Spotting the Eating Disorder Symptoms
You would think that eating disorder symptoms would be easy to spot, but as a matter of fact, friends and relatives frequently miss the signs until it is too late. Among the biggest traits of people with eating disorders, after all, is secrecy; whether the disorder is compulsive overeating, binge eating, bulimia, anorexia or another disorder, the sufferer is typically quite adept at hiding her poor dietary habits. On some level, people suffering from eating disorders know that they have a problem and know that the people around them know that they have a problem. Consequently, they try to preserve appearances, often resorting to elaborate ruses to hide their diseases.
Hence, knowing the common eating disorder symptoms, though helpful, is not enough. You should know to look out for somebody maintaining an increasingly strict diet, vomiting after eating, going back and forth from abstaining from food to binge eating and hoarding food, but you should also know how to search for a person hiding these symptoms. A bulimic, for instance, may quietly excuse herself after eating and go to the bathroom. Although you will not necessarily hear her vomiting, if she tends to go to the bathroom immediately after eating every time, it’s a good sign she may have the disorder. Similarly, you may not see a binge eater binging or hording food, but if you notice leftovers mysteriously disappearing or rarely see him eat but notice him putting on weight, it is a good sign that binge eating may secretly occur.
There are also eating disorder symptoms that show in the attitude of the sufferer.
If somebody has a very skewed body image of herself, constantly thinking she is fat despite aggressive and constant dieting, there is a good chance she may be suffering from anorexia. There are also more visible physical symptoms – excessive weight loss or weight gain, physical weakness and a skin-and-bones look. Bulimics may have yellowed teeth from vomiting as well as puffy cheeks. People with eating disorders often also have aggressive exercise regimens. These regimens may be sporadic, or they may take place constantly depending upon the disorder.
Finally, the best way to spot eating disorder symptoms is to keep your eyes and ears open and be honest with yourself. If you are wondering if a friend has an eating disorder, you will probably see signs in her poor body image and strange and unhealthy relationship to food. From their weight you can recognize that it’s bellow 15% of their ideal weight. What’s funny is that they think if they eat they’ll afraid they become fat even though they are far underweight. I think you should shake them and say “Dear mate, I’m eating those foods every single day and look at me! Am I fat? No, right? Don’t make me wondering to donate to you because I think you are SO THIN like some of those poor whom live in Africa” 
However, if you prefer to know if you have an eating disorder symptoms, you should be able to check by considering your own actions and attitudes.
