Nov
30
     
Healthy VS Anorexic – Do You Want to Be Anorexic?
Posted (Mel) in Eating Disorder Help on November-30-2008

I know it may seem trendy or cool to be extremely thin and a size 0, I admit I have wanted to be size 0 before but now I realise that its not all its cracked up to be. Being super thin doesn’t make you happy. Actually I think you will find that it will make you unhappy and withdrawn from your friends and family. I’ve been doing some research and a lot of people search for ‘how to be anorexic’. It’s pretty silly isn’t it. Celebrities who are super skinny gain media attention and the more exposure they have the more work they get. This gives young girls the message that being extremely thin makes you popular and happy.

The only way to be as thin as Nicole Richie or Mary Kate used to be is to starve yourself. If you do starve yourself chances are it will lead to uncontrollable binge episodes and then you will be riddled with guilt. This is how eating disorders come about. After you have eaten a huge amount of calories uncontrollably you will be desperate to get rid of them. This is how bulimia starts. Bulimia, exercise bulimia or taking laxatives (its proven laxatives don’t do get rid of any of the calories at all, it just gets rid of water weight making you feel better about yourself).

I think a lot of the celebrities do have eating disorders and the ones who do are definitely not happy. An eating disorder can quickly and easily overtake your life. A lot of the time eating disorders develop from diets. Somebody may decide they want to lose weight so they start on a healthy diet and exercise plan. People start to notice and give them compliments, this is where it can become addictive. Eventually weight loss slows down and the person has to reduce calories even further to see any results. Then the weight loss will stop again and once again calories are reduced. It’s a vicious cycle and something to be avoided.

I’ve included a couple of videos, the first one is Kim Strothers. She’s a Ford Fitness Model and eats 5 times a day. The second video is a TV Ad about anorexia. The girl in the ad probably eats less than 200 calories a day or goes for days without eating and exercises a lot. Notice how vibrant and happy Kim is and how unhappy and depressed the girl in the second video is.

Eating disorders are lonely. If you think you may be suffering from an eating disorder there is help available out there. Go to http://www.CaringOnline.com
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Apr
26
     
The Difference Between a Diet and an Eating Disorder
Posted (Mel) in Eating Disorder Help on April-26-2008

anorexia_HR.preview.jpgHello everyone

I thought I’d address a serious issue here. Sometimes it is easy to get carried away with dieting and exercise and before you know it you may be focusing all your attention on it. There is help out there if you feel you may need it.

A few differences between an eating disorder and dieting:

. An eating disorder is trying to make yourself look better by depriving yourself of food in an unhealthy way whereas dieting is about losing weight by regulating your diet in a healthy way.

. Eating disorders are all about your confidence being based on your weight and how you look, whereas dieting is just a matter of losing weight in a controlled manner.

. Eating disorders are losing weight to look good not considering the damage you could do to your system, whereas dieting is losing weight in a healthy way so you feel good about yourself on the inside as well as on the outside.

. Through negative attention, eating disorders are a way to seek approval and acceptance from people whereas dieting is about losing weight and doing it to feel good about yourself.

. Eating disorders are all about stress, acceptance, fear, coping, anger, etc. whereas dieting is just about losing a bit of weight.

A few points to ponder upon:

. Hunger is a natural thing and has to be satisfied. If you deprive yourself of food needed to satisfy your hunger this could be the beginning of an eating disorder. Dieting in the short run causes weigh loss but almost 95 percent of it is regained in addition to extra pounds. What happens if you go off your diet is that you end up bingeing because the body starts reacting to what is called the built in starvation reaction which is natural.

. Everybody’s genetics are different, an individual could be thin, fat, or in between. As long as you accept this position there will be no problem. Trying to be what is not natural is when you end up with an eating disorder.

. Try not to be influenced by what you see in advertisements. Advertisements always try to make you feel that there may be something wrong with you for instance a not so natural standard of beauty which may make you feel not so good about yourself and that you are lacking something by comparison.

. Hunger should be satisfied completely with nutritious food rather than with today’s available food, which is nothing more than junk food, or low nutrient food.

. If you maintain a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine, you will be able to maintain your natural weight throughout your life.

Michael Russell

If you suspect you or a friend may be suffering from an eating disorder you can find help at http://www.caringonline.com
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