A history of disordered eating: proceeding carefully Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did.
I would like to disagree carefully with the settled view on history of disordered eating, and I would like to be argued out of it if the disagreement is bad.
The disagreement is about one step, not about the conclusion. If the step holds I withdraw it entirely.
On the opening post — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification.
The social side of this — how other people respond to visible change — comes up constantly and has nothing to do with pharmacology.
On history of disordered eating the community has more anecdote than the confidence in this thread implies, and I include my own contribution in that.
Post #4 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.
Social and relationship impacts: weight change affects how others perceive and interact with a person. Those impacts are real and can be psychologically significant.
Posting my history of disordered eating numbers with the method attached so they can be discounted properly. Uncontrolled, unblinded, and collected by someone who wanted a particular answer.
Narrowing post #9, because the general version has more than one answer.
Having read the whole history of disordered eating thread before replying: the question in the first post has not actually been answered yet, and three of us have answered a nearby one instead.
If you are in crisis, contact a local emergency or crisis service rather than posting. A volunteer forum cannot help and waiting costs time.
I keep a log of this specifically because memory is unreliable about it.
Disordered eating history: a history of anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders changes the risk-benefit calculation. Appetite suppression might trigger relapse. Specialist input is prudent.
One case, stated as one case.
Taking post #10 at face value and following it one step further.
History of disordered eating came up in a thread eighteen months ago and was answered well. I cannot find it, which is itself the problem, so here is the reconstruction.
Post #13 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.
Counterpoint on history of disordered eating, offered without confidence: the same observation is consistent with a much duller explanation, and nobody has ruled the dull one out.
Where a member is finding this hard, the useful reply is usually a question rather than an answer, and this subcategory does that well.
I have seen it go both ways, which is why I hedge.
Worth separating two things that post #16 runs together.
Checked the history of disordered eating claim against the primary source this morning. It survives, with a narrower scope than the version quoted here. Posting the narrower scope.
Adding the measurement that post #18 says would settle it.
Summarising the history of disordered eating thread so far, since it is long and the answer is buried: the first reply has the method, the fourth has the correction to it, and the rest is people agreeing at length.
Post #16 describes the usual case. This is about the unusual one.
Motivation and expectation: starting with clear motivation and realistic expectations about what will happen and when helps with psychological adjustment.
History of disordered eating is worth one more sentence than it usually gets, and the sentence is the one about how the number was arrived at.
Confirming post #21 from a second method, which matters more than confirming it from a second person.
Expectations set by other people's reported trajectories are a documented source of distress, and the trajectories posted are not representative.
Adding this to the thread rather than to the wiki, because I am not confident enough for the wiki.
Adding a reference point for history of disordered eating. Mine is a single case, collected without controls, and I am posting the method alongside it so it can be discounted appropriately.
Thank you for taking the time. That was more work than a reply usually is.
Coming back to post #25, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.
Support and community: some people process weight change through community (online or in-person). Others prefer privacy. Knowing what you need and seeking it proactively helps.
I have separated what I observed from what I concluded, which does not always happen.
Post #25 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit.
The failure mode on history of disordered eating is boring rather than dramatic. It is almost always the step everyone assumes was done correctly because it is too simple to get wrong.
Taking post #29 at face value and following it one step further.
Substance use: if someone has a history of substance use, appetite suppression and weight loss can shift thinking about body and substance use. This is a risk factor worth acknowledging.
I am aware this is the third time this month I have made this point.