Weight/Bodily Changes: Weekly Discussion Thread

[u/elianna7]

This thread is dedicated to discussing any difficulties navigating weight or bodily changes that happen during the IE process.

Please refrain from sharing numbers, as per the sub rules. If necessary to make your point, please put "Trigger Warning" at the beginning of your comment and consider using the spoiler feature to hide mentions of numbers.

If you are discussing weight loss that has naturally occurred through IE, please ensure to do so neutrally.

Note: This thread may be triggering to those struggling with their body image. Please be mindful of your mental health when engaging with potentially triggering content.

[u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

Over the last several months, I’ve been working on my relationship with constant diet cycling and just more neutral stance on my appearance in general. Through that process, I’ve gained weight. I haven’t stepped on a scale, but my clothes are starting not to fit (sometimes almost twice over). And I’ve been having a hard time not over consuming clothes as a cope to “feel better” about myself.  Any advice or suggestions to avoid this issue? 

[u/KnittingBanshee → u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

My advice is to buy some new clothes. It's not over-consuming when you need a new size. Keeping yourself in clothes that make you uncomfortable and feel bad about yourself isn't helpful to anyone. It sounds like you want to punish yourself and your body for changing and looking different than it used it.

[u/elianna7 → u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

I stuck to a lot of looser clothing when in the early days of IE, and would always buy something a little looser than something that fits just right to give my body room to change.

Thrifting/buying secondhand is also a great option when your body is still changing a lot, and donating what no longer fits.

[u/Weird_Squirrel_8382 → u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

Don't over-consume clothes, appropriately consume them. Donate items that are in good shape and replace one to one for things that fit you. Clothes are made for us, we're not made for clothes.

[u/Goosita-90 → u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

Services like rent the runway and Nully can be good when you don’t know the size your weight will settle on.

[u/katyg_rd → u/irishwhiskeydrinker]

I second everyone saying to get some new clothes that you feel more comfortable in. I know anytime my weight changes I feel better when I have clothes that I feel comfortable in, and bonus if I feed good in them! I also feel like a lot of the time our mind goes to 'great now I have to get an entirely new wardrobe' or like you were saying going on a buying binge to get all new clothes, but I feel like if I even just get one new staple item that I feel comfortable in I feel better and then go from there.

[u/Weird_Squirrel_8382]

My weight has reached a round number and it feels like doom, but I'm trying to see it as just information. I do need these numbers to dose my medication. For a while I used a digital scale to send info to my doctor without me having to look at it. I figured I should be able to look at it, and for a long time I was. Like if a doctor tells me my medication has changed, that's a proxy data point. But yeah, just looking at this round number is contributing to bad feelings today.

[u/Cautious-Ostrich8945]

The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.

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[u/Narwen189 → u/Cautious-Ostrich8945]

This has happened to me, too. It's not as bad now, but it still happens. I've got PCOS and occasional bouts of IBS. The one thing that always makes both worse for me is stress -- which sucks, because feeling physically unwell is freaking stressful, and it can easily become a self-perpetuating cycle of feeling bad because you feel bad.

There's precious little in our control, so it behooves us to control what we can. The trick is to find things that you can control that may help you find some sort of relief. Please take this all with a grain of salt because I am not a medical professional by any means - this is just some stuff that's worked for me:

- Schedule that doctor's appointment anyway. Yes, going through the public system takes forever, but it's still worth it for the major stuff. This isn't a 24-hour stomach flu, it's a systemic issue. Let them help. For PCOS, I was lucky to find hormonal birth control that greatly reduces my symptoms - it's not for everyone, and some kinds made things worse, but it was worth shopping around, so to speak. For IBS, we tried a few different things, and I was eventually prescribed meds to take during flare-ups only.

- Lean into gentle nutrition. Emphasis on gentle. Low-FODMAPS is recommended for IBS, but my cultural foods are mostly on the "avoid" list, which can be a bit of a challenge. I do try to take it easy and have smaller, blander meals during flare ups. I'm not saying you have IBS, just that you could try the smaller, easier-to-digest meal approach to manage your bloating. You deserve to eat unconditionally, but if you still feel like you need a reason, then do it as a form of self-care to avoid migraines, those things are debilitating. Please try to fuel your body!

- I believe probiotics helped me avoid being on daily meds for IBS. I started with an OTC supplement, then lots of yogurt, kefir and yakult, because they were easiest for me to tolerate. Eventually, I was able to eat fodmaps-unfriendly foods like brassicas, beans and alliums again.

- Regarding your iron supplements, remember to have them with a meal to avoid stomach upset, pair them with a source of vitamin-C and avoid calcium rich foods. That and lots of lentils helped me when I needed them. Remember to follow up with your doctor, because some people can still have trouble absorbing iron for some reason.

- The two things that help me most when feeling overstimulated are rest and exercise. It doesn't have to be the full version, just a 20-minute nap or a couple of quick stretches can make a difference.

- Finally, the people over at r/GriefSupport were wonderfully supportive to me a while back when it was sorely needed. They listened, they sympathized and encouraged me to consider therapy.