I've actually been really lucky when it comes to related health problems. I have a heart murmur/valve issue that has been exacerbated due to my restrictive behaviors, so even though it kills me some days, I try to keep between 650-1k/kcal per day as the worst of the issues seem to crop up when I restrict sub-500/day.

... that also makes it easier to pass off "ED Behavior" when people SEE you eating, it helps keep people less on guard.

(that sounds terrible. I do not recommend hiding your stuff, but I never listen to myself.)

Somehow my hair has remained extremely thick, despite my best efforts to destroy it due to approx. 2x/mo bleach/color cycles. I'm not sure how I ended up lucky in that aspect. On the other hand, I have ended up with horrible dry skin issues, to the point of cracking and bleeding regardless of how much lotion is used.

Hello! I'm Alex. GQ, in my 40s, and after living all over the country, somehow I've settled in the SL, UT area.

I've had eating disorders (restrict/binge/purge/binge/restrict, repeat, etc.) of one form or another since early grade school, along with MDD and the assorted gender/sexuality issues that made being a GenX Queer so much fun.

I've found myself relapsed for the past 2-3yrs very quietly, pretty much stuck in a binge/restrict cycle. I'd say good on me for getting out of the purging, but it's only because I really don't have a gag reflex these days.

Here, and r/EDAnon. I tried peach a year or so ago, and it just felt messy and disorganized.

Curious - I love me a good EC stack, but what's the A? I've not heard of it before.

Work IS my me-time to be able to indulge completely in my disorder. Plenty of distractions and things to keep me occupied, nobody who really notices what I do or do not eat. When there are office culture things like pot lucks, I generally take a little bit of a few things, and go back to my desk where I might take 2-3 bites of whatever, and the rest just gets scraped around for plausible deniability.

I try very hard to not keep binge-foods on hand. The 100 kcal packs of microwave popcorn are lifesavers. Studying makes it way too easy to snack mindlessly. Plain popcorn tossed with seasonings, dried seaweed snacks, tea, sugar free hard candies, and gum are super helpful when the urge strikes. Weirdly, peppermint lip balm also makes me not want to eat.

Best of luck to everyone out there! I'm on the hard-restrict bandwagon until Thursday, then I'm going to try and keep it sensible. Fortunately I'm doing the cooking, so I can at least know what's going in to everything.

This thread also reminded me I need to buy cranberries.

Wool socks are awesome, I like to layer them with something thin underneath. I generally look for anything that brands itself as a "hiking sock", because they tend to last next to forever and are super thick. I love these too for super lazy wear.

I work swing shift, so I'm not home til after 1am.

Doing a VLC/IF combo (18/6) makes it a bit easier for me, but sometimes... it just doesn't work out as well as hoped. I tend to drink tea non-stop from the time I get home until bed. Sometimes just staying out of the kitchen is the hardest part of it all.

Distractions help. Youtube, hobbies, pets, anything like that will help keep my mind off it. Sometimes if the urges get really bad, I will pick a room in the house to clean, or take a shower or a bath before bed.

I'm 44. I remember my earliest disordered thoughts happening around 5 or 6, honestly. "How long can I live on carrots, celery, and vitamins and not have anyone notice?"

I've been on and off the active ED Train pretty much my whole life.

I have a space heater, a blanket, an extra sweater stashed in a drawer, along with a pair of thermal socks I can slip on as needed. I always wear a tank type shirt under a t-shirt, with a sweater or bigger shirt over the top.

My office has next to no dress code, so I'm lucky that I can layer up until I look homeless and nobody glances twice.

Not great, but it goes into a promise that was made a long while back, while I was in much more of a recovery place.

I won't hurt me, you don't hurt you, is basically what it came down to. ¯\_(ツ)__/¯

I'd love to be able to help out, but I'm not sure I will be able to be active enough. proED is kind of a down-low sort of place that I can only visit openly when I'm at work/out of the house.