Dieting to Death
It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa and I have been recovered for 12 years. To this day if I head for the washroom after a meal my mother feels the panic start to well up inside of her. Her first reaction to the news that her daughter was bulimic, like so many other mothers, was shock. This had been going on for 7 years and she never knew and she just couldn’t understand why.
Bulimia and Anorexia are eating disorders that affect girls primarily in their teens (but can start as young as 10 years old) to their early twenties. Although it is mostly girls that are affected approximately 10% are boys and this number continues to increase. Bulimia is the reoccurrence of binging and then purging. Binging is when a larger than normal amount of food is eaten in one sitting. It is like there is a total loss of control and a young girl can consume 3 times that of a grown man. Purging is when vomiting is self-induced after eating and often, excessive amounts of laxatives are used. Girls who are bulimic become very good at hiding it from everyone even their families, primarily by saving the binging and purging till alone. To people with bulimia their physical appearance has become the determining factor as to their worth as a person. The ability to binge and purge gives control to girls that have somewhere along the way lost it in their lives.
So as parents what should you look for? An abnormal occupation with weight, which will in turn lead to your daughter being preoccupied with dieting. With some bulimics there will not be a drastic weight loss, as with anorexia, however this is not always true. In the case of obesity it is unfortunately usually undetectable. I know that the clothes in my closet ranged in size from 5 to 12. If you have an 11 year old girl who says she needs to go on a diet, that is a good sign that there is trouble. Dieting can be the most dangerous enemy that your daughter ever faces.
If she decides to become a vegetarian but also gives up cake and cookie or eliminates dairy from her diet but also eliminates all high calorie foods; if she starts to constantly make excuses as to why she can’t eat, like she is running late or ate with a friend; if she also starts to withdraw and seems depressed a lot of the time and spends more and more time alone. These are all very strong signs of an eating disorder.
The one thing that parents need to realize is that this is not something that will just go away or that they’ll grow out of. It is a serious problem that can result in a variety of medical problems and even death. If you see some of these behaviors in your child, you need to seek professional help for her. If you start attacking your child they will become defensive and the situation can worsen. There is help available and treatments such as antidepressants are proving very successful. The first step is realizing there is a problem and then the most important step is getting help. I am living proof that there is life after bulimia.
Cass Hope is a registered massage therapist who has studied and counseled in nutrition. Cass regularly contributes to online and offline publications dealing with weight loss and nutrition. She is currently sponsoring this site: naturalsuccess.info
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Who Else Wants To Lose Weight? Stop Dieting!
From personal experience I have myself like all of you at one time or another tried dieting. I have lost weight on some plansbut in the long run was not able to sustain it. It seems as though every time I lost some weight I would gain it all backand then some. It was a never ending depressing cyle.
The question you should ask yourself before attempting any dietis can I live with this for the long term? Another words can Iincorporate this as part of my healthy lifestyle, day in and day out?
And the reason most people can’t is very simple. There are anumber of reasons and i will name a few. When you deprive yourself of some of the foods you like human nature takes overyou “resent it” food is suppose to be a pleasurable experienceone of the many joys in life. How does it make you feel whenyou can’t have something?
Usually when people diet they lose energy. Your body is use to a certain amount of calories and now you cut down and you becomelethargic and tired, and energy levels drop.
Dieting lowers your metabolism. Your body will go into starvation mode making it harder and harder to achieve results.
Dieting usually causes hunger signals to increase and we startto get cravings, and they are usually carb cravings and any excess sugar usually ends up around our waistline or hip area.
Dieting creates a false sense of confidence because most of thetime the more you diet the harder it becomes and now a sense ofguilt creeps in everytime you eat a food on that forbidden list.
Usually when you lose weight on a diet a lot of it is water,and muscle. At all costs you want to preserve muscle mass because in a resting state muscle burns more calories thanfat. So again what have you really done here? Set yourself upfor failure again.
Have you ever seen a thin fat person???????? A person who lookslike there at their proper weight but if you feel their bodythey are soft, soggy, and what I call fleshy. A high percentageof fat, even though they might be in a good weight range.
On the other hand you see someone who weighs 250lbs. with 4-6%bodyfat and are mostly all muscle. Now they too as far weightgoes may not fall into proper weight ranges, but as we all knowmuscle does weigh more than fat!
This is why I don’t believe in BMI (body mass index}. I reallydon’t give it any relevence at all. That is in my humble opiniononly.
So what is the solution to the problem?
The very first question you want to ask yourself is: Can I seemyself sticking to this program or routine for life? If theanswer is no forget it. If you can answer yes and live happilywith your decision then you are onto something.
Throw away the scale. Dump it. This is a microwave society ifyou don’t see results quickly people usually lose interest. Abetter barometer of results is your clothes that have all of asudden become too tight and uncomfortable. You have to understand that a lot of times following a sensible exerciseand nutrition program weight will shift and the scale may notreflect it. Loss of inches and toning will.
What is my game plan? Well I hate to be redundant but the onlything that works long term is regular and consistent physicalactivity and a sensible eating plan. Now I could tell you whatto eat but I really feel that most people know what they haveto do. And as far as exercise all I can say is do what you enjoywhether it is running, weightlifting, rebounding, tennis,rollerblading, skateboarding, it doen’t matter. If you enjoyit you will be consistent. Dont do something just because itwill burn more calories faster, you won’t keep it up.
I will share with you my personal strategy that has worked forme and I can live with it very comfortably. And i think mostpeople could do the same.
1.) USE SMALLER PLATES: Instead of using normal dinner plates.This allows me to eliminate nothing! I eat everything. ButI obviously don’t eat as much of the food that is bad for me.SO I DON’T FEEL DEPRIVED. Pizza, ice cream, chips, etc. I thinkthe word here is everything in MODERATION.
2.)Eat 5-6 times a day, instead of 3. I know it is hard just do it! This works well with the smaller plate concept. You will notbe hungry if you eat every 2-3 hours. I bring cans of tuna withme on the road, apple, and string cheese.
3.) Doing this actually speeds up your metabolism. You will become a fat burning machine instead of a fat storing machine.
4.) Limit alcohol, all it really is a lot of sugar. If you needto have one the best are dry wines, scotch, and vodka. Avoidthe mixers with sugars. Add water, soda water, or diet tonics.
5.) For snacks I like smoothies and protein drinks.By addingnutri-sweet/or vanilla extract It can curb carve cravings.Bananas are another excellent choice.
6.) Your exercise of choice. (MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOU).Treat it like any other priority. I like to see a minimum of 3workouts per week. Make the time, and be consistent.Enjoy it!
There you have it. (REMEMBER! IT IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE)if you want long term results. Not a quick fix.
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