In a million years I never thought I would be writing about eating disorders. You see, this affects me personally. As I was reading my research I discovered two things about myself.
- I have been affected by all the ads, commercials, and the desire to be this beauty with long flowing hair and a body that could kill. A body the boys write songs about. A body that that I can be proud of. A body that would allow me to bench press a truck if I wanted to.
- I haven’t made peace with my body or my plate. I will explain what I mean by making peace with my plate later on in this post.
20 million women and 10 million men suffer from eating disorders. They can be mild forms or they can be serious where medical attention is needed. There are 3 different types of eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa is where a person doesn’t eat, or eat enough to nourish the body. They essentially are starving themselves. Symptoms include muscle weakness and loss, dehydration and kidney failure, hair loss, and dry hair.
Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating are essentially the same thing, but with Bulimia after binging you throw up your food. This causes damage to the esophagus, and stomach disorders from the acid of the stomach. Binge eating causes diabetes, high blood pressure and many other health conditions.
Here are some tips that could help you on your wellness journey from eating disorders. I am seriously considering developing them myself on my own quest.
- It’s important to have balance when making food choices. Eating too much of one food group, whether protein, fat, carbs, sugar can cause dire effects and trigger you into eating more than you intend to.
- Make peace with your plate. I know I promised you an explanation, so here it is. Look at your plate as a peace sign. 1/3 a protein, 1/3 a vegetable, and the other third your carbohydrates. Eat slowly, take time to chew your food, consider it, be thankful for it, and breathe while eating. Practice mindful eating.
- Eat up to 2000 calories and not less than 1200 a day. Our bodies need nutritious foods to build muscles that allow us to move and do what we love to do.
- Know what your triggers are. When you know what they are, pay attention, avoid them if you can, or come up with tools to help you make wise choices when it comes to exercise and nutrition.
- Be kind to yourself. If you slip, it is okay. We are not perfect. Slips happen. Just start again with the next meal.
- Seek support. Seek a professional nutritionist to guide you with eating for your body. Seek a personal trainer who will help you not to overdo exercise. Seek friends and family to do things that are non-food activities. Ask friends and family to stop talking about their body in a negative way in front of you, or make snide remarks about gaining weight. It’s important to have a positive group of friends who are not afraid to tell you the truth, but also support your wellness goals.
- Move your body. Building our muscles does take nutritious foods, but it also takes movement. Listen to your body when it comes to moving it. Pay attention to what feels good and how your mood feels after doing it.
Wellness Works NW wants to walk with you on your path toward wellness. To set up a free consultation with Karen click here.
Here are the links for where I got the information for my article.
- Binge Eating Disorder at WebMD
- National Eating Disorders
- Binge Eating Disorder at helpguide.org
- How to Break Free from Binge Eating at My Fitness Pal
- Food Addicts Anonymous Food Plan
- What is Food Addiction at foodaddicts.org
Jamie Holloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. This article was originally written for Wellness Works NW. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing.
For more information Contact Jamie.
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