*Eating disorder symptoms*
Main Page....Figure Skating Issues....Eating Disorders....Signs and symptoms
Note: Remember that any combination of these symptoms may be present in ANY eating disorder (anoretics may binge and/or purge, bulimics may restrict, etc.), and not all signs are always present in every person who engages in these behaviors.
Food restriction
Purging/Excessive exercise
Binge eating
Other signs and symptoms
Signs of food restriction
Weight loss probable
Wearing baggy clothing (to hide weight loss)
Making excuses for not eating
Hides food or lies about eating habits
Making lists of "good" and "bad" foods
Refusing to eat certain foods
Obsessively measuring/weighing food
Looks pale
Finding diet pills or chromium supplements
Complains of being light headed
Constantly feeling cold at normal room temperatures
Fingernails turning blue
Dizzy or fainting spells
Buying diet pills or appetite suppressants
On the head: hair loss or brittle hair
Other parts of the body: increased hair growth (lanugo)
Unexplained lost or irregular menstrual cycle
Purging, excessive exercise, diuretic or laxative abuse, etc.
Weight loss possible
Scarring on the knuckles
Exercises more than necessary or healthy
Injuries from excessive exercise
Exhaustion (from overexercise or dehydration)
Frequent visits to bathroom
Frequent trips to drug store
Eating a lot but not gaining weight
Wrappers of diuretics, laxatives, etc.
Frequent sore throats
Frequent dizzy or fainting spells (due to dehydration)
Odor of vomit in the bathroom
Red or puffy eyes
Swollen face or "chipmunk cheeks"
Binge eating
Large quantities of food mysteriously disappearing
Frequent trips to grocery store
Weight gain possible
Dramatic weight flucuations possible
Eating much more rapidly than usual
Frequently eating well past the "full point"
Subjective experience of eating being "out of control"
Eating large quantities of food when not physically hungry
Feelings of depression
Isolation and eating in secret
Other signs and symptoms
Preoccupation with weight, diet, food, and calories.
Cooking for others (may or may not eat what they make)
Consumption of large amounts of no-calorie foods (gum, coffee, diet drinks, etc.)
Irregular or absent menstrual cycles
Bruises easily
Frequent mood swings
Becomes socially withdrawn or depressed
Low self-esteem, or self-worth based on weight or size
Complaints of being "fat" or a distorted body image
Becoming withdrawn or "testy" at meal times
Development of rituals at meal time (e.g. eating foods in a certain order, wiping mouth between bites)
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