The Impact of Anorexia Nervosa

Oftentimes, we work with individuals who don’t believe they have an eating disorder. Many people assume that a diagnosis like anorexia nervosa is only given to people who are “really severe,” which isn’t the case. Anorexia impacts individuals of all sizes and with all levels of severity.

A Case Study for Anorexia Nervosa

In a recent YouTube video for The Kahm Clinic, nutritionist Elaina Efird, RDN, CD, CEDRD, CSSD shares a case study of an individual who thought her own eating habits weren’t severe enough to be considered an eating disorder. She believed that she wasn’t “sick enough” and that her doctor and loved ones were simply overreacting. Thanks to our metabolic testing, we were able to show her how her behaviors were impacting her internally, which helped her understand the true impact of her choices. 

She came to see us because her physician was concerned about her health after she lost about 30 pounds throughout a 12-month period. In order to lose this weight, she restricted her intake to 1,000 calories per day and also exercised up to two hours daily. Additionally, she was purging through self-induced vomiting any time she ate something she deemed to be “too big.” The purging was very sporadic: as frequently as three times per week or as little as once over a few months. “Again, she didn’t think this behavior was that big of a deal,” Elaina explains. “She believed that these choices were normal despite the fact that people in her life were really concerned about her.”

Her Metabolic Testing Results

At her initial visit, her metabolic rate was only 991 calories per day — much less than the expected 1,450 calories per day. Her metabolism decreased substantially as her body tried to compensate for her under-eating, overexercising, and purging. These results allowed her to see that her disordered eating behaviors were impacting her body in a negative way. 

Of course, she didn’t immediately recover. To do so, she worked on a number of things with us, including increasing her food intake, decreasing her exercise, and decreasing her purging behavior. Still, these results were a wake-up call for her. 

It took this individual a long time to identify with her eating disorder diagnosis. “Even if you’re only using a disordered eating behavior occasionally, that doesn’t mean you don’t have an eating disorder,” Elaina shares. “It’s worth talking to your doctor, nutritionist, or therapist to figure out what’s going on — because that eating disorder voice can be really sneaky.”

You Deserve Proper Treatment

Remember that there’s no such thing as being “sick enough.” “You can have an eating disorder even if you know there are other people who have an eating disorder that are ‘sicker’ than you,” Elaina adds.

Know that, no matter where you are in your relationship with food and your body, you deserve proper treatment. You’re worth it.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more video content!

To talk to a professional about eating disorder treatment, please reach out to our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic today.