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trans-axolotl · 5 months

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hi! no rush in answering this and I hope it all works out with your job, sending good vibes. I wanted to ask for some advice as my partner hss AFRID and (probably) anorexia. they've been refered for help for the AFRID stuff specifically and they (for very valid. and obvious reasons) don't feel comfortable opening up to drs about the other loads of eating problems they have. Now they are being monitored and freaked about abt the need to gain weight etc

Im helping them as best I can but it feels very us 2 (and our friends) vs the rest of the world plus that I feel I'm p much winging random stuff that Might help see what sticks. We are trying to find some middle ground were they can make some "progress" so they aren't coerced into something they really don't want to do by drs and so they can have a little more energy etc etc.

We are also both still living at our parents and it's all just not ideal. rn. Any advice at all would help really, is there anything I should do and anything I really shouldn't? just typing it up to someone who won't tell me to force them to get themselves admitted is already a relief tbh thank u for ur work on harm reduction <3

Hey anon! Thanks for reaching out. It can be so hard to find any information about how to support people with eating disorders that isn't just "Go get professional treatment right now," so I will do my best to share some stuff that we've been talking about in my harm reduction + peer support networks!

Correct me if I'm retyping your situation incorrectly, but my understanding of what you shared is that your partner has ARFID and is also having other struggles with eating more related to anorexia in terms of fears about weight gain, body image, etc. Their doctors know about the ARFID and are receiving some sort of treatment for the ARFID, but the treatment is triggering some more of the anorexia stuff because of the increased monitoring.

This sounds like a difficult situation for both your partner and you as a support person, and I can understand how stressful it is to have to worry about coercive treatment on top of trying to figure out ways to cope with disordered eating in the first place. It sounds like you've been doing a really good job supporting your partner and listening to what they need, and trying out lots of different things to see what's helpful for them. I'll share some tips, but as always, what works for one person won't work for another! Asking your partner and collaborating with them to figure out what their exact needs and wants are is always going to be the most important.

@librarycards just made a post about harm reduction in eating disorders that I'm going to link to. I'm not going to restate everything they wrote, but one thing they talk about is identifying what feels like a necessity that can't be changed right now, and what things feel like there could be some wiggle room and space for change right now. If your partner is open to it, it might be helpful to sit down and make a list of what kind of eating disorder behaviors feel absolutely necessary right now that can't be changed, and what things feel more flexible. I think it's really important to be able to do this nonjudgmentally--a lot of eating disorder recovery spaces argue that "recovery" is all or nothing, and that allowing any kind of eating disorder behaviors is a failure. It can be really important to use a harm reduction approach to identify goals that actually feel doable for us, instead of saying the only option is to stop every eating disorder behavior and mindset 100%. That will look different for everyone, but explicitly giving yourself permission to continue some eating disorder behaviors can sometimes help people meet other goals around energy, quality of life, etc that are important to them. I know for me, having both ARFID and anorexia made it incredibly difficult to try to focus on dealing with both at the same time. I completely stopped trying to focus on any ARFID goals in increasing variety or challenging sensory needs, and instead just focused on figuring out coping skills and how to meet the energy needs for my body. Giving myself permission to only eat safe foods, ignore social norms around food, etc, helped me a little bit with figuring out how to cope with some of my restrictive urges. It might be worth figuring out with your partner what goals feel like priorities at the moment, and making a plan together.

Another thing that I found super helpful in my own journey with the ARFID and anorexia combo was learning about fat liberation and discussing it with other people. Basically all mainstream eating disorder treatment doesn't bother to spend anytime talking about fat liberation or fatphobia, and usually actually perpetuates a lot of fatphobia. I think that being able to dismantle the societal ideas we learn about weight gain, fatness, and diet culture is super important for everyone, and I think that for disorderly eaters, it can also be super important to track how that influences our own self-understanding of our eating. This list by Rachel Fox is a great starting point for fat liberation resources. For me, it was super helpful to be able to read through articles and books about fat liberation and discuss them with other people, and build a political understanding of fatness that allowed me to connect what I was reading to my experience with disorderly eating. If this is something that your partner is interested in, having someone to learn + read with can be super impactful.

I think it can also be crucial to think about your own boundaries and needs as a support person. You are not in charge of "fixing" your partner and your partner does not need to be "fixed." You're allowed to not know the answers to things, need to take breaks to support yourself, and to also be going through difficult times. Both you and your partner's autonomy is important, and figuring out ways to support without feeling responsible or trying to control each other can be really crucial. I can tell how much you care about your partner and it sounds like you're doing a really incredible job with all the ways you're providing care. If either of you ever feels like you need a space in your life to talk about this, ANAD offers peer support groups both for people living with eating disorders and for family/friends of people living with eating disorders.

Other than that, there's not a ton I can think of for things you should or shouldn't do, since it seems like you have pretty good insight into major things to avoid (forcing people into hospitalization, making fatphobic comments, reinforcing diet culture, forcing recovery) and are doing a lot of things right (asking your partner what they need, trying things out and being flexible, making room for harm reduction style goals instead of only "recovery.") Keep asking your partner how to support them, collaborate with them on the best ways to provide them care, and continue being there for them through this hard time.

Truly sending you and your partner the best of luck, anon, and hoping that you both can find some care and healing during this difficult time. All the solidarity and please feel free to send any other asks with more questions, vents, anything, <3 <3 <3

#asks #eating disorder tw #arfid #mad liberation #harm reduction #psych abolition #<- for my own tagging system #sending all the love + solidarity your way!

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menalez · 1 year

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Just a few small notes about the anorexia and bulimia nervosa criteria:

The weight criterion for typical anorexia nervosa for adults is bmi <18.5, not <17.5, OR markedly less than what would be expected for your age, sex and height in the case of adolescents.

Bulimia nervosa does not necessarily require you eat "a normal amount", just that (on top of the criterion for preoccupation with weight shape and size that are present in both anorexia and bulimia, and explicitly not present in ARFID)

1: you exhibit both binging and purging behaviours which (if i remember the latest criteria correctly) occurs at least 2 times a week, AND

2. you are not clinically underweight (bmi >18.5)

If you meet the criteria for bulimia nervosa but you also "fail/refuse" to maintain a weight above 18.5, you instead fall into the binge/purge subtype of anorexia nervosa (i cant remember if thats type 1 or 2 tho, but either way - the most recent definition of anorexia nervosa are split into two subcategories based on presence/frequency/absence of BOTH binge and purge behaviours)

Either way, this is literally all bullshit lol, not just criteria but entired diagnoses, classifications and subtypes are removed, added and changed pretty frequently, and the distinctions (for example bulimia vs anorexia binge/purge subtype) are pretty arbitrary lol.

Im curious about the tess holiday situation tho, you mentioned her sharing dangerous misinformation, what was that about?

yeah i remember learning about a lot of this in clinical psychology classes in uni,,, i recall w bulimia often ppl diagnosed w it are avg weight or slightly overweight and the main difference is that anorexia often isn’t characterised by binging but rather restricting kind of behaviours & being underweight. ur right that ultimately the distinctions and categorisation are often simply arbitrary which is a common criticism

tess holiday is basically a major advocate of health at every size. while that sounds great in theory & the core idea of “your weight doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy/unhealthy” is true, she is very much obese and argues that she’s super healthy & athletic & that you can be obese and have 0 health issues. she also, as someone else mentioned, claimed that she has anorexia (despite also saying she’s totally healthy… contradictory statements). also she’s clearly a chronic liar.

anyways i remember watching a video criticising her and u can check it out if ur interested:

youtube

#at a certain point yeah being seriously underweight or obese IS unhealthy and the exceptions to that r ppl with specific health conditions #but they’re not the majority of ppl who are super under/overweight #so the health info she shares is v harmful #and can be so dangerous to so many impressionable girls & women

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findingmypeace · 1 year

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Omg, I’m so irritated.🙄 This is such a common stigma related occurrence. I need CEU’s for my license renewal. Just happened to find a free one on eating disorders. This training is about conditioned fear in eating disorders. All eating disorders. But I’d say, aside, from being listed in tables on the slides bulimia hasn’t been mentioned at all. In fact, 99% of this training has been about low weight anorexia and fear. Which actually makes sense due to the fact this research center says they study ‘eating disorder’ (it’s in their name) but the majority of their studies are about anorexia. I’d love to participate in their research studies so we can learn more about the science behind eating disorders but I don’t qualify for most of them because you either have to be underweight or diagnosed with anorexia.

This is how it always happens. The other thing I’ve noticed is when you google bulimia most of your search results are about anorexia.. The first few links are usually related to bulimia and then after that almost everything else is about anorexia. At least that’s what I get. And if it’s based on algorithms there is no way my results would largely be about anorexia vs bulimia. Basically, for me, almost always if you search bulimia you will end up with results about anorexia.

I know it’s worse for OSFED and orthorexia and probably ARFID too but, seriously, anorexia is not the only eating disorder that exists! This is a large part of why there is hierarchical stigma about anorexia and all other eating disorder. Ugh, so frustrated!

#personal #bulimia #anorexia #eating disorders #research #stigma

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inmirova · 8 months

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people who think arfid is just picky eating and anyone with it who isnt just a picky eater has off brand anorexia vs me considering the pros and cons of a tahini based diet because the thought of consuming anything else makes me feel incredibly sick

#obviously not going to follow through on only consuming tahini. however. that would be funny as hell.#soylent/whatever meal replacement is popular now but it's just like watered down tahina and multivitamins #ngl tahini frozen coffee (theres a specific recipe that calls for turkish coffee that i made once) is fucking delicious i could live on that

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gullethead · 1 year

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hey! this is kind of spur of the moment, and i don't know if I'll keep up with it, but I'm gonna start keeping a daily... picture journal, i guess, of my body. i started HRT a few months ago, and learned i probably (definitely) have the eating disorder ARFID shortly after that, and i realized i want to keep a record of how my body looks as i work through both of those things. I'm gonna take pictures of myself and post them under a read more, probably with a stream of thought journal entry to accompany them. warning that there's going to be nudity and candid discussion of different parts of my body and disordered eating (not in the same vein as anorexia or other body image-related disorders, but it may be tough to read if EDs are a sensitive topic), and likely struggles with ADHD and other things like that. I'm going to tag them "#transition & recovery" if anyone wants to blacklist them! I'm not going to make them rebloggable because i don't see any reason to allow it vs the potential risks.

so, with that being said: T&R, day 1

so, starting out 121 days on hrt. not sure how much i weigh at the moment, but I'll estimate 120lb - on the heavier side of my weight range that hasn't changed for the last few years, still very light for my height. it's hard to show in a picture, but my chest is notably different from how it was before september. there are small masses of fat around each nipple. my right side has started developing a mammary gland - god knows i can feel it - but the left side hasn't yet, or it's at least smaller. this makes a noticeable difference in their shape where the right nipple is fuller and more round than the left under the same conditions. it's interesting to me how the body develops unevenly like that. arms are a bit more fatty now than they were before, too, but i don't know if that's the hormones or just my attempt at eating better

speaking of, mixed results on that the last day or two. made and ate Korean beef yesterday, which is definitely an improvement over most of my diet recently since i started my class. ate a full bowl of beef and rice around 3 pm yesterday, then a bit more around 7 pm, but i was still mostly full which surprised me. filled most of a square Tupperware with rice and beef and ate less than half of it. can't remember if or what i ate last night, other than some Reese's trees and a late night brown sugar cinnamon poptart sleeve. went to sleep... much later than I'd have liked and woke up for good around 12. since then I've taken my Adderall, eaten another poptart sleeve and a cup of butterscotch pudding, and taken a shower. I'm feeling very hungry and thirsty, i should heat up more of the Korean beef to eat soon and grab my water bottle.

last thing, i started what could generously be called an exercise routine last night. one three-pound dumbbell, twenty reps on each side. i need to research what proper posture and technique for dumbbells looks like; my right side felt fine, though i noticed my arm swinging which is why I need to look it up, but on my other side i noticed a... vein? tendon? rolling when i did reps. something around my bicep. that might be related to why it's so hard to get my blood drawn - I'll try having them start with my right next time i need to. hopefully it'll become less of a problem as my arms gain fat/muscle but it's concerning to me, so i want to keep an eye on it. feels mildly painful, i just did a mock rep to recreate it and feel where it was and my bicep stings a little bit

at that dip on the near side of my bicep, where it meets the deltoid, is roughly where the tension is. it probably just needs to fill in with fat to pad the veins and muscle structures under the skin, so they're not just kind of... hanging freely. honestly i hope my arm does that regardless, i hate how the humerus sticks out so far. i can feel a shock go up my ulnar every time i so much as brush it on something.

I'm probably going to end most of these posts without much ado whenever i feel like I've said enough, but I'm excited to do this. I'm going to be glad to have a record i can look back on to see how I change for the better. I'm looking forward to having a body that feels good to be in. i think that's whats spurred so much of this all happening at the same time - I'm tired of hating the body I'm living in. in both transition and weight I've always been so far from where I'd like to be, and i realized last year that i just... don't need to accept that. I'm not a prisoner in my body, i AM my body, and i can decide to make a change. it's tough as hell, especially trying to eat more, but goddamn, at least it's better than where i was. I've been dreaming of the future for years, but for the first time I'm making tangible steps towards it, and it feels great. anyways, that's enough for today, but thanks for reading!

#transition & recovery

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iykyk-iykwim · 1 year

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funny when ARFID happens in the opposite direction from a “normal” presentation. like most of the foods i am so disgusted by that they make me gag are high-calorie or high-fat vs the stereotype about highly processed foods being the safe foods

yoghurt, pudding, custard, blended soup, mascarpone, ricotta, cottage cheese, cheesecake, cream cheese, smoothies/milkshakes, and nut butters are all things i won’t eat (or only eat in very specific preparations) because they fill and coat my toungue and mouth and make me gag. fatty foods are the same deal. soft breads (think wonderbread) are disgusting.

my personal history means i’m paranoid about food being contaminated, and then the food allergies compound it so i’m almost incapable of eating and terrified of things i didn’t make or at least see prepared.

so my safe foods are like. raw vegetables and fruit and hard cheeses and fish and chewy bread with seeds in. and minimally prepared so i know exactly what the ingredients are. i’m nutritionally fine for the most part. and my food intake looks so healthy and aspirational that i get nothing but praise for just. allowing the ARFID to run my life.

AND THEN the moment i have any body image problems the anorexia comes out swinging and it’s already set up to succeed because of how I’ve been indulging the ARFID

extremely bizarre brain design

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fencesandfrogs · 3 years

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hi my name is matthew and i have some thoughts about haes

okay disclaimers: i’m a little jumpy around the subject so while i don’t feel i’m being unnecessarily harsh/unfair, if ur firm on haes w no yielding, and you don’t want to argue about it? either skip this or don’t respond. i don’t really care. but i’m putting the body under a read more.

[3k words, 10 minute read. sections headers, some text italicized for emphasis/some readibility. no images/videos, a few links.]

second disclaimer: i’m not planning on going heavy on sources. i will happily provide sources to people who want them, and i haven’t written the actual post yet but it’s unlike me not to cite anything, but doing an in depth well researched and sourced post on this type of subject is not something i’m up for right now.

like i said, i’m jumpy around this subject. and on the off chance someone decides this post is Bad and i must be banished to the Bad Blogs Bin, i’d rather not put a lot of work into it.

third disclaimer: i’m not particularly interested in reading X study that says actually no people who way 700 pounds are healthy and people who weigh less than 200 are going to die early deaths. i know that’s a straw man i needed to a) get it out of the way now and b) i just am tired all the time and don’t have a ton of itme for it. that said, if you do send one to me, i will probably read it at some point, and i may or may not provide my thoughts.

right then. moving on.

with no more waffling, my thesis is as follows: weight stigma is bad, however obesity is killing people and i really would like people to stop pretending it doesn’t.

i. really hate that that’s a controversial opinion. i mean i hold a decent number of somewhat controversial opinions, most of which i keep to myself because i’m a firm believer that what i think about something should not interfere with how other people live their lives. as a noncontroversial example, i think mormons are in a cult. children, being minors, being indoctrinated is a problem, one i myself am not dedicated to solving because i have other issues but as far as adults involved, that’s their business.

(*please note that i’m not expanding on my thoughts because this post is about haes but i do have a more complicated opinion i’m just trying to demonstrate something please don’t at me about cults i know that they’re bad and adults in them also need help getting out that’s not the point of this post & i’m anxious enough so like, please.)

anyway so. obesity. is bad. it is bad for your health. if you are obese, you are not healthy. that said, i am not going to tell you to lose weight. no one should tell you to lose weight except for your doctor and maybe your immediate family, and that should be from a place of “you are not living your best life and i care about you.” i, an internet stranger, along with pretty much everyone you know, does not get to tell you about how terrible your life is and what a horrible person you are for existing, because you are not a bad person for being overweight. you do not deserve discrimination or mistreatment. even if you’re not actively trying to lose weight. it doesn’t matter. you are a human being like any other and i will fight like hell for you.

i’m not planning on going heavy into eating disorders because a) that’s a triggering topic for me and b) it’s going to muddle the point i’m getting, but since it is a large part of the arguments re. haes, it’s certainly going to come up, so i’d like to list the officially recognized eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN)

Bulimia Nervosa (BN)

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED)

Pica

Rumination Disorder

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder (UFED)

Other (aka “we are considering making this its own category but for matthew’s purposes it fits into AFRID or UFED well enough because the details aren’t important”)

so yeah. we’ll circle back to this.

section one: haes

haes initially stood for heatlh at every size. that doesn’t really matter anymore because people say healthy at every size now, however, the distinction is important. because.

okay. when i say being obese makes you inherently unhealthy, i am not saying you are having health problems for being overweight. i am saying you have a chronic illness. i have asthma. that makes me inherently unhealthy. i don’t necessarily have an health problems because i am asthmatic, but i have a chronic illness and it certainly would, say, make me more likely to die from covid. that is a fact. saying healthy at every lung functionality would not change that.

but you know, i can still be active and like smell plants and interact in the world like anyone else. i just try to keep my inhaler near by.

so similarly, if you are overweight/obese (i’ve been saying only obese because its less letters so i’m sticking with that), you can, like, live ur best life and take care of your health. you can feel good about your body and eat good food and move and again, i really don’t want anyone reading this to feel that i think everyone who’s obese needs to lose that weight because adults can do whatever they want.

what i’m angry about is that a good thing (encouraging people to make good choices no matter what so they can feel good in their bodies) got turned into a bad thing (telling people they don’t need to change what they’re doing because they’re perfectly healthy).

section two: but what about...?

see my third disclaimer. but as a fast rundown of things i probably won’t talk about in detail later:

the obesity paradox is a specific thing about a specific type of illness in the elderly. it’s also not about obesity, it’s about being slightly overweight. it’s a complicated thing, but it’s not true most of the time

sumo wrestlers have major health problems as soon as they stop exercising like crazy.

did you know there are countries where girls are force fed to become overweight? diet culture goes both ways

if you want to say healthy at every size, you have to mean that every. that means you are not allowed to say shit about underweight people. i’m sorry, is someone you care about wasting away? are they 5′10 and weigh 90 pounds and their hair is falling out because they aren’t eating? i’m sorry, you said people are healthy at every size. you can’t make fun of skinny people. you have to suck it up because you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

section three: self care

a hypothetical that is blindingly obvious to where i’m going: if a small child wants to play with a knife, are you caring for them by giving into it? what if they want to drink some vodka? what if they want to run away from home to live with a stranger in a white van?

i really really hope all those answers are “no, you’re neglecting that child, and also possibly actively harming it.”

so my point is pretty obvious: giving yourself something because you want it does not mean you are caring for yourself.

you know what i want to do all the time? sleep and rewatch twilight every day. but that makes me feel worse. so even though it’s terrible and i hate it, i have to take care of myself (because there is only one of me that i ever get) and go outside and talk to people and eat something that isn’t popcorn because you need protein to live.

(sorry i tried to keep nutrition out of that but i have to actively seek out sufficient salt and protein due to my campus doing a lot of low sodium food, which is bad when u actually need to eat a good amount of salt to keep ur body working, and also i’m vegetarian. so i’m constantly making myself seek it out.)

that doesn’t mean self care is always supposed to be work, but i mean. i’ve always not really gotten into it. i think because i’m hella depressed and i’ve been depressed long enough i can recognize it as this separate entity when it comes to a lot of the mental stuff. like, why do i feel like everything is meaningless? that’s just the depression.

but i digress, this isn’t about me. [proceeds to talk about me again]

one phrase i like a lot for myself is “bad food makes me feel bad.” now, i’m not a fan of putting moral judgements to food. but this works for me, personally. sure, eating a bunch of ice cream right now is good, but it’s going to suck when my stomach flips the fuck out because of all the sugar. and so it seems quite obvious to me that eating that ice cream is not, in fact, caring for my body.

and i think we’d collectively be a bit better served if we could learn to distinguish between self-care and self-kindness. ask anyone who does caregiving (childcare, nurses, etc): it is hard, often thankless (at least for children they’re devils who don’t realize that their toys will get wrecked if they don’t pick them up) work. you care for them not by doing what they want, but what is best for them.

section four: diet culture

as i’ve already played my hand up above with underweight vs haes, i think it’s kind of obvious that i have strong feelings about underweight not being healthy also. so i just want to take stock of what is and isn’t diet culture, and what i think about it. this is probably the most subjective part of this essay.

things i think are diet culture

people trying ridiculous diets. obviously diet culture in the purest sense. it’s real dumb. you need all the food groups to live. sometimes it’s okay, like cutting out sugar, but i’d say its a net negative

not trying to do lifestyle changes. that’s the sustainable way to lose weight. so. yeah.

weight cycling. actually still up for debate if this is bad. this paper says no, along with a lot of others, but i’m not sitting down and reading through all of them, and all of the ones that say its bad, to offer my opinion. i’m leaning towards “it’s better than nothing,” but we’ll see

a lot of other stuff i’m doing this off the top of my head and trying to avoid issues w eating disorders so.

things i think aren’t diet culture

women being pressured to look a certain way. that’s been going on for a long time. being skinny used to be bad. it’s a fact of the patriarchy.

most things? idk i have this impression that like, anyone exercising or eating healthy is a part of diet culture, when in reality, people just have different lifestyles. (also, again, if you’re going with haes, as in HealthyAES (hyaes?) you can’t call it unhealthy or you’re not respecting that damn E)

in conclusion: diet culture has issues, but the correct response to them is not “fuck you, i’m eating fourteen pounds of sugar.” eat fourteen pounds of sugar because you want to. (also it should be fat because if you really want to stick it to the man you should be eating fat, big sugar is responsible for a huge amount of todays dietary problems, both on the under/overweight side)

section five: discrimination

yeah no fuck people who discriminate about fat people. that’s all i’m just moving along to a transition since i was drifting away from my point about health.

section six: weight stigma

...is not responsible for your health issues. being obese is. accept the consequences of your lifestyle.

well. okay. that’s a little unfair. accept the consequences of not treating your chronic illness. and i feel i’ve probably lost people for calling obesity an illness but that’s the whole point of my post.

just like carrying externally heavy objects hurts your joints, so does carrying a lot of weight inside. fat does not cushion your organs, it kills them. getting rid of weight stigma will not make these issues go away.

the treatment for obesity is eating the number of calories you need to sustain a healthy weight at your current exercise levels. (*please consult with your doctor this is more complicated when you have to lose a lot of weight.)

section seven: cico. or, why your metabolism is fine

your body does not break the laws of thermodynamics. it cannot magically create more energy out of a given amount of calories.

there are issues with calorie counting, yes. i think it’s usually done in an unsustainable way that isn’t teaching people to make decisions, just to do math. it can be hard to get an accurate count.

but you are not a miracle of science. you have not discovered how to create and destroy energy. i’m sorry to be the one to break if to you.

if you don’t believe me, if you’re really sure your metabolism is different, go on and get it tested. tell your doctors. because it’s a major problem if it’s not working right.

similarly, i’m sorry, but if someone is the same height as you and a (very, like, +- 50 pounds) different weight, and neither of you have exisitng health conditions, you are not eating the same things/doing the same exercise. you have not broken the laws of physics.

possibly, one of you have untreated celiacs or something of the ilk meaning your body is actually malfunctioning. but if that’s true, i excluded you already, so shoo. get out of here and play in the sun with the other kids.

if you don’t believe this, there’s not much i can do to convince you. but i encourage you to count your calories for a month. find some tdee calculators. weigh yourself. make sure you count everything, it all goes down. check the math. (you can do any amount of time but a month is what you need for weight to be meaningful imo otherwise you’re just proving weight fluctuates a lot).

section eight: cico. or, why counting calories is not disordered eating

it can sure be a symptom of disordered eating, and it can certainly make disordered eating worse, but it isn’t an eating disorder.

also, assuming you’re not trying to verify the laws of thermodynamics, i don’t think counting every calorie is necessary. i have approximate values (500/meal, and around 300 in snacks), which i try not to go over or under.

yeah. i actually use calorie counting to make sure i’m eating enough in one sitting. some of my medication screws with my apetite and then i only eat like 300 calories and suddenly its like 11 and i need to go to bed but i’m hungry but eating before bed makes me feel terrible and it sucks.

but hey, according to some people, avoiding that is unhealthy.

okay i’m moving on before i get salty because the next section is touchy

section nine: eating disorders.

the three main eating disorders are listed way up there. they’re the first three. AN, BN, BED.

oh, yeah, binge eating? that’s actually disordered eating too. it’s not normal.

i’m not going to elaborate on the point because i absolutely know i can’t do it without getting really fucking angry that people call calorie counting disordered eating, like i haven’t watched a fifth grader eat one meal a day because she’s scared she’s overweight. like i haven’t watched a sixth grader cram food into his mouth until he’s sick because he’s worried he’s not bulky enough for sports. like i haven’t watched an eleventh grader tell me he hasn’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday, but it’s fine, he doesn’t want his mac and cheese anyway, since he needs to lose weight.

you think someone keeping track of some numbers is an eating disorder? then either you’re lucky enough to never have to deal with eating disorders on a personal level, and i’m very happy for you, or you have, and you should maybe reevaluate that.

alright i’m cutting myself off now whoop.

section ten: intuitive eating

you know, much like haes, i want to like this. it fits in with my bad-food-makes-me-feel-bad mentality. i’m angry and tired and hungry because i ate like, a late breakfast/early lunch and now i need to eat again because if i don’t eat every six to eight hours i have a medical condition that makes me feel like shit (an aside: unless you’ve been told by a doctor, you don’t need to eat every 2-3 hours. unless you’re a child or have an applicable medical condition, you can probably eat one meal a day and be firne.)

but much like haes, it now has a meaning i can’t in good consience endorse. i can’t stand for a movement that tells people who acknowledge weight makes their joints hurt that they just need to keep eating until they feel better.

section eleven: conclusion

i have a lot more thoughts but again i’m hungry. i meant to talk more about IE and my problems with it but maybe that will be its own post.

i won’t say i’m happy to talk about this because i can’t promise i am (see: eating disorder issues.), but i will most likely respond to constructive discussion if someone sees this and wants to. i can also provide sources. i hate going, “sources available on request” but i tried to provide some stuff for some of the heavily disputed/i already had a source for it and didn’t have to dig through google scholar to find information that’s been peer reviewed.

and i do sincerely wish everyone, at any size, that they fracture the disconnect between them and their bodies (oop didn’t talk about that either another time then) & that they find peace with who they are, and that they get to live happy & fulfilling lives.

#fatphobia #anti haes #obesity #health #haes #i don't know how to tag this lmao sorry if i have a bad tag #q #mine #txt #7th #February #2021 #February 7th 2021 #essay #long post

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jamiebluewind · 5 years

Text

Fantasy High Theory: Fabian has an eating disorder

TW: eating disorder symptoms, anorexia symptoms, abuse mention, death mention, violence mention, gun mention, alcohol mention, drug mention, trauma mention, smoking mention,...

Word Count: about 2100

I know this is a big assumption to make with what we have, but I couldn't ignore all the data and the warning signs. In fact, I think that even if Fabian does not have an eating disorder at this time, he's certainly at risk for one and needs the issues addressed before it gets worse.

Before I get into it, let me remind everyone that I am about to talk about a very heavy subject. Remember, stay safe and consider the warnings before you continue. You can always message me for a summary of the red flags or for an edited version if you need it. I would rather you be safe than to have you're like on my theory.

Okay? Okay. Let's start by defining a few things.

Eating Disorder: Any of a range of psychological disorders in which people experience severe disturbances in their eating behaviors and related thoughts/emotions. People with eating disorders typically become pre-occupied with food and/or their body weight/shape.

ARFID: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder is an eating disorder characterized by eating very little food and/or avoiding eating certain foods. It does not include having a distorted body image (as occurs in anorexia nervosa) or being preoccupied with body image (as occurs in bulimia nervosa). People with avoidant/restrictive food intake may not eat because they lose interest in eating or because they think eating has harmful consequences. They may avoid certain foods because of their color, consistency, or odor. When it becomes more severe, it can cause substantial weight loss, slower-than-expected growth in children, difficulty participating in normal social activities, and sometimes life-threatening nutritional deficiencies.

Anorexia nervosa: Diagnosed when patient BMI (body mass index which is a rule of thumb measuring body size vs mass) is low for their age and height. Severity is classified as mild (BMI of greater than 17), moderate (BMI of 16–16.99), severe (BMI of 15–15.99), or extreme (BMI of less than 15). Hallmarks of anorexia include limited food intake, excessive monitoring of the calorie and fat content of food, fear of being “fat”, problems with body image, denial of low body weight, excessive exercise, food rituals, cold intolerance, mood swings, sleeping issues, chronic fatigue, distorted body image, and many more. Eventually, the body goes into starvation which cause a lot of bad symptoms.

Atypical anorexia nervosa: All of the criteria for anorexia nervosa are met, except the individual's weight is within or above the normal range.

Again, ANY BMI can still mean a person has an eating disorder. It is NOT confined to those that are underweight. The BMI is only there as a red flag and to help classify severity of anorexia. I want to make this very clear, not just for my theory, but for the people reading this who recognize parts of it in themselves or others. I'm about to give an example that gets... personal in order to show that people who don't fit the stereotype of being underweight can still have an eating disorder. How personal? My own.

I am overweight to obese (depending on the doctor and the range). I don't exercise much. I eat pretty well around friends. But I have an eating disorder. I just... don't get hungry most of the time, so I forget to eat a lot more often than is healthy. A LOT more. I've been to the hospital a few times due to dehydration. I've collapsed because I literally forgot to eat for two or three days. I could have died at one point because despite being overweight, I was eating so little that things just... stopped working. Again, I was overweight. People and doctors thought I was just lazy. I was told to eat less and exercise more. Even my blood tests came back fine until one day, they didn't. And even then, nobody listened. Somebody doesn't have to look how you expect them to in order to have a problem. Also, don't be afraid to reach out for help if you feel like some of this hits close to home or someone you know is showing symptoms. It's okay to need help.

So remember, eating disorders can affect anybody with any body. The important thing is to be kind, supportive, and encourage professional help such as cognitive therapy.

****

Now to list Fabian's risk factors (I only listed the ones I believe he has)

Dysfunction family: This is a big risk factor for Fabian. His father is chaotic evil and (despite loving his son) puts massive pressure on him and tries to make him conform to his ideal for most of Fabian's life. Fabian has seen his father abuse his crew and snap at the drop of a hat. His mother has been a heavy alcoholic and mostly absent his entire first 16 years and when she gets off alcohol, she puts an extreme amount of pressure on him herself.

Abuse: This is another big one. His parents have been verbally abusive, emotionally abusive, neglectful in a variety of ways, controlling, manipulative, isolating, and his mother rested his food intake. He could have also been physically abused in the guise of sparing.

Genetics: Fabian's mother is very slim. Using images of weights and comparing it to her shape, she in fact fits the underweight shape which may or may not imply a genetic component depending on if the normal body shapes are different for high elves or not.

Exposure to warped body ideals and weight stigma: Exposure to "body ideals" in places like the media (especially if at a young age) can increase body dysfunction and eating disorder risk. Weight stigma can make this worse due to discrimination and stereotyping based on a person’s weight. Fabian has actually been exposed to this a lot due to his father and the crew. He's a kid around very strong muscular people and he feels pushed to get stronger to live up to his dad. It's also very easy to imagine that crew members who were not strong or active enough got a very bad reaction from his father, which would reinforce the ideal. Some of this is conjecture, but it's not so far outside the realm of possibility to be impossible.

Participation in sports: He's on the Bloodrush team and is a fencer.

Pressure to have a certain body shape from family: I think this risk factor is there too, especially when his mother takes over training.

Bullying/Teasing: Fabian was actually bullied by peers when he first starts school, but I believe his parents were bullying him long before that.

Trauma and PTSD: Oh boy, is this solid. He was most likely traumitized by his parents before high school. He saw two new friends die the first day of school and nearly died himself, only saved by Riz. He watched two teachers die by gunshot right in front of him (and a staff member killed by bludgeoning). Fabian mentions having nightmares about Riz killing Daybreak which might have been due to it being via gunshot. He was forced to kill people due to the situation he found himself in. The person who was supposed to have been helping them the entire time (Biz) turned out to be an evil dude who trapped one friend in a palimpsest and wanted to capture another. He was stuck in jail for weeks! His family was attacked, his home was damaged, and his dad died (and by his hand no less). He and his friends almost died to a dragon. That's a LOT of trauma for a kid to try to process and Jawbone mentioned that he never came to visit him, so he probably dealt with a lot of it on his own.

Low self-esteem: This is unfortunately something else he has. Despite all the bravado, he doesn't know how to be a friend or have people like him for who he is (instead of who his parents are or how much money he has). He tries to put up a cool front, but he judges himself very harshly.

Perfectionism. One of the strongest risk factors for an eating disorder is perfectionism, especially self-oriented perfectionism, which involves setting unrealistically high expectations for oneself. If they fail to meet their high expectations, the person becomes very self-critical. Fabian has this type of perfectionism.

History of an anxiety disorder: This one is reaching, but possible. People often show signs of an anxiety disorder (generalized anxiety, social phobia, OCD,...) before the onset of an eating disorder and Fabian stays on edge a lot, worries excessively, puts up a front, and deals with nightmares.

Substance abuse: Fabian has had alcohol and drugs before the age of 16, his parents almost encouraging it. He smokes regularly. Addiction runs in his family as well with his mother being an alcoholic and his father doing multiple drugs. Neither parent even hides the fact that they take drugs and drink alcohol to excess, the crew probably took drugs and got drunk in front of a young Fabian, and Bill offered drugs to his friends upon meeting them.

History of using weight-controling methods and dieting: Fabian exercises a great deal. He skips meals. He has a limited number of things he will eat. There is a lot of evidence to back this up.

Limited social networks: This was a HUGE issue before high school. Fabian was very isolated. He had no friends, limited social activities, and lacked proper social support. Recently, he's been skipping class exclusively which on top of smoking a lot, puts distance between him and other people.

Long story short? Our boy is at risk. Big time.

****

List of common signs of eating disorders (including anorexia)

Limited food intake: Seen when he has mostly protein smoothies, his mother tries to give him limited rations, and when he refuses to eat with his friends more and more as the series goes on. The first incident of it was in Cool Kids, Cold Case where Fabian refused the food he was offered on two separate occasions, passing it to Riz both times. Once was after the battle with Daybreak and being stuck at the police station a good while. The other was when the teens were hanging out at Riz's appartment when Sklonda got takeout. Fabian's mom also makes him earn food as seen in the live show. This mentality could have very well been internalized, even with Cathilda there to try and give him more.

Excessive monitoring of the calorie and fat content of food: He worries about empty calories, how fattening something is, and removed the cheese from a slice of pizza and dabbed the oil

Fear of being “fat” or in a shape that is not the ideal: In episode 1 of season 2, he is very preoccupied with staying trim and tight.

Excessive exercise: He exercises who knows how long every morning plus for Bloodrush plus the times outside of that

Food rituals: This is interacting with food a certain way (like small bites or how it's prepared) which causes anxiety when not followed. The pizza event might be one, but it's hard to say without a pattern.

Sleeping issues: Fabian has issues with sleeping, dreaming, and nightmares. His father confirmed this and he himself mentioned his nightmares.

Weight loss: By comparing his previous official artwork with his new official artwork, it's easy to see that Fabian looks visibly thinner. He's also VERY cut. (very defined muscles requiring very little fat) for his age. He was muscular last year sure, but his chest and abs are much more defined this year. Being that cut means that despite how muscular Fabian is, he has been eating less and probably doing fat burning exercises, getting a lot of his nutrition from multivitamins and whey, and would have less energy than normal.

Negative energy balance/chronic fatigue: This is only a possibility, but it deserves being mentioned. If this is going on, it puts a spin on some of Fabian's other actions in season 2, episode 1. He showed up late on move in day and didn't really move anything (just carried a book), which might have been a character thing, but could have also been because Fabian is running on empty and capable of things like adrenaline fueled busts of energy, but otherwise dealing with low energy and fatigue.

Also, Fabian is smoking now which works as an appetite suppressant as is common among those with eating disorders.

(Signs with no evidence as of this post: problems with body image, denial of low body weight, cold intolerance, mood swings)

~*~*~*~*~*~

TLDR: Fabian is showing a lot of symptoms of an eating disorder and also over a dozen risk factors. The number of both is substantial enough to see a pattern. Enough that I sincerely hope that it's acknowledged during the season because if Fabian does not have an eating disorder, he is at substantial risk of developing one.

PS: I know it's data heavy, I might have missed a few things, and it could be totally wrong, but I seen enough there that I thought it might make for a solid theory. D20 is no stranger to heavy subjects and I think if they do cover it, they will do a good job (as always). If they don't, I still learned a lot making this theory and maybe a few of you will as well. ^_^

#fantasy high #fabian seacaster #d20 theory #dimension 20 #d20 #theory #tw eating disorder #tw anorexia #tw anxiety mention #tw abuse mention #tw violence mention #tw trauma mention #fantasy high spoilers #tinfoil time

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bulimia159 · 5 years

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Picky Eating Vs. Eating Disorders In Kids, According To Experts

Smith says there isn't enough research into ARFID to tell whether there is a connection with developing eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, but ...

#Google Alert - Bulimia

0 notes

clarencebfaber · 6 years

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Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy?

What Is Orthorexia?

Have you heard of orthorexia? Do you consider yourself orthorexic because you eat healthy and avoid certain foods? Or is it “normal” to eat healthy, and still not want to eat certain foods?

Let’s explore…

Orthorexia 101:

Orthorexia, the “obsession with healthy eating,” is a classified eating disorder according to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

It is defined as: “an obsession with eating foods that one considers healthy; a medical condition in which the sufferer systematically avoids specific foods in the belief that they are harmful.”

Like those with other eating disorders, individuals who struggle with orthorexia often find themselves a little bit obsessed, anxious or overthinking food on a daily basis.

However, sounds quite a bit like those who are on any current diet or health protocol to recover their health doesn’t it?

From the Whole 30, to Keto, Vegan, GAPS, the Autoimmune Protocol, Paleo—and everything in between—many individuals who adhere to certain diets for health and wellness reasons can easily find themselves a little bit obsessed or anxious as well with food.

The lines may blur, but there are distinct differences:

ORTHOREXIC VS. HEALTHY EATING: THE DIFFERENCE

Some examples and characteristic differences in orthorexic patterns vs. genuine healthy eating include:

ORTHOREXIA

Research every ingredient in any food they eat

Google search answers to random health questions in search of the healthiest answer

Often have self-imposed rules (from multiple different sources online or experience) that construct a restrictive diet

Increasingly become more and more restrictive

May only eat 5-7 foods and tend to eat the same things every day

Emotionally distraught if food does not go as planned or in unknown situations (social settings, new restaurants, travel)

Feel guilty when stray from rules

Avoid foods prepped by others and/or social situations with food

Find a sense of achievement or self esteem in what they eat

Often talk or obsess about foods

Think critically about others who do not eat like they do

Overtraining or rigid/routine exercise is often correlated

Strong beliefs about “good” and “bad” foods

HEALTHY EATING

Adhere to certain dietary guidelines, based on physical health reasons

Not distraught if they can’t go to their restaurant of choice

Open to trying new foods (especially if they are feel-good foods)

Recognize that eating can’t always be perfect, and adhere to more of an 80/20 philosophy

Aim to incorporate as much variety and different foods as they can

May feel nervous about travel or eating out, but do best to plan accordingly and adjust

Self-esteem is not dependent on what they do or don’t eat

Move their bodies in ways that feel good and energize them (not out of rigidity or militant beliefs they “should”)

Instead of labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” views foods as “better for me foods,” and “don’t make me feel my best,” foods

While this list is generalized and broad, at best, I know of both because I’ve lived it.

MY STORY: FROM ORTHOREXIA TO GUT HEALING & THE IN-BETWEEN

Been there, got the t-shirt. On both sides.

As I initially began to recover from anorexia at age 17, I quickly found myself immersed in another type of eating disorder—orthorexia—in my pursuit of the “ideal body,” and being on the cover of a fitness magazine.

My diet was restricted to turkey patties, steamed vegetables, Crystal Light and protein shakes, and my schedule revolved around my three workouts every day.

Fast forward to my recovery, and my pursuit of my education in nutrition and functional medicine and as I began to learn more about the underlying health conditions I had struggled with for years (constipation, autoimmune disease, anxiety, hormone imbalances), my personal food philosophies began to shift.

“Food is medicine” became my mantra, and food began to take on a whole new meaning—a way to restore my body. Organ meats, cold-water fatty fish, nutrient-dense dark leafy greens, bone broth and grass-fed butter energized me! And I loved how actually nourishing my body with a variety of real foods and gut healing foods (fermented foods, etc.) made me feel!

While there was also brief lapse of time during my nutrition training that I ALSO fell back into my old orthorexia ways of fearing “unhealthy” or “bad” foods (i.e. I became a little too obsessed with gut healing, and hacking my diet with certain diet philosophies like GAPS and SCD), I “woke up” from this obsession quickly when I realized all the stress about food was actually making my own digestive issues worse (not better).

(Stress is the #1 driver of all disease and imbalance).

To say the least, I went from the dark side, to the light side, and have realized, it’s NOT bad to want to feel good or to take the best care of your body. Food intolerances, gut conditions, autoimmune conditions, skin breakouts, hormone imbalances, anxiety and beyond are real, (and your nutrition can be a game-changer for healing), but they do NOT have to dominate your own well-being inside and out.

GUT HEALING & HEALTHY EATING GONE OVERBOARD: ARFID

ARFID—Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder—is a common “phenomenon” many individuals experience on a gut healing or body healing diet.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of fearing what food will “do to you” when your diet becomes restrictive for health reasons.

Labels aside, ARFID or Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is a silent “eating disorder,” many people are not talking about in the health, wellness or functional medicine community. Primarily because the main goal of treatment is to help you feel better physically.

However, in the case of ARFID, your diet becomes so restricted that you may experience many symptoms similar to orthorexia—particularly emotional angst about food, primarily because you “can’t” eat eating. The stress over food itself may even exacerbate or extend your healing process.

Common symptoms of ARFID include:

COMMON SYMPTOMS

You lack variety in your diet

You fear how foods make you feel

You wrap your identity in what you eat

You know ALL the protocols in the book (GAPS, SCD, AIP, etc.)

You’re HYPER AWARE of how food makes you feel

You get sick when you eat out

NOTHING seems to change how you feel

You read EVERYTHING on Google about your condition

You’ve tried countless protocols.

You have low energy

You rarely feel hunger/fullness cues

You get easily weepy or have pent up emotions

You try to “forget” you are sick but feel trapped

You tend to be a perfectionist or Type-A personality

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: ARFID & ORTHOREXIA SUPPORT & HEALING OPTIONS

To date, there are not a ton of resources or support options for individuals in recovery from ARFID or Orthorexia—primarily because many clinicians steer clear from eating disorder support in general, as well as due to the HUGE emphasis on healthy and clean eating and dieting by and large.

As the diabetes and obesity epidemics only continue to escalate (currently 1 in 3 Americans), the emphasis from many professionals in healthcare focuses on “leading a healthier lifestyle” in general.

“What’s so bad about eating more greens, running

DECLARE FOOD FREEDOM

While formal treatment options may be far and few between, working with a skilled practitioner one-on-one in the areas of nutrition, mental and emotional health, and body healing can be “game changing” for your relationship with food.

Here are a handful of principles I teach my clients in my clinical practice to help them overcome their orthorexic tendencies and declare food freedom.

Have a “DTR” with Your Food

“DTR” stands for “determining the relationship.” In a romantic relationship, it’s the conversation you have with your significant other about your relationship status—are you all “on” or “off.” Together? Dating? Friends with benefits?

You need to do the same thing with your relationship with food. DTR is all about knowing your WHY—why you eat what you eat, as well as your what—what your beliefs or philosophy about food really is (and exploring where that came from in the first place).

For instance, one of my personal food philosophies for how I eat is based on the principles of an anti-inflammatory diet. WHY? Because I have an autoimmune disease, and autoimmune disease genetics, thus if and when I eat certain foods that are more inflammatory to my body, like nuts, grains and eggs, I not only feel awful physically (constipation, bloating, nauseas), but I also flare my conditions more (IBS/IBD and even skin breakouts). It’s not that I don’t like these foods, but my “why” behind eating less of them is based on how my body reacts and feels.

Another food philosophy of mine is to have NO food rules or food labels! This “why” stems back to the 15 years I spent entrenched in following every diet under the sun! And this “why” is what helps keep me sane from even dabbling in any mainstream hyped diet philosophy (be it Keto, Intermittent Fasting, Atkins or Vegan). I don’t label how I eat as anything more than “real food” and base what goes in my body on how my body feels, as well as mindfulness with needing a VARIETY of nutrient-dense foods.

In the reverse, a FORMER food philosophy of mine was ALL ABOUT labels, and rules, and calorie counting obsessions. At one time, my goal was less than 500 calories per day, and less than 0.5 grams of fat (how absurd, right?!). At the time though, I totally thought this was what I “should” do—my “why” was all about checking off boxes of food rules and my ultimate goal (weight loss).

What are some of your personal food philosophies you currently follow (and WHY do you believe or adhere to them)?

As If Mindset

Once you have an idea of your current relationship with food and your food philosophy, now you get to think about what kind of relationship you want with food!

Do you want to be controlled and dictated by what you can and can’t eat—such as worrying or feeling anxious about going out to eat with friends or traveling on vacation?

Or do you want to fuel your body to the best of your abilities with foods that make you feel BEST, but when and if you can’t do so, be able to adjust accordingly?

I call this the “as if” mindset. So as we think, therefore we become. Envision how healthy, thriving, truly healthy (inside and out) you approaches food in any and all situations:

Travel

Dining out

At the grocery store

Packing your lunch

Making dinner

Get a clear picture of what healthy, thriving you looks like, acts like, talks like, treats her body like, and then…act accordingly.

Make Your Own Rules

Rules were made to be broken, and when it comes to food rules, I encourage all my clients to make their own (new) recovered, healthy, thriving rules for vibrancy and freedom that buck the system or their former beliefs that were wrapped in fear, worry, angst, or overthinking food.

In turn, your new “rules” aren’t actually rules at all, but more like mantras—declarations for the healthy relationship you want with food and your body.

For instance, in my own recovery and continued healing journey with food, my rules or mantras became:

“No diets.”

“Listen to your body.”

“Know your truth.” (i.e. what is disordered vs. healthy mindset me)

“Eat out of love, not fear.”

You get the picture. Erase the old rules from your brain.

Abundance Mindset

What CAN you eat, versus what CAN’T you eat?

There are hundreds of foods in the world, and often times in the midst of gut healing or “clean eating” protocols, it can be EASY to get stuck on your “CAN’T” list or “I DON’T EAT ___” list.

Aim for the LEAST RESTRICTIVE approach as possible, and eat with an “abundance” mindset.

Vary it Up

Along with abundance, variety is the spice of life, and when we eat the same things day in and day out, not only do we deprive our bodies of essential nutrients, but we also dumb down our palate (i.e. “boring” foods).

Aim for 2-3 different colors at each meal to keep things fresh, and while you’re at it, simply try different herbs, seasonings and spices to enhance flavor, continually challenge and fire up your tastebuds, and boost nutrients too.

Check out this “rainbow” food chart (scroll to the bottom) by nutritionist Deanna Minich to see how different colors and variety enhances our bodies, beyond just giving us “antioxidants.”

Eat Out of Love, Not Fear

Simply put: How can you eat out of love for your body, then eating (or not eating) based on food fears?

Bonus: when we eat out of love (and have more peace with food), we actually can even enhance our digestion for the better (stress and cortisol inhibits optimal digestion).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Healthy eating or clean eating is NOT a bad thing. It all comes down to your mindset.

Want support in overcoming orthorexic or ARFID tendencies? Or looking to heal your gut, hormones, or other health condition without a crazy diet mentality or restrictive approach?

Let’s connect. Contact me at DrLauryn.com/Work-with-Me and apply to be a client today (Bonus: a 10-minute Complimentary Consult is included for all accepted applicants).

The post Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy? appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/do-you-have-orthorexia-or-just-eating-healthy/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/

Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy? via https://drlaurynlax.weebly.com/

#Clarence B. Faber #ClarenceFaber #Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine

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drlaurynlax · 6 years

Text

Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy?

What Is Orthorexia?

Have you heard of orthorexia? Do you consider yourself orthorexic because you eat healthy and avoid certain foods? Or is it “normal” to eat healthy, and still not want to eat certain foods?

Let’s explore…

Orthorexia 101:

Orthorexia, the “obsession with healthy eating,” is a classified eating disorder according to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

It is defined as: “an obsession with eating foods that one considers healthy; a medical condition in which the sufferer systematically avoids specific foods in the belief that they are harmful.”

Like those with other eating disorders, individuals who struggle with orthorexia often find themselves a little bit obsessed, anxious or overthinking food on a daily basis.

However, sounds quite a bit like those who are on any current diet or health protocol to recover their health doesn’t it?

The lines may blur, but there are distinct differences:

ORTHOREXIC VS. HEALTHY EATING: THE DIFFERENCE

Some examples and characteristic differences in orthorexic patterns vs. genuine healthy eating include:

ORTHOREXIA

Research every ingredient in any food they eat

Google search answers to random health questions in search of the healthiest answer

Often have self-imposed rules (from multiple different sources online or experience) that construct a restrictive diet

Increasingly become more and more restrictive

May only eat 5-7 foods and tend to eat the same things every day

Emotionally distraught if food does not go as planned or in unknown situations (social settings, new restaurants, travel)

Feel guilty when stray from rules

Avoid foods prepped by others and/or social situations with food

Find a sense of achievement or self esteem in what they eat

Often talk or obsess about foods

Think critically about others who do not eat like they do

Overtraining or rigid/routine exercise is often correlated

Strong beliefs about “good” and “bad” foods

HEALTHY EATING

Adhere to certain dietary guidelines, based on physical health reasons

Not distraught if they can’t go to their restaurant of choice

Open to trying new foods (especially if they are feel-good foods)

Recognize that eating can’t always be perfect, and adhere to more of an 80/20 philosophy

Aim to incorporate as much variety and different foods as they can

May feel nervous about travel or eating out, but do best to plan accordingly and adjust

Self-esteem is not dependent on what they do or don’t eat

Move their bodies in ways that feel good and energize them (not out of rigidity or militant beliefs they “should”)

Instead of labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” views foods as “better for me foods,” and “don’t make me feel my best,” foods

While this list is generalized and broad, at best, I know of both because I’ve lived it.

MY STORY: FROM ORTHOREXIA TO GUT HEALING & THE IN-BETWEEN

Been there, got the t-shirt. On both sides.

My diet was restricted to turkey patties, steamed vegetables, Crystal Light and protein shakes, and my schedule revolved around my three workouts every day.

(Stress is the #1 driver of all disease and imbalance).

GUT HEALING & HEALTHY EATING GONE OVERBOARD: ARFID

ARFID—Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder—is a common “phenomenon” many individuals experience on a gut healing or body healing diet.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of fearing what food will “do to you” when your diet becomes restrictive for health reasons.

Common symptoms of ARFID include:

COMMON SYMPTOMS

You lack variety in your diet

You fear how foods make you feel

You wrap your identity in what you eat

You know ALL the protocols in the book (GAPS, SCD, AIP, etc.)

You’re HYPER AWARE of how food makes you feel

You get sick when you eat out

NOTHING seems to change how you feel

You read EVERYTHING on Google about your condition

You’ve tried countless protocols.

You have low energy

You rarely feel hunger/fullness cues

You get easily weepy or have pent up emotions

You try to “forget” you are sick but feel trapped

You tend to be a perfectionist or Type-A personality

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: ARFID & ORTHOREXIA SUPPORT & HEALING OPTIONS

“What’s so bad about eating more greens, running

DECLARE FOOD FREEDOM

Here are a handful of principles I teach my clients in my clinical practice to help them overcome their orthorexic tendencies and declare food freedom.

Have a “DTR” with Your Food

What are some of your personal food philosophies you currently follow (and WHY do you believe or adhere to them)?

As If Mindset

Once you have an idea of your current relationship with food and your food philosophy, now you get to think about what kind of relationship you want with food!

Do you want to be controlled and dictated by what you can and can’t eat—such as worrying or feeling anxious about going out to eat with friends or traveling on vacation?

Or do you want to fuel your body to the best of your abilities with foods that make you feel BEST, but when and if you can’t do so, be able to adjust accordingly?

I call this the “as if” mindset. So as we think, therefore we become. Envision how healthy, thriving, truly healthy (inside and out) you approaches food in any and all situations:

Travel

Dining out

At the grocery store

Packing your lunch

Making dinner

Get a clear picture of what healthy, thriving you looks like, acts like, talks like, treats her body like, and then…act accordingly.

Make Your Own Rules

In turn, your new “rules” aren’t actually rules at all, but more like mantras—declarations for the healthy relationship you want with food and your body.

For instance, in my own recovery and continued healing journey with food, my rules or mantras became:

“No diets.”

“Listen to your body.”

“Know your truth.” (i.e. what is disordered vs. healthy mindset me)

“Eat out of love, not fear.”

You get the picture. Erase the old rules from your brain.

Abundance Mindset

What CAN you eat, versus what CAN’T you eat?

Aim for the LEAST RESTRICTIVE approach as possible, and eat with an “abundance” mindset.

Vary it Up

Check out this “rainbow” food chart (scroll to the bottom) by nutritionist Deanna Minich to see how different colors and variety enhances our bodies, beyond just giving us “antioxidants.”

Eat Out of Love, Not Fear

Simply put: How can you eat out of love for your body, then eating (or not eating) based on food fears?

Bonus: when we eat out of love (and have more peace with food), we actually can even enhance our digestion for the better (stress and cortisol inhibits optimal digestion).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Healthy eating or clean eating is NOT a bad thing. It all comes down to your mindset.

Want support in overcoming orthorexic or ARFID tendencies? Or looking to heal your gut, hormones, or other health condition without a crazy diet mentality or restrictive approach?

Let’s connect. Contact me at DrLauryn.com/Work-with-Me and apply to be a client today (Bonus: a 10-minute Complimentary Consult is included for all accepted applicants).

The post Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy? appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/do-you-have-orthorexia-or-just-eating-healthy/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/

#Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine #Dr. Lauryn Lax #Dr.Lauryn

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elizabethbgrimes · 6 years

Text

Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy?

What Is Orthorexia?

Have you heard of orthorexia? Do you consider yourself orthorexic because you eat healthy and avoid certain foods? Or is it “normal” to eat healthy, and still not want to eat certain foods?

Let’s explore…

Orthorexia 101:

Orthorexia, the “obsession with healthy eating,” is a classified eating disorder according to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

It is defined as: “an obsession with eating foods that one considers healthy; a medical condition in which the sufferer systematically avoids specific foods in the belief that they are harmful.”

Like those with other eating disorders, individuals who struggle with orthorexia often find themselves a little bit obsessed, anxious or overthinking food on a daily basis.

However, sounds quite a bit like those who are on any current diet or health protocol to recover their health doesn’t it?

The lines may blur, but there are distinct differences:

ORTHOREXIC VS. HEALTHY EATING: THE DIFFERENCE

Some examples and characteristic differences in orthorexic patterns vs. genuine healthy eating include:

ORTHOREXIA

Research every ingredient in any food they eat

Google search answers to random health questions in search of the healthiest answer

Often have self-imposed rules (from multiple different sources online or experience) that construct a restrictive diet

Increasingly become more and more restrictive

May only eat 5-7 foods and tend to eat the same things every day

Emotionally distraught if food does not go as planned or in unknown situations (social settings, new restaurants, travel)

Feel guilty when stray from rules

Avoid foods prepped by others and/or social situations with food

Find a sense of achievement or self esteem in what they eat

Often talk or obsess about foods

Think critically about others who do not eat like they do

Overtraining or rigid/routine exercise is often correlated

Strong beliefs about “good” and “bad” foods

HEALTHY EATING

Adhere to certain dietary guidelines, based on physical health reasons

Not distraught if they can’t go to their restaurant of choice

Open to trying new foods (especially if they are feel-good foods)

Recognize that eating can’t always be perfect, and adhere to more of an 80/20 philosophy

Aim to incorporate as much variety and different foods as they can

May feel nervous about travel or eating out, but do best to plan accordingly and adjust

Self-esteem is not dependent on what they do or don’t eat

Move their bodies in ways that feel good and energize them (not out of rigidity or militant beliefs they “should”)

Instead of labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” views foods as “better for me foods,” and “don’t make me feel my best,” foods

While this list is generalized and broad, at best, I know of both because I’ve lived it.

MY STORY: FROM ORTHOREXIA TO GUT HEALING & THE IN-BETWEEN

Been there, got the t-shirt. On both sides.

My diet was restricted to turkey patties, steamed vegetables, Crystal Light and protein shakes, and my schedule revolved around my three workouts every day.

(Stress is the #1 driver of all disease and imbalance).

GUT HEALING & HEALTHY EATING GONE OVERBOARD: ARFID

ARFID—Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder—is a common “phenomenon” many individuals experience on a gut healing or body healing diet.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of fearing what food will “do to you” when your diet becomes restrictive for health reasons.

Common symptoms of ARFID include:

COMMON SYMPTOMS

You lack variety in your diet

You fear how foods make you feel

You wrap your identity in what you eat

You know ALL the protocols in the book (GAPS, SCD, AIP, etc.)

You’re HYPER AWARE of how food makes you feel

You get sick when you eat out

NOTHING seems to change how you feel

You read EVERYTHING on Google about your condition

You’ve tried countless protocols.

You have low energy

You rarely feel hunger/fullness cues

You get easily weepy or have pent up emotions

You try to “forget” you are sick but feel trapped

You tend to be a perfectionist or Type-A personality

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: ARFID & ORTHOREXIA SUPPORT & HEALING OPTIONS

“What’s so bad about eating more greens, running

DECLARE FOOD FREEDOM

Here are a handful of principles I teach my clients in my clinical practice to help them overcome their orthorexic tendencies and declare food freedom.

Have a “DTR” with Your Food

What are some of your personal food philosophies you currently follow (and WHY do you believe or adhere to them)?

As If Mindset

Once you have an idea of your current relationship with food and your food philosophy, now you get to think about what kind of relationship you want with food!

Do you want to be controlled and dictated by what you can and can’t eat—such as worrying or feeling anxious about going out to eat with friends or traveling on vacation?

Or do you want to fuel your body to the best of your abilities with foods that make you feel BEST, but when and if you can’t do so, be able to adjust accordingly?

I call this the “as if” mindset. So as we think, therefore we become. Envision how healthy, thriving, truly healthy (inside and out) you approaches food in any and all situations:

Travel

Dining out

At the grocery store

Packing your lunch

Making dinner

Get a clear picture of what healthy, thriving you looks like, acts like, talks like, treats her body like, and then…act accordingly.

Make Your Own Rules

In turn, your new “rules” aren’t actually rules at all, but more like mantras—declarations for the healthy relationship you want with food and your body.

For instance, in my own recovery and continued healing journey with food, my rules or mantras became:

“No diets.”

“Listen to your body.”

“Know your truth.” (i.e. what is disordered vs. healthy mindset me)

“Eat out of love, not fear.”

You get the picture. Erase the old rules from your brain.

Abundance Mindset

What CAN you eat, versus what CAN’T you eat?

Aim for the LEAST RESTRICTIVE approach as possible, and eat with an “abundance” mindset.

Vary it Up

Check out this “rainbow” food chart (scroll to the bottom) by nutritionist Deanna Minich to see how different colors and variety enhances our bodies, beyond just giving us “antioxidants.”

Eat Out of Love, Not Fear

Simply put: How can you eat out of love for your body, then eating (or not eating) based on food fears?

Bonus: when we eat out of love (and have more peace with food), we actually can even enhance our digestion for the better (stress and cortisol inhibits optimal digestion).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Healthy eating or clean eating is NOT a bad thing. It all comes down to your mindset.

Want support in overcoming orthorexic or ARFID tendencies? Or looking to heal your gut, hormones, or other health condition without a crazy diet mentality or restrictive approach?

Let’s connect. Contact me at DrLauryn.com/Work-with-Me and apply to be a client today (Bonus: a 10-minute Complimentary Consult is included for all accepted applicants).

The post Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy? appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/do-you-have-orthorexia-or-just-eating-healthy/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/ Do You Have Orthorexia or Just Eating Healthy? via https://drlaurynlax.blogspot.com/

#Elizabeth B. Grimes #ElizabethGrimes #Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine

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thestusci · 6 years

Link

Picky eating, as established in the previous article, is clinically described as the consumption of an inadequate variety of food. It is common in children but can carry over into adulthood; for some picky adults, a great deal of change and determination can help ease their particularities. But for the adults with ARFID, that potential lifestyle change is hindered due to mental, emotional, and physical limitations.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard for classifying mental disorders, used by healthcare professionals in the United States and most of the world. In 2013, the DSM’s Fifth Edition added a new diagnosis: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). ARFID, formerly known as “Selective Eating Disorder,” is defined as “an eating or feeding disturbance (e.g., apparent lack of interest in eating or food; avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food; concern about aversive consequences of eating) as manifested by persistent failure to meet appropriate nutritional and/or energy needs.” According to the National Eating Disorder Association, ARFID is similar to anorexia as both disorders involve nutritional limitations, but unlike anorexia, ARFID does not involve distress about body shape (1). Basically, people who have ARFID avoid most foods due to its appearance, taste, smell, texture, etc. and possible negative past experiences. Figure 1 shows the differences between picky eating and ARFID.

Figure 1 – Chart from Mealtime Hostage

The causes of ARFID are still poorly understood. According to the Eating Recovery Center, ARFID develops from genetic, psychological, and sociocultural factors (2):

Genetic: genetic makeup or predispositions to selective eating are strong risk factors. People with autism spectrum disorders and those with ADHD and intellectual disabilities are more likely to develop ARFID.

Psychological: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety, and mood disorders are likely to accompany ARFID and most other eating disorders. Past negative experiences with food, such as trauma, may also leave a lasting impact.

Sociocultural: cultural and societal pressures to “eat healthy,” paired with increased processed food production, can influence nutritional decisions. There is often very minimal empathy for adult picky eaters, and due to the general public’s unawareness of the newly classified ARFID, the same regard likely extends to ARFID.

A main warning sign of ARFID is, of course, eating behavior interfering with psychosocial functioning. Other signs include, but are not limited to, dramatic weight loss, limited range of preferred foods that become narrower over time (paired with no body image disturbance or fear of weight gain), stomach cramps, other non-specific gastrointestinal complaints, and abnormal laboratory findings. A diagnosis of ARFID is made by mental health professionals through psychiatric interviews and guidance through medical assessments.

As previously stated, picky eating can be overcome through determination and lifestyle-change planning. On the other hand, professional treatment for ARFID is still being researched. Currently, methods of treatment include behavioral and psychological interventions. Columbia University Medical Center conducts Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which aims at improving patients’ mental health (3). Treatment goals include restoring and maintaining weight, normalizing eating, and normalizing psychological and family function. Behavioral treatments include exposures to challenging foods, establishing a regular eating schedule and in some cases, increasing caloric intake.

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is a real, yet misunderstood disorder. Like all disorders, its victims do not choose to have them. Research and dedication to comprehending ARFID are imperative, but in order for people to manage and potentially overcome it, patience, and encouragement will always be key.

References

(1) “Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).” National Eating Disorders Association, 22 Feb. 2018, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/arfid.

(2) “Causes of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).” Eating Disorder Treatment at Eating Recovery Center, www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/conditions/arfid/causes.

(3) Friedl, MD, Eve K. “Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).” ColumbiaDoctors, 19 Apr. 2018, www.columbiadoctors.org/condition/avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder-arfid.

(4) “Picky Eating vs. Selective Eating Disorder.” Mealtime Hostage, 9 June 2015, https://mealtimehostage.com/2012/12/13/picky-eating-vs-selective-eating-disorder/.

(5) Featured Image of Woman and Salad. “Are You a Picky Eater? You Could Be Suffering from ARFID.” Willow Place, 10 Jan. 2017, willowplaceforwomen.com/picky-eater-suffering-arfid/.

https://ift.tt/2uxJflJ via The Student Scientist Nicole Felix-Tovar July 18, 2018 at 11:55PM

#IFTTT #The Student Scientist #Student Scientist #Science News #Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Diso

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