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AshIdiot
New Member
| Joined: | 8 March 2008 |
| Location: | Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 42 |
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Posted: 25 April 2008 01:44 am |
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I read a lot of articles about dieting and exercise and nutriton, like anyone here. I just get so riled and annoyed to no end when I see the phrase "eating disorder." Last time I checked, eating disorders were so rare that less than one percent of the population had them. All of a sudden, 6 in ten women have them?
I call bullcrap.
If you're on a very strict, severe, self-imposed diet, you are not anorexic. You're just trying to lose a lot of weight too quickly. Anorexia is a freakin' serious DISEASE (not a choice or lifestyle) that affects women who hate it and would do anything to get away from it. Can you imagine how offended they get when people say they "want to go anorexic for a while"?
As a former struggler with bulimia, I give people proverbial slaps upside the head when they think throwing up after eating will make them lose weight. People can't even stop long enough to learn the difference between bulimia and purging anorexia.
I can't wrap my mind around these people. And very sadly, they're not always 15 year old girls around this time of year when summer is around the corner. How can anyone be so...I hate to say 'stupid' but that's about what it comes to.
So in conclusion, a disease is not a diet and a diet is not a disease.
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Tratra
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 25 April 2008 02:06 pm |
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| I think you have to look at the fact that eating disorders/diseases have varying degrees of severity. As defined by Wikipedia, an eating disorder is a compulsion to eat, or avoid eating, that negatively affects one's physical and mental health. I would believe that at least 6 in 10 women have one to some degree!
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 25 April 2008 03:06 pm |
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You make a good point about people making light of eating disorders.
Here is another point to consider though, I believe that compulsive over-eating disorder is more prevalent than anorexia and bulemia combined. No I am not saying that every or even most overweight people are COE, but there are alot of people who are COE and don't realise it. See Eating Disorders
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 25 April 2008 05:08 pm |
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I'm not concerned with worrying about the semantics of using the word disease or not. But about eating disorders...
I readily identify myself as having an eating disorder and it is simple because my fussing about food and what to eat and how much and when occupies such a great part of my life.
Because I am very near a healthy weight, people are very often surprised to hear this.
I have friends who are obese, on the other hand, who don't really care about their weight and are as happy as can be.
They certainly have or will have health issues with their weight, but I would not think of them as having an eating disorder.
On the other hand if I saw someone who was EXTREMELY thin, I probably would think that they had an eating disorder.
The reason is that I think it's natural to want to eat, and unnatural not to.
The above reflects my very personal way of looking a things, and I would not argue that anything I have said it correct. Technically, or for anyone else to see as I do.
Peter
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Doug
New Member
| Joined: | 9 September 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 44 |
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Posted: 27 April 2008 12:21 pm |
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I lost 110 pounds in 2000 - 2001 and have kept it off since then. When people ask how I did that I tell them "Less food, more exercise. A LOT less food. Being a little OCD doesn't hurt either."
The truth is I am downplaying the OCD part. Like a lot of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off I am pretty compulsive about keeping track of what I eat and how much I exercise. I usually decline offers to go on some sort of social activity if it involves eating lots of food. Like an anorexic I spend way too much time worrying about food and exercise. This is not exactly a picture of glowing mental health but the alternative is being dangerously fat. I have never forced myself to throw up though.
The main difference between me and an anorexic is that I am driven to be as healthy as possible while an anorexic is driven to be as skinny as possible and can never be skinny enough, regardless of the consequences. This really is a critical difference though. Being overly concerned about being healthy may be a mental disease but at least it causes no physical harm.
One of my coworkers had gastric bypass surgery when it was a rare operation and lost about 120 of the 170 pounds his doctor thought he should lose. His wife had the surgery too and nearly lost her life a few years later due to a complication. While it is tempting to look down at people who lost weight through surgery the truth is they lead a much happier and more balanced life than I do. Like naturally skinny people food no longer rules their life. I really envy that part of their life.
Losing weight without surgery requires a lot of discipline. So much that others will view it as abnormal. But I would rather be seen as a little odd than be dead due to a stroke or deal with the side effects of surgery.
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jessalynne
New Member
| Joined: | 13 April 2008 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 22 |
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Posted: 27 April 2008 04:24 pm |
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I'm sorry that everyone is disagreeing with you AshIdiot. In many ways, I do think you are right - women mis-dianose their disordered eating as an eating disorder, when in reality it is not the same thing at all. I have had a friend with anorexia, and she really did have no choice in the matter - it wasn't a questioni of "just eat something," it was far deeper than that.
However, in my opinion....many women at least have days or times when they feel anorexic or bulimic. Just because they don't have a full-blown out of control eating disorder doesn't mean they don't deserve to investigate these feelings and try to stop them! Better to be paranoid and attack these tendencies in the bud, before they take root in us and lead to the true disease!
Thanks for bringing to attention that many of us take these terms too lightly. It reminds us all that these are REAL medical conditions!
--Jessa
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cportwine
Member
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Posted: 27 April 2008 04:37 pm |
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Just want to say "WELL SAID DOUG!"
I find alot of what you said to be true in my life. I have friends and my husband who can't understand why I am so focused on my weight and exercise. I have to be, otherwise I will gain all the weight back that I lost. They don't get that it not just a diet, it's a way of living.
As far as eating disorders I think we all have them. I guess it's just a matter of how serve it is and if it's effecting you in a negative way. Like doug, I get obessive with watching what I eat and exercise. But, I would never down play a diease as anorexia.
AshIdiot- I understand your point and you have a right to state your mind. But, I think you are being harsh on everyone. Just because your not throwing up doesn't mean your not struggling with some sort of food issue.
I tend to eat when I am stressed out. Is that a eating disorder. I tend to think so cause it's not normal.
So everyone has there own point of view.
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AshIdiot
New Member
| Joined: | 8 March 2008 |
| Location: | Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 42 |
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Posted: 27 April 2008 05:00 pm |
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Wow, this got a lot of replies.
I tried to post earlier but my internet went down and I lost it :x
First, I'm glad someone mentioned COE, along with a couple other conditions that are true eating disorders like orthorexia. There's also a big distinction between eating disorders and disordered eating. Think of EDs as needing medical care and DE as needing caution and preventative measures.
Also, I'm not denying that anyone who engages in dangerous behavior to modify or maintain their weight doesn't have a problem—they just don't have a life-wrecking mental disease. And why would anyone want one? Who would want to "obtain that status" or "become worthy of the title"?
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 28 April 2008 06:40 am |
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AshIdiot wrote: Think of EDs as needing medical care and DE as needing caution and preventative measures.
I see what you are saying, but I wouldn't make the distinction because a happy-go-lucky person with only DE can eat themselves to an early death (from the diseases of obesity) just as well as anyone with an ED.
Interesting discussion!
Peter
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REDQUEEN
New Member
| Joined: | 19 December 2005 |
| Location: | Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 39 |
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Posted: 28 April 2008 04:49 pm |
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Doug wrote: One of my coworkers had gastric bypass surgery when it was a rare operation and lost about 120 of the 170 pounds his doctor thought he should lose. His wife had the surgery too and nearly lost her life a few years later due to a complication. While it is tempting to look down at people who lost weight through surgery the truth is they lead a much happier and more balanced life than I do. Like naturally skinny people food no longer rules their life. I really envy that part of their life.
I have been monitoring the chatter, but now I feel like that I need to chime in myself. First of all, I had a gastric bypass in 2002. I lost a tremendous amount of weight, but I was/am totally OCD about everything I eat. I keep a calorie/journal notebook where I record everything. I think about what I am going to eat, how much, the calories, what exercise I need to do to counter what I ate, what I can afford to eat (calorie wise), about what calories I need to save for a bedtime snack, what I am going to say to my friends who want to go out to eat, etc. I am OCD about nutritional information, health information, diet and exercise. . . the list goes on and on. But you know Doug, you are wrong if you think that gastric bypass makes you act like "a naturally skinny person; happy and well balanced" (at least in my case). Your brain still has the same thoughts it always had regardless if you weigh 150 or 350. People eat for many different reasons, and in most cases being hungry has absolutely nothing to do with it!
For the past three years I have been a raging bulimic on top of everything else. I originally I started doing this because I was so afraid that I would lose my weight loss "blessing", but I have since learned that it is totally emotionally based and I also have body dysmorphia. AshIdiot, in my case there have been days where I have actually thrown up so many times, that I have lost count. I would love for it to be so easy for someone just "slap me upside the head" and I would stop, but I find myself so addicted to this harmful behavior that although I know the right thing to do, I can't stop! So, I agree with Cportwine, many people are dealing with food issues and I think that you are doing a great disservice to paint everyone with such a broad brush. People who suffer from bulimia also feel a tremendous amount of shame and guilt. It was also very interesting to read in Doug's post of how tempting it is to "look down at some one who has lost weight due to gastric bypass". I hardly ever tell anyone that I had it done! I have had this double whammy guilt and shame about the fact that I have had the surgery and ended up bulimic; it has taken me a long time to admit that I even have a problem because of these feelings. I have begun the long hard road to recovery, and it is the hardest path that I have ever traveled. Most days, I fail, but I try to remember that everyday is a new beginning. Nonetheless, I just felt that I needed to share this with all of you. I would appreciate all of your prayers, and please know that you all are in mine!
REDQUEEN
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cportwine
Member
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Posted: 28 April 2008 05:22 pm |
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Redqueen- It sounds like an addiction. And with any addiction it will be the hardest thing to quit. Best of luck to you and my prayers are with you.
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