Sometimes a person with anorexia or bulimia starts out just trying to lose some weight or hoping to get in shape. But the urge to eat less or to purge or over-exercise gets "addictive" and becomes too hard to stop.
Someone with anorexia might:
- become very thin, frail, or emaciated
- be obsessed with eating, food, and weight control
- weigh herself or himself repeatedly
- deliberately "water load" when going to see a health professional to get weighed
- count or portion food carefully
- only eat certain foods, avoiding foods like dairy, meat, wheat, etc. (of course, lots of people who are allergic to a particular food or are vegetarians avoid certain foods)
- exercise excessively
- feel fat
- withdraw from social activities, especially meals and celebrations involving food
- be depressed, lethargic (lacking in energy), and feel cold a lot
Someone with bulimia might:
- fear weight gain
- be intensely unhappy with body size, shape, and weight
- make excuses to go to the bathroom immediately after meals
- only eat diet or low-fat foods (except during binges)
- regularly buy laxatives, diuretics, or enemas
- spend most of his or her time working out or trying to work off calories
- withdraw from social activities, especially meals and celebrations involving food
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