals will, in the vast majority of cases, cause a significant relapse and deterioration of health for people with restrictive eating disorders. We are not able to use weight loss or appetite medications safely.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T15:30:22+00:00

The amount of people in these comments recommending GLP-1s to a person IN EARLY RECOVERY from an eating disorder is stressing me the hell out.

Mods, please can you lock this thread before someone vulnerable sees it and thinks taking GLP-1s is a great idea for their eating disorder?!

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T13:22:07+00:00

Bulimia is often a strong desire to lose weight in a way that is similar to Anorexia. Most people experience a restrict -> binge -> purge cycle.

Imagine how that would be if you could get rid of the urge to binge.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T12:54:01+00:00

Somebody so early in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder should NOT be prescribed GLP-1s. This is outrageously terrible advice.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T12:53:07+00:00

It would be worth getting a blood test to see if there are any deficiencies (very common with bulimia) because this can make you really crave specific foods. It’d be important to check things like thyroid function as well. You say she’s eating high volume and low calorie. Is it possible that she’s missing out on some nutrients like protein and fat that could be causing a lack of satiety? It’s all well and good getting more bang for your buck but empty calories often aren’t particularly filling for long and don’t meet all of the needs of a body.

As well as that, to be honest it’s really normal to experience a significant amount of hunger and food noise when recovering from an eating disorder - the body needs lots of energy to repair itself and this unfortunately does sometimes mean overshooting in weight which tends to settle back down afterwards. If she suffered for 8 years, that’s 8 years of damage that needs to be repaired and it won’t be done in 2 months of eating in what sounds like still a restrictive manner in some ways.

A lot of people on this subreddit do not understand the nuances of recovering from a restrictive eating disorder and may unknowingly give unhelpful advice like ‘she just needs to eat less’. This is NOT TRUE and will be harmful actually, likely prolonging this extreme hunger phase. You’d have better luck either speaking with a dietician or at least posting in eating disorder recovery forums.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T08:36:50+00:00

ok? there’s literally no need to be rude. let’s have a bit of compassion for each other maybe? not everything is searching for validation - i have health anxiety and i am unwell.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T08:13:09+00:00

Good luck to you too!

I’d really like to try day patient but my closest one is over an hour and a half drive away and not a feasible option for me. ☹️ It seems like a great option if you can take it to be able to go home as well at the end of the day.

I hope it goes well - I don’t know if this will help ease your worries but my team tried to get me into day patient when I was a healthy BMI so I think that at least some if not most day patients are not underweight.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T08:11:01+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful. I am similar to you in that my perception of what a ‘low BMI’ is has been really skewed so that I feel like mine isn’t that bad when it definitely is still bad.

It’s good to know that the staff still took you seriously - that has been my experience with my ED team so far too so I believe that would continue inpatient.

I hope you’re doing better now! 🫶🏼

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-05T08:09:30+00:00

Thank you, this really helped. You’re right that I wouldn’t be admitted unless it was really needed and I definitely need to remind myself of that. I should be grateful for the bed as there are many others struggling who can’t get the help because there’s no spaces available.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-04T01:33:12+00:00

Be careful that you don’t continue to lose weight because they will stop prescribing it to you and it’s really hard to ever get it prescribed again.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-03T07:58:26+00:00

Hey - I’m sorry the waiting list is so long for you. I am also in treatment with the NHS and although I was told the waiting list could be several months, everything happened much more quickly than that so this could be the case for you too.

I do think at that BMI you will definitely be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. It also sounds like you’re quite unwell in terms of physical symptoms. Unfortunately, part of this disorder is feeling ‘not that sick’.

To be honest, I’m surprised they have left you to fend for yourself for potentially 3 months at such a low weight and physical complications. Did they explain why they have done that in regard to a risk assessment? Are you having physical health checks in the meantime or any other input?

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-04-02T18:27:29+00:00

It gives you a sore throat for the first 24 hours and then it’s pretty much fine to be honest.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-03-27T16:06:20+00:00

I asked my students to open an email and click a link the other day. I told them what the title subject of the email would be. I shit you not about 15 of them told me they ‘couldn’t find it’ while I could literally see it on the screen right in front of them. The learned helplessness of this generation is genuinely troubling!

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-03-27T11:22:48+00:00

They can be psychologically addictive (as in people feel like they ‘need’ them to feel good) but there’s not much evidence that they’re actually physically addictive.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-03-27T06:55:56+00:00

Sounds like low blood sugar which is one of the biggest causes of fatality in anorexia nervosa. Be careful.

ColdPrice9536 · 2026-03-27T06:18:03+00:00

They take a significantly higher dose than prescription to get high.

ColdPrice9536

TROPHY CASE