Anorexia or Bulimia (perhaps both)?

Firstly, I have to stress that I want a very professional opinion. I'm worried about a good friend of mine who could be suffering from one of the eating disorders mentioned above.



A friend of mine who was around 17-18 stone (possibly more, I'm unsure of the actual weight at the time) lost a considerable amount of weight in around 5 months. He dropped to around 13 stone in about 6 months, which is fine. I really understand that it is indeed possible with hard exercise and lowered food amounts. However, since then he dropped to around 11st 4lb. Although this is within his BMI, he was seriously gaunt and looked very ill.



Recently, he has moved in with my family after some problems with his mother and a lot of symptoms point to both disorders.



To start, he is around 6'1" and is currently around 12st 4lb. Although he is within BMI, he still looks rather gaunt. I also don't trust BMI as I know things such as bone density can have an impact on weight. I will list what I have noticed. I'm really hoping that it will have some resolve. He will NOT go to the GP surgery without being pushed, and I need to reinforce my thought before I start to intervene. I will state now though that his weight is something he's told me directly. I am unsure whether it's his truth weight



- Consumes a LOT of fruit, easily 10+ items a day.

- A lot of seafood. (I know, low fat, high protein)

- A high consumption of Tomato Ketchup

- A refusal to eat anything outside of a specific regime

- MUST cycle for 3-7 hours or some kind of cardio-vascular exercise every day. There were days when it was, what most people would consider excessive.

- He will often eat within the confines of his room. I would say he's been hiding himself from the world for the most part. He did not speak to me for at least 4 months or so until he asked to move in. He's usually okay with eating in front of me, but usually doesn't like to eat outside of his room or in a "safe" area.

- He's worried about gaining weight if he eats something like pizza, etcetera.

- He worries about calories and fat intake to an extreme amount.

- Signs of depression

- Possible Autism (higher-functions aren't too impared, but you have to be VERY literal when speaking. There are other signs, too)

- Chews gum very frequently. I've seen him go through 3 packets (12 pieces per packet?) in 9 hours.



I do not think he's purged, but the excessive exercise on his days off work is a sure sign that something's not right. Don't get me wrong, I love to cycle myself, but 3-7 hours a day is a bit extreme unless he was training for some event or trekking somewhere long-distance, which he's really not.



I will also have to state that, we're not sure if the seafood he's eating is within date. There have been times that my mum has seen a pack of out-of-date prawns disappear from the fridge and no rubbish bags have been spotted leaving the house.



Anyway, any advice anyone can give me to help the guy out would be seriously welcome.Anorexia or Bulimia (perhaps both)?
All these signs point to that he does have an eating disorder of some sort. I have suffered from one and i know many people that have too.

Best thing for him is to see a professional like I did... they do really help. But I know how tough it is to admit to things like this! I couldn't and still can't actually say it! When I spoke to my therapist (who I was seeing for depression and self harm already), I couldn't actually say it, I wrote it on paper instead! This is something I use a lot!! Writing helps as it makes it seem less direct, and well, I am not sure why but I found it easier than speaking!



If your friend is getting to a bad stage and he can't go himself then there is nothing wrong with you going to speak to someone for him... get them to give you advice on how to help him or something.



Try and speak to him about it too. Have a look on the internet as there is a lot of information around about helping friends and loved ones with EDs... Also there are a few internet forums too that can be useful! One I used to go on is Virtual Teen. Search it in google. They are really nice and friendly there!!



But overall best bet is to go to see a professional :/



Good luck x