Hi 101swoop101, I am not an expert, but my experience and my opinion is definitely yes. When I was severely limiting my intake food would make me extremely nauseated. So, as brilliant as your plan is its probably your ED. Sorry to break it to you. lol. Sorry, I know this is serious, but the humor in our illogical thinking really does make me wonder how we justify our behaviors so well. This is just my opinion but if you want to be healthy you don't have to eat meat or dairy, but you do have to consume more than an apple for a meal. I hope you don't get offended by my comments. I struggle with this too. My problem lately is that I just feel sick every time I eat, not because I'm nauseated, but because I can't tolerate feeling food in my stomach. I'm not purging, but its my past behavior and I'm barely hanging on. Enough about me, I hope you are able to be honest with yourself and eat better. Thanks for posting.

Thanks so much for your comment! You were not offensive at all. It sucks so much that no matter what I do, I can't escape it. I am a little nervous about keeping a food journal because I don't want it to tempt me to start restricting again. And I know that anorexia is all about control (and that's what I was when I was younger). All through high school and my 1st year in college, when I was just anorexic (no binging), I actually thought I was "borderline anorexic" and I didn't count as being anorexic because I was in control of it and I stayed at a healthy weight. I could go days on almost nothing, if I ate at all (not to mention the whole screwed up body image thing, that still to this day isn't completely fixed), but yet, in my mind, I was only borderline-anorexic.........smh. Anywho, but anything structured like food journaling, calorie counting, daily workout routines/schedules, and etc almost always tempt me to workout more and eat less. I always feel like "it's ok, I'm in control." "I know what I'm doing, I've done lots of research and I know what's healthy and what's not," and before you know it, I'm saying stuff like "I'll just eat later," or "I'm not really hungry," and etc. It's been so hard because I can't even diet without wanting to go back to my old ways....and when I actually did start losing weight, that in itself was enough to almost send me back to restricting. It's a struggle to even be healthy and fit, and that's all I want. It sucks so much, lol! I think I am in a safe place right now to try and keep a food journal though, so I think I will just talk to my counselor and attempt that suggestion. It's better that I start now, with people watching me (roommates, counselors, teachers), than to wait until after I graduate and can isolate myself more. And ok, yeah, that's enough ranting for me, lol!

And I wanted to say that I so get where you're at right now. I love the feeling of an empty stomach. That's something that never fully went away for me. I understand how hard it is when past behaviors start to sneak back in, so I hope you get better and that you get through the temptation of going back! Thanks again for your advice :)

Hi 101swoop101--i am worried that you definitely are not eating enough and that you are restricting quite a bit. Why did you become began? What it for environmental or humanitarian reasons? Do you really need to be vegan right now...during this most critical time in your recovery? If so, you really need to do your research and make sure you are getting in the right nutrient combos and that you are getting in enough oomplete proteins. Feeling nauseaus between meals is definitely a sign of restricting. The feeling sick thing is probably just in your head...but that does not make it any less real. I, too, love the feeling of having a completely empty stomach. Nothing makes me feel any better or in any more control. I think a food journal...and share it with your therapist...would be a great idea. You would be able to actually see what you are eating each day and how much you are eating. It might motivate you to eat more. You are making progress...keep up the fight. You will get there...one step, one meal, one snack at a time.

I admire veganism on ethical grounds. In my heart Im a vegan but in practice Im not. As I was recovering from my eating disorder I realised that restricting, even for ethical reasons was dangerous for me. A diet high in raw foods and vegetables also causes me bloating and gas and really doest agree with me. So as much as I care about environmental and animal welfare issues I suspect that a vegan diet is not a good choice for someone in recovery from an eating disorder.

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. I think I use environmental reasons as an excuse to keep the diet, but when I became vegan, I was honestly, interested in the health benefits (especially the weightloss) and the fact that I can eat as much fruits and veggies as I want, without eating too much.....almost like I could binge on fruit if I wanted, but it wouldn't hurt my weightloss at all. Being honest with myself, I do think my turn to vegan was more for weightloss, and at first, I was doing great with the calorie intake, but slowly somehow, I ended up eating less. I think I am going to start the food journal today and start taking it to my sessions. I'm glad I asked for opinions on this topic, because if I hadn't caught myself, I probably would've completely relapsed. I did eat more today, but I'm still not at a healthy calorie count yet.

Hi 101swoop101, I agree with others' comments that getting into restricted eating, i.e. the veganism, right at this point could very well jeopardise your recovery big-time.

When in the midst of my anorexia I used being a vegetarian as a way of restricting my intake further and keeping others off my back, so to speak. It allowed me to starve my body but "appear normal"... well that's what I told myself anyways. In retrospect, I was a walking bean-eating, green-eating skeleton, LOL!

Check your motives I guess is what I'm saying,,, Perhaps it would be more helpful to your journey to put those ethical choices to one side and get some more recovery under your belt.

All the best with this decision.