so i just started reading ”why do you overeat, when all you want is to be slim?” by Zoe Harcombe.

im only like a third of the way through it so i havent formed an opinion yet, but it claims that most of us overeat, or binge, or have food addictions etc due to at least one of three conditions.

either candida, food intolerances and hypoglycaemia.

im not sure if i am buying it, but it does seem to make a lot of sense!

because i am diabetic, im very prone to candida, and i do have a lot of the symptoms.

anyway, i will continue reading, and see how it turns out!

..sue xx

no-making-excuses-anymore:

I haven’t been completely honest. Not even to myself.

I binge. I eat like an auto-pilot every time I’m alone at home. Occasionally when I’m in the middle of a binge, my mom comes home and I have to hide the cereal, the raisins, the baking chocolate, the cookie dough, the popcorn… whatever I have…

hey girl, i am following you, and reblogging this to give you my support. no one should have to live this bloody stupid misery.

and no, you are NOT trapped. you can get out of it, you just have to work hard. forget working out like a maniac on sit-ups or at the gym, take that energy and effort and put it towards getting yourself out of this hellish way of life.

just one small point. all the sit ups in the world wont make up for bingeing on cookie dough, or whatever. thats not me trying to be clever, thats just me getting something planted in your head, so you know that its not worth it.

i dont have any experience with eating disorders, but i just wanted you to know that there are people who care, and now, im one of them.

come to me any time you want. i may not have the right answer, but i will try all i can to help.

dont suffer on your own.

..sue xxxx

(Source: somedaysaregreat)

one-year-from-now:

When I search thinspo or fitspo tags and see girls saying it “would be so much easier” if they just had an ED so they’d have a voice telling them not to eat…My God you really don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Like absolutely no idea. It’s fucking tragic how ignorant these comments…

..now you see, i dont often like anything i see on thinspo (i dont GO on thinspo, i just see loads of it on fitspo), but this girl is actually talking sense. good luck to you girl. you can beat this, and you are stronger than you think! ..sue xx

(Source: versatchmo)

Most of us are not aware of the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating. An eating disorder is a psychiatric disorder that must be clinically diagnosed by a physician and leads to severe physical changes in the body and eating habits. Disordered eating, on the other hand, is a general term used to describe a variety of abnormal eating behaviors that are used to maintain a lower body weight. Both can lead to severe health problems and are caused because of low self-esteem and an obsession with becoming thin. It is important to learn about How to Lose Weight because then you will become familiar with natural and healthy fat loss diets.

Many people do not know the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating. It is important to be aware of the factors that influence these issues, their symptoms and the ways in which we can learn to prevent them. An eating disorder is a psychiatric disorder that must be clinically diagnosed by a physician.

It can lead to severe health problems and even death. Disordered eating is a general term used to describe a variety of abnormal eating behaviors that are used to maintain a lower body weight. There are many psychological, interpersonal, social, genetic, and biological factors contributing to the development of eating disorders.

The following are some of the most common ones:

• Family Environment: Family conditioning influences our eating behaviors greatly. It is during childhood that our eating habits are established. Our choice of how much food we eat, when we eat and family, friends, traditions, social events, and other family-related factors limit how often we eat. Family conditioning, structure and patterns of interaction, including abuse, can influence the development of an eating disorder.

• Unrealistic Media Images: On a daily basis, we are all confronted with advertisements that portray computer-enhanced images of lean women. Young adults who have not yet developed a sense of identity lack the ability to accept that these images are unrealistic and in result, they tend to compare themselves to these “perfect” female bodies and create a negative body image in their heads. Body image influences eating behaviors, therefore the media is a contributing factor to the development of eating disorders.

• Socio Cultural Values:  It is hard to deny that Western socio cultural values contribute to eating disorders. This is mainly because of the insistence Western culture has on the slenderness of women, which is associated not only with health, but also with wealth and self-discipline. In addition, the people that we interact with, such as our family, friends, teachers and co-workers also influence the way we see ourselves. Body dissatisfaction and eating disturbances can be caused by hurtful comments regarding a person’s weight and body image.

The two most common examples of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Anorexia Bulimia. Anorexia Nervosa is a deadly eating disorder, which is characterized by self-starvation, which causes deficiency in energy and essential nutrients that ensure the proper functioning of the human body. It is a serious and life threatening eating disorder that must be medically diagnosed by a physician.

Anorexia Bulimia is characterized by consistent binge eating, self-induced vomiting, fasting, excessive exercise, and misuse of medications such as laxatives, in order to prevent weight gain. Both disorders cause mental, emotional and physical changes and can cause serious health risks.

Disorder eating is centered on unhealthy behaviors, and some examples are binge-eating, Chronic overeating, and Chronic dieting. Bing-eating disorder is the most dangerous of them which can cause significant weight gain. One may think that bing-eating is a quick weight loss diet, but instead it is unhealthy, harmful and overtime it will actually lead to weight gain. People with binge-eating disorder are mostly overweight.

Our current food environment offers a variety of good-tasting and cheap food, which makes it hard for people with this disorder to resist food triggers. Chronic dieting is when you consistently and successively restrict energy intake to maintain a desired body weight or even lose weight. The restrained eater can be at a risk of poor health and nutrition problems.

The most rational way to prevent eating disorders and disordered eating is to try to achieve a weight that is appropriate for you and one that can be maintained for life.

The following list provides some other techniques that are useful in prevention:

• Teaching children and young adults that changes of body shape and size are a natural part of human development
• Reducing peer and family weight-related criticism
• Helping children and young adults to become aware of unrealistic body images and false representations of the ideal body types

• Encouraging participation in physical activity and sports early on

• Establishing healthy eating behaviors at an early age in households, schools, communities and social environments

By being able to follow the above ways, one can prevent eating disorders as well as disordered eating, and in result live a healthy and risk free life. The right eating behaviors and habits leads to a healthy lifestyle that will guarantee the maintenance of a desired body weight and a stable emotional, psychological and mental state. Also, it will helop you learn about How to Lose Weight the right way!

By Hanieh F. Khosroshahi

Can obsessing over the types of food you eat become potentially dangerous?

Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images

“I thought I was just being healthy,” said Sandra H., a 23-year-old who recently completed treatment for her obsession with dietary perfection. What began as a pursuit she felt passionate about gradually consumed her every waking hour. Because of her early recovery stage, she requested anonymity.

“I started by cutting [out] meat,” she continued. “Then sugar, then all processed foods. Eventually, I was only eating raw fruits and vegetables and a few sprouted grains. Then one day at work, I fainted.”

Sandra’s doctor diagnosed her with severe iron-deficient anemia and referred her to a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders.

“I was shocked,” Sandra said. “But once my therapist started asking me questions … like how often do you think about food and if I prioritized eating healthy over happiness, it became pretty obvious. My lifestyle wasn’t normal or remotely healthy. I was really hurting myself.”

Some professionals use the term orthorexia nervosa to describe Sandra’s condition, which literally means a “fixation on righteous eating.” Dr. Steven Bratman coined the phrase in 1996. Orthorexia refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, and it is a serious condition. The obsession can cause severe physical health ramifications.

What’s in a Name?

The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” does not consider orthorexia an official mental disorder, and opinions within the psychiatric and dietary industries are mixed as to whether it should be.

Registered dietitian Mary Barbour described orthorexia as an “eating disorder much like anorexia nervosa, except instead of obsessing about being thin, [those with the condition] are fixated on eating foods that make themselves feel pure, healthy and natural.”

You might, for example, limit your diet to organic foods. And should an unorganic food meet your plate, you can experience panic or partake in juice cleanses, which involve fasting and the use of herbal laxatives, to “detoxify” your body. Although the specifics vary, it is the extreme nature of your beliefs, thoughts and behaviors that pose a danger.

“Personally, I’m not much for diagnosable labels,” said psychotherapist and former world-class athlete Diane Israel, whose own obsession with healthfulness once robbed her of emotional and physical wellness. Even so, she believes that orthorexia is a legitimate condition. Making it diagnosable may help ensure effective, timely treatment and guard against serious complications.

Elizabeth Shaw-Draves, a limited license clinical psychologist, uses other terminology.

“I do see clients who are obsessed with healthy eating, but I tend to work with them through an understanding of their healthy-food obsession as a manifestation of anxiety and OCD symptoms that are food focused,” she explained. “A term that I sometimes use to describe food-focused obsessions that are subclinical, not serious enough to be diagnosable, is disordered eating.”

Regardless of what you call it, most industry professionals agree that the condition’s primary symptoms, such as severe dietary restriction, an obsession with eating “perfectly” and unnecessary weight loss, are worth addressing. In severe cases, they threaten lives.

Risky Business

From a nutritional standpoint, a fixation with healthy eating can lead to deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats necessary for everyday functioning.

In extreme cases, said Barbour, “there is a risk of undernourishing and eventually dying. Orthorexics may cut out so many foods that they convince themselves are impure that they limit themselves [in] what they can eat.”

Dietary extremes also affect your emotions. As your fixation deepens, you may feel intense anxiety if your eating ritual is somehow altered or delayed, experience guilt after eating “imperfectly,” or find yourself skipping out on social or work functions involving food outside of your comfort zone. Over time, these symptoms can lead to depression, sleep difficulties and hindered interpersonal relationships.

The three markers that your health-food interest has become an obsession are extreme rigidity in your eating patterns, in your allowed foods and in the amount of food you consume.

“Unwillingness to stray from carefully planned meals or mealtimes, as well as obvious stress and irritability when presented with impromptu eating — i.e., dining out, grabbing food on the go — are the behavioral manifestations of these issues,” Shaw-Draves explained.

The amount of time you spend thinking about food is another factor, including time spent planning meals, calculating your caloric intake and reprimanding yourself for eating foods you’ve banned from your diet. Your dreams and first thoughts upon waking may also involve food.

Investigating the Roots

Understanding where the healthy-eating obsession comes from may help prevent or reduce its repercussions.

Although health is a common motivating factor, according to Karin Kratina, a registered dietitian affiliated with the National Eating Disorders Association, fear of poor health, a compulsion for complete control, a desire for thinness, spiritual factors and the use of food to establish a unique identity may also contribute. Other risk factors include having loved ones who diet; having low body image or self-esteem; partaking in body-focused activities such as gymnastics, bodybuilding or beauty pageantry; and, possibly, genetics.

If you have these risk factors, steps can be taken to prevent a full-blown obsession from holding you captive. Barbour suggests allowing for “wiggle room” in your diet.

“When we completely deprive ourselves of the things we love, we put ourselves in a state of imbalance,” she explained. “I’m not saying go eat an entire batch of chocolate chip cookies. The thing that everyone wants to achieve is balance. One way to get there is by indulging once in a while, in moderation. Some people put the percentage at 80/20 or 90/10. It’s really whatever makes you comfortable.”

In other words, making healthy choices most of the time and occasionally allowing modest amounts of sweets, fried food or other low-nutrient fare you desire may be the optimum road to wellness.

“I knew I was in recovery when I could eat a Snickers and enjoy it,” said Sandra. “I practically called my therapist the moment after.” She now allows herself one or two mini Snickers almost every day.

Shaw-Draves suggests making a conscious effort to acknowledge the fixations and emotions you experience in relation to food, such as anxiety, then committing to continual small changes.

Each change should “challenge the food rigidity that is hallmark with maladaptive eating patterns,” she explained. “Journaling about the feelings associated with food intake and trying to alter patterns is helpful because it encourages reflection and can be reread at a later date. These simple things — when done with steps that can be taken slowly — begin to change one’s perception of and relationship with food.”

Seeking Help

Media and society often praise dieting and thinness, so a fixation on healthy eating may be easily overlooked or deemed normal or commendable. If your dietary regime seems like a job you feel desperately obligated to manage perfectly, it’s time to seek help.

A therapist with a specialization in eating disorders or with your primary symptom, such as anxiety, can help you address and change your thoughts and behaviors. And fear not: The goal of treatment is not to “make you fat” or take away all control you currently have, but to shift your focus and improve your emotional and physical well-being. You can control your diet in another way — by eliminating strictness and rules and aiming for balance and emotional fulfillment.

“I believe it is never too early in the process to seek treatment,” said Shaw-Draves. “Once a person notices that their preoccupation with healthy eating is adversely affecting their relationships and ability to function normally, then treatment is warranted. In general, the earlier a person seeks treatment, the easier and more short term the treatment will be.”

Working with a therapist you feel comfortable with is key, so you may need to shop around a bit before you settle on one.

Additionally, once you recognize your need for help, Shaw-Draves recommends not panicking. “I see many clients who realize they have a problem and then simply shut down emotionally because they are so overwhelmed and unsure about how to proceed. A relationship with food is like any other relationship; it wasn’t created overnight, and it will not be changed overnight.”

And it’s important to remember that when it comes to adjusting your diet, too much information from multiple sources can be harmful. Rather than scanning the Internet and paging through diet books and magazines for guidance, Barbour recommends talking to a nutrition professional, preferably a registered dietitian with expertise in eating disorders.

“If you notice, the majority of diet books pretty much come to the same conclusion: lean proteins, vegetables, fruits … grains/starches, ” Barbour said. “And keep the white stuff to a minimum — rice, bread, processed foods.”

Because diet books, many of which present themselves as “healthy lifestyle” books, often impose additional rules and gimmicks, choose your resources wisely. Your dietitian can likely provide the materials you need or refer you to valid books and websites.

“If someone out there is struggling like I did, I would say get help,” said Sandra. “People used to tell me I had so much discipline. I hated that! It’s not about having willpower. My problems totally took my personal power away. With my therapist’s help, I’m getting it back.”

Written by Christine Webber, psychotherapist and life coach

In 2009, the Royal College of Psychiatrists estimated that eating disorders affect roughly 7 young women in every 1,000, and 1 in every 1,000 young men.

The common eating disorders are:

• anorexia (often called ‘anorexia nervosa’)
• bulimia (often termed ‘bulimia nervosa’)
• binge eating disorder.

But why do they occur?

The reasons are complex, and they are connected with our rather curious and ambivalent attitude to food.

Mixed messages about food

At a recent international conference, one of the speakers said that ‘the majority of women have a slightly odd relationship with food’.

Although this seems a rather sweeping statement, most of the females in the audience promptly nodded.

Certainly, many adult women have a ‘love-hate’ relationship with their food. Furthermore, a lot of them manage (quite unintentionally) to pass on mixed messages about food to their children.

Listen, for example, to two female friends lunching together. If they succumb to the delights of the dessert trolley one will almost certainly say to the other: ‘I shouldn’t be having this.’

In other words, she is indulging her pleasure, but she’s punishing herself as she does so.

Most probably, her friend will say something like: Oooh yes, I shouldn’t be having this either – but isn’t it lovely!’

Recently, we eavesdropped on two women talking in a pub.

The first woman – Kathrina – was telling her colleague, Caroline that she’d had a tummy bug the previous weekend.

‘It was awful’ she said. ‘I felt like death. Still there were compensations …’

‘You look great now, said Caroline. ‘How much weight did you lose?

‘Four pounds,’ said Katrina, not even bothering to conceal the note of pride that crept into her voice.

‘I bet,’ agreed Caroline. ‘You look great, how much weight did you lose?

‘Four pounds,’ said Katrina, not even bothering to conceal the note of pride that crept into her voice.’

‘Gosh. Fantastic. Four pounds…’ Her companion looked and sounded envious.

Let’s face it, most women understand that conversation because deep down they subscribe to the view of the late Duchess of Windsor when she said: ‘You can never be too thin or too rich.’

Even those women who know how dangerous this kind of thinking is, still cling to it.

And it is that very type of thought – constantly, if unwittingly, being passed on to children – which has helped to increase the feelings of ambivalence about food among women in today’s society.

How do you know if you have an eating disorder?

So what is an eating disorder?

Formerly the Eating Disorders Association, beat (beat eating disorders) says: ‘An eating disorder occurs when eating or not eating is used to help block out painful feelings.’

Beat also says that without appropriate help and treatment, such difficulties may persist throughout life.

How widespread is the problem?

There’s no doubt that eating disorders are on the increase.

Beat currently provides rather higher estimates than those of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Beat believes that 1.15 million people in this country have a significant problem and that between 60,000 and 90,000 of those are having treatment.

Certainly, the scale of the problem is such that every GP in the land is likely to have one or two anorexics among his or her patients, and no less than 18 bulimics.

However, most GPs don’t identify all these people as having eating disorders because of the secret nature of these conditions.

One GP told us recently: ‘I have never had anyone come into my surgery and actually complain of bulimia. So it’s hard work making the diagnosis.’

Quite apart from anorexia and bulimia, there’s also ‘binge eating’.

Compulsive or binge-eating is also classed as an eating disorder, but far fewer studies are done about these people.

And when compulsive eaters – who are sometimes extremely overweight – do visit their doctors they are likely to be given a diet sheet rather than offered any kind of counselling, which might get to the root of the problem.

But does counselling help eating disorders?

In fact during the last few years, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been shown to be useful – particularly in the treatment of bulimia nervosa and overeating.

In CBT, the person with the eating disorder is helped to address the issue behaviourally – in that he or she is asked to eat regularly and not to ban any foods and so on – but also to look at the thinking behind why they eat.

There’s much emphasis on addressing the thoughts that persuade us to eat. For example, if someone eats because they’re miserable, she will be encouraged to challenge the idea that eating makes her happy and to find other ways of comforting herself that does not include food.

There are a number of excellent books written by CBT practitioners that are of great help to bulimics and to overeaters, and some of them are listed at the end of this article.

Female or male?

When we talk of eating disorders we tend to think ‘female’. But it’s important to recognise that a significant minority of people who have an eating disorder are male.

And it has recently been claimed that of those men with eating disorders, 25 per cent are gay.

It’s also claimed that the vast majority of ‘eating disorder men’ were bullied at school.

Causes

But why do so many people now have eating problems?

One reason appears to be poor self-esteem. Certainly many eating disorders begin when young people become convinced that if only their bodies were more perfect, they would feel better about themselves.

There are also issues of control. If young people are bullied, or even just living in bossy or super-achieving households, they can easily feel that everyone else controls them.

To counter that, they seek out some way in which they can be certain of exerting some real control of their own. And many of them choose to have ultimate control of their own bodies by rigidly governing how much food they’ll allow to pass their lips.

The sense of power can be intoxicating – at least initially – and having had this kind of excited ‘fix’, most young people are reluctant to relinquish it.

Another cause of eating disorders is undoubtedly media pressure at a time when a young person is feeling vulnerable and awkward. But there’s some suggestion that a person’s genetic make up may make them more prone to eating disorders than other folk are.

Unfortunately, some young people suffer traumatic events, such as bereavement or sexual abuse, in their early years – and there’s substantial evidence that such episodes can trigger problems with food.

Also, households where there are high academic expectations are well-known breeding grounds for eating disorders.

Finally, many young women between the ages of 14 and 25 develop an eating disorder when they are not only under stress at school or college but also uncertain of their sexual orientation or sexual attractiveness.

It’s important to note however that eating disorders are not the sole province of the young and to acknowledge that there may be people well into mid-life who are seeking answers to eating difficulties.

Excessive exercise

In the case of some youngsters – notably young men – the emphasis of the disorder is on excessive exercise rather than on food. Indeed many people are nowadays ‘addicted’ to exercise.

At first sight an excessive exerciser will look extremely fit. So much so that his friends, parents or GP will be unlikely to spot the problem until it’s got completely out of hand.

But some doctors are particularly clued up about this kind of syndrome, and they’re likely to pick up on it when a patient keeps presenting with sports injuries.

Eating disorders – the facts

So now let’s look in detail at the various types of eating disorder.

Anorexia nervosa

• Anorexics restrict the amount they eat and drink – often to dangerous levels.
• The usual age range for the onset for anorexia nervosa has been reported to be from 14 to 25 years.
• Anorexics often come from families where there’s not much communication but where there’s considerable pressure to perform well or to ‘be perfect’.
• In anorexia there’s a refusal to maintain weight at a normal level.
• Anorexics have an intense and growing fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat.
• As time goes by, an anorexic loses a proper perspective of his or her own weight, frequently believing that he or she is much bigger than reality.
• Anorexic girls can become so seriously undernourished that their periods stop and downy hair appears on their bodies.
• Anorexics frequently have mood swings.
• Anorexics will often have dizzy or fainting spells and will usually feel cold.

Bulimia nervosa

• A bulimic has an uncontrollable urge to eat vast amounts of food.
• Bulimics have an emotional hunger that cannot be satisfied.
• Bulimics binge then vomit, or use laxatives or diuretics, as a means of controlling weight.
• Bulimics are frequently of normal weight.
• Bulimics often suffer from mood swings.
• Bulimics sometimes have abrasions on the back of one hand. This happens because their teeth graze that hand whenever they stick their fingers down their throat to induce vomiting. This tell-tale sign can be useful for friends, parents or doctors in identifying the problem.
• Bulimics frequently have sore throats because of their constant vomiting. This again is a symptom that may help doctors identify the problem of bulimia in their patients.
• Bulimics develop problems with tooth decay – this is because of the acid in their vomit constantly washing over their teeth. Dentists are often the first people to spot this problem and sometimes confront the bulimic with their suspicions and encourage her to seek treatment.
• Bulimics eat to gain emotional satisfaction but as they start to feel full they are overcome by feelings of guilt and shame.
• In severe cases, the bulimic can develop dangerously low levels of essential minerals in the body that can badly affect – sometimes fatally – the vital organs.
• Occasionally, severe bulimia can lead to heart attacks.

Compulsive or binge-eating

• A compulsive eater will indulge in regular episodic overeating of large amounts of food perceived to be fattening.
• A sufferer will think obsessionally about food and weight.
• A compulsive eater will have a sense of being out of control.
• A compulsive eater will indulge secretly.
• A sufferer will eat until he or she feels uncomfortably full.
• A compulsive eater will suffer guilt and remorse after eating.
• Some sufferers say that they never feel full and that they always have a sense of emptiness.

Treatment

The one thing that all the experts agree on in the treatment of eating disorders – particularly in the case of anorexia nervosa – is that it should begin sooner rather than later. Start by going to your GP.

Treatment is likely to consist of one or more of the following:

• counselling
• family therapy
• group therapy
• support group involvement
• drama or arts therapy
• nutritional advice.

It’s vital to accept one important fact however, which is that the person must want to get better if treatment is to advance very far.

In a way the situation is much like that of excessive smokers, drinkers or drug takers.

Like them, a person with an eating disorder is a kind of addict: he or she becomes locked into an addictive form of behaviour concerning food and exercise.

Although this behaviour causes ill-health, the prospect of giving it up is quite terrifying and the sufferer may well feel that everyone is asking her to relinquish the one thing that spells safety and control.

With bulimics, the treatment tends to centre on avoidance techniques: the bulimic is encouraged to delay bingeing or to delay vomiting. But the desire to go back to the usual mode of behaviour can be overwhelming.

For that reason, though bulimics often start a treatment programme with verve and enthusiasm, they commonly drop out suddenly. It’s as if they view the treatment in the same way as they do food: at first they long for it and consume it – and then they violently reject it.

This response makes it difficult to treat bulimia and the therapist needs to be a particularly strong person – and one with a great deal of insight – if he or she is to deal with this roller-coaster of initial acceptance and compliance from the client, followed by rejection.

There are NHS eating disorders clinics in the UK. But provision of treatment depends very much upon where the sufferer lives.

There are several private clinics in the country too, but these are expensive. Some of these clinics do take NHS patients but the cost to the health service is in the region of £300 to £500 per day.

A lot of families and sufferers handle the problem as best they can with a mixture of help from the GP, beat and with some counselling.

In areas where there’s no eating disorders unit, a young patient who is severely anorexic may end up in a general psychiatric ward – which is obviously not ideal.

Most people will begin the quest for treatment by approaching their GP.

Beat (beat eating disorders)

Beat ( formerly known as the Eating Disorders Association) is the organisation regarded as the undisputed expert in the complex world of eating disorders.

We would urge any parent, friend or sufferer to contact beat, if they haven’t already done so.

There are a number of ways of doing this.

• Helpline for people aged 18 and over: 0845 634 1414. Email: help@b-eat.co.uk
• Youthline for people aged 25 and under: 0845 634 7650. Email: fyp@b-eat.co.uk

Beat also has an excellent website.

If you approach them, you’ll get advice and support and the chance to obtain a number of relevant leaflets. You will also be told about the network of self-help groups up and down the country.