How do you teach your child that beauty is not skin deep if you don't even believe it yourself? Face it not many of us belong to the elite club called "the beautiful people." Most of us just rank somewhere in between. We're not monsters, but we are not model material either.

So why do most of us still strive desperately to be beautiful? I'm not talking about a beautiful spirit that is gentle and kind. I'm also not talking about a beautiful heart for the weak and poor, or a beautiful mind that invents and creates breathtaking objects. No, in our society, if you mention beauty it mainly entails physical appearance as portrait in the media and enforced by the masses.

Now I know a lot of people have written about this subject, and we have all heard the horror stories that make us feel a little better: The average mannequin would never be able to bear children, and fashion designers cater for size 2 to 12 while the average woman is a size 14 (I'm talking real women).

So we are pretty well informed about the need to change this superficial outlook on what is "beautiful" by now. Everywhere around us we can see the efforts of people trying to stop the rise in obesity and eating disorders. We as parents do our part to impress upon our children the importance of healthy rather than skinny, getting physically active rather than going on a diet, and eating for wellness rather than outward appearance.

However, if you as a parent still find yourself stuck in a rut of overeating, binging and starvation, your well meant words to change your kids' eating habits might have no effect. Unfortunately we teach mainly by example. Children are little observers and they will follow your example long after your words have fade away. If they see mom skipping meals, binging on sweets, and not making a real effort to exercise, they will probably follow suit.

Please hear my heart. I have been in that boat for many years and I know the horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, realizing that your food addiction is rubbing off on your kids. We never want our children to suffer, we would rather take it all on ourselves. However, taking care of your addiction, getting out of your bad eating habits and learning to love exercise is the biggest gift you can ever give your children. It will make you a better, happier parent, because you will not be so preoccupied with food and the struggle surrounding it. But more important is the fact that you will have a heritage of a healthy lifestyle to pass on to your kids. And for those of them who already struggle with food, you will be an example that there is freedom and one can overcome this painful and humiliating way of living.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heleen_Woest

A waif-like teen, weighing in at 85 pounds; a painfully large woman, tipping the scales at 500 pounds. They have little in common, right?

Not so fast. While their bodies may appear vastly different, they share many underlying characteristics and potentially life-threatening conditions that require the care of not only physicians but qualified therapists specializing in eating disorders. Let's take a look at some of the common threads that bind these two seemingly opposite individuals:

The heart: Overworked hearts are common to both the super-obese (also referred to as "malignant" obesity) and the acutely underweight individual. In both of these types of patients it is common to encounter issues like angina (chest pain), atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque), heart attack and heart failure to occur.

Bone health: The skeletal systems of anorexic and/or bulimic patients suffer as a result of chronic malnutrition; osteoporosis ("brittle bones") can often occur, resulting in a predisposition to bone fractures or bone deterioration.

Obese patients often suffer joint pain in the knees and ankles as a result of the stress of accommodating excess weight. These patients may suffer back pain as well for similar reasons. There is also reason to believe that obese patients are at increase risk for osteoporosis as well.

Hormonal imbalances: Obese patients are at high risk for developing diabetes, a condition in which the body no longer properly produces or uses insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to other serious medical complications, including heart disease, retinopathy (blindness), neuropathy (nerve damage) and nephropathy (kidney damage). Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is also a common diagnosis among obese women that can lead to hirsutism (excess facial hair), menstrual problems and infertility.

Severely underweight patients may also experience the absence of periods, hyper- or hypo-glycemia (high or low blood sugar), and diabetes as a result of chronic malnutrition and stress to the body's systems.

The mind: Anorexia and bulimia have long been recognized by the medical community as psychiatric illnesses that require intense therapy by qualified health-care providers. It is not uncommon for anorexic and/or bulimic patients to require inpatient hospital stays in order to properly manage their physical condition along with the psychiatric illness. Skilled psychotherapy is required for these patients to address their distorted perceptions of body image, depression, and emotional/behavioral triggers.

Similarly, it is widely understood that the super-obese medical intervention to manage their health - but psychiatric services are less often considered for this population. Those who chose to undergo weight reduction surgeries, like gastric bypass or lap-band procedures, will receive complete psychological assessments to determine their candidacy for this type of treatment; yet ongoing counseling is not commonly offered to this population. Some obese patients who are under the care of physicians specializing in bariatric medicine will have regular visits with counselors and/or therapists to help address the issues associated with their eating patterns. Overeaters Anonymous, a 12-step program for compulsive eaters, does offer some variety of support and counsel, though obviously not in a medically controlled and monitored environment.

Clearly, anorexic and bulimic patients fall at an entirely different end of the spectrum than obese patients do - and yet these are all individuals who can be classified as having eating disorders. Therapy and medical management are essential to the recovery of any patient suffering with an eating disorder.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Scott

We all know we need sleep, but we usually underestimate the danger of not getting enough shut-eye. If you struggle with an eating disorder you have to be extra diligent in getting a good night's rest.

It is a well known fact that people with eating disorders are, for the most part, out of touch with their bodies and emotions. When you recover from an eating disorder you have to make a deliberate effort to focus on what you're feeling and experiencing in the present moment. It is so easy to just slip back into thoughts about the past or the future and to ignore the, sometimes painful, present that you hold in your hand. For this reason people who struggle with compulsive overeating might eat when they are stressed, thirsty, angry, sad, and tired instead of stopping and asking themselves what is really going on. Numbing emotions and even physical needs with food can become second nature.

So if you are not getting enough sleep, and you suffer from food addiction, you might find yourself binging at times in order to "revive" a sleep deprived body. This can especially happen when your life is busy and demanding. You can easily get in a rut of not sleeping enough, taking in loads of caffeine to compensate, having way too much stress, and "rewarding" yourself with desserts and sweets. It's a vicious cycle that you have to break by getting more sleep. I know it's easier said than done, especially if you have a new baby, but it is absolutely crucial that you take a nap when that little one sleeps or you might find yourself unable to cope with life.

Studies have shown that people who were awake for 19 hours scored lower on performance and alertness tests than people who were drunk. Further studies done by the University of Pennsylvania found that people who had only slept for four and a half hours per night for one week were sad, anxious, irritable and easily frustrated.

Sleep deprivation has also been linked to low energy, poor memory, mood swings, anger, stress, anxiety, depression, hypertension and obesity.

With all these facts on the table you might want to take a serious look at your sleeping habits. It could be one of the deciding factors standing between you and a healthy lifestyle. Getting more sleep could result in more energy, which could result in more exercise and less food cravings.

After working with ladies who struggle with food for many years, I can assure you that there are much more to this struggle than just the physical aspects. However, getting your physical body healthy is a very necessary step on the road to freedom. In my program for women with food addiction and eating disorders I address the physical part of our struggle in two of the twelve weeks. I always stress the importance of getting a good night's rest in order to deal with all the other elements involved in breaking free from an eating disorder.

That said, sleep doesn't come easy for everyone. So if you experience difficulty in this area, I would strongly recommend that you make it a high priority to speak to your doctor: Sleep is vital!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heleen_Woest