Emotional Eating

Eating Disorders – Three Red Flags Your Daughter May Be Bulimic

January 11, 2010
By Lynn A Moore

There are things you can look for if you are wondering whether or not your daughter binges and/or purges. We will discuss three of those here.

One of the primary criteria for diagnosing bulimia is eating a large amount of food in a short period of time, along with the feeling of being out of control. A person then compensates for what she ate by vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, restricting intake or excessive exercising.

The other criterion for diagnosis is this cycle of binging and compensating occur on average, at least two times per week for three months or more. These criteria can be found in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders that is published by the American Psychiatric Association.

First Red Flag: Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time. Many people ask, “How much is a large amount of food?” One way to look at this is; the amount of food is more than a person would normally eat and it is consumed in a short period of time.

Let’s say a person might consume a candy bar a day, a bowl of ice cream another day, a burger a day, etc. This is not a large amount (though not the healthiest), and it is spread out over a matter of days. Someone with bulimia may consume all of these things and more in one sitting.

An adult may go from one fast food store or convenience store to another on their way home from work. The goal of this is to ensure no one sees the amount of food purchased and consumed.

An adolescent may eat several packages of Twinkies she finds at home in the cabinet, a bunch of homemade brownies, 3 bowls of cereal, and half a gallon of ice cream. So if you are finding food missing from your cabinets, refrigerator or freezer this could be a red flag.

Second Red Flag: Compensating for the large amount eaten by vomiting, laxative use or over exercising. Most will try to cover up their compensating behavior in some way.

While purging in the bathroom they will turn on the water faucet, shower, or stereo so the purging noise is more difficult to hear. Most will clean up very well following a purge because they don’t want any evidence left behind.

Some will go on walks and purge while out walking or exercising. Some will even purge into bags and hide them away in their bedroom or somewhere else in the house where few would ever look.

Often the only way for adolescents to get laxatives or diuretics is to shoplift because they do not have enough money on their own. If you find these products in the bedroom or bathroom, there is reason to be concerned.

Girls will also try to hide the amount they are exercising. They will exercise silently in their room late at night or go on runs without you knowing the distance. Sometimes it is evident they are over exercising, often it is not.

Third Red Flag: When this compensating behavior is discovered, they will report they feel they have no control over the amounts they binge, how often they binge and purge, their need to use laxatives or their need to exercise. There will also be much defensiveness, denial and shame.

Bulimia can go undetected for years and sometimes is never discovered or revealed; until it is too late that is. Parents have to be conscious of their child’s eating behaviors because of how common eating disorders are; yet not be smothering and accusing at the slightest sign.

If you think you see red flags or reasons for concern, observe for a period of time and increase your awareness of where your daughter is and what she is doing. Be more conscious of the food you buy and keep track in your mind where it goes and how quickly it is consumed. Be aware of how long she is gone when running, walking or how often she is working out at school or at the gym.

There is the reality of bathroom privacy, but not at the stake of your daughters health. Many parents have their fears confirmed when their daughter engages in ritualistic bathroom behavior after meals and you must address it if you see this consistently.

Do you want to learn more about eating disorders?

If so, download my free e-book “Eating Disorder Basics for Parents” here
http://www.why-my-daughter.com/edb.html

Lynn Moore educates, coaches, and consults parents on how to help their adolescent with eating disorder behavior. She will guide you through the treacherous waters of deciding what kind of help you need and what you, the parents need to do and can do to help your child.

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