i’m working on a 3-piece feature on eating disorders and vegetarianism. vegetarians – don’t worry! i’m not knocking vegetarianism, but sharing my experiences and talking about some of the correlations that i’ve found with both myself and many others i’ve known.
however, i would like to have more anecdotes that just those of people i know and i know all of you can teach me something as well. i would appreciate if you answer these questions for me below or you can e-mail your answers to me at adia@adiacolar.com. i promise to keep your identities secret.
here are the questions i have:
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?
- if yes, what age did you begin?
- if yes, what was your motivation(s) for becoming a vegetarian?
- if no, did you ever consider becoming a vegetarian?
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder?
- if so, at what age did it develop?
- what form(s) did you struggle with? (e.g. bulimia, anorexia, binge eating disorder, eating disorder not otherwise specified)
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover?
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population?
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? (e.g. the holocaust, earthquakes, family conflicts from generations ago, the sky being grey*)
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation?
7. is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
*yes, that last example was just to get you to smile – or roll your eyes
thank you so much for your help! i greatly appreciate it.
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?
I was on and off throughout my life.
if yes, what age did you begin?
I started at age 11 & it went til i was 17. Then it restarted again when i was 21-23. Then from age 26-27 i was pretty much vegan. My original decision was based on the fact that i was always a “picky eater” & never much liked anything but chicken so i figured it wouldnt be so hard to become a vegetarian all together.
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder? Yes, I am considered EDNOS now…i suppose i always have been…because of my build i cannot support a super low weight but I consider myself ANA w/purging tendencies. Idk when it started…i remember always hating my body because i have that Latin hour glass figure and everyone else was always skinny and i just wanted to be “normal”. It became full blown when i was 25….i had gained about 100lbs in 3yrs and i just decided to stop eating one day and 8mo later i had lost the 100lbs…Truthfully i didnt even know what an ED was really…being hispanic its not something you see often and i thought i was just “weird”…..Looking back i most likely had Orthorexia all growing up….Its all still so complicated…I mean its like i cant imagine myself any other way…its like the “old” me never existed.
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover?
Yes…always have been..i constantly get nagged because i treat my animals “like people”…
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population?
My whole life….i always say that im too sensitive for this world.
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? (e.g. the holocaust, earthquakes, family conflicts from generations ago, the sky being grey*)
I feel guilty over EVERYTHING…if i know about it i feel like i HAVE to fix it.
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation?
Honestly until i read the article i hadnt put the two together really…but now that i am part of the ED community i can tell you that atleast 6 girls i know are or have been vegetarian at one point.
7. is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
Ummm not so much about myself but i think your brave to speak out about having an ED….Ive thought about it a lot but people dont understand it so it will remain my secret….
SunshinesWIfe, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your feedback. I really appreciate it and will incorporate it in my article. Thanks again!
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?: Yes. I started a year ago at age 19. This month is actually my one year vegetarian anniversary!
if yes, what was your motivation(s) for becoming a vegetarian?: “Health” reasons…lower calories, etc. I also read “Skinny Bitch”.
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder? Yes. Binge eating–age 8-12, EDNOS (anorexia tendencies, starvation)–age 13-16, Bulimia/restrictive tendencies–age 18-20. I’m 20 and recovering.
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover? I don’t dislike animals, but I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an animal lover.
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population? No, but I put on a very brave face for them. If they knew the “real” me, they’d say that.
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? Oh yes. Story of my life!
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation? Absolutely. Even though I’m in recovery now, I want to stay a vegetarian because (ED health issues aside), I’ve grown fond of it and feel healthier and more naturally balanced.
7. is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience? I started my vegetarianism by cutting out red meat (haven’t had that in about 16-18 months), then transitioned to completely meat free. As for my eating disorder(s), I’m recovering. I see the correlation, but I do really enjoy this lifestyle and I’m hopeful about mastering a healthy attitude toward food.
Thank you so much, Allie. I will use your answers in my piece.
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?
Yes. I cut red meat out of my diet at the age of 17. The following year I elminated poultry, and fish went the year after. I have been fully vegetarian (ie no meat, poultry or fish) for 19 years.
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder?
I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder, but I also know that, if I did not actually have one, I was perilously close (restricted my daily caloric intake to 800 calories a day, exercised obsessively, weighed myself constantly, couldn’t actually “see” how thin and gaunt I looked). I was 16 when I put myself on my diet and exercise regime, and was obsessive about my food intake and exercise for at least two years. It was at least another eight years, I’d say, before I finally trained myself to stop obsessing on calories.
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover?
Absolutely.
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population?
Not that I can recall.
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? (e.g. the holocaust, earthquakes, family conflicts from generations ago, the sky being grey*)
No.
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation?
I don’t think so, even though I started on my path to vegetarianism just one year after I began obsessing on my weight. The two were always quite seperate. I was motivated to lose weight because I was told by a teacher that, as an aspiring performer, I needed to “get into shape”. I read that as “lose weight”, even though I now realise I was a healthy weight at the time. Also, I was growing up in a society that sent (and still sends) girls the message that the thinner you are, the more attractive you are. Plus, my own family, in retrospect, had a rather unhealthy relationship with food.
My vegetarianism came about because I had long had an inclination that eating animals was “gross” and not for me. One of my heroes was a vocal vegetarian and, after paying attention to his arguments for a meat-free diet, I realised that vegetarianism was the right choice for me. I was motivated to stop eating meat out of a concern for animals and their well-being, not because I saw it as a way to cut further calories from my diet. Weight-loss and weight-control was another part of my life, if that makes sense.
7. is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
No, thank you.
Thank you, KJsmum. I’m still working on this piece and I will definitely use your experience.
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?
•if yes, what age did you begin? Age 35
•if yes, what was your motivation(s) for becoming a vegetarian? At this point in life, I had acquired more education, confidence, selectivity in my choices of unprocessed, whole foods. Wtih the availability of so many healthy food options, and for various values-related reasons, I chose this path.
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder? Yes, bulemia with onset in late teens through mid-20′s with minor relapses.
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover? Absolutely
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population? No
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? (e.g. the holocaust, earthquakes, family conflicts from generations ago, the sky being grey*)… Absolutely not
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation? Yes –my choice of a primarily plant-based vegetarian diet stems from greater personal empowerment, confidence, education, and lack of restrictions on my eating. I can eat whatever I want now, however much I want now… the choice is mine.
7. is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
Sure, ok. The idea of dieting builds-up reistance, stress, lack, rigidity, reinforcing imperfections, building emotional pressure… and when paired with rigid thinking about an ideal body image, that’s perfect grounds for ED’s. So, if a person is dieting as a vegan/vegetarian, it’s yet another way to deprive yourself and just feel plain bad.
Thank you so much, Ruby, for your response. I really appreciate it and will include it.
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian?
I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life
* if yes, what was your motivation(s) for becoming a vegetarian? Both my parents were vegetarian, and as I grew up I developed some sort of disgust for meat.
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder? Yup
* if so, at what age did it develop? The thoughts at 11, but the serious weight loss and compulsions started at 15
* what form(s) did you struggle with? (e.g. bulimia, anorexia, binge eating disorder, eating disorder not otherwise specified) Anorexia
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover? Nope
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population? Nope
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? (e.g. the holocaust, earthquakes, family conflicts from generations ago, the sky being grey*) Nope
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation? Yeah, it’s the hate for flesh. Flesh disgusts me, so I try to get rid of it. I cannot eat something that’s so similar to what I hate. The hate for eating meat came first, but then I came to consider human flesh (i.e. fat) as dirty…
Thank you, Monique, for sharing with me.
1. are you or have you been a vegetarian? Yes
* if yes, what age did you begin? 18
* if yes, what was your motivation(s) for becoming a vegetarian? I went to the doctor and found out I had high cholesterol. It was also the fall of my freshman year of college and vegetarianism was something I had wanted to do for a very long time, but my mother never let me. On top of these events all coming together at once, two of my dorm mates were also vegetarians and so I decided it was finally time to go for it.
* if no, did you ever consider becoming a vegetarian?
2. do you or have you struggled with an eating disorder? Yes
* if so, at what age did it develop? I would say as far back as my childhood–I was always a picky eater and I can remember as far back as 9 or 10 my mother would tell me if I didn’t eat more they would have to feed me through tubes in the hospital.
* what form(s) did you struggle with? Anorexia
3. do you consider yourself an animal lover? Yes I love animals, but this was not my initial reasoning behind becoming a vegetarian. After being a vegetarian for over a year I do have more sympathizing for the animals and I feel that is a reason I maintain my vegetarianism.
4. have your family and friends told you that you’re more sensitive than the average population? Yes, but they don’t have to tell me for me to know. I am extremely emotional and sensitive, I’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and I tend to over react to events.
5. do you frequently find yourself feeling guilty for things that are out of your control? I feel myself feeling not necessarily “guilty” but it bothers me the events in my life that are in fact out of my control. I don’t like feeling helpless and sometimes I internalize it and victimize myself.
6. if you have been or are a vegetarian and have also have an eating disorder, have you found any correlation? Yes, it’s easy to feel like I’m eating less and more “healthy” because I don’t eat such high calorie heavy meals that include meat. But in fact I now am anemic since I stopped eating meat and I don’t get enough iron.
Thank you very much, Sabrina, for your comments.