Eating Disorders Information

Anorexia and Bulimia - What Are They? Who's at Risk? The Warning Signs?

2010-06-25T05:37:00.006-07:00

Anorexia nervosa is sometimes known as the "starvation sickness." Preoccupied of food, weight, and thinness, individuals suffering from anorexia refuse their hunger and refuse to eat-even after severe fat loss.

As they consume too few calories for their basic needs, their bodies slowly waste away. By starving themselves, people with anorexia don't get the nutrients they require for regular bodily functions.

Bulimia nervosa is marked by binge consuming and purging (self-induced vomiting).

The person gorges, usually on high-calorie foods, and then intentionally vomits or uses laxatives or diuretics. A diuretic increases urine production. The consequences are severe: dehydration, organ damage, internal bleeding from the stress of vomiting, tooth decay from acids in vomit, and in some cases, death.

Many people with these consuming disorders alternate between anorexia and bulimia. Reports indicate that 60 % of individuals who have dieted extensively or starved themselves resort to bingeing, and then purging to maintain their fat off. When does an eating disorder begin? Generally it begins with an ordinary weight-loss diet, begun either just before or after a major life change or trauma.

Nevertheless, there's no clear understanding of the exact causes. We do know, nevertheless, that consuming disorders are more than food problems. The person's whole life- schoolwork or career, family life, day-to-day patterns, emotions, growth, overall health-gets wrapped up within the consuming issues.

Who's at Danger for Anorexia and Bulimia? Individuals of almost any age and either gender might develop an consuming disorder. However, some groups of individuals are much more at danger than others.

1. Females clearly are the most susceptible. Actually, approximately 95 percent of all people with
anorexia are women.
2. Adolescents are at particular danger. Estimates indicate that as numerous as one of every 250 teenage girls will develop at least some symptoms of anorexia.
3. Athletes for example dancers and gymnasts, who must control their fat, are susceptible.
4. Consuming disorders are being increasingly identified in males, as well as in adults and even in children
as young as eight, nine, and ten years old.

The warning signs:

Eating disorders create warning signs. If you or someone you know shows any combination of these
symptoms, be concerned! People with anorexia might:

1. Consume tiny portions, refuse to eat, and deny they are hungry.
2. Show abnormal fat loss-as much as 15 percent or more of body weight-or a big weight
loss in a short time.
3. Act hyperactive, depressed, moody, or insecure.
4. Have an intense fear of becoming fat.
5. See themselves as fat, wanting to lose much more weight, even when they are really thin.
6. Exercise excessively and compulsively.
7. Suffer from constipation or irregular menstrual periods.
8. Develop fine, downy hair on their arms and face.
9. Complain of nausea or bloating after eating normal amounts of foods.
10. Binge-eat, then purge, perhaps by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics.

People with bulimia may:

1. Eat mainly in private.
2. Disappear after eating-often towards the bathroom.
3. Show great fluctuations in fat, and may be of regular weight or be overweight.
4. Feel out of manage when consuming.
5. Eat enormous meals but not gain weight.
6. Feel ashamed and depressed after gorging.
7. Have swollen parotid glands. The parotid glands, located near the ears, are one kind of salivary
glands.
8. Encounter irregular menstrual periods.
9. Binge-eat, then purge.
10. Abuse alcohol or drugs.
11. Become dependent on laxatives, diuretics, emetics, or diet pills to lose fat. Emetics such as
syrup of ipecac induce vomiting.
12. Develop dental difficulties caused by acid from vomiting. Acids eat away at tooth enamel.

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

Overcome Binge Eating Disorder - Recognize the Signs of Overeating

2010-06-25T05:37:00.005-07:00

Overeating, also known as binge disorder, often the leading cause of obesity, is one of the most common clinical disorders and a result of modern life. When people experience uncontrollable desire for eating, often called compulsive overeating because they cannot stop eating for reasons other than hunger. They will eat when they are happy, sad or simply bored. Often this urge of eating can strike at any moment.

Signs and Symptoms Of Overeating:

It is easy to recognize when a person overeats. The plate is stuffed with an unusual amount of food. He or she will eat a lot more and a lot faster.
In comparison to those who eat slowly, the stomach fills and a feeling of fullness kicks in before reaching for second helpings; not so for people inhaling their food.
Calories from fat or simple carbohydrates are not of immediate concern at the time.
People with binge-disorder diet frequently and lose weight successfully only to undo it again.. Perpetual dieting, a condition where people start and stop controlling their eating periodically, is often a problem.
When hiding food wrappers from family and friends.
Or order many different food items or large quantities from fast foods take out places.

Why We Overeat:

Some people eat large amounts of food because they may not cope or control a specific situation perhaps in their professional or personal life. Boredom can also trigger overeating, as well as grief and joy.
Studies show a close relation between depression and overeating. Although some scientists claim that depression may cause overeating, not all scientists agree. People with binge-disorder often link to a history of depression. So which one causes the other or whether they have a common cause is not certain.
Genetics may also play a role for people eating more then they need to.

How to Stop Overeating

Compulsive overeating is treatable with therapy and sometimes with medication. A program, like Kristin's, helps people to understand and overcome their overeating disorder. Yet, the first step a person must do to stop overeating is admitting the problem. See the journal entries of a binge eater...

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Battling Anorexia

2010-06-25T05:37:00.003-07:00

So how would you define sexy? In the easiest term, sexy is being thin. You may agree with me or not but this is true. Nowadays, being fat is one of the dreaded conditions of women because it is believed to degrade one's aesthetic value. It is perceived that one has lesser chance of being married to her ideal guy if she is fat. If you are in teenage years, being fat is a big no-no for a prom queen or cheerleader. Post-partum women as well as working girls face daily stress that make them have lower self-esteem and be conscious of their images. These reasons probably gave birth to various weight loss procedures including self-starvation, different types of exercises and diet modifications.

One controversial issue is being anorexic that affects people regardless of age, social status and lifestyle. You can find the latest news regarding anorexia with celebrities, teens and even mothers. So what is anorexia in the first place? Anorexia or not wanting to eat anything will literally deprive the body of its essential energy source that is, food. Death is somewhat associated with this kind of psychological problem. An anorexic person can be distinguished by having virtually skin and bones as well as irritated behaviour and weakness. To be able to win this kind of battle, one must recognize that the obsessive compulsive behaviour paired with this eating disorder will just make a person lose her own happiness in deteriorating body condition.

The recovery is not easy but willpower and awareness are vital points. If you are suffering from anorexia, you can opt for psychotherapy with professional help. This way, you can regain your self-esteem and fight the main cause of the problem. If you are a mother, get motivated in rearing a child in lactation as it will push you to be healthier. You can also consult a nutritionist to modify your diet as to gradually achieve a better weight. Lastly, surround yourself with trusted friends and family that will join you as you fight everyday for a better life.

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What Most People Don't Know About Choosing the Food That Burns Fat

2010-06-25T05:37:00.001-07:00

When you're set on losing weight, you don't have to starve yourself. You just have to know the food that burns fat, and remove the food that puts it on. You'd be surprised at what actually burns fat and what actually doesn't.

Animal Protein is the Best Food for Burning Fat

Despite much of the negative hype, animal protein is the best food for burning fat. The problem of it is, for the most part, that the things added to it by mass-production is what shoots you in the foot. Don't think that you can get the right kind of meat at McDonald's or most supermarkets.

The right kind of animal protein is organic, wild or free range. These meat sources aren't tampered with by growth hormones, antibiotics or grain diets. It is meat as it was intended to be eaten.

So, what's the Big Deal about Organic Meat?

The problems that you avoid by eating organic meat mostly apply to weight loss and digestibility. Grain-fed and sedentary meat has a higher fat content that also includes more carbohydrates. Additionally, you would be consuming growth hormones along with the meat, which are geared toward making a LARGE animal LARGER, as well as producing more milk.

The growth hormones are given at levels that make these several hundred pound animals sick. These animals are then pumped full of antibiotics to combat the sickness. Unfortunately for you, the antibiotics make it harder for you to digest the meat, which causes other health problems for you.

Don't Think Milk Protein is a Good Source

A common myth in the dietary industry is that milk protein is a valid source of protein. Not if you're trying to lose weight. Milk has high levels of lactose-a sugar. In other words, it has a lot of carbs. Think of it this way, milk was created to make a large animal gain weight. What will that do for you?

Vegan Options for Avoiding Meat

There are, of course, vegan options for protein sources, but you have to shop intelligently. Soy is a staple in most vegan diets, and this DEFINITELY has to be cut out. Soy has carbohydrates, simply put. Additionally, it lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels.

While this may not sound like a big deal, especially if you're female, think of this. Estrogen is why women have a harder time losing fat than men. Estrogen keeps weight on, and testosterone burns fat. Both sexes have both hormones, and if weight loss is your goal, guess which one you'll want more of?

If you're a lady and afraid that you'll start growing facial hair and getting a deep voice, don't worry. Dietary changes won't make that drastic of a swing in your hormone levels. Only conditions such as PCOS or steroid use will do that.

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Bulimia Treatment and Recovery

2010-06-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

The increase in the prevalence of eating disorders in the past decade is a cause for concern and as a society we must take notice and work to change our attitudes about body and health. These disorders develop more commonly in young adults as they struggle to form self identity and body acceptance. There are several types of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, compulsive eating, and binge eating.

Early Diagnosis Helps Quicker and More Effective Recovery

All eating disorders need adequate treatment. Bulimia needs to be treated after detections and diagnosis as the disorder can have serious health implications and can even reach life-threatening proportions. Diagnosis often takes time as the affected person does not acknowledge the disorder willingly. A person affected by bulimia is caught up in a vicious cycle of binging followed by purging. This is often done in secret, and because their may be no change in body weight or size, it can be difficult to diagnose. Bulimia treatment and recovery is possible if treated comprehensively after diagnosis. The treatment is carried out in specialized centers and can be outpatient, day or residential depending on the severity of the disorder.

Treatment centers should provide a safe and comforting environment where the person participates in various therapy sessions and modalities of therapy. These therapies are both individual and group. The affected person is treated physically as well as psychologically. It is very important to normalize the body weight with regulate food intake and exercise. It is equally important to find out the underlying causes which led to the disorder in the first place. These emotional reasons are to be handled with delicacy and treated accordingly.

Experienced Caregivers Ensure the Best Bulimia Treatment

The patient is encouraged to interact with similarly affected people in the treatment center and is also encouraged to help others with eating disorders. Therapy is focused on developing a sense of self separate from the eating disorder identity and distortions. The family is also involved in the treatment and asked to provide maximum support to the person. Regular follow up sessions are scheduled to prevent relapse.

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A Support System For Eating Disorder Recovery - What is It?

2010-02-08T06:43:00.003-08:00

A woman asks: Would a boyfriend be a good support system or do you recommend that I find a female to confide in? I'm ready to finally get over my bulimia."

Answer:

A support system is more than one person. It's a whole system of people, activities, classes, treatment professionals, spiritual centers, etc. who support your eating disorder recovery.

Sometimes people get confused and think that support means agreeing and supporting whatever they think or want or whatever their perception is in the moment. But if you have an eating disorder, sometimes your perceptions are distorted. Your emotions can go haywire. Your thinking can be confused or unrelated to reality.

The people in your recovery support system will support your efforts to get clear and reality based. Yes, they will help you with structure when you are flailing emotionally or mentally. They will do their best to help you find a way to experience soothing so you can learn to soothe yourself.

But you might not like what they say if you are in the grip of eating disorder thinking or emotions. A good support system will be clear and firm about healthy and necessary boundaries, reasonable expectations, honoring commitments, following through on your word, being honest and perhaps most difficult, postponing immediate urges.

A good supportive system will offer you alternative explanations and perspectives on an issue that you feel is black or white and requires your immediate reaction. A good support system will give you a safe place to go, healthy activities to do, learning and creative exercises to grow by.

A good supportive system will tolerate you when you are in an irrational state that you believe is rational. Yet that support system will not be pulled into your unrealistic passions that you believe are completely justified. (You are most likely to feel this kind of unralistic passion when you are slowing down and finally stopping your eating disorder behaviors.)

A good supportive system does not support your eating disorder or your e.d. thoughts and feelings. A good support system supports the genuine you and supports your health and recovery.

A boyfriend or a girlfriend or a relative can't do this. They can love you, but they don't know about the real experience of living with an eating disorder. They don't know the suffering, pain and creative defenses you experience when you are doing your recovery work. In fact, they may try to help you by soothing you and, without realizing it, offer you suggestions that lead right back to your eating disorder. If you accept this help you move back to your eating disorder life. If you recognize the dangers of their suggestions you may get angry with them. Either way leads to pain and suffering where everyone involved can be hurt and bewildered.

So, building your support system requires that you begin to learn what recovery means to you and gather people around you who support that recovery.

A psychotherapist who knows about eating disorders can be a positive bases where healing begins and where you can learn to build an authentic support system beyond your therapy appointments.

Overeaters Anonymous and eating disorder support groups can be part of your forming support system. A spiritual practice with people who may know nothing about eating disorders but who do know about honoring body, mind and spirit can help.

So can a yoga class and other classes like art, writing, gardening, sculpture. They give you a place to go and put you in contact with people who are working to develop their skills and talents. Such activities can provide you with much needed structure and foster development in the right hemisphere of your brain.

A good support system does not give you a place to hide. It does give you a place from which you can grow and heal.

Creating your genuine eating disorder support system is a wonderful and necessary endeavor to help you on your recovery path.

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Laxatives and Eating Disorders - The Things You Should Know

2010-02-08T06:43:00.001-08:00

It was in the news a few weeks ago that moves were afoot to stop laxatives from being available off the shelf in pharmacies and, presumably, supermarkets.

Apparently, as with paracetamol-based products and cough medicines, we need to be protected from ourselves and our addictions.

I fail to see how taking it off the shelf and making it dispensary-only is really going to stop people from using them for nefarious purposes, specifically those suffering with eating disorders.

What we really need is for more information to be available on the subject. For those of us who have trodden this well worn path over many years to educate those who follow in our footsteps. And, hopefully, to prevent them from making the same mistakes and suffering the same long term health consequences.

For anyone who thinks that laxatives are a good idea for dieting, the many years of intestinal difficulty that I suffered as a result of taking that route to facilitate my own eating disorder should provide a stark warning.

In my late teens and early twenties, I was both bulimic and anorexic. Mostly, I would eat nothing and use the laxatives to lose more weight but, if I did binge, I went through purging myself by putting my fingers into my mouth and activating the gag reflex until I vomited.

This is a totally disgusting process, which rots your teeth and just makes you feel permanently nauseous.

After several months of this, I could bear it no longer and moved onto laxatives to do the job more discreetly.

As a result, my poor bowels never really knew where they were.

Sure, it seemed to work for a while but then my system just became totally confused.

I was either completely constipated, with the waste building back up through my system and causing terrible bloating which only added to my distorted perception of my own body.

Alternatively, my stools were so loose that I was terrified to go out for fear of soiling myself.

However, my body dysmorphia meant that I persisted in this ridiculous routine of starving and purging myself.

Then followed the worst symptoms. The acute stomach cramps every time I did try to eat something. These were so painful that I couldn't walk. My gut would go into spasm, causing my belly to distend. I wanted to be sick and to defecate to ease the painful swelling but was unable to do either.

Although I only used the laxatives regularly for a year or so, these problems continued for decades afterwards, even during the time periods when I thought my anorexia was under control.

IBS and Crohns Disease were all suspected at various times, but now I know that a lot of it was triggered by my reliance on laxatives.

The damage this did to my intestinal walls was exacerbated by my predominantly bread-based diet and stressful lifestyle. The candida (gut bacteria) proliferated and leeched through into other parts of my body, causing thrush and other yeast infections.

After suffering with this for many years, I have chosen to try the anti-candida diet for the last few months and start making my gut more healthy by taking probiotics.

I haven't used a laxative for over twenty years, but only now that my diet has improved have I actually started to recover from the damage that my prolific use of them caused.

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

Anorexia Nervosa in Teenagers

2010-02-08T06:42:00.002-08:00

During puberty, physical and psychological changes occur within the body through the activation of the hpothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, that induces and enhances the progressive ovarian and testicular sex hormones to which teenagers are subjected.

Teenagers explore and easily attract towards the changing trends of life- styles of the society.They provoke and imitate to the elegant images of models and their favourite movie characters with adorable body figures, hair cuts, and dressing sense. Some of them prevail the issue of body image to an extent,that it accomplish to psychiatric disorder known as anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa represents with eating disorder, often inadequate eating rather than loss of appetite.Those predisposing to such an illness, usually suffer from low self-esteem. They have poor opinion about themselves. They desire to have slim body, and so in order to maintain low weight eat less, than they would normally do.They have urge to eat,however suppress the hunger and undergo starvation. Some even follow weight control methods, such as, inducing vomiting,use of laxatives or diuretics to reduce body weight. Some believe doing excessive exercise, burns off the calories.

Anorexia nervosa is more commonly seen in females, almost 95%,than males.The effect of this condition manifests on psychological and bilogical constituents. Psychologically, they have difficulties in dealing with emotional issues,and try to cope by avoidance,or not interacting with others.They get easily irritated and upset. They show other psychological disorder problems, such as, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and personality disorders.

Eating less have adverse effect on the body functions. Low haemoglobin and low count of calcium attenuate defensive mechanism of the body,and increase risk to infections. Abdominal pain and constipation are common complaints. Due to use of laxatives, and frequent vomiting,there is high risk of electrolyte imbalance.Sleep disturbance results in fatigue. Amenorrhoea is the cause of low levels of pituitary hormone, luteinising hormone,and follicular stimulating hormone required for normal menstruation.

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Food Addiction Rescue Plan - Part One

2010-02-08T06:42:00.001-08:00

One of the problems with food addiction is that it is a very personal compulsion. Unlike drugs, alcohol, or even cigarettes, food is necessary to the body's survival. That makes it unique in the world of addiction.

Cravings for any food can start at any time at any age for any reason. One thing holds true for everyone though. The cravings are real and there is always stress involved.

Which foods do you turn to when you get stressed out? Is it candy or chocolate or a bear claw or potato chips or ice cream? These are among the top choices for immediate relief from a food addiction assault.

But this is not the time to fight fire with fire. Whichever foods you crave when you find yourself unable to soothe your stress by any means other than eating are the foods you'll want to avoid.

What do I mean by avoiding them? Do not keep them in your house, or your car or some hidden spot where you can get to them in a hurry. Do not worry about substituting something healthier unless it is an activity not related to food.

Unlike with other addictions, food cravings pass eventually. If you have to drive to a store to buy the food you crave instead of reaching in the glove compartment or a secret compartment in your purse or briefcase, the craving will often pass before you can give in to it.

After all, it is the stressful emotional tension that creates the food cravings. When the tension lessens, there is an excellent chance that the food cravings will also weaken.

When an emotional trigger event strikes and the addictive feelings overwhelm you, you won't have time to think about what you should do next. Don't panic. If you have prepared a Food Addiction Rescue Plan and have it in place, you'll know exactly what to do.

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Dealing With Emotional Eating Day by Day

2010-02-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

Emotional eating or eating with your feelings will hinder your weight loss management. People who are trying to lose weight need to get to the root of why they are prone to emotional eating. If they can get passed this urge, they stand a better chance of losing the weight and keeping it off.

Most of the time, the urge to eat something has little to do with being hungry. And with emotional eating, those urges are cravings for foods that do little in the way of adding nutrition. They are comfort foods like potato chips or ice cream. When emotions take precedence, no other food will curb that need. It doesn't take much to trigger the urge either, and this is what makes losing weight so difficult.

Emotional eating adds pounds which only causes more emotional eating, and if the person doesn't get to the root of it, she will never be satisfied with her weight. Self-esteem will drop and she won't like herself very much. The feeling of guilt after every piece of cake will only bring on more emotional eating.

Emotional eaters need to get to the root of their problems. They need to discover the reasons for those urges. And those reasons vary from one person to another.

Keep a diary that includes how you feel that day and why you feel that way, as well as what you've eaten. In time you'll notice on good days, your food intake may be less. Or the bad food intake may be less. The pattern it reveals will help you recognize your urges.

Once you've recognized when those urges arise, you may be able to find another way to relieve it, like taking a walk, deep breathing, drinking a glass water. Do something that involves working with your hands. Anything that will divert your attention from the need for food.

Keep healthy alternatives in your food pantry. Don't shop on emotional days or on an empty stomach. If you do, your cart will be full of comfort foods.

Don't feel guilty when you slip up. It happens to everyone. Focus instead on a thinner, healthier you. Stay positive. Smile and stay active even on days you don't feel like smiling or moving. Don't validate the emotions with food, but validate them by working through them. Know they're there and you'll have a better chance of losing the weight and keeping it off.

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Knowing the Different Types of Eating Disorders

2010-01-14T06:14:00.005-08:00

The diet trends today focus on being slim rather than being healthy and most young women define slim as thin. Marketing and advertising put a lot of emphasis on supermodel body types so that many young women strive hard to achieve that kind of body they see in magazines, on television, and over the internet, so that skipping meals or not eating altogether becomes a habit.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, there are three main categories of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and "eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS)".

While eating small food portions to remain thin, and possibly underweight, is the most common eating disorder, there is also another type which is at the different end of the spectrum and marked by obsessive and unnecessary consumption of food. Compulsive overeating and binge eating disorder are characterized by fast gaining of weight or the onset of obesity. They are also examples of EDNOS.

In spite of numerous scientific investigations into the causes of eating disorders, the complex physiological, behavioral, and social correlations among these factors makes it hard for researchers to pin down and come up with definite conclusions.

Anorexia nervosa is marked by a person's refusal to maintain normal and healthy weight, the psychological distortion of body image, an unfounded fear of gaining weight, amenorrhea or absence of menstruation in females, and an extremely troubled eating pattern. Other behavioral indications include obsessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, misuse of diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, and enemas as well as compulsive calorie and fat gram counting.

On the other hand, bulimia nervosa should not be confused with anorexia. People suffering from bulimia nervosa have binge and purge episodes which can be quite unpredictable at times. One day, a person may have the urge to eat and starts on an eating rampage, so to say. A few days after, the person undergoes some emotional distress so that a period of dieting or fasting follows. They may also try exercise excessively; induce vomiting, and the use laxatives, diuretics, and diet pills.

Compulsive eating and binge eating, in contrast, these two disorders are more inclined to eating rather than avoiding it. Compulsive eating is characterized by a certain "addiction" to food as a way to fill a gap they feel inside as well as a way to cope with their emotions. Binge eating is a combination of compulsive eating and bulimia nervosa. People with binge eating disorders tend to eat a lot of food in a short period of time until they are disturbingly full. Most people who have these eating disorders are overweight or obese.

Doctors usually prescribe SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and other antidepressants for their patients with an eating disorder. However, there are some studies which show that there are certain types of this type of medication which can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or attempts among patients. There is a significant proportion of the population which has one type of eating disorder, and the number is increasingly alarming. Researchers are still working on defining the basic processes of these disorders.

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Restaurant Therapy

2010-01-14T06:14:00.003-08:00

If you are a compulsive overeater you may have mixed feelings about eating out in restaurants. Although you enjoy eating, perhaps you feel fearful about being tempted to consume certain foods you love that you believe are "bad" because they lead to binge eating. Your inner dialogue sounds like this: I love this food so much that I cannot eat just one portion. If I eat it I will continue to eat too much. If I do, I am bad so I might as well keep eating since I have already "blown it." Afterwards I will hate myself, and vow to never do it again.

One way to get past your anxiety about eating with others in a public place is to try Restaurant Therapy. Invite a friend to participate with you. Make sure it is someone you trust, someone you can be honest with. Take these instructions with you and follow each step without rushing.

Pick a restaurant that has a large and varied menu. After you are seated, look around and take stock of the setting. Ask yourself how anxious or fearful you are on a scale of 1 to 10. Talk about the anxiety or fear. What are you telling yourself? If you are very anxious, explore alternative ideas to calm yourself.

1. Take the menu and look through it quickly. Rate your level of anxiety again, 1 to 10. What are your thoughts?

2. With your friend, discuss the menu in great detail. Which foods or areas of food (desserts, sandwiches, drinks) are you telling yourself are strictly out of bounds? Why? What are your rules about these foods? What are the labels you put on them? Many of my clients will not eat bread because they have labeled it fattening.

3. How hungry are you now? Are you eating because you should? How much food do you really want? How much food can you allow yourself to eat? Are the answers the same for both these questions or do you keep yourself hungry? What are you telling yourself about portions and amounts of food on this menu?

4. Which foods on the menu make you feel safe? Why? What are your beliefs about these foods?

5. Pretend that you are dining with someone else who may not be as sympathetic to your problem as your present companion. What do you imagine that person would expect of you? How much and what kind of foods would you feel you had to order and/or eat to please that person or others? Be specific. Name at least three important people in your life with whom eating is uncomfortable for you. What do you think they might be thinking when you are together? What do they actually say to you at the table? How do you feel about each one? How would you like it to be?

6. Check your level of anxiety or fear again. Where is it now? Are you feeling any more comfortable?

7. Close the menu. Think about the taste or texture sensation that you would like to have right now. Do you want hot or cold food, a large or small amount, chewy, crunchy, or smooth; salty, sweet, sour, or spicy? Imagine what food or foods would fit the bill. Name the food. Is this a food you allow yourself to eat? How do you feel about eating it? How much do you want? Is it on the menu? If it is not, are you willing to ask the waitress if you can get it, such as one scrambled egg or half a chefs salad? (Remember that you and your friend can agree to share portions).

8. What do you want to order? Do it now.

9. When the food comes, what do you tell yourself? Have you specified that you wanted tomato instead of potato? Have you requested dressing on the side or no bread? Is the food the way you want it to be? Rate your state of anxiety.

10. Please eat your meal or snack. Converse with your partner. Occasionally relate any thoughts or feelings that are either positive or negative. You may find yourself wanting to leave food and afraid of what the other will think. Continue to talk about how the food tastes and how you feel about eating it in front of someone else.

11. If your friend and companion is a person who never worries about food or weight, encourage him/her to share his/her thoughts and feelings with you. Compare your ideas. What have you learned?

12. At the end of the meal, review the experience. How do you feel right now? Are there any social situations coming up in the near future that you can discuss and rethink right now with your friend? How is your anxiety level now?

I hope that this experience empowers you to be more at ease with yourself and food when eating in restaurants.

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Eating Disorders Can Be Dramatically Reduced If We All Work Together

2010-01-14T06:14:00.001-08:00

Eating disorders mainly affect teenage girls and young women throughout the world but are more prominent in countries and cultures that promote weight loss and body style. The constant bombardment and pressure to be thin leads to negative body image and unhealthy eating habits. The result is that children now between 10yrs - 15yrs are now experiencing eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and ED-NOS (eating disorders not otherwise specified).

These four eating disorders create negative and distorted body images due to intense emotions and behaviours surrounding food. This is more frequent in younger women who are starting to eat less as they become conscious of their body image and do not want to gain weight. Physical and emotional health issues can be extremely dangerous and at times fatal if left untreated.

Research has found that there are numerous theories surrounding the cause of eating disorders. In general combinations of social, genetic, family, psychological and environmental issues are the main attributes. The society in which the majority of us now live focuses intensely on being thinner and thinner. This does not obviously have a direct effect on what we consume but it is a major contribution to its development.

Teenage girls who participate in sports such as ballet, gymnastics, running, skating even dancing and especially modelling are more likely to develop eating disorders. They are often associated with the feeling of helplessness and sadness and the need to be perfect. This can cause the individual to use dieting or weight loss to provide a sense of order and control especially if family history of emotional problems, depression and anxiety has been apparent.

Communicating with people who have eating disorders can be very hard and challenging as they often do not think they have a problem in the first place. One of the most common things to do as a concerned person at the early stage though is the urge to give-up. This is due to your patients defensiveness and unwillingness to accept help. Do not in anyway let these reactions prevent this from happening. Continue to care and be aware that you can make an enormous difference by helping them face their illness and get the correct treatment. Often they will find it difficult to make that first call for assistance and may need close family and friends to initiate that first step.

They need to find trust in people to allow themselves to share there feelings and understand there problems. Do not expect them to immediately be positive towards your concerns. Eating disorders have shown to be challenging to overcome due to the length of time taken to rectify. By being honest and patient with one another has shown you will both make it far easier to support each other and succeed.

We must remember that eating disorders are both medical and psychological problems. Treatments are tailor made to an individuals needs but usually includes working with a therapist, a nutritionist and your local GP. Once diagnosed and with the correct medication, safe eating plan and therapy treatments significant gains can be achieved. You will begin to create weight stabilisation, a healthier diet and good positive self-image.

As a society we have to understand how we can prevent eating disorders of entering our lives and cultures. Constant teasing and harassment about body weight and style leads young women to develop eating disorders. Magazines promote airbrushed models who are naturally unrealistic. We must realise we are all different shapes and sizes and that the diet industry must stop now in trying to change our bodies into something we are not.

We must fight back against the industry that places these ideas in our heads and together we will reverse the social environment and mind-set that create eating disorders.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article and if you have found this information helpful, and would like more on various health issues, please take a look at My-Perfect-Weight.

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

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

2010-01-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

Every day we look into the mirror to check our outer shell to ensure we look appropriate for the day ahead. However, various individuals look at themselves and despise what they see and try to rectify the way they look by adopting an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are harmful both to the mental and physical wellbeing of an individual and with no professional help or diagnosis the illness can go on for quite a while until the person affected by it receives any form of help.

Disorders like this can start off with a person,s mental attitude towards themselves but can often occur from an unpleasant incident that happened perhaps when they were young.

People eat, or don,t; eat in some cases, for lots of reasons and food then can be converted into either a friend or foe, and here is where the battle and life long struggle begins.

The correlation people tend to have with food can be so extreme that instead of using food for fuel-what it is intended for- individuals use it for comfort, for attention and to alleviate stress.

Some people eat when they are depressed or feeling low,and use food to reassure themselves, whilst in some cases eating little food gives a person control over how much they eat, how quick they eat it and how full they think they feel after a few mouthfuls.

These are just a few examples or suggestions as to why people become ill with food related problems, but how they tackle the situation is crucial, as relapsing can be easily done.

Hypnosis for eating disorders concentrates on the mental side of the illness and therefore works on the core problem from within. This enables the individual to understand why they have become ill with a food connected issue and helps them to determine the initial cause of the problem.

Even though an eating disorder is recognised by someone, physical appearance, mentally is where the problem begins.

Hypnotherapy is therefore working on the mind and the individual to help them battle this awful illness that has taken lives and ruined others.

Suffering in silence should not be an option when there are ways to retrain the mind and to help these people be liberated and contented.

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

Food Addiction

2009-12-13T02:15:00.001-08:00

Food addiction, previously referred to as "compulsive overeating" is a condition wherein a person cannot stop themselves from eating. This means they eat continuously all day, and have frequent periods where they eat much more they need to. They will feel strongly compelled to continue eating, or helpless to stop. Oftentimes, the addict feels down, or will have guilt feelings once done binging.

Food addicts don't need to be hungry to eat. There's a lot of time spent thinking about food, and when, and what to eat. In between binges, addicts will also pick at food continuously. The drive to eat for some addicts is such that it the motivation to engage in other rewarding activities diminishes and disappears, and self-control becomes difficult to impossible. Overweight or morbidly obese people are not necessarily food addicts. Sufferers may also experience sleeplessness, headaches, mood swings, or even clinical depression.

Needless to say, there are a very high number of calories consumed in a short time, despite the fact that the actual calorie consumption per sitting may or may not be large. In the absence of professional intervention, a food addiction can result in serious ailments such as: high cholesterol count, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and depression. Longer-term disorders can include kidney disease, bone disease including deterioration, stroke, and arthritis.

For many sufferers, food addiction can be successfully treated with a personalized program of a physician's care and monitoring, therapy, proper nutrition, and sometimes medication. Also, Overeaters Anonymous (OA) and other similar 12-step groups hold meetings regularly in many places, or even over the Internet.

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

Stage 3 of Anorexia and the Effects That it Can Have on Your Daughter Or Loved One

2009-12-13T02:14:00.002-08:00

Stage Three: The Assertive Stage

Frequently, girls who develop anorexia have a history of being friendly, protective, compliant, agreeable, and non confrontational- usually they are not assertive out side their immediate family (where they can be opposite). The third stage develops when the girl with anorexia has been criticized for becoming too thin by many around her. The girl has disregarded their scolding, and now their demands to stop losing weight and to start gaining are renewed. Around some time the girl realizes that for the first time in her life she has become defiant to everyone around her. From this point on conflict doesn't bother her. She doesn't worry about what other think or say about her actions. She doesn't feel the need to please them.

The anorexic is aware, however, that she is comfortable with this new-found defiance only in defense of her anorexia. The girl or woman does at least feel a new sense of empowerment, even if its only in this one area. It has become the area that's the most important to her. The young girl demonstrates to her family that she has reached the third stage when she begins to demand special conditions before she will eat. For example, the girl may drag her loved ones from restaurant to restaurant in search for the perfect fat-free meal or menu. At home, she may watch over whoever is cooking to make sure they aren't adding any extra calories with the meal. These are sure signs that the disorder is getting worse and help is needed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_L._Simpson

Break Free From Emotional Eating

2009-12-13T02:14:00.001-08:00

Do you avoid confrontation for weeks on end only to blow up in one huge fight? Do you jump from one thing to the next so quickly you barely can keep track of your days anymore?

How we eat often reflects the way we live our life. You may find yourself eating a snack only to be thinking of the next treat you are going to have. Others may follow a strict diet for weeks on end, then binge eat when willpower just isn't enough.

If you eat fast, slow, mindful, or mindless; I encourage you to take a moment to think about your eating habits and how they mirror your day to day living.

If you are ready to improve your relationship with food and how it serves you, begin with these 5 questions:

1. What I am hungry for?
A fulfilling career, nourishing relationships, joyful movement, and a sense of community are all non-food sources of nourishment. These are called Primary Foods. If you are eating a "perfect" diet, but are in a dysfunctional relationship, broccoli is NOT going to solve the problem. Neither is a pint of ice cream. Examine what areas in your life may be weighing you down. Also, recognize what truly fuels you. Whether it's writing, sports, or cooking, find ways to incorporate Primary Foods into your day.

2. Am I distracted?
Be fully present when eating. The less aware we are of a meal as we eat, the more the brain will signal us to consume excess food. Notice the times when you go on automatic pilot when eating. Remind yourself to wake up and you'll find yourself being satisfied with much less. Turn off the television. Put away the magazines. Focus on your food.

3. Am I tired, stressed, or overworked?
People sometimes turn to food as a way to alleviate these feelings. Something about crunchy snacks can be quite appealing when stressed. Maybe you turn to sugar when you are feeling exhausted in the middle of the day. If you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator asking yourself "what do I want?" also ask yourself, "Am I tired, stressed, or overworked?" In many instances, a warm bath, a nap, a brisk 15 minute walk, or a funny movie may be all you really needed..

4. Do I label foods "good" and "bad?"
Once we label food, we associate guilt or pride with the choices we make. In instances where we come home stressed and feel we deserve to pamper ourselves, we often go to "bad" foods as rewards, as if we have somehow paid our dues. This type of black and white thinking can lead to episodes of overeating, where having one cookie makes us feel like a complete failure. This can lead to consuming mass quantities, with the rationalization that we "blew it today anyway."

5. Do I enjoy what I eat and eat quality foods?
You have two choices: enjoy what you eat or don't. Life is short. If we deprive ourselves our foods we love, we will eventually crave it so badly we may overdo it. One of the best things you can do is write a list of your favorite foods and then come up with the healthiest versions of those foods. Do you love ice cream? Freeze a couple frozen bananas and blend them in a food processor for a delicious treat. Love pizza? Make your own with whole grain crusts, organic sauces, cheeses, and toppings. Be creative. Your self confidence will get a boost from the time you are setting aside to make your health a priority!

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

Anorexia - Details About the Disorder As it Progresses and Effects it Has on Your Daughter Over Time

2009-12-13T02:12:00.000-08:00

Young girls who develop anorexia were at one time very friendly, easy going and non confrontational, for the most part they are not very outgoing outside of their immediate family. The third stage of anorexia which is called the assertive stage begins when people start to criticize the young girl for becoming too thin. The criticism is ignored and now people are telling the girl to stop losing weight and start gaining. The anorexic just realizes that people are just jealous and they will not be satisfied, everyone around her is just jealous because they can't lose as much weight.

Conflict doesn't bother the girl anymore as she becomes accustomed to it. After a while she becomes empowered in defense of her anorexic behavior. This one area in her life is very important to her and makes her feel good about herself along with her actions. The young girl confirms that she has reached the third stage when she starts to request special demands of her family for her to eat. For instance, when going out to eat with the family the young girl may not be satisfied with the menu because there is no perfect fat free meal. She will request to go from one restaurant to the other looking for that perfect meal. When at home when someone is cooking, she will monitor their cooking to make sure that they will not add any extra calories to the meal. While others see her as too thin she will believe otherwise thinking she is fine, she should decide how much she should weigh.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_L._Simpson

6 Tips to Cope With Stress Eating

2009-11-24T07:36:00.002-08:00

Stress eating can lead you to depend heavily on comfort foods; foods that are laden with calories, sugar and salt. Stress eating therefore leads to sudden weight gains and health problems. Also, stress eating is addictive and once a person is used to munching their way through stress, they find it difficult to stop.

Here are some effective tips to cope with stress eating:

Understand your problem: This is the first tip. Stress eating is often mistaken for needful eating because stress saps you of energy, makes you feel listless and empty. Therefore, victims have to develop a super sensitive antenna to detect stress eating and recognize it for what it is.

Relax: People turn to comfort foods during stress so they can help the body unwind and get some comfort. It is more productive to look for healthy ways of de-stressing. Deep breathing, yoga, music or exercises can help you relax.

Postpone: Postpone the act of eating for 10-20 minutes. Actual hunger tolerates delay. By postponing the act of eating, you can control the urge to eat junk food. Besides, postponing the urge may get rid of the food craving altogether. This is one of the most effective tips to fight stress eating.

Exercise: Daily exercise is a natural stress fighter. More importantly, it can help you overcome the bad effects of stress eating. Exercise need not be rigorous. Even light exercise will do. But commit to 15-20 minutes of exercise every day.

Portion control: If you are used to stress eating, there may be times when you cannot deny yourself the pleasure of food. In such cases, simply indulge yourself. But, instead of gobbling the entire cake, eat a thin sliver. Enjoy the taste and savor the flavor.

Try, try, try again: Don't give up on yourself. It is not as hard as it seems. Small steps will lead you to success ultimately. Slowly but surely, you will succeed in breaking the unholy nexus between mood and food!

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

How to Overcome Overeating and Come to Your Senses

2009-11-24T07:36:00.001-08:00

All of us overeat once in a while. When we eat something that throws us into paroxysms of gastronomical delight, we just cannot resist another bite, and another. This is why we have stomachs that have the capacity to hold a lot more than what we need, much like balloons that can expand to a certain extent. Eating more than what you want is alright if it happens once in a while.

But, when overeating becomes a habit, overcoming it could very well become a matter of survival. Continuous overeating leads to serious weight gain, which in turn causes a number of dangerous health problems. Equally important is the fact that victims of overeating are controlled by their food habits. Their happiness, independence and feelings of self control are sabotaged by the all out desire to eat. This is the reason why you must overcome your addiction to overeat.

Here are some ways to overcome overeating:

- Set achievable goals (not that I will never binge again, but that I will binge only twice in the day or for half an hour)
- Measure your success by how much you have achieved not by how much there is yet to achieve
- Journal your food patterns and the quantity of food you eat so you can realistically assess how much you are eating
- Forgive yourself for episodes of bingeing
- Identify triggers that set you off
- Keep excess food out of the house
- Eat in company

It is not an easy task to overcome overeating. In fact, with so much emphasis on healthy eating and thin bodies, eating is one of the forbidden pleasures. Also, eating more than what we want is being wired into our brains every hour of the day as we are bombarded by attractive food ads, great discounts and bigger portions in restaurants.

Even so, if you are a victim of overeating, you must make it a top priority to overcome compulsive overeating as soon as you can. Remember, the longer a habit stays with you, the more deeply ingrained it becomes.

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

Anorexia - Who Suffers From This Eating Disorder?

2009-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

The modern generation is plagued by many eating disorders. Anorexia tops this list by being a mental condition that prompts a person to refrain from eating. Acute loss in the body weight is the result. The condition is commonly seen on teenagers. Why is this termed as a mental condition? It is because, even if the person is reduced to bones, they have the feeling that they are obese. The condition is prevalent among girls and can evolve itself into dangerous situations, if left untreated. In the following passages, we will be discussing some finer aspects of anorexia.

There is no specific cause for anorexia. In fact, a series of factors is known to act in tandem and bring forth this medical condition. The patient might be psychologically affected and will be obsessed with the fact that they are obese. The lifestyle of the patient plays an important role in shaping this illness. In certain cases, it was found that the household members contributed to augmenting anorexia in the patient. Constant reminding of being overweight will prompt such thoughts in the mind. The genetic makeup of the person also plays an important role in designing the condition.

Since the condition is purely related to the mental temperament, care and caution must be exercised while devising prevention paradigms. Confidence must be instilled on the mind of the patient that they are not obese. If you doubt yourself, spend some time everyday looking at the mirror. Instead of harboring contempt for the body, it is better to start loving and caring for it. Food is essential to keep one hale and hearty. Absence of food will lead to unlikely consequences. Important vitamins and minerals must be consumed on regular basis to refrain from various other diseases. All these must be instilled on the mind of the patient.

Loss in the appetite is the preliminary symptom of the condition. If you doubt that a family member is undergoing the effects of anorexia, many self-screening tests can be found online and in labs that will aid in diagnosing the condition. These days' blood tests have been developed to sniff out anorexia. Doctors will get wind of the situation when conversing with the patient. Detecting the condition is quite easy because the patients will be displaying negative approach to food and healthy lifestyle.

Various treatment options are available with the help of which anorexia can be treated successfully. Counseling sessions play an important role and instilling self-confidence in the patient must be the ultimate motive. Along with psychological treatment sessions, it is advisable to subject the patient to a balanced and healthy diet. The lost vigor can be gained by proceeding in this manner.

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

What is a Binge Eating Disorder?

2009-11-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

The binge eating disorder is probably more common than you might think. Out of all the people around you who are quite overweight, what percentage of them do you think are eating out of an addiction or mental need for food, rather than mere gluttony? Even if you aren't like that, you can try to relate to how they feel. Think about what it's like when you haven't eaten for most of the day and you have those big hunger pangs that are telling you: "You'd better go eat!" How easy is it for you to ignore those hunger pangs?

Would you be able to stop from thinking about eating if you were starving? If you would honestly find it hard to ignore the need to eat, particularly when your body is begging you to eat something, then you can possibly understand what a binge eater feels like.

The binge eating disorder is sometimes subcategorized into a deprivation-sensitive type and an addictive type. The deprivation-sensitive type will force themselves not to eat or exercise excessively in an attempt to lose weight, and then overcompensate in the other direction by binging. An addictive type might never try to lose any weight, but simply start to use food as a means of self-medicating or feeling better, much like a drug addict or alcoholic uses substances to give themselves a high.

A binge eating disorder is a serious condition that is difficult to control once the "ritual" begins. Many binge eaters reportedly have inner dialogues where they try to convince themselves not to do it, but the need to overeat wins out and they go through with it anyway. The compulsion is often too strong for most people, and it's not surprising that it can happen. After all, you hear all kinds of stories about women who are depressed on a Friday night because they don't have a date, and so they console themselves with a romantic movie and a gallon of ice cream. Imagine that the depression was more permanent and the ice cream was just a lot of food in general, and you might get a better picture of how some addictive binge eaters will use food to feel better.

As a matter of fact, the need for food boils down to biology. If you overeat for a week on vacation, and then you come home and realize you used to eat less, you'll probably feel hungry on the food you had before for a while. This is because your body has adjusted to the new amount that you started eating, and you have to readjust back downward. Well, what would happen if, instead of adjusting downward, you continued to eat more and more as you started to get hungry? Your body clears out the blood sugar that you consume because you would die with that kind of blood sugar, but then you find yourself starving because your body overcorrected.

Once you are on a blood sugar roller coaster, it is no different than addiction to substances. You need it to just feel normal, and you usually overcorrect and feel really good for a while, then crash later. Now that you know more about a binge eating disorder, you will be more prepared to recognize it if it shows up in yourself or others.

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

Why Emotional Eating is So Difficult to Control

2009-11-18T06:13:00.004-08:00

Many people are overweight because they eat excessively as an emotional crutch for something missing in their life. There are countless stories of people when dealing with the stress of daily life turning to food as a way to comfort them. They do this as opposed to turning to other individuals or inwards to a solid self-image to assuage their anxieties.

For example, a woman that I know who went through a divorce three years ago put on a tremendous amount of weight after the divorce and she openly admits that she turns to food as a way to comfort herself. Food never judges you nor does it reject you. It is always there as a way to satiate a need that has to be filled somehow. However, emotional eating is an unhealthy way of dealing with the problems of life.

Being overweight or obese because of emotional eating is a much more difficult problem to conquer than simply being overweight because you are eating the wrong types of food. Emotional eating needs to be dealt with by a professional who can uncover the emotional triggers that cause you to eat in this manner. Without an understanding of the underlying emotional issues an emotional eater will find losing weight a difficult process.

Many people deal with the stress of life in healthy ways such as exercise and socializing with friends who are capable of rationally talking them through their problems. Other healthy ways of dealing with stress are seeing a counselor, confiding with a pastor or religious leader, or even joining a self-help group to openly discuss emotional problems that are causing you distress.

If you know that you are one of the people who eat when under stress you need to get a handle on your emotional issues first before you can solve the issue of weight loss. People who eat emotionally are the least likely to adhere to a solid plan of diet and exercise. They are likely to jump ship on their program as soon as something stressful enters their life. Since stress is such an inherent part of current life this means that these individuals will likely fail at weight loss until they can pinpoint the reason why they eat excessively.

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

The Reasons For Anorexia

2009-11-18T06:13:00.003-08:00

Being thin is considered "beautiful" in most societies, which is unfortunate and part of the reason so many women become anorexic. Of course, anorexia can affect both women and men, but mostly women are affected. The media is partially responsible as well simply because only super thin women appear in advertisements. As a result, women frequently feel like they must look as thin as the women in advertisements who have frequently been airbrushed to appear "perfect."

The problem is that being super thin is not what the body was meant to be. Most women cannot possibly become this thin due to their genetics and biology. The problem is that women desire to have one shape while their body is a different shape. This can create serious psychological problems and other problems like anorexia. Certain industries such as acting, modeling, gymnastics, wrestling, figure skating, running, and others put serious stress on individuals to be thing and strong. It's no wonder so many individuals become anorexic as a result.

There are psychological issues that may play a role in anorexia as well. That includes poor body image, low self esteem, depression, perfectionism, physical abuse, need for control, ineffectiveness, avoidance of conflict, sexual abuse, rigid thought patterns, and the like.

The family environment may also play a role in anorexia. For example, families who are extremely rigid, overprotective, or don't allow individuals to have their own space are more likely to suffer from anorexia. In these instances young girls, or even young boys, may become anorexic in order to have control in some area of their life and exert their independence. Similarly, families where physical or sexual abuse occur or families who openly criticize a child's shape or weight may find the child exerts their self control through anorexia.

There appears to be a genetic role in anorexia as well. In fact, individuals whose relatives have been anorexic are eight times more likely to develop this disorder. There is no exact genetic factor that plays into the disorder; however it appears that there is one.

Anorexia causes are very varied and each person affected has very personal reasons. That's why there is no one way to protect women, or even men, from becoming anorexic. The best thing to do is to be supportive and everyone, no matter their weight. When someone exercises too much or diets too much they should not be commended on this behavior but rather talked to about why they feel they must be a certain size. Psychological reasons frequently come into play with anorexia and they are important to address.

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

Anorexia and Food

2009-11-18T06:13:00.001-08:00

Anorexia has many emotional and physical side effects, and as devastating as these are, the good news is that this condition is treatable. When anorexics have a team to support them and help them through the process then they will get better, it's just a matter of time. Anorexics can use an recovery eating plan to help them learn how to eat properly again, they can recover their health, and develop new attitudes about their bodies and food that are healthy and normal.

Anorexia is an illness that not only affects the body, it also affects the mind. Individual's behaviors and attitudes are affected by this condition and it is difficult to recover without the help of a team of health professionals including dieticians, medical doctors, and mental health professionals. Individuals with anorexia also need the support of their family and friends to help them recover. This is very important and friends and family members should take this role very seriously.

There are components of treating anorexia and a simple anorexia recovery diet plan is not all that is needed. Also, patients will need to regain a healthy weight and have their psychological issues addressed. They will also need to learn to eliminate thoughts and behaviors that lead to starving, purging, and exercising to extremes. This is important in order to prevent a relapse.

If you have anorexia and want help them visit your doctor first. A complete physical exam will be conducted including an assessment of mental state, eating patterns, symptoms, and overall physical health. Doctors will also make sure there are no other health problems that could be causing the weight loss. Once a diagnosis has been reached the doctor will work with you to create an anorexic diet eating plan as well as refer you to other doctors that will help you through the process.

Medical treatment for anorexic individuals starts with stabilizing and serious health problems that might exist first. Some individuals will need to be hospitalized for a time in order to stabilize them and prevent them from continuing to starve themselves or even commit suicide. Many anorexics that are dangerously thin will be hospitalized until they gain enough weight to support their body's functions. When no immediate medical problems exist then the individual may be treated as an outpatient.

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

Sleeping With Anxiety Problems

2009-11-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

Many people suffering from insomnia are dealing with anxiety problems as well. Insomnia is basically the inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep despite having the opportunity to sleep. Insomnia is a resulting symptom of psychiatric disorders like anxiety rather than a diagnosis within itself. There are three stages of insomnia. For example, early insomnia is characterized by an individual trying to fall asleep yet being unable to. Middle insomnia results in individuals waking up multiple times during the night. Late insomnia happens when individuals wake up earlier than planned. AN example of this is when you set your alarm for 8 am and wake up at 5 am, unable to return to sleep.

Anxiety is frequently the cause of early insomnia. There are many causes of anxiety and they vary from individual to individual. For some people anxiety may be caused by loss of a job or a fight with a loved one. The problem with this type of anxiety is that our minds can't let go of the thoughts and go to sleep and rest. For some reason we continue thinking about a particular topic even though doing so won't help or solve the problem neither will it make us feel better. Nevertheless, we continue returning to the thought that causes us anxiety.

Those who experience middle or late insomnia may be able to go to sleep okay but wake up to a flood of thoughts that are filled with anxiety. Many people also have a physiologic response include a heart rate increase and overall a sense of anxiousness.

Some people suffer from this type of insomnia for a period of time while the anxiety causing factor is in their life. However, they eventually resolve the anxiety and get over it. Then, there are other individuals who find they suffer from this type of anxiety for long periods of time and if this is the case then there may be an underlying problem such as depression. If you believe you could be suffering from depression or a mental health problem then you need to seek out care as soon as possible to help you reach a diagnose and receive the treatment you need for your anxiety and insomnia.

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

Emotional Overeating - Truth Or Fallacy?

2009-11-04T02:07:00.001-08:00

There's always a reason for overeating or people wouldn't do it. The emotional side has been blamed much more often than it deserves. Many diet literature often claim that people commonly overeat because of stress and emotional concerns. This is not true. So if you have labeled yourself an emotional jellyfish, don't lose heart. There are more concrete, normal reasons.

These normal reasons are right in your body, not your mind. They are physical and make good sense once you become aware of them. People who are fat often have emotional problems, but that is because they are human. The problems didn't make them overeat and get fat, their bodies did. Oh, and they helped their poor self along by starving trying in the traditional route to lose weight, but their bodies did the overwhelming bulk of the work.

The body's normal, adaptive response to stress is to avoid food. To understand this fact, here's an illustration. Suppose a vicious dog suddenly darts out of the bushes, right into the path of a lanky young mailman. How will his stomach react? It will become queasy. When a threat presents itself to the normal, thin body, the body automatically prepares itself to flee or fight. The digestive tract shuts down, allowing the blood to circulate where it's needed most - in the muscles for action or in the brain for clear, fast thinking. Decisions have to be made instantly and the body must be prepared to act according to those decisions. Indeed, there's no time to digest lunch!

What about those who are fat and tend to overeat? They often have the opposite reaction when something stressful happens. Why?

Fat people are hungry people. They almost always suffer from an exaggerated, unsatisfied hunger because of their chronic efforts to disregard their appetites. Constantly hungry, overweight people don't suppress their hunger when under stress because of their exaggerated need for food. Their need is physical, not emotional.

When a body has been forced to tolerate hunger, stress plus the availability of food produce a paradoxical effect. Instead of representing an additional stress to the already stress-challenged body, food becomes a stress relief to the hungry fat person. Given a choice, the body will naturally relieve as many stresses possible, eliminating those stresses over which it has some control. A lot of stress that the body encounters cannot be relieved, like, say the three-minute speech which is not actually due for several days. The body must cope with the anxiety of anticipation, and until the speech is given, the anxiety translates to stress.

Hence, emotional and physical stress does not typically cause overeating. Stress normally causes people to avoid eating, and most naturally thin people experience this. Obese people experience the opposite effect. They tend to over eat when they are under stressful situations because food translates to a stress reliever to their bodies. Instead of the usual additive stress effect that it has on the hunger-satisfied thin person, food offers irresistible relief to the over hungry.

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

Laxative Abuse and the Consequences

2009-11-04T02:06:00.003-08:00

When I was about fourteen years old I thought I was fat. I weighed only 125 pounds at the time. I was a cheer leader, and was popular in my small school. It was the nineteen seventies and looks were becoming a very big issue. Twiggy, and the fashion designers were promoting skinny as the new norm. All of my cheer leader friends had caught on, and the competition to be skinny had begun.

Since sluggish bowel problems ran in our family, we had a lot of laxatives in our medicine cabinet. The addiction began when I would take the laxative occasionally for irregularity. Unlearned about the human anatomy at age fourteen, I began to think that if I took more laxatives I could lose weight. I began to add to the amount of laxatives I was taking gradually, to see if they would help me lose weight. They were very powerful, and I had the results I was looking for very quickly.

I stole laxatives from my grandmother also, and as the years went by I was well on my way to laxative addiction.

By the time I was sixteen, I began eating about one thousand calories a day and exercising vigorously. I was also taking five to six ex-lax tablets a day. I had no idea what kinds of affect this was having on my body. As I look back now, I am sure I was dehydrated most of the time. I probably had anorexia and a form of bulimia back then. These medical terms were not heard of much where I was from.

As I got older, it took more laxatives each day to get the full effect that I was looking for. I really wanted to eat and then get rid of the food with laxatives.

I thought if I ate fewer calories and exercised more and was very thin, I would be more popular.

In this area of my life my parents were totally out of touch. They never asked any questions, and I never offered any information. Constipation was the norm in our family, so it was a known fact that I took laxatives. I believe my parents just thought I looked thin from exercising alot and eating very little.

With all of this exercise and practically starving myself, I weighed about 110 pounds by the time I was sixteen. For my frame that was very skinny. Now I became totally obsessed with exercise and weight loss. Eating only eight hundred calories a day at times. My parents were some what proud that I was thin. Weight problems ran in our family, my mother and her family members were always on a diet of some sort. Honestly I think that is why they just didn't even dream what I was doing to myself.

It wasn't until I graduated from high school and got married that I realized there was something terribly wrong with my taking so many laxatives. I had quit exercising and was eating normally for a change. I began seeing a doctor regularly and I had decided to try to stop taking laxatives. When I told the doctor just how many laxatives that I had been taking per day, he gave me the lecture of a life time! I will never forget it. He told me that I would be lucky to live until I was age fifty. Also that if I did not stop using laxatives, that I would be a good candidate for colon cancer as I grew older. Now, that put the fear of God into me! He began to try to help me to get off the laxatives, and to retrain my bowels.

That was in the mid nineteen seventies. After that doctor" lecture, I began trying every stool softener, fiber, cereal, juices and everything else any doctor would recommend to take. But,I was hopelessly addicted to laxatives. Nothing else would work.

Over the years I have been treated by many various doctors for my bowels. I've had tests upon tests ran on my colon. I have also been given countless medications, of which, have made me feel very ill, most just have not worked.

Now, in 2009 the doctors have finally concluded that my bowels have no motility left to move the stool through the colon. I currently have chronic and life threatening bowel problems. I am facing permanent disability from these chronic bowel problems. I may have to eventually have a total colectomy (entire removal of the large intestine). I also have acquired pelvic floor dysfunction from the pressure on my pelvic floor caused from the years of laxative abuse. The harsh bowel movements over the years have caused this condition.

Laxative addiction can have harmful affects on other organs also, such as the kidneys. Mine have become sluggish from abuse of laxatives. Liver and spleen problems also, besides other problems as well.

Now, I am at the point now of never being able to stop taking the very laxatives that are destroying my colon and other organs. The gastroenterologist that I see has decided that I must stay on laxatives for now. Eventually I will most likely need to have my entire colon completely removed, thus, the colectomy.

Laxative addiction causes the muscles in the colon to quit functioning eventually. There is no cure for this. It causes chronic blockages and severe pain. The colon becomes enlarged and inflamed. I always look like I am about eight months pregnant now, no matter what I eat or drink. This is due to the enlarged colon. It is always a chore to have bowel movements also.

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

What Can I Do to Protect My Children From Developing an Eating Disorder?

2009-11-04T02:06:00.001-08:00

It is important to start by emphasising that there are many factors involved in the development of eating disorders. When a child develops an eating disorder, it is not because their parents have 'done something wrong'. Experts believe some people may have a genetic predisposition which places them at an increased risk of developing an eating disorder. Stressful life events and family difficulties are often factors, along with low self-esteem and some personality factors. Although dieting is also a risk factor, most dieters do not develop an eating disorder, so other factors must be involved. Equally, there is continuing debate about the role of socio-cultural factors such as media pressure to conform to an unrealistic body shape.

However, there are some steps which a family can take to reduce the risk and ensure that if there are problems, they are identified early.

There first thing is simply to eat together as a family, as often as you can. This can be difficult to manage with the pressures and schedules of our everyday lives. Eating disorders typically develop at a time when teenagers are becoming more independent and this independence often includes their eating habits. Teenagers may eat with friends more often and snack on their own at times which suit them. It is only by ensuring that you do eat together as a family on a regular basis that you will be able to identify any changes and problems.

Eating disorders often start to develop during puberty, which can be a very traumatic for the young person. They will be looking for positive role models in the people around them. If you share family meals with your children, enjoying a wide range of food, you will help them to maintain a positive relationship with food. While many of us watch what we eat to guard against middle-aged weight gain, try not to allow these concerns to dominate mealtimes.

Allowing children to always choose their own meals can encourage restrictive and faddy diets. It is best if you plan meals that all the family will eat rather than make separate meals for each member, perhaps with a choice of vegetables.

Dietitians always advise, there is no such thing as 'bad food' - the key is how much you eat and how often. You can enjoy 'treats' providing your diet contains a range of healthy foods. Banning certain foods is not helpful - it could result in your child craving the banned food and they may develop an emotional relationship with that food.

It is also important to end with a note of context about the prevalence of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa is fairly rare, especially compared with obesity, affecting around 0.2 to 0.8% of young women. Anorexia typically develops between the ages of 15 and 19 and high risk groups include dancers, models and athletes.

Bulimia nervosa is more common than anorexia nervosa and often begins slightly later in life, affecting between 0.5% and 2% of the general population.

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

How to Deal With Stress Eating

2009-11-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

Stress is one of the main causes of overeating. It immediately turns on that needy part of us that requires immediate comfort, the kind of comfort that only food can provide. Needless to say, unless you learn to deal with stress eating, any hope you have of losing weight or even maintain your current one are doomed to fail.

So, the question is how you can overcome stress eating?

The answer is that since you can't remove stress from your life entirely, unless you plan on moving away to a deserted island, you need to find ways in which you can control it and reduce its effect on your life.

Here are a few tips to help you deal with stress eating in a better way:

1. Get support - I don't mean professional help, but the kind of support that only another person can provide. I realize it may be difficult to share your overeating problems with another person but it can be the best way for you to remove stress from your life in a healthy way.

2. Learn some relaxation techniques like Yoga, deep breathing exercises, and meditation. Taking even a few moments each day to totally relax can have a dramatic effect on how often stress drives you to overeat.

3. Exercise more - Working out is one of the best ways to alleviate stress naturally. Working out makes you feel good and often leads to long hours of relaxation. Also, if you're struggling to lose weight, exercising can provide a great way to accelerate the fat burning process.

I recommend doing all these 3 tips and to begin working hard to reduce stress in your life.

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

Eating Disorder - Bulimia Nervosa Treatment

2009-10-21T22:58:00.003-07:00

Bulimia Nervosa, most commonly known as bulimia, is an eating disorder in which an individual engages in recurrent binge eating followed by feelings of depression, guilt, and self-condemnation. An individual who suffer from this type of eating disorder usually purge to compensate for the excessive eating and try to prevent weight gain. Purging can take the form of vomiting, inadequate use of laxatives, enemas or excessive physical exercise. This disease is mainly found in women aged from 16 to 40, but it most commonly starts around the age of 19. However, at times it develops in men and children as well.

In last few years, the ratio of people suffering from Bulimia Nervosa has increased proportionately. In fact, according to recent studies, it is even predicted that the number of people suffering from Bulimia eating disorder is two to three times as much as the number of people currently living with AIDS. Apart from this, it has also been found that Bulimia also affects different organs. The longer an individual suffer from Bulimia the more organs get affected and damaged. The organs that generally suffer are kidney, heart, digestive system, bones, endocrine glands and even brain. Certainly, these are only some alarming indications that clearly point towards the seriousness of Bulimia Nervosa. Thus the simple and best way to prevent from dangerous effects is to treat this eating disorder sooner rather than later.

Different ways to cure Bulimia Nervosa

There are many ways to treat Bulimia. However, looking at the present scenario psychological therapy and nutritional counselling are two most popular ways that are gaining worldwide acceptance. Psychotherapy has really turned out to be effective and long lasting treatment for an eating disorder like Bulimia Nervosa. During this type of treatment, the therapist not only addresses the eating disorder itself but help the sufferer by underlying reasons for why the individual is behaving in this manner. This behaviour is usually caused by psychological, interpersonal, and cultural influences and forces.

Nutritional Therapy is yet another way to treat Bulimia Nervosa. In this type of therapy, dieticians and other health care providers offer information about a healthy diet. At times, they even help in designing a proper eating plan to achieve a healthy weight and healthy-eating habits. Depending upon the chart prepared, the person's progress is monitored such as weekly weighing. Though this type of treatment takes time for curing eating disorder but has gained considerable importance.

The next way of treatment is Group Therapy. As the name suggest, in this type of therapy a sufferer is supposed to get ongoing support and help from other sufferers and a group leader. But this way cannot be very helpful every time. At times, it can truly become harmful to many sufferers. The reason is that in group, patients frequently get worse or connect in more symptoms just to get extra attention from each other or the therapist.

Apart from all this, outpatient therapy is yet another type of therapy where a sufferer is allowed to go home after each session. Today there are many people who are responding to this type of therapy very well. This type of therapy gives them a feeling of security being in a home environment. Though, this type of treatment program largely demands a family care. In this type of treatment, it is important that the family cautiously watch and taka care of the sufferer while he or she is at home and ensure there are no bingeing and purging.

Certainly, with so many types of treatment options and therapies available, an individual can easily cure Bulimia Nervosa. Though for some, the condition become lifelong battle. As a result, it is important for an individual suffering from this type of eating disorder get instant treatment.

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

Natural Heartburn Cures and Heartburn No More

2009-10-21T22:58:00.001-07:00

Heartburn happens to a great many of us and more often than we'd like to admit. Finding the elusive cure is paramount when the pain strikes and often it is the natural heartburn cures that are the longest lasting remedies for heartburn no more.

That chocolate bar we used to indulge in has lost its appeal knowing we will have to deal with the consequences afterward. Popcorn and soda pop at the movie theatre are slowly moving toward the "don't" list as well. As we get older, we are finding more and more things we can't enjoy and few ways to naturally assist with symptom relief. With that in mind, below you'll find several options to aid in controlling heartburn naturally. We don't have to let it have control.

Other than the obvious advantages of avoiding foods known to cause heartburn, you'll be happy to know there are other ways to help these symptoms. First of all, you'll want to keep a heartburn diary. Keep track of everything you ingest during the day and the times of each. Watch for your heartburn symptoms and you'll have a closer idea as to what is actually causing the problem. If food doesn't seem to be the main trigger, look at the stress factors in your life. Planning your only daughter's wedding alone? Not making the mortgage payment on time? Getting passed over for a promotion at work over and over again? These too can be triggers of increased acid production in your stomach. Decrease your stress and chances are your stomach will thank you.

If your stress level is fine, you can try 2 or 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. of water before meals. This is said to raise the pH levels in your stomach, thus reducing the bad acid that causes heartburn symptoms. You might also try different organic herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, ginger or marshmallow. Organic herbal teas have been said to aid in digestion and heartburn relief.

Baking soda is another way to neutralize the effects of acid in your stomach. A simple teaspoon mixed in a glass of water can ease your pain. Be careful though, as the fizzy concoction may also make you burp and allow the passage of acid into the esophagus causing more pain.

You'll also want to sleep with your head at about a 30 degree angle of the bed. You can do this by using a wedge pillow or placing something under the legs at the head of your bed to elevate it. Lying flat causes the stomach to put unnecessary pressure on the esophageal sphincter, the opening from the esophagus to the stomach, thus creating a passageway for food and acid to go back up instead of staying down. Elevating your head several inches will help fix this problem. Don't forget to eat your last meal 2 to 3 hours prior to sleeping as well. You'll want to fully digest as much as you can before lying down, leaving less stomach content and acid production to disrupt your sleep.

You can visit your local health food store for more suggestions on avoiding and treating heartburn and if it persists or happens more than twice a week, a visit to your primary care providers' office is recommended. Further testing may be required to make sure there are no underlying problems that need to be addressed.There are many natural heartburn cures on the market for you to try, as well as the inexpensive treatments you may find already in your own home suggested here.

There are also excellent natural programs such as 'Heartburn No More.' There is no reason for you to suffer any longer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=C._K._Moore

The Danger in Delayed Diagnosis of Eating Disorders in Children

2009-10-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

There is a great danger in delayed diagnosis of eating disorders in children, primarily because people do not think of children as being old enough to have an eating disorder. A lot of the time, eating disorders occur in adolescents, because their hormones are turning on and they are having a tough time dealing with new changes to their bodies and peer pressure, and in adults who are struggling with their weight. The unfortunate truth is, most diagnoses of eating disorders in children don't come until their condition is life-threatening.

You might be further surprised to learn that young boys are more likely to develop an eating disorder than girls of the same age, according to the Medical Journal of Australia in 2009. Believe it or not, boys and men are just as self-conscious about their looks and bodies as women. Instead of being pressured into just looking thinner, men also have the added worry about being adequately strong and toned. Because society traditionally expects only girls to have self esteem issues that would lead to an eating disorder, doctors often don't even know to look for those signs in boys.

Think about these odds: If an eating disorder were caught early on in a child and treated properly, those children would have a 70% to 80% better chance of fully recovering within a year, and about a 90% better chance of improving those children's condition fully within five years. Comparatively, an adult might only have a recovery rate of 50% in five years. The good news is that children can recover more easily if the signs are recognized, but the bad news is, those signs often go undetected far longer than they would in an adult.

Another thing to realize is that eating disorders are not just about your diet. Having an eating disorder is often a way of coping with stress and anxiety, so children who are watching their parents get a divorce might succumb to an eating disorder more easily, or children who have lost a close loved one.

To further complicate matters, the media and society in general have indoctrinated in children at a younger and younger age the importance of beauty and looking good. The effects of Disney teen stars like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, all of whom are mostly catering to a preteen and younger crowd, are excessively glamorous and intending to promote looking sexy. In the past, most children probably would not be exposed to that kind of message until sometime in their teens. The pressure to look as good as their favorite teen idols may seem frivolous, but it is no different than adults who strive to look like their favorite celebrities.

If we want to reverse the trend of eating disorders in children, it is important to recognize the effects of the media and peers on impressionable young people. They are still at a delicate stage in their development, and it is important to reinforce their worth beyond their looks and decry superficiality.

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

Surprising Facts on How Our Attitudes Might Trigger Eating Disorders

2009-10-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Did you know that more than 70 percent of young women are dissatisfied with their bodies and want to lose weight? There is almost nothing as strong as peer pressure to convince people to do things that are not good for them. When it comes to eating disorders, there are simply so many messages about how important an attractive body is that people will take extreme measure to get thin--even at the expense of their health. In addition, prevailing attitudes about food and dieting also trigger eating disorders.

One problem stems from the fact that most children are never shown the right way to eat. There's lots of fast food and vending machines in the schools, and at home, their parents often are not eating any healthier than the kids would for school lunches. Kids never learn the right way to eat, and even if parents tell them not to eat a certain way, if the parents aren't setting the right example, their behavior reinforces negative dietary habits that can cause weight gain and deny bodies the nutrients they need.

In fact, parents have more of an influence on their children than they might realize. If you think about what tends to trigger eating disorders, you might cite things such as a desire to be more attractive, to fit in, to have control over some aspect of your life, to seek a way to deal with pain, to give in to hunger or lack of hunger, and things of this nature. These are all valid, but what about seeking parental approval?

There are a lot of children that are neglected or abused. If a child grows up in a household where their parents are never around, but there's always a bag of chips or a tub of ice cream, it's easier to get dependent on food as a source of comfort. In addition, children who are always told that they aren't good enough or attractive enough--even if the parents mean well by saying so--might resort to something desperate in order gain approval. Worst of all, society is so conditioned to approve of losing weight that someone who is getting thinner because of an eating disorder is bound to get compliments and encouragement along the way.

Another way children can grow up with an eating disorder is to feel conditioned to accept food as a reward. For example, a neglectful or busy parent might substitute actual parenting with sweets as a reward. When a child does something well, they get some kind of dessert as a reward, and if they do something bad, they are encouraged to behave better because they'll get something tasty. With this conditioning, a child can grow up to link food to behavior, rather than something necessary for a body's well being.

Our attitudes might trigger eating disorders in other ways too. If you have a negative attitude toward food because you were verbally abused about your weight, you are more likely to develop an eating disorder than someone who has a healthy relationship with food.

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

Common Eating Disorders - Treatment Can Prevent Serious Medical Problems

2009-10-05T06:29:00.001-07:00

Any one suffering from the common eating disorders that are prevalent in our society today can suffer other medical complications. If they have suffered from any of these disorders for any length of time it can lead to heart or kidney problems for them.

Yet although many people believe that a person suffering from these disorders has a problem with food, this simply isn't the case. In fact these are just the symptoms relating to some other area of that person's life. For a great many people is that they lack confidence and feel that they don't have the right body shape or are concerned about what they weigh.

Although in many cases factors relating to a person's life can have an effect on them and cause them to suffer from an eating disorder. Yet in recent years studies have been carried out to discover what else may be causing people to suffer from these. Today research is being carried out to see how brain lesions and hormonal imbalances can be a reason for people suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.

Years ago the treatment for common eating disorders was very basic. In many cases they would try to treat the disorder by getting the person to eat more. However, today they are using many forms of therapy to help treat these disorders by focusing on those areas of a person's life that they are unhappy with. The kinds of therapy now used when it comes to the treatment of common eating disorders include cognitive behavioural therapy, rational emotive therapy and psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

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

Eating Disorders - How Can I Give My Daughter Some Control, Yet Not Give Away Mine?

2009-10-05T06:28:00.002-07:00

Most people at some point or another have heard that eating disorders are about control. Control for what you might ask? There are several possibilities; one of which is the person feels she has no control over her environment, but she does have control over what she does or does not put in her mouth. No one can force her to eat, thus she has a perceived sense of control.

Another possibility is the eating disordered behavior can be a way to distract, mask and numb feelings your daughter does not know how to deal with. When she numbs her emotions through not eating or other means, she may be trying to regain control of her emotional state.

Let's consider going with the resistance if you will, and cooperate with her desire and legitimate need for control. The reality is you both want control over her eating behavior. You want her to eat; she wants the opposite and is resistant to any attempt you make to get her to eat more. So, how can you as her parent give her a healthy sense of control?

When you feel the resistance and the power struggle beginning, try to think about what in her behavior would be considered a good quality. Here are a few ideas about what that could look like; and for now just know it is important to use the word "respect" and we can talk about that further in a future article.

1. I respect your commitment to eat healthier and you will be able to make more choices about food when you are eating enough to take care of your body.
2. I respect your determination to look thin and I look forward to the time when you will focus that determination on hearing your own voice instead of the Eating Disorder (ED).
3. I respect your single-mindedness and I look forward to the day when you apply that focus to getting well.
4. I respect your desire for privacy and you will have more privacy when I can be sure you are not purging.
5. I respect your desire to eat with your friends and you will be able to do that more when I know you are eating enough to take care of your body.

I think you can see from these examples the positive qualities we are highlighting. Also how we have used those positive attributes to point her in the direction of using the control she truly does have.

It will take time, practice and your own determination to learn to relate to your daughter in this new way, and you will see a big difference in her responses as you move toward more respect and give her a healthy sense of control.

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

My Daughter Has an Eating Disorder - How Did I Not See the Signs of Anorexia?

2009-10-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

One of the main reasons parents miss the signs of a developing eating disorder is because it usually happens gradually; and whether it takes several months or a year, it does not happen overnight. When girls as early as eight years old are wanting to diet and dieting is now the norm instead of the exception, a girl losing some weight does not necessarily mandate hitting the panic button.

Often an eating disorder does happen just because of a diet gone bad, and to look for more insidious reasons is unwarranted and unfair. Many girls want to lose weight and eating less is a typical means of dieting. It is not uncommon to hear your daughter say she wants to be a vegetarian and that, in and of itself, is not a negative thing. The true motive behind this change is of course the concern and it is not always evident at first.

Adolescence is a prime time to begin keeping secrets from parents and you are not usually the first person to whom your daughter reveals her deepest thoughts and emotions. It is her friends that she shares these with and they may even be in partnership with her to lose weight.

Girls become masters at finding ways to hide the changes occurring, both in their behavior and their bodies. They secretly throw away food, move food around on the plate so it appears they ate more than they actually did, say they are going to eat with friends when they have no intention of following through, hide their changing shapes in larger size clothes, and much more.

Another issue is often these girls have been the model child and most parents are stunned to learn that there is a problem of any kind. They have gotten good grades, thrived socially and in extra-curricular activities and rarely rebelled in their relationship with you. It seems like one day you wake up in the morning and some event occurs where this information about your daughter's behavior is revealed.

For example, a friend of your daughter or her mother asks to speak with you without your daughter present, a sibling tells the secret they have been keeping about her sister throwing away food or throwing up after meals, you see something in a text message, social networking site or e-mail and are shocked to find out what has been going on without your knowledge.

I want you to hear me say this again. Your daughter has become a master at hiding this from you and is leading two lives so to speak; the one she wants you to see and the one she doesn't. You are not a bad parent. Were there signs you missed that you could have seen? Possibly. Were there things your daughter just plain did not want you to see? Yes, most definitely. She wanted to lose weight and didn't want anyone to stop her.

So what is the answer to this guilt ridden line of thinking and questioning? It is simple, yet not easy to do. As much as you can, don't allow your mind to go there. The more time you spend there, the less available you will be to see what is happening now and to be available to your daughter now.

She needs you to be in the present with her as much as you can. She needs you desperately to help her through this illness, whether she knows it or not. So give yourself a very limited time to think about what a failure you are as a parent, because let's face it, those thoughts and feelings will come. You are human, not super mom or super dad, and the questions will be there.

Observe them, admit them to yourself, talk to someone you trust about them and then as quickly as possible, move on and focus on helping your daughter. She cannot get better without you.

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

How to AVOID the Horrors of Developing an Eating Disorder

2009-09-25T02:28:00.001-07:00

It is no wonder that as many as 8 million US women suffer from eating disorders in the United States alone. Just sitting in front of the television for about five minutes or picking up any magazine on the newsstands will help to shed some light as to why. Just about every actress or model you see is flaunting her bony shoulders and spine protruding back in a skimpy dress while walking the red carpet and receiving accolades such as fame and fortune because of her supposed good looks. The media and society in general has adopted the mentality that thinner is better when it comes to the sexiness and beauty of women. This ideology is a scary thing and it is beginning to affect more and more young women in the US and abroad.

But some women don't fall into this trap at all and lead healthy, normal lives and have never succumbed to an eating disorder or had any trouble with self-esteem or body image at all. It seems that many of them share some common traits and in this article we want to take a moment and list four of the top ones so that others could work to follow their example and avoid the horror that is eating disorders.

1. Respect who you are - Respecting who you are and what you look like is incredibly important when it comes to avoiding eating disorders. We are all created differently and if you can embrace those differences and accept them, it is much more likely that you'll have a healthy and normal life.

2. Eat a healthy balanced diet - If you are used to a healthy and balanced diet and have been eating one throughout your life, then simply mimicking your food choices in the past as you move through life will help you avoid an eating disorder as well. Often times, eating disorders stem from drastic and sudden changes that we make with our diets to try to achieve fast and significant weight loss.

3. Find your talent and focus on it - It has been noted that women with talents such as playing sports or musical instruments are often much less likely to develop eating disorders. This can be because they have something else to focus their time and energies on rather than focusing them inward on themselves and how they look and feel about their bodies. It is important for young people to investigate the different activities that are available for them to take part in so that they may discover a talent of their own to spend their time with.

4. Look for and choose healthy role models - We often become what we emulate and this is a statement that holds incredibly true for young impressionable minds. Young women that think about and idolize TV and movie stars often emulate their activities and looks. This can make them more susceptible to developing unhealthy attitudes toward food and their ways in order to try to look like these famous starlets.

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

How Family and Society Can Play a Role in Exacerbating Eating Disorders

2009-09-25T02:27:00.002-07:00

Unfortunately in our society today, eating disorders are becoming more and more a prevalent existence in the lives of our youth. It is estimated that there are more than 8 million women afflicted with eating disorders in the US alone and many of these are young girls. The push for beauty and the "thin is beautiful" mentality has led many women to try to mimic the looks of movie stars and magazine models often with disastrous results. These young impressionable women want so badly to be accepted as beautiful in our society that they often go to incredible lengths to get results. This can include trying various diets, forced vomiting, and even taking drugs such as diuretics to achieve what they think is the pinnacle of beauty, but in reality it's thin and sickly.

Because of this overall acceptance that thin women are sexy women, even families can play a role in helping to exacerbate the problem of eating disorders that exist in our society. Some parents, although well-meaning, may make comments to their children about their eating habits or how they may look in general. A young person is emotionally vulnerable as it is and often has self-esteem issues as they begin going through the changes of puberty that is the normal process of turning into adults. These awkward stages may be completely normal but because of their fragile emotional states, any issues having to deal with self worth or their place in society can greatly be compounded by what they think others think of them. It may simply be a comment about how their daughter's clothes are fitting or perhaps how much food they had at dinner that sets the stage for worse things to come.

Some women begin by trying to enter into exercise programs to lose excess weight and begin working out at a feverish pace to try to achieve results. Because many of these women have never had true experience with a healthy diet and exercise program they may not get the desired results they wanted and this can lead them to try to add other things to their regimen to speed up the weight loss. This can mean forced starvation or even ingesting diet pills to help the process along. Still other women may take part in what is known as binging and purging where they will eat thousands of calories and then force themselves to vomit so that they don't experience any weight gain from these episodes. All of these practices are incredibly harmful and can lead to serious health implications that can result in hospitalization, or even death in the worst cases.

It is important to realize that young women, or any individuals for that matter, that may have self-esteem issues need to be handled with care. They may not rationalize others' statements but instead may see them as much more meaningful than they were intended. If you suspect that your children or those of your friends may be exhibiting any of the symptoms above, it is important that you take action and seek help immediately before the condition worsens and leads this young person to seriously damage their health, perhaps even permanently.

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

Teach Your Mind to Cure Your Brain

2009-09-25T02:27:00.001-07:00

Do you know that by learning new things you are actually changing the structure of your own brain? This amazing ability of the human brain to change itself according to new experiences and new knowledge is called Neuroplasticity.

Every time we learn something new we change the connections of neurons (brain cells) and even whole neuronal pathways. Every time we change our environment - we change the structure of the brain. Every time we change our behaviour -we create significant changes in our brain.

These changes can be good, but can be bad also; it all depends on the nature of the experiences, like changing your environment but most importantly our perception of the experience of the change, plus the environment.

Every event we experience can leave permanent memory traces in our brain thus change the brains structure.

For example, a teenager girl who was exposed to skinny celebrity images can become dissatisfied with her own body image and then develop an eating disorder. In this example she learned that skinny celebrities are considered to be beautiful. Then she automatically created a new negative experience for herself by comparing her own body with the celebrity's body. She wasn't as skinny as the person on TV, thus she became dissatisfied with herself. The final result of this mental -emotional process is significant changes to the neuronal structures in her brain. These irrational thoughts become new faulty neuronal pathways that are then responsible for her developing an eating disorder.

Fortunately, all these traumatic memories are not written down in stone, or "engraved", to remain unchanged forever. Luckily we can change these faulty structures by subsequent events and re-transcribe it, then change it to new more constructive thought processes.

All the experiences or events (like dissatisfaction with yourself, emotional trauma etc.) can take on new different meanings later on in life and again we can learn to change the structure of the brain to the better.
We can direct the changes in our brain to the better by using a process called "self-directed neuroplasticity". "Self-directed neuroplasticity" means re-transcription and changing underlying neuronal networks and associated memories and emotions by yourself for yourself.

People with eating disorders, anxiety, depression and the like can help themselves to improve their own lives by using the "self-directed neuroplasticity" approach at any stage of the disease. Of course, if you have had an eating disorder for 10 years or more it will be more difficult to change the brain then if you had it for 5 years, but this also depends a lot on your determination and desire to change.

People who have determination and a desire to change can create the positive emotions that are needed for change, and these emotions will help them to re-transcribe the faulty neuronal pathways faster and easier. But if you resist the change and lack determination then you will remain a sufferer with faulty neuronal pathways until you consciously get to the point that you must change. Or when you get to the point where it is more painful to stay with the disorder, than it is to change: this point is normally reached when a number of medical problems arrive from the abuse of their body over the years.

The idea that the brain can change its own structure and function through new activities, thoughts and new behaviours is amazing and brings much hope for mental and emotional disorder sufferers. These include eating disorders, anxiety, depression, compulsive disorders, addictions and other stress related problems.

"Teach Your Mind to Cure Your Brain" is a term that tells you simply, if you learn to teach your mind new positive things you can change the structure of your brain for the better as well. If you learn the right methods then you can improve and even cure your brain from many disorders. It is really only up to you whether you stick with the old destructive thoughts or change to new better ones: is it your choice?

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

Anorexia is on the Rise in Older Women - Tips For Coping With the Fear of Aging

2009-09-17T04:30:00.001-07:00

European publications report that increasing numbers of older women are being treated for anorexia. Eating disorders have been considered a disease of early adolescents and teenagers. The trend is a dangerous way cope with the fear of aging. Psychologists believe the eating disorder results when pretty older women compare themselves to glamorous celebrities.

Obsessing over appearance is dangerous at any age, yet there's nothing wrong with wanting to look good. Update your wardrobe, throwing caution to the winds. If you've been wearing conservative business or mom attire for the past few decades, step out of that mold. Try something new. One of the most glamorous fashion statements I've ever seen was the English teacher's wife who wore a Christmas ornament in her hair - in May! We can conquer the fear of aging by allowing ourselves to be creative and original in fashion, as in all areas of our lives.

Carl Jung argued that contemporary people experience empty lives because we have lost our sense of the spiritual and ritual significance of our place in the universe. As older women, we can dress stylishly and assume our role as guardians of wisdom - wisdom that we do not have to starve ourselves to be well dressed and look our best.

The London Mail attributes the spike in the eating disorder among older women to unrealistic expectations. Most of us did not have Madonna's body when we were 20, and we are not going to have it now. One of Jung's seven tasks of aging is facing life realistically. Other tasks of successful aging are releasing the concerns of the ego and becoming rooted in a deeper sense of self. Find like-minded people who share your passions in life. That is where our true self confidence originates, not in a mirror.

Other tips for overcoming the fear of aging: Enjoy a bubble bath, an aromatherapy mist, or a massage. Chat on the phone, blog a bit, volunteer and make a difference, learn an art, craft, or a new language. If you can afford it, take a trip somewhere you've always wanted to go. If you can't, take a day trip to someplace you have not visited in your own backyard - ever or recently.

These bromides for successful aging are not cures for anorexia, a serious disorder. Rather, they are prescriptions for reclaiming social values that honor the wisdom and creativity of older women.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Enid_Sefcovic,_Ph.D.

Bronwen's Way - The Story of How I Overcame 25 years of Anorexia and Bulimia

2009-09-17T04:29:00.002-07:00

For years I unknowingly lived in a world that seemed to me to hold nothing but fear. I was afraid of everything; especially myself, but at the time I knew no different. 25 years of Anorexia/Bulimia had become so much part of my life, that it was as unimaginable to live without, as the fear, intense self-hatred and feelings of worthlessness, I had also lived with, for as long as I could remember. I was a bad person so naturally I deserved all the problems and failures that resulted from everything I did.

What hope then had a poor sensitive horse, in a home that was run by someone who appeared to the outside world, to be completely happy and in control, but was inwardly a complete mess, existing each day on a diet of fear, anxiety, doubt, starvation, biscuits, chocolate, endless ice cream and visits to the lavatory to evacuate any food that shouldn't have been there.

Bronwen was truly beautiful, almost black; with a gleaming coat and, the longest eyelashes of any horse I had ever seen. To me, she was huge and quite terrifying, I had had sleepless nights over whether I was doing the right thing getting her at all, and had relented very much against my better judgment. She was to be a companion to the previously unwanted 12.2 chestnut pony that had been given to my 12year old son during one of his many brief but convincing passions; and at 15 hands she was to be there for him to ride, when he outgrew the pony.

Having never owned a horse in my life; with experience that was no more than a reckless, knee gripping out of control gallop or two on an old horse as a child, I was landed with the task of keeping myself from being trampled under foot by two very large animals, that barely acknowledged my existence, let alone treated me with any respect. I did realize very early on that perhaps I should have listened to my grave misgivings, as frankly I hadn't a clue what I was doing and my son was equally useless and lost interest very shortly after Bronwen's arrival. Strangely, it never once occurred to me to reverse my decision and let the horses go, instead I went all out, to learn how to be a responsible and enlightened horse owner; not just your average horse owner, no, my horses were going to be kept with a far greater quality of life than anyone else's; with kindness, sensitivity and an insightful educated knowledge of the world from their viewpoint, not mine.

In theory my plan was flawless, in reality I was in for a shock. In her previous home Bronwen had been a truly biddable, delightful, kind and genuinely well behaved horse, that however all changed instantly, when she found herself being ridden and cared for by a, self-doubting, self hating, fear-filled incompetent like me. From the moment we set eyes on each other she wanted to run as far away from me as she possibly could, while all I wanted, was for her to want to be with me, as passionately as I wanted to be with her. I was shattered; each time I went out into the field to visit her, she would turn tail and head off to furthest corner of her paddock, and when I finally caught up with her, her eyes would harden with fear and she'd strain to get away from me. Nervously I persevered, attempting to tentatively groom her, carefully avoiding her feet altogether for fear of reprisal; entering hopeless struggles with saddles and tack, and darting fearfully out of her stable before she could bolt or squash me against the wall; willing all the time for her to like me, just a little bit, but all this amidst flattened ears and threatening facial expressions. I felt completely devastated, at the same time absolutely convinced that the problem lay with me, she was simply reacting to the inner turmoil that she could see I was experiencing. She was scared of me and I was too. She longed for someone to lead her, and I was failing her miserably.

Weeks of battling went by, disaster followed disaster; when riding she would constantly move away from me when I tried to mount her; spin around in the gateway in a desperate bid to return to the security of her paddock, and if we did manage to actually get through the gate, she would find every opportunity to make her way home as fast as possible, and being stronger, mentally and physically than me, she almost always got her way. I was totally miserable and became completely obsessed with trying to find an answer to the dreadful problems the two of us were experiencing. Finally a possible solution presented itself, my son found the name of a horse whisperer who was prepared to come and help Bronwen and I resolve our differences.

I was so nervous and convinced that I would fail dismally at whatever he tried to teach me, that I almost abandoned the whole idea, only sheer desperation kept me going. I watched in wonder and amazement as this small insignificant little man had Bronwen eating out of his hands within only a few minutes. He barely moved and with the tiniest signals had her moving in circles around him, backing, stepping sideways and listening with both ears and eyes fixed on him attentively the entire time, her eyes never left him, even when she was supposed to be attending to me. His assistant explained to me that he had been communicating with Bronwen in a way that she instantly understood, because it emulated the way horses communicate within the herd.

As they drove away leaving Bronwen and I alone once again, I realized the biggest lesson I had learned was that I had to change the way I approached every moment I spent with her, completely change the way I thought, my beliefs about myself and my negative attitude to everything I ever attempted to do. There is no room for doubt of any kind when dealing with horses, they cannot cope with it; to a horse, where there is doubt there is fear. Changing the thought patterns learned over a life -time was going to be an uphill task and without Bronwen to monitor my progress and encourage me with her loving approval each time I got things right I could never have contemplated such a task. She softened each time she felt I was trying to change, her truly loving nature forgave and rewarded my efforts over and over again. I had put her through hell for almost two months, as I had centered on my own inner fears and inadequacies instead of focusing on hers. It was as though the whole time she had been my ego, her dislike of me reflecting my own self-hatred and her need to run away from me, my own desire to escape from myself.

As the months passed the two us devised ways to completely re-design the destructive thought patterns that had created the self punishing, soul destroying disorder that had over shadowed the vast majority of my life. It was trial and error; sometimes we had a break through and at other times we slipped painfully back into the quagmire of and old damaging thinking. From concentrating purely on myself, my ineffectuality and how worthless and undeserving I was of her regard and respect, I learned to train my mind, through endless discipline and determination to recognize only, the thoughts that really benefited me; the thoughts that remained positive, clear and focused. These thoughts were always the ones that produced the perfect loving results from Bronwen, I had craved for all along.

Learning to overcome the overpowering need to self-destruct, with only the help of Bronwen and the ideas I took from the natural horsemanship experts, who taught me so much about equine psychology, helped me far far more than all the psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors I had seen over the many years. On the way I began to see clearly from what I was learning, that this was a way forward for all the thousands of people out there who suffer as I did, from feelings of anxiety, low self esteem and self- loathing.

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

Do Parents Cause Eating Disorders in Their Children?

2009-09-17T04:29:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the roll of parents causing eating disorders in their children, is this the case or not? It is very sensitive topic because it is painful for families to even think that they are a possible cause of their daughter/ son bulimia and/or anorexia.

I am a medical doctor and suffered anorexia and bulimia for over 15 years. Also I have been involved in the treatment of hundreds of eating disorder sufferers. Personally, I don't know a family who wishes to foster eating disorders in their children. I would say that parents and the family do not cause eating disorders directly.

However, I know firsthand that the family atmosphere, parenting style and undiagnosed mental and emotional problems in parents contribute a lot to the development of eating disorders in their children.

There is a lot of research around about the roll of genetic predisposition in eating disorders. Yes, eating disorders do have a genetic component as well, but it is only the vulnerability to develop an eating disorder not the disease itself that people can inherit.

People can also inherit certain personality traits that make them vulnerable to developing eating disorders: like perfectionism, tendency towards anxiety and depression, competitiveness, impulsiveness and extreme stubbornness. All these can make people vulnerable to developing eating disorders.

It is the environment that turns people's vulnerability into the disease. The way people live their lives from their birth that can make genetic vulnerabilities become an illness.

The first and most important environment people have is their family. Often people with eating disorders describe how in their childhood they had a tense family environment where parents very strictly and controlling. Children in families like this don't have much space to experiment and to be free. These types of parents don't let their children find their own way in life, turning them into puppets that are forced to be followers and controlled by strict rules.

In families like this children turn to eating disorders as a way to control their lives the best they possible can and to find emotional escape in the space of their eating disorder.

The other type of families is the overprotective one. Their protective behaviour puts onto the child so many limitations that the child is likely to seek her/his freedom and escape in things like eating, non-eating and manipulating their own weight. These parents cannot let their children be different than what their mental image of them is or the way they think the child should be. They look at the child's achievements only from the angle of their own desires and opinions.

Most of parents in these types of families still want only the best for their children and don't even realize that what they are doing is bad for the child. Many parents have their own emotional issues to deal with, which are still unresolved and deeply rooted in their own childhood. Some parents maybe even have undiagnosed mental disorders like OCD or personality disorders. Because these disorders have never been diagnosed parents are not aware of them and continue to put enormous pressure on their children and other family members.

Many doctors and therapists consider that blaming parents for their children's disorder is not a good idea, because parents may feel guilty and shameful for the way they are themselves. These feelings of guilt and shame can stop parents from helping the child to recover and parents may even refuse to participate in the child's recovery program.

Nevertheless, it is proven now that if the family atmosphere remains the same a non- loving, demanding, restrictive and an overprotective one, the child has little chance of getting better.

The purpose of writing this article was not to put lots of blame onto parents, but just to warn the families of eating disorder sufferers that certain changes need to made in the family atmosphere if the family wants to help their loved one recover.

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

Overeating and Binging Again? How Do You Get Out of a Downward Spiral?

2009-09-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

Seriously, let me get this off my chest and let you off the hook at the same time: If you are recovering from a food related issue such as overeating or binging, it's not a good idea to promise yourself that you will NEVER fall again. It's not so much IF we fall, but rather WHEN we fall. Victory over this disorder does not lay in the "not falling" but rather in the "getting up".

All of the people around you that seem to have it so together and make huge successes of their lives have learned only ONE thing that you didn't: how to get up!

We live in such a broken world, and yes it's not fair that we have to carry our cross on our hips (literally) while others hide theirs under their tiny sweaters, but we all struggle with something. Everybody has bad days and everybody falls!

If you have an eating disorder or struggle with food addiction you need to realize that recovery is a journey, and yes, the journey can be long and exhausting.

In spite of great victories and years without sugar you might find yourself in front of the freezer, eating ice cream straight from the tub when life throws you a curve ball.

Now don't think for a minute that I don't believe in miraculous healing. I believe that God can and will heal you from food addiction in an instant if He so chooses. However, if His will for you is to walk out your journey to freedom, then I would advise you to not live in denial, but rather arm yourself for the journey. To say "I will never, ever, ever fall for that again" is just setting yourself up for failure, self condemnation, guilt and shame.

So now that we've established that you and I are not the only ones with wobbly legs, the question remains: How do you get up?

What is the first thing that comes to mind after you have fallen and your eating is spiraling out of control? I'm not talking about the pre-fall-stage where you're still toying with a bite of this here and a morsel of that there, because at that point you might still feel that you have things under control. No, I'm talking about the flat-on-you-face-stage where you know you've once again lost all control, you binged for one week straight, all you can think of is your next meal and you've easily gaining five to ten pounds. When you hit that place, you know you're on your knees, you don't wonder anymore.

Usually I experience the following emotions and thoughts after a fall: First guilt, then shame, followed by it's evil twin; self condemnation. Then I usually I start looking around for someone to blame. In the end despair and hopelessness will sweep over me, and the enemy will whisper in my ear "You will never overcome this, you might as well give up."

I know all to well how intense these emotions of hopelessness can be and therefor I want to reach out my hand to you in your place of despair and tell you: Victory is not far away, but you have to act quickly!

The enemy can gain so much ground in our lives if we stay down. The longer you stay in that place the deeper you will sink. That place where you have fallen can change into a pit of captivity that can be your home for the next few months or even years.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

1. Don't look for a diet. Resist the urge to go on the internet and read up for hours on the latest diets out there. You will end up eating stacks of food while trying to find a "quick-fix" that does not exist.

2. Don't go over every little detail trying to figure out how it happened. It probably happened gradually and you can not change the past. Rather spend you energy on getting up and moving forward.

3. Don't blame your husband, your kids, your friends, my program! or God for your fall. Okay if you have to blame someone, start with the devil and then take responsibility. The blame game will just ruin your relationships and keep you laying down longer...

WHAT TO DO:

1. Always get back to basics! Diets don't work, pills don't work, excessive exercise doesn't work, and starvation just ends in binging and purging. So throw out those Chinese foods and chocolates and go stock up on vegetables, fruit, lean meats, granola bars for those weak moments and oatmeal for those carb cravings. Make a few salads, cut up some fruit and cook a chicken to be prepared for the first three tough days. You only need that first day of victory to turn this thing around! You might have a week of working it up to that first day, and that's okay, but keep trying until you get there...

2. Take it to God: Number One will not work if you don't give it over to God! Living healthy is just another diet if you don't surrender it to God! Believe me, after a fall you need a good cry before God. You might not know it, but at this point you might be avoiding God because you are so ashamed and you might be disappointed in Him for letting you down, again.

Tell God how you feel, it's not He who fails us, but He does understand that we feel that way sometimes, because He so understands our human nature. Not only did He create you dear sister, He became flesh and although He never sinned, He understands. Establishing daily time with God will be the only thing that will help you every time you fall, please trust me on this one!

3. Get moving! You know it, there's no easy way to say it, you have to find a way to get active! Exercise is a huge motivator to eat healthy. It also helps you fight depression and lack of energy that usually accompanies this struggle. Don't make anymore excuses! Never mind how great your obstacle, someone else has a bigger one, and God has an answer. So ask Him to help you find a way to get active DAILY! You can also read lots of free articles on my website about the benefits of exercise, choosing the right exercise for you and what to do if you simply hate exercise.

5. Tell someone! After talking to God about it, tell a friend, a spouse or a counselor that you've fallen. If you don't have anybody, please email me about it. I will be happy to pray for you and encourage you in any way I can. It is so important to tell someone else because there is freedom in getting the truth out there. It also gives us a clean slate to start fresh, and it always helps to be accountable to someone else. Don't let the enemy have a field day because you are to proud to admit that you have fallen. We all fall! I write about all my failures and nose dives on this blog for exactly this reason: To not give any room to the enemy by living a lie, and to encourage you to not to focus on the fall, but immediately get busy with getting up!

Don't keep laying down, it only opens a door for bitterness and unbelief. You don't need those in your life: Your God is Jehova Rapha )the Lord your healer) and he's standing right next to you with his hand extended, just waiting for you to take it, get up, repent, forgive yourself and keep going!

Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)

"for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity".

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

The Psyche of Overeating - What is Compulsive Overeating?

2009-08-23T03:52:00.001-07:00

Compulsive overeating is also referred to as binge eating. The person who has this kind of disorder has the tendency to eat food that is over than the normal food intake of an individual. Some people who are suffering from this disorder are usually overweight or obese since they eat a lot of food but they do not eliminate it from their system--this is the sad plight of binge eaters. They separate themselves from the crowd since they feel that there is something wrong with the way they look and with their outlook in life. This is a more common problem in women more than with men.

Researches that were conducted revealed that people who overeat are usually a result of people's feeling about themselves and their surroundings. These feelings are usually manifested with the eating habit of an individual. This can be observed with people, who are facing depressive moments in their life. Studies are looking at depression as one of the many reasons why many people become binge eaters. It was found out that people who are worried, angry, sad and unworthy resort to eating to ease these negative feelings.

There are many ways to resolve this disorder. There is the cognitive behavioral therapy, which targets the psych of the individual by helping the individual to see things differently. Through this kind of therapy, the individual is assisted to increase their awareness in their eating habits and help them to respond positively to varying situations.

Another method is the interpersonal psychotherapy, which solicits the help of those who are significant to the life of the individual. With this method, when the person feels that he has enough support system that will help him in his endeavor, the more are his chances in succeeding over his disorder. Drug therapy is also available wherein antidepressants are given to the individual.

The kind of therapy that will be resorted to by the individual depends on his needs and goal.

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

Curb Sugar Cravings - 4 Tips to Curb Sugar Cravings

2009-08-23T03:51:00.002-07:00

When one merely tastes sugar impulses are sent through our nerves lading to the base of our brain. Along the way our pleasure center is activated causing a release of natural opiates. This is all quite natural. Mother's milk is naturally sweet to comfort and soothe a baby.

However the refined sugars that are common in the Western world are not natural and are messing with your natural sweet tooth. We all have this sweet tooth for our need for mother's milk but also our need for fruits as we grow. Fruit is one of the most important foods for our diet. It has nearly all the nutrients our body needs, is easy to digest and gives the body exactly what it needs - simple carbohydrates.

However refined sugars are being eaten instead. These are eaten purely for the pleasure and not for any nutritional need because refined sugar is nutritionally deficient. It is an empty calorie. Not only does this refined sugar trigger the release of opiates in the brain giving us pleasure, our appetite is also triggered, hence why you can never just have one bite of sugary goodness.

We can overcome this addiction to sugar and curb those cravings. We just need to eat more naturally sweet foods like fruit (which will help eliminate any physical craving the foods we have) and also to overcome any emotional issues we have surrounding these sugary foods. Once we achieve these two goals refined sugars will no longer be a problem.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Eat a nutritious breakfast. I always start my day with fruit - 4 or 5 pieces or more. Fruit is nutritious and will satisfy your nutritional needs. Getting a good breakfast in will help prevent and curb sugar cravings later in the day.

2. Don't give in to temptation even a little. Many people advise to treat yourself once in a while to a sugary snack but I would advise against this. The reason for this is that sugar activates the release of opiates in the brain that not only makes you feel good but also increase your appetite. So one little taste of sugar will increase your appetite making it very difficult to say no to second or third bite of your junk food snack. Before you know it you will be binging!

3. Keep a journal and note down the triggers to your cravings for sugar. Observe yourself throughout the day and see what triggers you to crave sugar. Note down whether it is because you have went too long before meals, or whether your meals were not satisfying enough. Also note down whether sugar cravings were triggered by emotion. If you do find that you comfort eat and use food to emotional numb then this is something that needs careful attention. Emotional eating can make or break you.

4. Don't beat yourself if you give in and practise being present. Take each day as it comes. If you end up caving to sugary treats don't feel guilty about it. Just try to learn from it. Note how you felt before, during and after and make a plan of action to overcome and tackle any future incidence. The incident may simply have occurred because you were not aware of the trigger. It takes time to be "present" in life when we are rushing around all the time in another world. Sometimes we are so caught up we don't realize what we are doing until it is too late. Just practice being in the present moment and the more you do, the more often you will be able to catch your triggers for sugar and overcome them.

For some people curbing sugar cravings is as simple as eradicating the physical craving for them. Others have complex emotional ties with food that need to be addressed and this can take time and patience. We must learn to appreciate the process and not feel guilty with slow progression or setbacks. Learn to love and cherish yourself and you can overcome anything.

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

Number One Reason For Developing an Eating Disorder

2009-08-23T03:51:00.001-07:00

Hundreds of people have asked me why someone develops an eating disorder. Of course many issues are involved, but from my exploration of this field over the years, I have concluded that there is one outstanding theme that runs through every person with an eating disorder whom I have encountered. Early in their lives, people with eating disorders have experienced, on a sustained basis, relentless boundary invasion on every level.

When their physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, sexual, and creative boundaries are consistently ignored and penetrated, people experience total boundary invasion. With no control and no way to end, protest, or, often, even acknowledge such invasions, these persons feel helplessness, despair, and a certainty that they are worthless to themselves or anyone else.

The consequences of such total invasion are vast. One consequence is an eating disorder. Having had so many boundaries disregarded, a person has no knowledge or skills in recognizing or honoring boundaries herself. She will eat or starve for emotional relief.

She may eat vast amounts of food for comfort value alone. She may deprive herself of food until her life is in danger. She has no internal regulator that tells her when she has reached her limit and experienced enough. Being oblivious to any boundaries means being oblivious to limits of any kind.

The compulsive overeater eats whenever and whatever she likes. She bases her choices on self-medication issues, not feelings of physical hunger.

The anorexic will not eat. There is no limit to her not eating. She will starve herself to death in search of relief from her emotional pain. She knows nothing of the experience of having enough. She couldn't say, "Enough," to an invader of her boundaries, and she can't say it to herself. The concept of enough has no meaning to her. She often feels that if she "disappeared," she might find some permanent relief.

I have heard countless anorexic young women talk ethereally, with a lost-in-a-beautiful-world-of-angels smile, of how wonderful it would be to become a vapor or a light dancing spirit in the clouds. Ah, such spiritual bliss, they imagine. In reality, it's the final self-protective act, to destroy their bodies and their lives completely. Then they can truly escape the complexities of being alive.

The bulimic will binge grotesque amounts of food. She will assault herself with more food than her body can tolerate. The compulsive overeater will, at last, have to stop eating if only because of the pain in her distended stomach. Her body sets a final limit. The bulimic has no such limit. She experiences (in her mind) no consequences of the food assault on her body. When her body cannot bear more, she will vomit it all out. Then she will resume her binge. She may reach her body's limits many times. Each time she does, she can throw up again and continue.

Eventually she stops, because she is completely exhausted, or she is in danger of being discovered. "Enough" has no meaning to her. There are no limits and no consequences for her disregard of her boundaries.

Realistically, of course, there are plenty of consequences. Her behavior inflicts serious damage to her body. And each time she attacks herself with a binge-and-purge episode, she destroys more of her spirit, soul, self-esteem, sanity, health, and value to herself and others.

Each violation deepens her ritualistic behavior, and she becomes more entrenched in her disorder. The consequence is increasing anguish and despair. Yet the eating disorder is not the cause of that anguish and despair. The eating disorder exists to numb her from her already existing psychological agonies.

For a while, maybe a few years, the eating disorder successfully blocks her awareness of pain too difficult to bear. But eventually the protective device of the eating disorder becomes just another boundary invader, this time self-induced, that weakens and damages her even more.

What do I mean by a history of boundary violations? Blatant and extreme boundary violations involve sexual molestation, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. Much has been written about these areas now, especially in material exploring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Use your search engines to find some quality information posted on the Internet in these subject areas.

However, there are other kinds of boundary violations, and these are less dramatic, less discussed, more prevalent, and just as devastating to a persons psyche. When, in the name of caretaking, people in authority take over a young person's life, it constitutes boundary invasion.

When others deny her privacy, read her diary, borrow or take her things without permission, or use their ideas or goals or personalities to overwhelm her efforts in school or sports, that is a violation of her boundaries.

When others disregard or disdain her choices or deny her any control over her personal life, clothes, food, friends, and activities, they are invading her boundaries.

An invasion of boundaries also takes place when, in the name of caretaking, people give her no responsibilities of her own and attach no consequences to her actions. When the child or adolescent can have all the things she asks for without putting forth effort to earn such gifts, she learns nothing about personal effort, limits, consequences, or the meaning of enough. If she wants something, she gets it. That's all. If someone picks up her clothes, does her laundry, fixes her car, pays her bills, lends her money or things without expecting them returned, she experiences no boundaries and no limits.

If she doesn't have to keep her promises, if she doesn't reciprocate with caring actions for people who care for her, she learns nothing useful about herself in relationship to other people. The only thing she learns with certainty is that there are no limits to her behaviors or desires.

These boundary invasions are not loving acts, nor are they "spoiling" a child through overindulgence. Quite the contrary, they are acts of neglect. The child's taste, mind, capacity to learn, and ability to grow and function as an independent agent in the world remain unacknowledged.

When others, even well-meaning others, ignore her identity as a unique, developing, and competent individual and flood her with their personal agendas, she feels as if a steamroller had flattened out her psyche. She may learn to please, to manipulate, to compete, or to control, but she is unable to learn to be fully present in the world as her genuine self.

She doesn't learn that she has meaning and value. She doesn't learn that she can put that meaning and value within her to work to accomplish goals.

For example, if she breaks something, whether it is a lamp, a car, her word, or someone's heart, it is possible and healthier to give her the responsibility for making necessary repairs using her own resources and her own creativity. In such a process, she learns what effort means. She learns what responsibility and consequences for actions mean. She learns reasonable limits and reasonable expectations. Shhe develops resources to make healthy and caring decisions in the future.

Without such lessons, she learns are the tricks involved in adapting quickly to the expectations of others or being manipulative to get what she wants. These are poor and insubstantial tools to rely on when building an adult life.

Somewhere inside, over time, she may gradually realize this. But without a sense of boundaries, she will only become bewildered and anxious. She will accelerate her practice of using her eating disorder as a way to numb her feelings of anxiety. She will use her manipulating skills to get what she wants from whomever she can exploit.

As time passes, fewer people in her life will allow themselves to be manipulated. The quality of her circle of associates will decline as she seeks people she can control with her inadequate methods of functioning in the world. She will find herself in bad company. T

This becomes all the more reason to rely on eating disorder behaviors for comfort. The people around her are less reliable all the time. And finally, they tolerate her presence only because they can manipulate her.

She arrives at the total-victim position. Her manipulative skills backfire. People exist in this world who are better at manipulating and using than she. She has found them. She becomes their target and then their prey. Her dependence upon her eating disorder becomes her most valuable and trustworthy relationship.

Early in her development, she learned through massive boundary invasions (which perhaps seemed ordinary and unimportant at the time) that she was helpless to assert herself. She learned that she had no private or sacred space to cherish and respect. She could not acknowledge, even to herself, that she was being thwarted, invaded, controlled, manipulated, and forced to deny large aspects of her natural self. She had no recourse except to comply.

To succeed at being unaware of her natural tastes, curiosities, and inclinations and her pain in restraining her natural tendencies, she developed an eating disorder. Now that she's older and her manipulation skills are failing her, she only has her eating disorder to rely on. This may be the most crucial time in this person's life.

If her pain and despair are terrible enough and she is certain she cannot bear this way of living anymore, she still has choices. She can continue to rely on the eating disorder and by so doing take the path to self-destruction. Or she can reach out and get help.

This is a tough position for her. She's never known what enough was. Yet to choose to get help, she has to recognize that she has had enough pain. She's never known what a limit is. Yet she has to recognize that she has reached her limit and must choose between death and life. She has only known about pretense and manipulation. Yet she has to be honest to reach out for genuine help.

She feels massive anguish and pain before she stretches beyond her life pattern into what might bring her healing and recovery. She's reaching for something she can't imagine. It's difficult for a person with an eating disorder to decide to get help. She would have to allow herself to trust someone with knowledge of her real personhood.

She doesn't yet know that people who do respect and honor boundaries actually exist in this world. She doesn't yet know that there are people who can and will honor and cherish her most private and sacred inner spaces. She doesn't yet know that someday the trustworthy, respectful, steadfast, and competent caretaker she needs so badly can be herself.

Her first move toward recovery requires all the courage she can muster. Her recovery begins when with fear or rage, she rallies her courage to reach out for help.

Difficult, yes. But what she doesn't know yet is that she has been courageous all her life. She makes a grand discovery when she learns that she can apply her strength and courage to her own health. She can use her gifts to, at long last, be free of her eating disorder, be her genuine self in the world.

Professional Resources for Finding Help

Academy for Eating Disorders (AED)
American Anorexia and Bulimia Association (AABA)
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders (ANRED)
Edreferral.com
International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP)
Joanna Poppink's Eating Disorders Resource List In-Patient Treatment Programs
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)

Joanna Poppink, Los Angeles psychotherapist, licensed since 1980 (MFT #15563), is deeply committed to bringing recovery to people suffering from eating disorders.

Her specialized psychotherapy practice is designed to allow clients to progress through anxiety situations to ongoing recovery from bulimia, compulsive eating, anorexia and binge eating. Her primary goal is to provide people with a way to achieve thorough and long lasting healing.

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

Stress Eating Solutions - Emotional Eating Solutions

2009-08-19T23:48:00.001-07:00

One of the major obstacles in your journey to lose weight and stay thin is stress eating. We, as people, have a tendency to overeat whenever we feel tension or other negative emotions. Some of us eat out of boredom, other out of loneliness, and some out of stress. This is all emotional eating and you need to overcome it to have any chance to really get or stay thin.

So what are some possible stress eating solutions that you can put into practice today?

1. You need to write down your stress triggers, the situations in which you become stressful and turn to eating. Unless you know your weaknesses, you will never overcome them.

2. You have to eliminate all possible stress triggers. Naturally, if you get stressed out at work, you can't quit your job, but there might be other situations which are easy to eliminate from your life.

3. Practice the breathing method before eating. Once you begin stress eating, you will not stop until you've stuffed yourself silly. To give yourself a chance to not overeat, you must pause before turning to food. You do that by counting to 30 and breathing deeply in the process.

4. Each of us has his or her comfort foods which make us feel good and calm. The problem is that these foods are usually very fat and unhealthy. To make sure you don't succumb to temptation, eliminate the foods you eat the most, or cut them down drastically. If it's not in the fridge or cupboard, it's much harder to overeat.

5. Practice yoga, meditation, and workout regularly to reduce overall stress and tension. This is a process which will take time but will have tremendous results.

If you do the 5 tips I've written above, you will gradually overcome your stress eating and never be controlled by food again.

To get a Free course on how to deal with Compulsive Eating, visit this web page:
Overcome Stress Overeating Disorder.

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

Cravings For Chocolate - How to Stop Chocolate Cravings

2009-08-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Chocolate is an addiction many people suffer with, especially women. I once too had a crazy chocolate addiction where I was eating a large bar daily and would go out especially to get chocolate, even late at night. I always wonder how to stop chocolate cravings so I could leave a more balanced life, because chocolate was making me grumpy, tired and carrying excess weight.

Chocolate addiction or any food addiction isn't taken very seriously in my mind. We use the term craving, as though food can not really be an addiction like drugs or alcohol can. But it can and IS.

Chocolate is an addictive drug and targets the same spot on your brain as heroin and morphine. Although its effect isn't as strong as heroin, it still affects your brain and you still become addicted, as you may very well know.

On top of having opiate properties, chocolate also contains caffeine, theobromine (a stimulant similar to caffeine), phenylethylamine (an amphetamine-like substance) and also traces of compounds similar to THC (the active ingredient in Marijuana).

So as you can see chocolate is full of addictive properties - on top of this is usually is mixed with milk and dairy products which also have highly addictive properties.

Not only is chocolate physically addictive but it also can be emotionally addictive too. Many of us use chocolate for comfort in times of depression, stress and boredom. Emotional addiction tied in with physical addiction seems like an almost impossible task to overcome but it can be done and you can quite easily overcome the physical addiction straight away.

How to stop chocolate cravings is quite simple. You need to first learn how to nourish your body properly. When you eat the right foods you can overcome any physical addiction almost instantly. Also ensuring that you have a proper breakfast can also help with cravings later on in the day.

Second you must overcome the emotional addiction you have to chocolate, if you have it. To see and acknowledge whether you use chocolate to comfort yourself, observe your eating habits over a few days. See what triggers your cravings for chocolate - is it hunger? Is it an emotion? Once you know whether you do use chocolate as an emotional comfort, you can then start to address the issues surrounding it.

For more information on how to stop chocolate cravings click here

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

Cure For Overeating - How to Stop Yourself From Eating (3 Tips)

2009-08-19T23:46:00.000-07:00

Do you feel utterly helpless around food and just don't know how to stop yourself from eating or even buying your favorite junk foods? Do you eat too much or simply overindulge in the evenings and are desperate to get your overeating resolved?

It is possible to overcome overeating. You do not have to suffer constantly with food addiction. You can gain back control with the right nutrition and emotional healing.

There is a 2-step cure for overeating:

The first step to stop over eating is to eat the right foods. When you know what to eat to supply your body with all the nutrients you need, any physical cravings will disappear. Most people do not know how to supply this nutrition though.

The second step is to overcome emotional eating. To do this you have to observe yourself through the day and see if you eat when you are stressed, bored or on the brink of an emotional problem. Emotional eating is a tough cookie to crack but it can be done if you can become aware of your triggers, what emotion you are running from and what needs are going unmet and that you are trying to meet with the food.

To help you get started here are 3 tips on how to stop yourself from eating junk food and overeating on food.

1. Eat fruit before eating your meal. If you want to stop yourself from overeating or reaching for junk food, eat a large portion of fruit before each meal. Eat as much as you desire and then a little more. Fruits will supple yourself with the nutrients it needs and also quick fuel. Usually the sweet part of your meal is dessert and comes last (it's the extra something your body needs to feel satiated, but here you are giving your body exactly what it needs at the beginning of the meal ,but nutritious sugar as opposed to refined).

2. Keep a journal. Note down how you feel before, during and after any binges or meals. Note down whether they were triggered by emotions or not. You can also use the journal as a way to let yourself feel the emotion. If you feel stressed or angry, simply write how you feel down and hopefully this will help diminish the feelings and help you avoid reaching for food as a comforter/number.

3. Don't diet. When we hear the word diet, most of us think of restriction. If you are going to choose to eat healthier foods, choose that. Do not refer to it as a diet or that you are dieting. This gives you the mentality that you are depriving yourself of things you like. Ease yourself into a healthier way of eating to and whenever you choose not to eat a junk food don't say its because you are on a diet or because you aren't allowed, instead say you are CHOOSING not to eat it. Give yourself the power and you will find resisting temptations to be a lot easier and more rewarding.

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

Do Your Favorite Foods Contribute to a Heartburn Diet?

2009-08-15T01:26:00.001-07:00

When is the last time when you had a "heartburn" or "acid reflux" attack? The favorite foods that you love to eat could be the trigger.

Think about that for a second as I list out the most popular favorite foods.

Chocolate:

Now we have all joked at one time or another about that giant portion of a woman's brain called The Chocolate Receptor Center (TCRC).

And if you doubt TCRC exists, just look at Chief Brenda Lee Johnson's face on the TV show The Closer as she dips into her chocolate stash (upper-left hand desk drawer). Sorry to report ... chocolate is one of the many causes in a heartburn acid reflux diet.

So let's talk about Dark Chocolate. Lately all we hear is good health benefits about dark chocolate. Dark chocolate helps:

1. promote cardiovascular health
2. Supports a healthy response to inflammation
3. May help in weight loss and control appetite
4. It is loaded with antioxidants that fight free radical

Here are 3 specific cardiovascular health benefits of eating dark chocolate:

* triggers endorphins = pleasure response
* serotonin levels are increased = well-being response
* boosts energy with a mild stimulant

Spicey Foods:

Take that pizza you love so much, the first time around. Not so tasty when heartburn comes to call. Chili, rich stew, spiced up roasts, these are all offenders when it comes to causing heartburn.

Caffeine:

Love your coffee latte's. These, too, are big heartburn and acid reflux contributors.

Carbonated beverages:

Yep. All that soda pop you like so well. Cola by any name will come back to haunt you. Remember it can remove rust and tenderize meat. Think what it can do to your stomach!

Alcohol:

Now we come to one of the major causes of heartburn. It doesn't matter if it is a beer or a mixed drink. One beer is equal to one shot of liquor. It is a cause of acid reflux, GERD, heartburn.

Now I don't know about you, but this sounds like a favorite food list to me...

How about having a beer while you wait for that pizza and follow them both up with a hot fudge sundae! Sigh.

Heavenly ...

But if you were to see me 2 hours later, I'm praying for relief.

There are some jobs you have for life: Motherhood is one but so is Nursing. I happen to feel blessed to have become a nurse nearly 40 years ago. I absolutely love what I do and the articles I write are for educational purposes only. Be sure to read more about my extensive healthcare background and specialty areas in the biography area.

As sales manager for the 8 Candles Trading Post, I blend my extensive professional experiences in both the medical and alternative fields together to bring you information that serves you and your needs.

Discover more health tips on heartburn home remedies and product reviews. Learn how to take care of your body so it will perform at it's peak level for you. Whether you are working toward improving your health or maintaining it. The end result ... an excellent report when you go for your annual physical.

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

Overeating Help - 5 Tips to Help You Overcome Overeating

2009-08-15T01:25:00.002-07:00

Overeating is something we all do once in a while. Usually we blame it on the holiday season or the fact that we are on vacation and in these times we don't see it as such a big deal. Other times of overeating are when our emotional needs are not met and we are trying to suppress emotions.

Those of us who overeat to numb feelings or are suffering from an overeating disorder have to make extra efforts to overcome our overeating. Here are 5 tips to overcome your issue with food.

1. Become aware of the problem - often we aren't aware of when we eat or even why we eat. Not every time is about being hungry. If we become aware of our reasons for eating and start living in the present moment we can see exactly why we overeat and are better able to overcome it.

2. Regularly eating - overeating can be harder to overcome if we aren't eating regularly or if we skip a meal. When we are consumed by hunger we can find it very difficult not to eat rapidly and pig out. Make sure you are eating regularly and nutritious food.

3. Drink plenty of water - most people often mistake thirst for hunger. So before eating drink plenty of water to make sure you aren't just dehydrated.

4. Eat fruit! Make sure you are eating plenty of fruit. Eating lots of fruit before meals will give you the nutrition an water your body needs and will stop you overeating on other foods.

5. Get support. When we overeat it may just be emotions trying to get out. Instead, either sit and allow the feelings to wash over you and come out or find a friend you can talk with about how you are feeling.

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

Overcoming Emotional Eating - How to Stop Emotional Eating For Good

2009-08-15T01:25:00.001-07:00

We all partake in emotional eating. Whether we are celebrating someone's birthday or mourning the loss of a loved one - food is rarely ever uninvolved. Comfort foods remind us of when we were young and even just the smell can make us feel safe and secure because it is a reminder of our childhood. We often crave these comfort foods most when life gets challenging or stressful.

For most of us we don't realize we are an emotional eater or we don't think it is that serious. For some of us emotional eating doesn't lead to feelings of guilt or weight gain. For some of us we can comfort eat and think its no big deal, but it really is. For others, emotional eating is out of control and something that can rule our lives on a daily basis. This can seem like overwhelming cravings or hunger, but really it is the emotions that we feel making us feel hunger, desperate and adding to our weight.

Comfort food gives us instant gratification and takes away our ability to feel. Digestion and feeling both take up a lot of energy and therefore the body cannot do both. Comfort eating allows us to not have to deal with the emotion as we overload our digestive system with toxic rubbish.

When we feel emotional, it can be normal for us to feel a big empty hole inside of us like we are hungry. Instead of facing what this means - i.e. our emotions, we stuff it down. In society it seems as though we have become scared to feel so much so we don't even realize that we are hiding from our emotions most of the time.

When we don't allow ourselves to feel, we repress it. When you learn and begin to allow yourself to feel the emotion or emotions that arise and stop stuffing down you can feel very overwhelmed. This is because your body will be releasing past pent up emotions and thus it can hit you very hard. This is why it can be hard to let go of emotional eating, because we have to get past that first initial "scare" in order to move on and start learning to appreciate emotions for what they are. Being in the present moment, allowing a feeling to wash over us is wonderful and should be appreciated. The more you allow yourself to be in the present moment and feel, the less emotions will consume you and the less scared you will be of them. The intensity of the emotion will also drop. You will become stronger mentally and physically. You will feel so much better once it's off your chest, instead of suppressing it with food.

Of course getting to this point isn't necessarily simple. Some people can break their emotional eating by nourishing their body properly to get rid of physical cravings and getting support from others when they feel stress or emotional. Essentially replacing the comfort with a person instead of using food.

If you want to break emotional eating, you need to become aware of how and why you eat. Take a day out to observe yourself and what triggers you to eat. Are you eating out of true hunger? Most people don't even have an understanding of true hunger!

If you find yourself eating for emotional reasons, can you stop yourself? Instead of eating can you sit and allow the emotion to wash over you - give yourself time to feel it and move pass it? Or can you turn to someone to talk about how you are feeling?

Don't be hard on yourself. Emotional eating is probably something you have done from a very early age and so is a part of your make up. It is a learnt habit and it is how you have learnt to cope with the world. To undo something so ingrained in you will take time, so if you find yourself eating out of emotion - if you slip up - learn from it, don't feel bad about it just move on. The first step is recognition. Once you know that you are eating out of comfort, you are able to overcome it.

Journaling can also help you pinpoint patterns in your eating. Write down how you feel before, during and after a meal. What triggered your eating - was it genuine hunger?

If you start doing this, you should, within time, be able to overcome your emotional eating and be able to feel and look after yourself properly. If you find it too hard or daunting to battle emotional eating yourself, you could try seeing a counsellor or there is a great program online that can help.

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

Is CBT Effective in the Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa?

2009-08-08T09:44:00.003-07:00

Yes.

Bulimia nervosa is often characterized by an unhealthy obsession with food and an even unhealthier obsession to be rid of it. Aside from the conventional symptoms of binge eating and purging, some of the dire effects of this medical condition include having affective disorders like depression, anxiety / panic attacks or a combination of both. Although these affective disorders may be caused by the thought of simply being having an eating disorder, one triggering factor may be due to the telltale physical signs bulimia. Examples of evident physical effects of this medical condition include: erosion of tooth enamel, severe caries and swollen salivary glands due to frequent contact between gastric acid and teeth. Sometimes, people with bulimia also have calluses or scars at the back of the hands; oral trauma (e.g. lacerations in the lining of the mouth or throat caused by repetitive self-induced vomiting); and swollen glands in the neck or under the jaw line.

As such, bulimia nervosa is often considered as a mental condition: an imbalance of perception where the person feels the need to look thin despite being at his or her proper weight or even being underweight. Although there are pharmacological treatments available, many health care providers believe that the best way of curing this condition is by literally getting into the heart of things. This means addressing the issue as to why people who suffer from bulimia feel that their weight is one issue that they need to "control". Psychotherapy helps patients cope with the underlying factors that may be causing their weight control issues.

However, in order for that individual to regain his or her place back in society, CBT is often recommended as well. CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy is both a re-education process and healing process that allow the person to evolve gradually to a healthier lifestyle. Most cases of bulimia take hold in people early on in life. In some cases, bulimia starts at the age of 13. Undiagnosed and untreated cases can go on uninterrupted for years. Naturally, once this "routine" takes hold of the person's life, it can be very difficult to undo.

CBT is often done under the supervision of a trained psychiatrist, and often begins with psychotherapy and re-education. Here, the person is taught that certain beliefs (especially those concerning distorted ideas on weight gain / loss) are corrected. The person is often taught alternative measures to weight control that are not detrimental to health. At the same time, the person is slowly introduced to scenarios that allow him or her to either co-mingle with people who have the same medical condition and other social setups.

Part of the success of CBT lies in the fact that cases are streamlined to meet the demands and needs of one person. Although there are group therapies involved, treatment usually progresses at a speed that the patient is most comfortable with. However, to ensure the ultimate success of such treatment option, the person must also provide his or her full cooperation.

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

Compulsive Overeating - Are You a Compulsive Overeater?

2009-08-08T09:44:00.001-07:00

If you binge eat, overeat and can't help yourself you are not alone. Lots of people binge, overeat, put on weight and feel endlessly guilty about it. They can't understand why they don't have control, so hopefully this article will give you some insight.

Compulsive overeating is food addiction. Compulsive overeaters rely on food to comfort them in times of stress, depression and helplessness. It is often rooted in low self esteem and feelings can be so overwhelming that the compulsion to overeat is unstoppable.

The issue lies in the compulsive overeater's inability to deal with emotion. When you have learnt to cope with life by eating, it can be very hard to break out of that habit.

Our society is all about repression of feelings. We hide behind masks because we don't want others to know we are upset. Wee use food in celebration and mourning. It is just what we know. It seems harmless but when it consumes us on a daily basis then we need to take drastic action.

Most compulsive overeaters are overweight and are only aware they have an issue with food because of the extremity in which food is part of their everyday life. The only problem is, they do not know how to change this issue and do not know how to cope with emotions in a more beneficial way.

What makes compulsive overeating harder to manage is that it usually comes with a lot of shame and guilt. People who suffer from this usually have low self esteem and do not feel good enough, which makes the eating worse (it is a vicious circle). Food is how compulsive overeaters deal with their need for acceptance and love.

When we overeat to such a large extent it is because our emotional needs are not being met. In order to overcome compulsive overeating we need to take a good hard look ourselves and learn how to face our emotions.

The first step to any recovery plan is to nourish the body properly to eradicate physical cravings. This can allow us to focus on the emotional issues surrounding food. Usually with compulsive overeaters, journaling and support from friends may not be enough and professional help may be necessary. There is a great 12 week intensive online program for emotional eating that can be beneficial if direct one on one counselling isn't possible and relying on journaling and friends isn't enough for you to be able to overcome your eating issues.

It is hard; you should not beat yourself up over this. Emotional eating is something that you have to learn how to deal with by allowing yourself to feel. Once you begin feeling, you will find that feeling isn't as scary as you thought. The initial process may be overwhelming (because your body has old bottled up feelings to release on top of the new present ones) but will make you feel great afterwards - satisfied and calm. This is something food will never be able to do for you.

Love yourself and stop loving the comfort food because comfort food will never love you the way you love it.

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

Overcoming Overeating - How to Overcome Overeating For Good

2009-08-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Overeating and cravings are common in the Western world and are often not given the proper attention they deserve. They are seen as something that individuals really should be able to control and if you can't control them then apparently you don't have enough willpower and are weak.

Overeating can stem from two things cravings and emotional eating.

The word "craving" seems harmless and is just a nicer way, in most cases, to say addiction. Craving is almost an acceptable addiction because we don't place much importance on its seriousness and we find it harmless. But cravings are not harmless - they are a symptom of underlying issues and can result in you overeating on foods you really wish you wouldn't!

Most people think addiction is a strong word to use but that is in most cases what the issue is when it comes to cravings and overeating.

So in order to overcome overeating we must address the physical addictiveness of food or our cravings. Cravings are a sign of physical addiction, emotional addiction and also can be a result of not getting enough of a certain nutrient possibly.

The first step to eliminate physical cravings is to supply the body with the nutrients it requires. Most people don't do this, don't know what is right for adequate nutrition and just accept cravings as part and parcel of life. They don't have to be! When you provide your body with the right nutrients you can eliminate physical cravings completely.

Second one needs to address any emotional relationship they have with food. Do you crave when you are bored, stressed or feeling? Take a day out to be completely self aware and note down when you crave and whether it's as a result of having skipped a meal or because of an emotional need.

Self-awareness in general is very helpful to you and good to continue to do as much as possible. Being in the present moment and practising being in the moment (as opposed to daydreaming or thinking about the past etc) will allow you to overcome your overeating triggers.

If your overeating is more emotionally related then the best thing can be to get support for from a friend or familiy member who can almost take the place of the food in comforting you. Who can allow you to feel your emotions with them if its too difficult for you to do alone. There is also a great step by step intensive program online you can follow over 12 weeks, if becoming self aware and facing your emotional demons is too difficult.

So provide your body with the right nutrition and face your emotions. This is the only way to truly overcome the overeating that is ruining your weight loss goals and life!

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

Anorexia Symptoms

2009-05-31T05:45:00.003-07:00

Yes we are talking about the obsession of many models, rather a phobia of becoming overweight. This sate of mind can well be a sign of being anorexic. Many famous celebrities like Carla Bruni and Keira Knightley have often faced the allegation of being anorexic. It has been clinically proved that women are more prone to this disorder. Now how do you know that you are suffering by Anorixia nervosa. Here are certain definitive indications or symptoms you can look for:

1. Extreme Loss, BMI less than 17.5 in adults.
2. Endocrine disorders resulting strange mood swings.
3. Starvation symptoms
4. Abnormalities in the electrolyte balance of the body
5. Constipation, frequent headaches
6. Reduced count of WBC
7. Dry skin, brittle nails, growth of lanugo hair over the body
8. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), low self esteem

If these are the symptoms than you may surely be an anorexic, which can be because of genetic factors, neurological disorders, and even eating habits. If the Zinc intake in your diet, is very less then you can easily be targeted by this disease. The other reason may be the excessive secretion of serotonin which may result anxiety and other nervous imbalances. Even the social surroundings can be a cause especially in the case of actors and their families, the siblings or the offspring may always want to stay fitter and slimmer, causing them this disease.

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

How to Overcome Binge Eating in Your Own Home

2009-05-31T05:45:00.001-07:00

Binge eating can occur for many different reasons. For some people it may be stress and tension, dramatic events in their lives or family problems. Depression is also a common cause of the binge eating disorder. Another reason that is generally over looked can be the result of rapid weight loss or yo-yo dieting. Let's take a brief look at the ways you can over come binge eating in your own home.

The best way you can over come the eating disorder is to get yourself a diary and record the time you eat along with reason for eating. It is also advisable to record what you have eaten and the amount. From this point you may be able to pin point the major contributing factor to this type of eating. For some it can be money troubles that spark the desire to eat. Remember that eating becomes a good comforter when we are not feeling 100%. It can be your best friend in times of need. You should also consider a low to moderate exercise plan as this is one of the best ways to relieve stress in your life. It will also promote more energy and you will be able to burn some of those excess calories caused from over eating.

If you contact your local doctor or a eating disorder support group, they will be able to put you in contact with a professional who can offer you long term and on-going support. They may have suggestions and advice that you can use to over come binge eating. Your problem maybe more series in that you might be effected by a chemical imbalance. More than likely you will find that your brain is not registering that you are full or that you are even hungry to begin with. This is where a medical professional will be at your advantage. Once you have your eating disorder under control you can then review your eating habits to follow a well balanced eating plan.

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

Is Emotional Eating Disorder New?

2009-05-31T05:44:00.001-07:00

Over the last few years it has become more pronounced that eating disorders are on the rise. Several years ago words like anorexia, bulimia and obesity were spoken of yet not understood. Today eating disorders have expanded to include the following: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, dia-bulimic, compulsive eating disorder, binge eating, orthorexia, food addiction, female athlete triad and so on. As society has evolved so have eating disorders.

With obesity on the rise with school aged children and making individuals aware it has caused a double edged sword. Young people are developing eating disorders rapidly. The idea that emotional eating is different from other eating disorders is ridiculous. Individuals find relief and comfort just as an anorexic restricts food and bulimics binge then purge they all are seeking relief. Avoiding the underlying issues is what cause the cycle to continue.

People go to unbelievable lengths to avoid having to feel what they do not want to feel. How can an individual differentiate healthy eating behaviors from unhealthy behaviors? This is a loaded question with too many variables. Each person has a reason for why they do what they do; the common denominator is to avoid having to deal with a specific situation. Taking an eating disorder quiz is one way to see if he or she identifies, also contacting an eating disorder therapist for an assessment is another.

Individuals who have an eating disorder can get help. Some individuals find that in-patient eating disorder treatment program is necessary in order to get out of the cycle of addiction. Only the person whom has the eating disorder can make the decision to get help and move past this cycle of addiction to a better life.

Joanna works for the Women's Behavioral Program. She has overcome adversities and shares her hope with anyone she comes in contact with. Joanna is a known published author in the Bariatric and Weight Loss Community, she has spent the last 13 years helping to inspire and motivate people on the value of the body, mind and spirit connection.

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

The Side Effects of Bulimia - Learn to Recognise Them Before It's Too Late

2009-05-31T05:43:00.000-07:00

There are a number of different short and long term side effects of bulimia that people suffering with this eating disorder will have to contend with. By knowing what these are actually dealing with them becomes a lot easier.

In this article we take a quick look at some of the physical side effects of bulimia that sufferers of this particular eating disorder are faced with.

1. Gastro Intestinal Problems - Bulimia sufferers will suffer from pains to the stomach and esophageal areas of the body. The reason for this is that they will be constantly bringing up food and so acid is allowed to move through these areas resulting in burns to these areas of the body.

2. Dental Problems - Over time because the teeth are regularly coming into contact with stomach acid they begin to decay. In many cases people who have suffered from this particular eating disorder will find that many teeth will need to be replaced at a later stage.

3. Kidney Problems - Over time the levels of electrolytes that should be in the body are greatly reduced as many are being eliminated because of the constant vomiting. Even drinking large amounts of water won't help to bring the balance of electrolytes in one's body back to levels that are essential to help organs such as the kidneys to function properly.

4. Damage To Skin and Bones - Again this is a side effect all too common in bulimia sufferers especially those who have suffered from this particular eating disorder for some considerable time. The reason for this is the constant vomiting results in the body not receiving the right levels of nutrients, minerals and vitamins it needs in order to function properly.

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

Stop Emotional Eating - 4 Destructive Thought Patterns and How to Beat Them

2009-05-24T04:09:00.001-07:00

Emotional eating is the number one cause of failure to lose weight. Lifestyle change is the only way to permanent weight loss, and that includes changing destructive thought patterns. See if you can identify with any of these 4 scenarios.

All or Nothing Thinking

Example: You succumb to temptation and have a piece of birthday cake at an office party. Or you scarf down an entire pint of ice cream watching American Idol.

Destructive Thoughts: I've already blown it for today, so I'll just keep eating and start over again tomorrow.

Rethink: Everything you put in your mouth means more to make up for later, by either cutting calories or increasing exercise. Put the past behind you. Don't set artificial starting points like "after the holidays" or "after the weekend". Make every meal a chance to enjoy healthy food.

Taking Criticism Too Personally

Example: Someone made a slightly critical remark or statement you interpreted as unsupportive.

Destructive Thoughts: You feel totally devastated, like a complete failure, and question whether you can ever lose weight. Before you know it you've eaten an entire box of Oreos.

Rethink: If you are seriously bothered by off-hand remarks, you are likely being overly critical of yourself. Treat yourself with respect and what others say won't matter nearly as much. Maybe the other person was just having a bad day!

Escaping From Problems

Example: You make a mistake at work, or you are dreading studying for that big test or finishing a daunting project.

Destructive Thoughts: You decide to have a snack or go out for a burger to forget your mistake, or because you're procrastinating.

Rethink: Don't dwell on your mistakes. Everyone screws up every now and then. Instead, look at your setbacks as learning moments and resolve to do better next time. If you're putting off an unpleasant project, break it up into small chunks and check them off one at a time. Your big task becomes more manageable and you'll gain confidence as you complete each step.

Taking Care of Others' Problems

Example: A friend or loved one has a problem and you feel responsible or pressured to fix it.

Destructive Thoughts: You reach for a bag of chips or package of candy while you ponder what to do to help your friend or loved one.

Rethink: You can't fix everyone else's problems, and you shouldn't try to. Be supportive, but don't feel responsible. People need to learn from their mistakes. Ruining your own health by overeating won't make it easier for you to help them!

Makeover your thinking to beat emotional eating and succeed in permanent weight loss.

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

The Truth Behind Emotional Eating

2009-05-24T04:08:00.002-07:00

You can only conquer emotional eating when you know how to handle emotions. The problem is that we label emotions as good or bad. And even the emotions we label as good--like happiness and joy--are often an excuse to eat.

The problem is that we understand so little about emotions. In fact, most people have no idea as to where they come from. That is, what at any moment makes one feel good or bad?

The following may provide some insight: For instance, you have a guy driving to work who gets cut off by another driver. He gets angry and upset; his blood pressure rises and he's thinking that most people get their driving licenses at Sears and Roebuck. Most of his day is ruined.

Then there's another fellow who has the same thing happen to him. As he swerves and misses the accident, he's happy.

Why is the first fellow upset and the second fellow happy when the same thing happened to both of them?

The answer is that it's because of their expectations. The first fellow is expecting that other drivers are supposed to stay out of his path and it doesn't happen that way so he feels justifiably angry. The second fellow took a defensive driving course and expects that in the event someone pulls out in front of him, he'll avoid the accident. It works out as he expects and he's happy.

Emotions are as a result of our expectations. When things work out as expected, we feel happy, joyful, glee, love... and when things do not work out as expected, we feel bored, malaise, upset, angry, frustrated, disappointed, depressed...

Unfortunately, most of us have learned to associate food with certain emotions because feeling them and taking them straight is taboo.

What stands in the way of feeling emotions are acquired beliefs about them. For instance:
• "Don't let yourself feel happy because you'll set yourself up for the big let down!"
• "Anger is beneath me."
• "Don't be depressed, no one will want to be around you"
• "You should know what you want and shouldn't be confused."

Truth is that when you allow you to simply feel the emotion it disappears; otherwise you dilute it with food--emotional eating.

A progressive approach to emotional eating involves asking important questions "What is missing? Why are you not getting the results you've been promised?" It is clearly insane to keep dieting when the results are so poor. It's more important to gain a grasp on how to handle emotional eating--eating emotional stress than it is to read the scale. Besides focusing on the scale doesn't empower you to be a better more enlightened person, whereas learning how to conquer emotional eating empowers you in all aspects of your life. If you're a sales person, you'll be a better sales person. If you're an assembly line worker, you'll be a better assembly line worker; a mother, a better mother... Overall, you'll build self worth and find that what you really want to eat is far more nutritious and less in quantity than you ever before imagined possible.

Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E., NGH certified is a prominent figure in the field of stress management, a specialist in Waking Hypnosis to eliminate panic attacks, and author of the best selling Scale Conspiracy e-book.

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

Anorexia and Obesity Are Similar!

2009-05-24T04:08:00.001-07:00

Many individuals view Anorexia as an eating disorder, however, they view obesity as the individual lacks will power that they are unable to control themselves. Unfortunately,discrimination is common with obesity. Any individual who has experienced obesity understands what this firsthand. Obesity is frowned on people view the individual as unorganized not capable of handling situations. Typically obese people are highly intelligent, functioning people yet they are unable to control this area of their life. Interestingly enough the anorexic is viewed as highly intelligent, a workaholic, a go getter.

The body shape and size may be different yet the similarities between anorexia and obesity are present. Both the anorexic and obese individual thinks about food all day long, the health concerns for both are critical. These individuals share common denominator eating disorders. The medical concerns for both are hormone imbalances, hair loss, hair over growth, loss of menstruation, possibly hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic, diabetes, knee and joint pain and damage long-term, skin tags, the list goes on.

The emotional needs for the anorexic and the obese individual, is individualized. Typically they have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, bi-polar, trauma perhaps post traumatic stress disorder. Individuals who suffer from eating disorders need intense inpatient eating disorder treatment programs. Going to a structured program will provide the support necessary to rebuild lives and put in place new coping skills. Eating disorders require treating the body as well as the mind; ultimately it would be a disservice to the individual looking for help to not treat the whole.

Joanna works for the Women's Behavioral Program. She has overcome adversities and shares her hope with anyone she comes in contact with. Joanna is a known published author in the Bariatric and Weight Loss Community, she has spent the last 13 years helping to inspire and motivate people on the value of the body, mind and spirit connection.

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

Can I Pass My Food Addiction on to My Children?

2009-05-20T18:37:00.003-07:00

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

From Anorexia to Obesity - More Alike Than You Might Imagine

2009-05-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

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

You Need Your Sleep to Break Free From Food Addiction!

2009-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

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

Five Steps to STOP Your Daughter From Getting an Eating Disorder

2009-05-09T21:24:00.003-07:00

On Thursday afternoon I had lunch with a friend at A Votre Sante, an organic California cuisine type of restaurant. It is small and located in Brentwood and boasts a very healthy delicious menu. It didn't hurt that Pamela Anderson sat across from us and Britney Spears' manager Larry Rudolph sat behind us. It is also a favorite of locals Laura Dern and Ben Harper. But I digress! My friend wanted to know how we can stop our children from developing eating disorders.

My advice is very simple and I believe 100% that every parent should take this into consideration to protect their children from the most dangerous secretive disease that is prevalent in our society.

Here are my FIVE steps:

1. Lead by example. Guess what if you are eating diet food, talking about your chunky thighs or eating plain lettuce for dinner, while your family eats a meal together. You MUST look at your own behavior. It is my goal to help every woman in America become a Fed Up Girl. And our children look straight to you for an example. You know if you are behaving in an unhealthy way if you don't want your kids to do the same thing. Or if you do and realize it is not healthy behavior.

2. Do not restrict foods, times to eat, etc. A child is born with an internal voice and system that we call hunger signals and satiation. As we women begin to diet and restrict we lose this internal voice, and my program is designed to GET IT BACK. So why would you want to squash the very thing that is guiding your child to take care of their body appropriately? Give the child choices and treat them like an adult. My advice is to not even discuss this, as kids are really perceptive and also very adaptable. Let them choose what they want to eat, how much, where and when.

3. Eat at least one meal as a family. Sharing a meal and the same food as a family together is an important lesson in meals as a social activity. Studies prove that when people eat alone they often overeat. Your daughter will have plenty of chances to eat a bagel in the car when she is grown up. Give her the gift of a family meal and allow her to choose how much of the shared meal she eats. I don't believe in bribing or making deals. She can put the food on her plate and eat or not eat it. Period.

4. Let the kids eat whatever they want. For some of us who have been actually restricting our children's diet, this means they might go hog wild with the sugar at first. But remember a child is very sensitive to their body and after a few too many sugar highs and crashes, their body will reprogram.

5. What about their nutrition? Give them a multi-vitamin. And if things are really awful, you can always pull a Jessica Seinfeld and blend fruits and veggies into foods they like. But I am 99% sure, the child knows what their body needs and they will not malnourish themselves by choice. Also, it is nice to have a child develop tastes for fruits and veggies that are genuine. I love broccoli all by itself and I am 31 years old. Don't you want your child to have the same pleasure when they are grown.

Good luck! Always test and tweak. In my experience the best thing to do is remove ALL restrictions and give the child input when grocery shopping, eating family meals and most importantly what they want to eat.

Ask your daughter what she would like for breakfast. It might be cheesecake for a few days, but I bet you very soon it will turn into scrambled eggs, milk, etc.

You are giving your child the gift of CHOICE and the ability to listen to their internal voice/body to regulate itself. Don't take this away from a kid. It takes a long long time to get back.

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

My Friend Has Anorexia Nervosa, What Can I Do?

2009-05-09T21:24:00.001-07:00

How does a friend sit back and watch someone he or she loves suffer from an eating disorder? What can I do to help them is a common question asked. Unfortunately, no straight forward answer is available to this question. Every individual has many variables that combined make up why they developed Anorexia Nervosa. Family and friends want to help so much that they try to control and do things to help that the Anorexic needs to do for themselves.

It sounds so easy to say to an Anorexic "eat" and they should do that "eat." When they don't people around them tend to be frustrated and annoyed at the Anorexic. If possible put yourself in that person's shoes for a minute, perhaps that experience will allow you to be empathetic for what they are experiencing.

The Anorexia disorder didn't just start a month ago. By the time someone recognizes the signs and symptoms of Anorexia and realizes something isn't right their friend has been engaged in this destructive behavior for a significant period. Anorexia Nervosa is a learned behavior that gives them a false sense of control and power.

If possible associate Anorexia Nervosa as an addiction then perhaps see the pattern of addictive behavior. It may help you to understand what the Anorexic is going through. Understand also that it took time to develop this eating disorder behavior. It will take at least that amount of time to undo the behavior.

Going into an eating disorder treatment program allows the individual the opportunity to learn new coping skills to deal with life without restricting food. Eating disorder will require a lifelong constant vigilance in order to live in freedom from food.

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

Eating Disorders Have a Beginning

2009-05-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time someone publicly embarrassed me about my size. I was mortified, humiliated, ashamed, embarrassed the list goes on. I guess somehow as long as no one spoke of my weight it didn't exist. I always felt different and out of place and now my secret was out. Denial is really truly powerful and it does protect us. Food had become my world it gave me temporary relief.

My mother had become very ill and she was hospitalized for several month's. I was young and didn't understand what was happening only that my mother wasn't there and my father was either at work or the hospital to be with her. I can remember how excited I would get over going to someone's house that had soda and potato chips.

As my eating disorder grew so did my size. I would hide food I tried everything to control myself but my compulsive eating disorder had a life of its own. My family and friends always commented on my size and had suggestions. The more attention was focused on the food the more food I ate. I was truly in a cycle of food addiction.

I battled with my food addiction from the age of 9 to 31 years old. It wasn't until I went to inpatient treatment program that I was finally able to get a hold of my eating disorder. Today I know through that experience that I am allergic to certain foods. That I had to develop new coping skills in order to deal with life effectively, food could no longer be my coping mechanism. Today I have an amazing life and I share my story with others affected by eating disorders to give them hope. They too can recover from their eating disorder.

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

Ipecac Abuse

2009-04-14T05:18:00.003-07:00

Ipecac Abuse among bulimics is on the rise. The use of Ipecac, either in syrup form or pill form is being used as a means to purge by those with an eating disorder. Syrup of Ipecac can be found in most emergency first aid kits and can be purchased from any pharmacy without a prescription. The intended use of Ipecac is induced vomiting in case of ingestion of a poison or medication overdose. Ipecac syrup stimulates the central nervous system and the stomach and causes vomiting. It is intended to be used for just the stated purpose and just a singular event not multiple ingestions.

Ipecac abuse can produce serious side effects that can lead to physical ailments and can also result in death when used continuously. There is a long list of complications associated with Ipecac misuse. The occasion for abuse is so great the FDA is considering pulling Ipecac from the shelves and making it a prescription medication. No one would argue that pulling a dangerous medication from the shelves is a bad idea but this is often our society's response to a problem. The problem lies with the person that abuses the Ipecac not the substance itself.

Eating disorder sufferers that turn to Ipecac do so because they can no longer rely on the gag reflex to purge. Their disease has progressed to the point that they need eating disorder treatment to save their lives. Taking Ipecac off the shelves is a great idea; but getting those with an eating disorder the help they need is a better idea.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_B._Clark

Wondering Just What the Binge Eating Disorder is Exactly?

2009-04-14T05:18:00.001-07:00

If you find you are one of those who keeps eating and can't stop, don't be embarrassed or ashamed. You may be suffering from an eating disorder. Specifically binge eating. Which is one of the most common, and most secretive, eating disorders going.

So just what does the binge eating disorder involve? Good question.

By definition binge eating is out of control eating of large amounts of food. In other words those who cram an entire loaf of bread into their mouth or inhale a bag of cookies as fast as they can are likely to be binge eaters.

For some it's a coping mechanism or a way to deal with stress of daily life. Where food is unconsciously used to reward or punish.

Emotionally based eating like this also a physical side. It results in an uncomfortable feeling of being stuffed that is both painful and humiliating.

Besides it's a cycle that's tough to break. And a problem that is most likely to strike women. As six out of ten binge eaters are female.

Yet don't confuse binge eating bulimia. That later is where people purge the food they have just eaten by vomiting or using laxatives.

Now some of the signs or symptoms of this disorder are:

• Frequent episodes of runaway eating

• Unable to control what and how much is being eaten

• Rapidly stuffing in large amounts of food even when not hungry

• Eating alone, or in secret, out of embarrassment

• Feelings of depression, disgust or guilt after binging

Though this problem generally is seen more in women even men are not spared. It affects both obese and people without weight problems as well.

The causes for this disorder is not known though there is thought to a relationship between depression and this eating disorder. Negative emotions like anger, anxiety and boredom can trigger it. But positive events can leave some standing in front of the refrigerator looking for something else to engulf too.

Some side effects include obesity, blood pressure problems, heart disease and the like. Also people suffering from this disorder may miss work or withdraw socially from family and friends.

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

How to Recognize the Symptoms and Signs of Anorexia

2009-04-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Anorexia nervosa (severe self-starvation) is a condition that must be treated. The root of anorexia is emotional and psychological and treatment approaches are primarily psychological. Physicians and psychologists do not agree on the causes of this disorder. Many factors seem to contribute to the development of anorexia.

In the beginning, it may be difficult to recognize the symptoms and signs of anorexia. A person with anorexia usually starts out with normal or sometimes above normal weight. The anorexic will start a diet thinking that he or she is overweight and needs to lose weight. This where the problem begins. An anorexic person becomes obsessed with the fact the he or she is overweight and suppresses hunger to the point of starvation. It may start with the fact that someone in the family is dealing with weight issues and is constantly dieting.

Although anorexia is most common among teenage or young adult women, it can also affect males. Anorexics can starve themselves to skeletal thinness. Anorexics will have a fear of becoming obese. They continue to think they are fat even though they have lost a tremendous amount of weight.

The causes of anorexia nervosa are unknown, except that it is thought to be psychological. The widespread emphasis on diets and the desire for thinness in our society contribute to its high incidence, and psychological factors play an important role in its development.

Here is a list of signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa taken from Prairie Public.org.

Extreme weight loss
Refusal to eat enough to maintain a healthy body weight
Persistent negative comments about body shape and size
Distorted body image and self-perception
Inability to recognize true body size/thinness
Excessive exercise
Continuing to diet although thin
Obsessive calorie and fat gram counting
Constant weighing
Refusing to eat in public/avoidance of eating situations
Denial of the problem
Claiming lack of hunger
Attributing life successes or failures to weight
Dressing in layers to hide weight loss
Thinning hair
Dry, yellow skin
Dry, brittle hair and nails
Complaints of being cold all the time
Refusal to eat solid food
Disguising lack of eating or reduced food intake by playing with food, picking at food, rearranging food on the plate, hiding food
Fine, downy hair that develops on face or body
Lack of menstrual period; loss of menses
Personality changes
Inability to accept compliments; frequent self-belittling comments
High expectations of perfection

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

Help For Bulimia - Get the Right Advice For Bulimia Cure

2009-04-04T02:21:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for help the good news is, that YES, there is help for bulimia! Before getting into where to find help, let's first look at what are some of the characteristics that go along with someone who is suffering from bulimia.

* Distorted self-image
* Excessive use of diuretics
* Binge eating followed by purging
* Lack of honesty when it comes to what they are eating
* Use of laxatives
* Obsession with weight gain
* Shame, guilt and frustration at not being able to stop

Those suffering with bulimia often suffer in silence. They are secretive and deceptive and when it comes right down to it, they are really trying to fool themselves about their disorder.

The problem with bulimia is that it can become an addictive behavior. And it can become an addiction very quickly, especially if the one suffering is getting any type of positive feedback regarding the results from their behaviors. If people are commenting on the fact that they're losing weight, or perceive them as being disciplined for working out so obsessively; these can be misconstrued by the bulimic who is suffering most definitely from a warped and twisted sense of self body image. Where there are skin and bones, the bulimic will see fat. They are unable to view their own reflections as unhealthy and have come to a false sense of having control over their eating.

There are support groups and therapists that specialize in eating disorders that are a great place to start. There are treatment centers where those severe cases can be completely removed from their unhealthy environment to live in an environment where the first order of business is recovery. They receive an education about the core causes of eating disorders, to help them identify where their own troubles began. They work with a specialist on a nutritional plan and will find sponsors that they can speak with on a daily basis who also is recovering from an eating disorder.

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

Adult Anorexia - Learn About Eating Disorders

2009-04-04T02:20:00.001-07:00

When you think of people who may be susceptible to an eating disorder like anorexia, you may only think of teenage girls. It would make sense if you only thought of teenage girls as being affected by this eating disorder, but it wouldn't be 100% accurate. There are a number of people who suffer from this disorder and it is becoming more apparent that a piece of this puzzle exists in adult anorexia.

Before I move on, I want to stress that the onset of adult anorexia, where no prior symptoms have been present, is very rare; but that doesn't mean it is not in existence. We must be careful with a disorder like anorexia; that we don't pigeon-hole only one "type" of person who may suffer from this problem. Keeping our views narrow-minded could cost a life, if a person is dismissed as having these symptoms, but not fitting into the well-known mold.

The thing about anorexia is that it is more about "gaining control" of an aspect of one's life much more than it is about food. Because of the immaturity of a teenager's mind and the lack of control they have on their own lives on a daily basis, it would make sense that they would turn to controlling what they ate as a way of gaining some kind of control. Unfortunately, it is often the case that once a person has dabbled with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia, the path set in motion could very well turn into a disaster. The frailty of an immature mind could be easily convinced that what they see in the mirror is not their reality and that by starving themselves; they are in control of their day to day lives.

The disease of anorexia nervosa is cunning, baffling and powerful and once it has a hold of a mind, it is hard to let go of. There is recovery, and statistics show that once an anorexic, even for an adult anorexia sufferer... once a course of action has been taken and a road to recovery has been laid down, full recovery is now a choice not a fantasy.

When anorexia is prevalent in adults, it is almost always something that has been lying dormant in one's life. Any kind of trauma or unexpected life change could kick into gear those old feelings of needing to gain control.

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

Looking Out and Doing Something For Symptoms of Bulimia

2009-04-04T02:19:00.000-07:00

When it comes to eating disorders, one may well be aware of bulimia. Statistics have been shown pertaining to bulimia, but they might not really present an accurate picture. There might be actually more cases than presented, and this could be due to certain factors. One is that some bulimics may not be seeking treatment because they don't think they have a problem, or it may be because they are too ashamed to seek treatment. Them having an eating disorder and for others to know, this may not be a good idea for some. But nevertheless, bulimia is among the most common of eating disorders. And an eating disorder is something which is not to be brushed aside. After all, it has to do with a basic human mechanism- eating.

Through it, the body is nourished. The body's nourishment can be something good or bad. And this depends on one's eating choices and habits. When one has an eating disorder, it actually has so much more to do than bad eating habits. There could be something deep-rooted to it, like psychological and emotional issues. Such is why it may be difficult overcoming such a disorder, and professional help ought to be necessitated. What then of bulimia, and what are the symptoms of bulimia? The salient symptoms of bulimia are quite classic - bingeing and purging. It could be that one overeats and then induces themselves to vomit. This vomiting is intentionally triggered, and it might be through laxatives or enemas, diuretics and other similar purging methods.

So when somebody in one's midst constantly purges themselves after meals, then that is one of the sure symptoms of bulimia. One has to be keen about that in themselves, or those they live or interact with. That way, measures would be done, such as seeking help and treatment would be employed. Symptoms of bulimia often manifest when the sufferer is under stress. Stress can develop from any front, or it can be that it is an accumulation of events. Stress for bulimics can be in the form of family, work or school issues, developments on the social front and most of all a distorted body image. The classic bulimic symptom of bingeing in turn gives way to other emotional issues. In most cases, bulimics feel guilty of what they do, and after that binge and purge session, they would fall into a state of depression. Depression in itself does not of course necessarily point to being bulimic.

But if it goes with other symptoms of bulimia, then it's a cause for alarm. When depression and being moody follows vomiting after meals, then it's a red light signal that something is wrong. There's actually more to these symptoms of bulimia, and that is drastic weight changes. The binge eating often leads to weight gain, and the purging to being underweight. So when one goes from one end to the other in a short time, that is not normal or healthy at all. One must then be keen when these symptoms develop- bingeing and purging, depression and being moody and drastic weight change. They could all be pointing to an eating disorder. The problem then has to be recognized and acknowledged and treatment measures can be resorted to.

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

How to Overcome a Food Addiction Without OA

2009-03-27T23:17:00.003-07:00

There are basically four types of eating disorders, but not all are classified as food addictions. Anorexia and bulimia are defined as disorders, whereas compulsive overeating and binge eating are typically classified as food addictions. But, what exactly is the basis for food addiction? Is there a substance in a particular food that chemically addicts people to it, causing them to eat uncontrollably? Well, many proponents of the addiction brain disease model would have you believe exactly that! Hypothetically speaking, the impaired function of dopamine a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with pleasure and reward is thought to be directly related to food addiction. And, this so-called impaired function could make some people more vulnerable to compulsive overeating. Furthermore, they suggest that some foods cause more brain reward than others. Consequently, they are more addictive! In other words, high fat, high sugar foods such as doughnuts are more addictive than soup! In reality, there are many innocuous substances and activities that have an effect on the brain such as sugars, amino acids, and even exercise. However, that doesn't mean they are the root cause of food addiction! Although there is no official definition of food addiction, Many would describe it in much the same way as other substance dependence: "Eating too much despite consequences, even dire consequences to health; being preoccupied with food, food preparation and meals; trying and failing to cut back on food intake; feeling guilty about binging and overeating."

Now, if you haven't already guessed at this point, I vehemently disagree with the above-mentioned nonsensical hypothesis!!!! In my opinion, there is no such thing as a food addiction! This conjecture is nothing more than an opportunity for the pharmacological community to manufacture a new magic bullet for something that doesn't exist, and is absolute absurdity at its finest! As with every addiction and compulsion, food addiction is a diversion from emotional distress. So in that sense, there really is something to be said for the phrase "comfort food!" As an addiction recovery coach who has traveled across the U.S. helping hundreds of people overcome addiction, I have uncovered the root cause of eating disorders and food addictions. You see, there's a common denominator at the root of these afflictions, and it's called low self-esteem! Time and time again, these self -esteem issues are founded in the emotional distress caused by none other than family dysfunction. The debilitating effects of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, or control and inadequate parenting literally pulverize ones self-esteem. Therefore, the key to overcoming a food addiction is to liberate oneself from dysfunctional behavior and restore self-esteem.

Both Binge Eaters and Compulsive Overeaters tend to be overweight, although the characteristics of compulsive overeating differ from binge eating. Compulsive Overeaters may overeat in one sitting, but many of them eat all day long. Most Compulsive Overeaters find dieting unsuccessful since their emotional distress precludes them from adhering to a weight loss plan. Their eating patterns are directly connected with their emotions. In essence, eating is used to comfort and divert the Compulsive Eater's attention from their emotional pain. Compulsive Overeaters and Binges Eaters often hide behind their physical appearance, using their weight gain as a shield against society. In their mind, this extra layer of padding protects their fragile self-esteem and also discourages others from socially interacting with them. They feel inadequacy, shame for being overweight, and generally have a very low self-esteem.

One of the more common mainstream approaches for compulsive overeating is Overeaters Anonymous, which has adopted the 12-step philosophy of alcoholics anonymous. The goal of the program is a spiritual transformation, but ironically, the program tends to focus on defects of character, personal short comings, and admissions of powerlessness. This approach leads to self-incrimination, and it actually prevents a spiritual connection. A Compulsive Overeaters level of self-esteem is usually at the bottom so, why teach them self-incrimination and self-pity? I believe that admitting you are powerless does not promote empowerment nor does it restore self-esteem! In my opinion, many of the twelve steps are unnecessary and counterproductive to addiction recovery. In fact, most participants get stuck in their emotional wounds and contract what I like to call wounditis (victimization.) Combine this with the disempowerment of labeling someone as a Food Addict or Compulsive Overeater and you have a recipe for a self-esteem disaster.

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

Orthorexia - Anorexia in Disguise?

2009-03-27T23:17:00.001-07:00

Orthorexia: anorexia in disguise? Living in Boulder, Colorado, one gets used to the myriad of food restrictions people impose on themselves in the name of good health. Those with allergies (assumed or diagnosed), food sensitivities or other health, environmental or political concerns around consumption flourish in this small bubble on earth that many describe as 25 square miles surrounded by reality. However, some have stated that there is a deadly trend emerging called orthorexia where people take the concept of healthy eating much too far. Is this trend really a new illness or is it merely anorexia in disguise?

Orthorexia is a term coined by a Colorado MD, Steven Bratman. He describes those with orthorexia as overly concerned or obsessed with "correct" or "righteous" eating. This can include a fixation on eliminating fats, processed sugar, and additives from the diet. The supposed goal of an orthorexic is to feel pure, not to lose weight. Though Bratman states that anorexia and orthorexia are two very different illnesses, there comes a point where one must ask if this new term is just a mask for an underlying case of anorexia.

There are many people in the world who eat what most would consider a pure diet. For example, there are people who eat only organic, raw, whole foods. Simply put, one can eat as pure a diet as one wants without suffering extreme, life threatening weight loss. Both anorexics and orthorexics become afraid to eat certain foods. The fact that orthorexics become phobic of what many in the health food industry deem "bad" or "unhealthy" doesn't take away from the fact that it becomes an irrational thinking pattern that ultimately harms the individual. Nearly anyone in a state of starvation would opt to eat something, even if it were in not their top choice of foods. In fact, in severe states of starvation, many would resort to even eating unappetizing foods in order to stay alive. For example, my mother ate raw eggs during the war to stay alive. Those with orthorexia become so rigid in their food intake, that many have often starved themselves rather than bend their own self imposed rules around food. This screams of classic anorexic behavior. However, not to discount the very subtle differences in the two illnesses, it should be recognized that orthorexics really do see themselves as doing something healthy, despite the harmful consequences.

In some cases, an anorexic will go to great lengths to lose weight and practice what everyone widely accepts as truly unhealthy behavior including, over exercising, taking drugs and severely restricting food intake. Those with orthorexia, on the other hand, may find drugs too impure to consume. Their true goal is not specifically weight loss. It is, rather, to become pure. In many cases, this pureness in eating becomes what the orthorexic sees as a path to spiritual enlightenment. This being said, the fact that orthorexics sacrifice their own health leads one to believe that it is more of an offshoot of anorexia rather than an actual completely new illness. Orthorexia can be seen as similar to any other eating disorder in that it interferes with a person's lifestyle and overall health, affecting normal functioning and general wellbeing. In severe cases, the extreme dietary restrictions of orthorexia can even lead to death as documented on the website, Beyond Vegetarianism. On the website, an in depth description of Kate Finn's life and tragic death due to orthorexia is presented.

Though some claim there is a very real distinction between anorexia and orthorexia, there is no question that the two are both deadly eating disorders. Whether or not there is enough of a distinction between orthorexia and anorexia to classify orthorexia as a new illness, is debatable. The bottom line is that orthorexia, just like anorexia, can lead to extreme emaciation, health problems and even death. The focus should be more on recovery from the illness not on the label itself. It is no secret that anorexics can be manipulative, controlling and irrational. The concern with adding a new term to what most consider an offshoot of anorexia, is that anorexics will use it in order to stay in a state of denial or in order to try to avoid getting the help they need. Anytime a person becomes irrationally afraid to eat, it should be recognized that this is a symptom of anorexia. There are beautiful examples of people all over the world who truly dedicate themselves to eating the healthiest diet imaginable who are not in a state of starvation. To imply that a focus on eating healthy is an illness is backward thinking. It should be recognized that any extreme restriction in food intake to the point of harming health and wellbeing is and should be classified as anorexia.

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

Tips For Binge Eating Solution

2009-03-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

You can stop being consistently inconsistent with doing what it takes to live healthily with no self employed health risks.

One thing people with eating disorder must know is that there are very many people All over the world, millions of people are going through the same issues as they are. Whether you call it binge eating, compulsive overeating, or a scientific term such as "eating disorder" it all boils down to the same thing: an emotional dependency on food.

The truth is that it's entirely possible to get control over your eating habits. Many have done it through the secret of many products, and so can you. All you needs is the willingness to change your mindset and knowing which steps you need to take to turn this wish into a reality.

Why do they make it seem that people who are fat with eating disorder are not happy? Happiness is for us all. The only reason why any of us should want to lose weight is if there are health related risk/hazards or one want to get smarter and dump continuous fatigue.

If your pursuit of a petite body is in imitation of others without a personal will, pause! Remember "imitation is limitation" It is only when you truly want to get over with it by a satisfied personal decision will you succeed to cut that weight down. And if you have come to that point, then can we say that speedy help has come.

One point must be noted here. You must decide to be happy with your self right now. Happiness has a lot to do. You don't have to be slim to become happy. When you are happy with your self the way you are, you will find strength to accomplish the easy steps programs teaches successfully and speedily without having to spend more time on it than necessary to achieve the desirable result.

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

Overcoming Emotional Eating Due to Procrastination

2009-03-03T22:17:00.003-08:00

To overcome emotional eating, one of the most important things you must be willing to do is face emotion that drives it instead of immediately retreating into food. Procrastination is a common reason for eating when you aren't hungry. You might have had the experience of facing a daunting project and you knew you should be working on that, but suddenly the kitchen is calling you.

If you find yourself eating when you should be working a lot, then not only can it impact your health and weight, but possibly even your career and income!
Here are some tips to deal with procrastination so that you are less likely to eat emotionally for those reasons:

* Create a goals list - what do you want to do with your life?
* Plan your day the night before, deciding what you would like to accomplish that day
* Prioritize the items on the list that will either bring great rewards if completed or bring painful consequences if you don't complete them. Stay with those items on the list until they are done
* If you are trying to decide between two high priority items to do, start with the easiest one first so you can get it out of the way
* Try to discover the reasons behind your procrastination. Usually these reasons are either a fear of failure or fear of success

Keep in mind the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." They only cure for fear is action.

It also helps to imagine yourself at 80 years old: With the current choices that you are making in your life now, will you be happy with the results that they've brought you then? If not, now is the time to take a new approach.

The more satisfied you feel with your life and take action on your worthy goals, the less you will engage in emotional eating patterns. Only then will you be able to restore a healthy, balanced relationship with food.

Kimberly Floyd is an author, certified wellness coach, and the CEO of Take Back Your Temple, which offers books, multimedia, seminars and wellness coaching to help others reach their perfect weight using Christian weight loss principles. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kim lost 85 pounds and went from a size 22 to an 8 so she knows about weight issues from the inside out. Her story has been featured in Prevention Magazine, Essence Magazine, and on CBN's The 700 Club. She is the author of the eBook 'Take Back Your Temple: How to Achieve Healthy Weight Loss God's Way' and 'MoneyWise Weight Loss: The Faith-based Plan for Building a Better Body on a Budget'.

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

Childhood Eating Problems

2009-03-03T22:17:00.001-08:00

When it comes to childhood eating problems many times the parents are the last ones to know that their child is battling an eating disorder. Although you would assume that they are in a perfect position to be involved often times because of their childs privacy issues the childhood eating problems become unnoticeable. As parents we want to nurture and protect so once the eating disorder is recognized we have no choice but to be actively involved. But How?

The first thing that must be done is to be supportive and be sure that your child knows how much you love them. Both parent and child want to live happy, healthy, normal lives and in many cases that may involve therapy. So it is important that the parents involvement is in sync with health professionals plan for recovery. It is the parents involvement that will help the recovery process for the simple fact that they see the day to day routines.

Be The Observer

There is only so much that can be accomplished in the therapist office, testing will give results only after the disease is into a medically necessary stage, so it is up to the parents to note the childhood eating problems. Eating disorders are diseases that quite naturally are going to appear around meal times. Pay special attention to how they do or do not eat. Do they come up with lame excuses not to eat such as they ate at a friends house? Do they push their food around the plate making it appear as if they ate some of their meal? Are they eating their meal or just nibbling here and there? Are they the last to arrive to the table at meal times and the first to leave? Do they get antsy or show signs of depression at meal times? This parental involvement is critical to your childs recovery because no one else is around to be the observer.

Some parents have difficulties being the observer with childhood eating problems because they feel as though they are being too controlling and are afraid of causing a negative reaction. They feel as though they are intruding in their childs privacy and start believing that the eating disorder is their fault. Parents need to know that the eating disorder and lack of proper nourishment effects their childs rational thinking.

Nurture Your Child To Better Health

If there ever was a time for parents to be nurturing now is the time. They must understand that the childhood eating problems are affecting their childs ability to function under normal conditions. Until they become more self sufficient they need their parents whether they want to admit it or not. Don't feel as though you are controlling them because you are not. You are showing them unconditional love that will be appreciated once they become more responsible with their eating habits.

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

Eating Disorders and Neuroplasticity

2009-03-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

Eating Disorders have long been associated with emotions and obsessive thinking. Counseling, behavior modification and nutritional education has been the traditional method of treating these sometimes fatal disorders. Research preformed by Husseini Manji, M.D. director of the mood and anxietydisorders research program at the National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH), suggests that Neuroplasticity could cure eating disorders and other mental health disorders by using a method called "Directed Neuroplasticity" The process contradicts the assumption that emotions and thoughts associated with those emotions are fixed and behavior is destined to repeat itself.

Neuroplasticity will allow the brain to change itself affecting the way it; thinks, its perceptions, the way it responds to situations and behavior. The brain uses electromagnetic impulses to communicate between neurons. Clinicians will be able to make specific changes using stimulation that redirects communication patterns from obsessive thoughts to a more positive thought process. The brain of an eating disorder patient will change its focus from food and body image to non-destructive images. The neuronal connectors will eventually dissipate and be replaced by the new connectors. The negative messages that lead to poor body image and suggest the destructive behavior they have suffered with for years will cease.

This method of Eating Disorder Treatment lets the patient see the difference between the "voices" and positive focus. When they are able understand that their disorder is caused by a malfunctioning message system and is not permanent the change is startling. Those suffering with an eating disorder are offered real relief in a cure that allows them to change the way they think and change their life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_B._Clark

Finding Out What Causes Your Tinnitus - Ear Plugs Will Only Make Sure it Does Not Get Worse

2009-02-19T04:49:00.001-08:00

If you are suffering from any kind of ringing or buzzing in your ears, you may have tinnitus. Many times tinnitus will effect people and they will not even know it. Other times it will be annoying enough that it will drive a person crazy. Here are a few ways you can help tinnitus.

First thing you need to figure out is what is causing the ringing in your ears. Many times musicians will come down with this problem due to the many years of playing loud music.

Other times it could be a construction worker that has to bee around loud machinery all day. Another way that you can get tinnitus is by listening to your MP3 player with the headphones turned all the way up.

These are just a few of the ways you can get tinnitus. Tinnitus is caused by damage to the inner ear. It is still a relatively curious condition that even doctors are not able to pin point how to treat. The time it takes for them to run various tests on you plus the back and forth trips will drive you crazy.

Not to mention the side effects that medications can have. The first thing you need to do is remove yourself from what ever loud noises you are around. If you are not able to do this than the least thing you need to do is buy some ear plugs.

Now keep in mind this is not going to cure ringing ears. It is just going to make sure the condition does not get any worse.

There are some great home remedies that will actually cure the tinnitus condition. Remember that these remedies were around long before doctors attempted to try and figure out how to cure ringing ears.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_L._Patterson

Tinnitus - The 3 Top Reasons For the Ringing in Your Ears

2009-02-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

The problems of Tinnitus can vary from one suffer to another, but the one common denominator is that everyone wants it to stop and stop now!

Since the most common symptom of Tinnitus is often brought on due to excessive long term exposure to loud noises, which causes damage to the inner ear, thus resulting in that 'ringing sensation', you should also be aware of a few other effects that can also trigger that sound you hear between your ears.

Earwax Build Up:

As nasty as it may sound, this is just another one of those often-overlooked causes by those who have Tinnitus. The reason why is because the excessive build up of ear wax actually has a negative impact on your hearing, in which it stops the vibration of your ear drum from sending positive signals or even sounds to the brain. These 'false positive' signals in turn become the often heard 'ringing', 'whizzing', or 'whistling' noises those who suffer from Tinnitus often describe the sound as.

Medications:

Everyday medicine, either prescribed by a doctor or those purchased over-the-counter (OTC) have led to the oncoming of Tinnitus in some patients. Since every patient has a specific tolerance to Aspirin or aspirin-containing compounds, it's wise to check with your doctor to determine which medications you should avoid in reducing or offsetting your current Tinnitus. The reasoning is that even 300mg (milligrams) of aspirin could produce Tinnitus in one person, but this identical amount wouldn't even bother someone else.

Health:

Simple every day things that we often take for granted, such as our stress level, diet, and household appliances (vacuums, hair-dryers and lawn mowers) can actually worsen your tinnitus condition. While most who suffer from this condition find it annoying, they learn to adapt without difficulty. It is likely that if you have had tinnitus, you will have it again in the future.

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

Eating Disorders and Sexual Abuse

2009-02-06T22:19:00.002-08:00

A high percent of patient's who seek help for an eating disorder problem, have been sexually abused. The connection between sexual abuse and an eating disorder can be caused by guilt and shame which lead to a desire to forget, hurt themselves, protect themselves and or a desire to change their perception of themselves.

Sexual abuse affects eating habits and a persons self perception. A person sees themselves as a victim and has difficulty separating feelings of food satiation and sexuality. The results can be anorexia, bulimia or compulsive over-eating or even drug abuse.

A person who has been sexually abused may try to change their appearance to make themselves less appealing making themselves less of a sexual target. They overeat or starve themselves to become too skinny or too fat. They become obsessive compulsive about food.

Eating Disorder is connected feelings of shame and guilt, as a result of an experience that may have occurred in someone's childhood. The propensity of the patient to hold on to the secret about both their eating disorder and the sexual abuse stems from the perception that they were at fault for the abuse. Professional Therapists at an Eating Disorder Treatment can help the patient sort out the reality that is necessary for a person to recovery from the trauma.

The events that cause the compulsive eating disorder are often hidden so deep within a persons psyche that an eating disorder professional must intervene to help the patient recall the events. Recalling these events will allow the patient to rid themselves of the guilt, shame, and rage and begin working on the symptoms of the original trauma.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_B._Clark

Foods to Lower Bad Cholesterol

2009-02-06T22:19:00.001-08:00

Maintaining a healthy, well balanced diet is the most important factor when trying to lower your cholesterol. The normal cholesterol levels for an adult is suggested to be between 140 and 200. If your cholesterol is over 200 there are several food that can work wonders in helping you to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol. Eating foods that are naturally high in fiber are a great place to start when trying to control cholesterol levels. Oatmeal and oat bran are examples of fiber rich foods to help lower bad cholesterol. These fiber rich foods contain soluble fiber which has been proven to reduce the absorption of cholesterol that takes place in your intestines. A few other soluble fiber rich foods include fresh broccoli, cooked barely, 1/2 cup of apricots or figs, flax, collard greens, lentils, beans, and prunes. Most doctors will describe the foods high in this certain fiber as legumes, fruits and root vegetables.

Almonds and walnuts are also proven foods to lower bad cholesterol. Recent studies have proven that both of these nuts significantly reduce blood cholesterol. Walnuts and almonds are both rich in polyunsaturated fat. Walnuts are also beneficial because they help keep your blood vessels elastic and healthy. The consumption of walnuts and almonds in your diet to fight bad cholesterol can usually be noticed about four weeks after you begin consuming them. It is suggested that you consume 2 ounces a day of these nuts for the most beneficial results.

Olive oil contains antioxidants that make it a perfect food to lower bad cholesterol. To achieve the maximum benefits, the Federal Drug Administration suggest consuming two tablespoons of olive oil a day. This food is one of the easiest to add to your diet because olive oil can be consumed in many different ways. Olive oil is common in salads, and marinades and you can also saute vegetables in it. Many people also use olive oil as a much healthier substitution for butter while cooking many different things.

Plant sterols or stanols are substances that are only found in plants and greatly help to block the absorption of cholesterol. There are many food rich in plant sterol. There are now many types of yogurt drinks available that have specially added sterols that prove to be excellent foods to lower bad cholesterol. You can also find margarine and orange juice with this added ingredient in it. The suggested serving daily for these bad cholesterol reducers is at least 2 grams a day which is equal to about 16 ounces of sterol fortified orange juice.

There are many cholesterol-lowering benefits found in fatty fish because it contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Any doctor will recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week to help lower bad cholesterol. Albacore tuna, salmon, herring, and sardines are included in these foods to lower bad cholesterol. You can also obtain omega-3 from foods including canola oil and ground flaxseed. Also available at your local health store are fish oil supplements that you can add to your diet.

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

How to End Binge Eating - The Power of the Pause

2009-02-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

Binge eating usually comes like a tidal wave. Suddenly, an enormous hunger attacks you and you feel helpless to fight it. It doesn't matter what causes a binge eating attack, it is always hard to face.

However, if you want to end binge eating know that there are things you can do. In fact, there's a very simple step which I've used myself and it has helped me a great deal. I call it the Power of the Pause, and it goes something like this.

Whenever you want to stop binge eating, you need to break the process that got you there. Usually, you get a crave, rush to the fridge or the fast food joint, eat without even thinking about it, and then feel guilty and ashamed.

The truth is that once you have the food in your hand, there is no way you'll be able to stop this binge eating attack from happening. You have to stop the crave from making you overeat. For that, you need the Power of the Pause.

The Power of the Pause is a technique by which you distance the craving from the action you take to get the food. Since it is often hard to differentiate an emotional craving from true physical hunger, this is something you need to do before every time you eat. Whenever, you feel hunger, you need to stop and take some form of action that will take your mind off your hunger. Some people simply count to ten and breathe deeply. Others do some sit ups or go for a walk. You need to see what works for you and tweak it.

For instance, if counting to 10 doesn't work, then go for 20 or 30. If you need to get away from the fridge then take a walk. You make the pause into your own. But whatever you do, you must program your body and mind to realize that you're in control, that no craving is sending you to binge no more. If you do that, you will regain control of what you eat and stop binge eating.

Of course, you will still have work to do in figuring out why you binge in the first place, but with the Power of the Pause, you've taken a major step to a better life.

To get a Free course on how to deal with Compulsive Eating, visit this webpage:
Overcome Binge Eating Disorder.

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

Do I Have an Eating Disorder?

2009-01-31T00:00:00.003-08:00

No one knows why some people cross the line and others don't. But when it comes to weight loss, there are some who will take things so far that they develop an eating disorder. Many times it becomes obvious to the people close to them before the one who has the disorder, but when weight transforms from a goal to an obsession, there is definitely cause for alarm. As every person is different, there is no way that one person will exhibit the same behavior. Check out the following descriptions of the most common eating disorders and their symptoms.

Anorexia is the most popular eating disorder. This involves extreme dieting through a combination of techniques including starvation, laxatives and extreme exercise. People with anorexia are usually 15% below normal body weight and are obsessed with calories. They have an intense fear of being fat, and often think they are overweight, even when they are not. Hospitalization is often required due to the lack of nourishment. They may have brittle skin, high anxiety, and refuse to eat in public. They usually experience very quick weight loss due to the extreme abuse they put their body through. If you constantly skip meals but still force yourself to do a rigorous exercise routine daily, you may have an inclination towards anorexia. Talk to your doctor about developing a healthy body image, realistic routine and reasonable goals.

Bulimia is characterized by a binge and purge cycle. Unlike anorexia, which usually involves total starvation, bulimics can consume up to 20,000 calories is one sitting and then purge the calories through vomiting, laxatives, enemas, diuretics, or other means. Bulimia can be harder to treat because bingeing and purging are hidden. People with bulimia are many times a normal weight or even slightly overweight. Symptoms of bulimia often include going to the bathroom frequently during meals, mood swings, preoccupation with weight, dental problems (enamel wear) from vomiting, and bloodshot eyes. If you find yourself bingeing in secret on high-calorie foods and then trying to immediately get it out of your body, you may be bulimic. Talk to your doctor about a realistic plan that allows you to have some comfort foods without abusing your body.

While these may seem like shortcuts to weight loss, these illnesses can both be fatal. A sensible diet, moderate exercise, and the use (not abuse) of supplements such as liquid hoodia is a safer approach. While appetite control is necessary, this does not mean total starvation. Eating less than 1200 calories a day can result in muscle loss, which will make it even harder for you to get healthy.

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

Binge Eating Now Seen As an Eating Disorder

2009-01-31T00:00:00.001-08:00

Because binge eating was not listed by the American Psychiatric Association as an actual eating disorder, people would actually refer to overeating as if it didn't belong with compulsive eating. When you describe binge eating it is basically the person who is out of control with regards to their food. They consume large amounts of food for a short period of time, followed by feelings of shame and embarrassment. The person with a compulsive overeating disorder is described as a person who has lost the ability to manage their food intake and eats in a fashion that is out of control with high caloric intake. This person is also shame based and guilty. Anyone should be able to see how the binge eating and compulsive eating are identical.

When we speak about bulimia, it is described as an eating disorder with two distinct dynamics; a binge component and a purging component. The binge component of bulimia is exactly the same as the binge eating disorder or compulsive eating disorder, so how can you not term binge eating as a true eating disorder. All have one thing in common - all eating disorders can be fatal if left untreated.

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

Tips to Overcome Binge Eating

2009-01-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

What is Binge Eating?

Binge eating is described as eating an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period, and feeling a lack of control over eating. Binge eating is sometimes followed by an effort to rid the body of the excess food, by methods such as purging/vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise, or other methods such as what is now termed "diabulimia" which is letting one's blood sugar run high in order to not utilize the energy. When people binge eat, they are usually eating in response to emotions rather than response to hunger. When a difficult situation arises, binge eaters cope with food rather than other coping methods.

Tips to Overcome Binge Eating
# Ditch the diets!

Diets cause you to control your food externally, by restricting calories or types of foods. When you are deprived of a certain food or category of foods, you will usually end up focusing and obsessing more about that particular food. You begin to crave the foods that you are not allowed. This ends up as a food that is usually binged on because you spend all day trying not to eat the food, then obsess more and more until you finally can't control yourself.
# Neutralize all foods.

An alternative to diets is to neutralize all foods, seeing all foods as neither "good" or "bad". Balance and moderation is the key to healthy eating. If you ate only broccoli because that is a "good" food, you would not get all the nutrients your body needs. Rather than telling yourself you can never eat sweets, aim for 80-90% of your diet to be healthier foods with 10-20% sweets.
# Listen to your body's hunger and fullness signals.

Your body can regulate itself to maintain your weight. Because of our perception of appropriate portion sizes, which have dramatically increased over the years, what we perceive as appropriate is usually a serving for 2-3 people. We are also conditioned to "finish your plate" where people feel guilty if they leave food and therefore eat until they are stuffed, consuming much more calories than needed.

Hunger and fullness can be described on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being totally empty and 10 being stuffed and miserable. 5 would be neutral, neither hungry nor full. Rather than waiting until you are a 1 or 2 to begin eating, eat when you are at a 3, stopping when you are full at a 7, rather than a 9 or 10. These numbers are subjective and take practice to learn. For some great handouts on hunger and fullness, see www.move.va.gov
# Listen to your emotions and learn new coping methods.

Keeping a food journal where you record when you eat, what amounts, your hunger level when starting to eat, your fullness level when finished eating, and the circumstances surrounding when you ate, as well as your thoughts and feelings, can give you some great insight into why you are eating. Learn to stop when you feel like eating and ask yourself "Am I hungry?" If so, then eat, being mindful of how fast you are eating and stopping when you are full. If you are not hungry, learn to ask yourself the "I feel, I need" question. For example, "I feel lonely, I need to call someone." Develop some coping responses you can choose rather than food, such as journaling, talking to a friend or counselor, relaxation techniques, taking a bath, going for a walk, or whatever will help you meet your need.
# Improve your body image.

Body image is highly influenced by the media. We learn distorted ideas about what the ideal body looks like. Family attitudes also affect our body image, with parental modeling of what we should look like, as well as attitudes about food. Teasing can cause us to see ourselves differently. Improving your body image can take time, but you can begin by noticing what the media encourages such as the themes and messages they portray. Learn to counter and challenge those thoughts about what messages are unrealistic and unattainable.

These are some guidelines to help you begin to decrease your binge eating. Binge eating is a complex behavior that may be difficult to overcome by yourself. Therapy can help you begin to see why you are turning to food and help you take small action steps to begin to substitute other behaviors rather than eating. A therapist can help you learn to see yourself differently and have a healthier body image. When other areas in life aren't working, eating problems are one way the problems show up when you don't address them. Get help addressing your problems, so you can overcome your binge eating.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sylvia_T._White

Let's Speak Out About Pro Anorexic Websites

2009-01-22T23:18:00.002-08:00

Anorexia is one of the most severe forms of self-denial and self-hatred, and it can be a downward spiral that often leads to death. Websites that encourage this condition are criminal, and should be outlawed, just like child pornography. It's insane that we allow our youngsters to encourage and pursue a behaviour that is tantamount to self-mutilation. Even though obesity has become endemic, this is not a reason to glorify extreme thinness. To inflict damage to the self is not illegal as such. But to witness someone doing it while promoting others to do the same, without intervening, is definitely unethical. We cannot look at these websites without asking ourselves, how do they get away with it?

Self-mutilation is sometimes practiced by teenagers and young adults who have misplaced anger and pain that they attempt to work out in destructive ways. Instead of dealing with emotional pain, some people would rather bring themselves physical pain, which actually serves as a relief from stress. Unfortunately, this sense of relief is short-lived, and the desire to be self-destructive quickly returns. With anorexia, this is quite evident, as the compulsion to lose weight soon gets out of control. The anorexic implements increasingly drastic measures to maintain a squeletal frame, such as only eating a ridiculous amount of calories, and ingesting large quantities of laxatives. The anorexic is perpetually hungry and obsessed with food, but won't give in to the desire to eat. It's the ultimate method of sel-punishment, and gives the sufferer a distorted sense of control, even though she (or he) is totally in the grips of the disease. At the root of this disorder, there is rage and powerlessness, and a feeling of deep sadness and loneliness.

This is the letter of protest that my daughter wrote, and I am reproducing it with her permission:

Dear Sir/Madame,
I am writing to you for I am concerned about the lack of action taken against pro anorexic websites. Pro anorexia websites are websites that promote eating disorders. There are two genres of theses websites: "thinspiration" and "tips and tricks". Thinspiration websites include photos of super skinny models, and tips and tricks websites include instructions of how to be anorexic. Both types of websites destroy teenagers and young women's self esteem by making them feel bad about their body image. These websites support dangerous acts of anorexia and bulimia as a normal lifestyle rather then a deadly disease.

These websites encourage teenagers and young women to pursue an eating disorder by making it look glamorous. They relate food with disgusting things and try and create an image that without being anorexic you are overweight. They suggest that starving models are beautiful. Harmful images and texts brainwash people that log into these websites. Although some might have a warning they are depressing and harming to users.

There are many ways to access theses horrible sites. Certain networking communities such as MySpace and Facebook feature blogs supporting anorexia and bulimia. Pages that pop up after a search using a search engine can be relevant. Some of the pages state requests such as "No people trying to recover - it ruins our motivation" and "No people who are against pro anorexia - we can do what we want". The people who access pages like these are living in denial because they are listening to whatever the dangerous websites are telling them.

In November 2006, Model Ana Carolina Reston died in Brazil at the age of twenty-one, weighing in at less than forty kilograms at a tall height of one point seven meters. In August that same year Uruguay model Luisel Ramos died of heart failure. These events influenced the French who decided to impose a €30,000 ($52,029) fine and a two year prison sentence to any offender who "provokes a person to seek excessive thinness by encouraging prolonged restriction of nourishment". If the outcome of promoting this results in death the fine can rise to €45,000 ($78,043). The French are taking action so why aren't we?

Please take what I am saying into consideration. It is important that we keep the lives of our teenage girls and young women safe. Please rise awareness against these web sites, as anorexia is not a normal lifestyle but a disease that people die from. Therefore it is not right that the female citizens of Australia are being told otherwise. Stop pro anorexia websites in Australia.

Stop pro anorexia websites throughout the world.

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

Parenting - Tips For Teen-Eating-Disorders

2009-01-22T23:18:00.001-08:00

Eight Parenting-Tips for Teen-Eating-Disorders

First of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating-disorders can be very scary for parents. It is imperative that you make sure your teen is medically and psychiatrically stable. If you know, your child is not in danger; hopefully your anxiety will be relieved enough so that you can help in a way that is best for your adolescent.

Second of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating-disorders cause parents to suffer with their own feeling of anxiety, frustration, anger, and sadness. Usually parents nag kids about eating because of their own discomfort. Parents who focus on teen eating contribute the teens to acting out more with food.

Third of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating-disorders can cause the other children in the family to feel neglected. If the teen with the eating disorder gets most of the attention, it sends negative messages to all the kids in the family. Kids may learn being sick gets attention.

Fourth of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating-disorders allow adolescents to feel in control and are a way they are sending a message that they want to make their own choices. As long as your child is medically stable, be respectful of his or her choices about food. If you get into a power struggle, you will lose and end up worse for it

Fifth of the Parenting Tips

Teen-eating-disorders often occur to adolescents who are hard on themselves and are perfectionist in nature. It is vital not to compare him or her to siblings or friends because they will often believe they are not good enough. Praise for accomplishments is very beneficial to these teens with self-esteem issues. Stay away from questioning weight, diets, or food intake in general. Avoid putting pressure on your child.

Sixth of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating disorders are complicated problems, which can take a long time resolve. Families have to be patient in the face of their concern. The adolescent may not get better for months and sometimes years of treatment and anxiety and frustration. Be patient, caring, and supportive.

Seventh of the Parenting-Tips

Teen-eating-disorders can trigger old emotions especially if you have had your own issues with weight or eating disorders. It is important to separate your childs emotional concerns from your own. It is crucial that you are clear about your own issues so you can separate them from your childs. It can help you to understand your child as his or her own person.

Eighth of the Parenting-Tips

Teen eating disorders can often have psychiatric diagnoses that go alongside this already difficult problem. Depression, anxiety, and/or substance abuse are possibilities. It is important that you become aware if your teen is in danger. This most commonly can be suicidal thoughts or heavy substance abuse. Professional help is necessary if your teen expresses depressed or suicidal feelings.

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

What's Eating You? - Thinking About Food

2009-01-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

Compulsively eating her way to obesity, Liz carves precise slices with a razor on the inside of her forearm to relieve pressure and gain a sense of control. Martin stopped binge drinking over two years ago but can't bring himself to eat a meal in front of others. And Mary, who is 25kg lighter than last year and counts out the number of almonds she eats each day, tells me that now having lost all curves to denote a feminine body, she feels safer and sexless. These stories, and many more shared with me by clients got me thinking about food. More specifically, how we form our thoughts about food and it's relationship to nourishing our bodies.

The source of our thinking about food goes back to the early philosophers. Famous philosophers in the Western tradition were definitely talking about food, but the way it was dealt with was to basically marginalize its importance. Food and matters of the body were considered mundane.
Plato, one of the founding philosophers of Western thought, complains that neither "truth" nor "thought of any kind ever comes from the body". The body is a distraction, keeping us "busy in a thousand ways" because of its need for food.

In contrast, ancient Asian philosophers attached importance to food and advanced ideas of health based on healthy eating. Confucius described food as one the three basic conditions, along with an army and trust, for founding a state. Nei Jing, the book that lays out the theory of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) established the philosophical belief that medicine and food were identical.

Fast-forward to modern society and food is one of the biggest problems of the current world that is intimately tied up with us. Our naïve everyday understanding of food and its relationship to the body must be replaced with a comprehension of its complexity. Food has become so over laden with meaning, or divorced from meaning altogether that we've lost touch with the simple act of eating. The body has become an alien entity, a thing to be controlled and maintained. To fix it, there is an endless list of the next best "how to" books on food, dieting, making love, making friends, finding happiness, and sleeping. We impose rigid practices on ourselves, pounding our flesh into submission under the guise of fitness or starving the body as a way to feel a sense of control, or to at least to be good at something.

Liz, Martin, and Mary were at a point where they could no longer treat their bodies like countries that needed to be subdued. They knew from painful experience, that you can only push against yourself so much and that no matter how strongly you want to master your body, eventually, you come up against your own limitations. It was time for them to let go and begin a peaceful relationship with food.

Sometimes it takes an obsession for us to realize that we've lost our way. In modern society it's hard to know anymore what true satisfaction looks like or what it might feel like. For Liz, Martin, and Mary it became essential then to recover the inherent joy in the everyday, not by deprivation but by celebration. They had to learn how to listen to their body's innate and mysterious inner wisdom and begin a process of learning how to feed themselves with no leftovers of guilt or shame.

For them, as for all of us, it is a global necessity that we re-establish an ethical relationship with food and put ourselves back in harmony with the natural landscape, plants and animals. A shift can occur when we realize we are not disembodied minds unfortunately connected to a physical body and we begin to take pleasure in simply being alive and reaching out from that aliveness to encounter the world. It means we care for good taste, not necessarily related to aesthetic pleasure and refinement, but to beautifully presented, healthy foods and the pleasure of sharing it with others. When we think about food in modern society, we can envision a new philosophical appreciation for the aesthetics of nature, the protection of natural resources, and a higher quality of life for all people.

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

The Rising Instance of Anorexia During Pregnancy

2009-01-07T22:14:00.001-08:00

The dangers of anorexia are known throughout the population - and yet, we still have record amounts of young girls and women suffering from the disorder. Lately, there have been high instances of women suffering from anorexia while going through pregnancy which caused the condition to be dubbed, "preggorexia".

The demographics are key. Women are becoming pregnant at a time in their life when most are susceptible to develop anorexia. Let's face it - most pregnant women do not feel as beautiful as they should, in theory. There are seven million women in the United States that suffer from eating disorders each year! An increasing number of these women are becoming pregnant, or are first time mothers.

Anorexia is a dangerous condition that stems from the mind and causes the mother to think that she is overweight. To offset the weight gain from pregnancy the expectant mother will refrain from eating, avoiding food altogether or restrict calories and exercise compulsively.

Anorexia can lead to bone loss, organ damage and failure, hair loss, abnormal skin patterns and malnutrition. The dangers of the disease need to be addressed to all at-risk pregnant women.
Women trying to become pregnant while suffering from anorexia may have a difficult time as the low body mass index affects the lining of the uterus, making implantation difficult and anorexia also affects the menstrual cycle. Anorexia attacks the body - and therefore, the expectant mother needs to allow as much nourishment as possible to the fetus.

Anorexia can lead to many dangers within the body and becomes increasingly dangerous when the mother is pregnant - these nine months are crucial in the development of a healthy baby. Succumbing to anorexia during pregnancy can harm the fetus in a number of ways and can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, and low birth weights. Women suffering from anorexia through pregnancy are also at risk for depression, post-partum depression and the development of diabetes.

The sole source of nutrients comes from the mother throughout the course of the pregnancy - nutrients that are introduced after the mother ingests the food. When there is a lack of food being ingested through the mother, the fetus suffers from malnutrition. Although many expectant mothers are aware of this - they feel that they can sufficiently carry a pregnancy with the intake of merely five hundred calories per day.

How do we cope with anorexia through pregnancy? Can we deter the mother from the disease - regardless of pregnancy? Anorexia is a difficult condition to treat, and the complications become higher risk when the mother is with child. Many times, the pregnancy is in danger, and once this is explained to the mother than a plan can be determined to allow the child to be born healthy. A team of the family physician, obstetrician and nutritionist as well as psychological intervention should all be in place to treat the growing trend of preggorexia - with a team and a plan in place the mother can feel in control, and hopefully decrease the risks that come with anorexia in pregnancy!

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

Teenage Dieting Could Lead to Problem Dieting

2009-01-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Dieting among teenagers has increased at alarming rates. They are at a critical developmental stage of their lives and depriving their bodies of the essential nutrients could cause more harm than good. The problem is the type of diets that our teenagers are engaging in. Fad diets are on the rise within the teenage community; these diets are designed as the quick fix and their target audience is the impatient. Fad diets could lead your teenager to a serious eating disorder. In the event that a diet is warranted a more healthy approach needs to be taken.

Female teenagers are more likely to develop an eating disorder than their male counterparts because they are more body image conscious. Whenever they turn on the television or open a magazine they are confronted with the "Barbie Doll" look . They start to feel inadequate because they don't possess that same look, which is an unattainable look in most cases. It is nearly impossible for us to monitor our teenagers eating habits so we need to be watchful of the signs that an eating disorder is developing.

One of the worst things that we can do is confront the issue aggressively. This is only going to cause them to act out and in some cases make the situation worse. During meal time watch how they are or are not eating. Encourage open dialog during mealtime on any subject being careful to stay away from the dieting subject. Try to have your teenager eat more slowly and by all means no phones or television during dinner. We want to have their attention and avoid distractions.

Eating disorders can be overcome and your support is necessary. Proper nutrition ,exercise, and consuming one ounce of water for every pound that they weigh a day will get them back on track. Healthy eating, communication, and love will do wonders. Teenage dieting doesn't have to be problem dieting.

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

Anorexia Side Effects - What Every Parent Should Know

2008-12-24T04:47:00.002-08:00

There is without a doubt, many pressures, especially on young women to be thin. Whether this comes from Hollywood stars and their trendy diets or parents and other family members, the idea that being thin is equivalent to being beautiful and successful is out there. There are even professions that demand thinness such as ballet or gymnastics. All of these influences can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by very little food intake. There is an extreme fear of becoming overweight despite the fact the person is already dangerously thin. For those suffering from anorexia, looking in a mirror is like looking in a fun house mirror, no matter how thin they get, they still feel heavy, as they have a severely distorted bodily image. Anorexia is an extremely dangerous illness and it can have brutal side effects on the body as well as the mind.

There are many side effects on the body that are caused by not eating. The body can literally shut down because it is not getting the nutrients it needs to maintain itself and its vital functions. During the early stages, a girl may stop menstruating regularly; this is also a sign that the body is not functioning properly. A person suffering from anorexia will often feel weak and extremely tired; fainting is very common because the body is not given anything it can use for energy.

The side effects of anorexia on the body can be very dangerous. The body of an anorexic may become so thin that there is no way it can keep itself warm; in this case, the body will grow a thin layer of hair over the face and arms in an attempt to stay warm. Nails may become brittle, hair may start falling out and the skin will become very pale. These are just some of the side effects of anorexia, but the list goes on.

There are also psychological side effects of anorexia. The illness can greatly affect the personality of the person suffering. Someone who was once very outgoing and social may become depressed and introverted. Food and eating become the center of their thoughts and many times, it will be all they can think about. Those dealing with anorexia have very low self-esteem and feel a sense of worthlessness so anorexia often leads to depression and even suicide.

Some of the more serious, long term side effects include liver damage, osteoporosis, difficulty carrying a pregnancy and even death. Anorexia is a very complicated disease and there are many more side effects. Eating disorders are not something that should be taken lightly because they can have serious consequences. Anyone suffering from these side effects of anorexia should have treatment as soon as possible, as it could end up saving their life.

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

Bulimia Side Effects - What You Need to Know

2008-12-24T04:47:00.001-08:00

Bulimia is a seriously dangerous illness that is becoming increasingly popular among young women. With the added pressures of society and even family members telling young girls the way to be successful and beautiful is to be thin, many turn to extreme diets such as bulimia that can have severe effects on their mental and bodily health. Bulimia is characterized by binging and purging and the side effects of this behavior can be devastating.

Many of these side effects are not obvious in the beginning stages of the illness. Many people will just have stomachaches, but this typically does not alarm anyone because of how common they are. However, as time goes on, the side effects of bulimia get worse. After forced vomiting only a few times, the person may see blood and have increasing stomach pains, and this is only the beginning

One of the most common side effects of bulimia is discoloration of teeth or tooth decay. Since the stomach contains acid, constant vomiting can cause many dental problems caused by teeth coming into contact with the acid. Stomach acid can also affect the esophagus, causing it to bleed. Those who vomit excessively may also tear their esophagus and need immediate medical attention. Frequent vomiting can have serious effects on the body. Stomach contents also have the potential to enter the sinus cavities or lungs and cause infection.

There are many physical side effects of bulimia such as organ problems, irregular heartbeat, malnutrition due to continuous vomiting as well as weak bones and overall feeling of weakness. Of course, these side effects of bulimia are awful, but the side effects do not stop there and honestly, the physical side effects are not the worst of them. Those who suffer from bulimia also suffer from severe psychological damage.

Feelings that are out of control often accompany bulimia. People may also feel anxious or depressed, as bulimia can often be caused a chemical imbalance in the brain. Bulimia is not only an illness, but also something that takes control over the sufferer's life. Although it may seem as though they hate food, it is still constantly on their mind. Bulimics also may not be able to eat in front of others or avoid people all together.

Often, bulimia is an eating disorder that is taken lightly. It may be difficult to see some of the side effects of a person suffering from the illness. However, if these symptoms are left alone, they will lead to death. Bulimia is a terrifying disease that has claimed the lives of thousands of teens already so, it is important to notice the symptoms so there is no chance of these side effects occurring.

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

Severe Anorexia - What is the Main Step to Cure It?

2008-12-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

Treatment for severe anorexia should start from hospitalization to restore the person's body weight. The duration of hospitalization can be different and depends on how fast the anorexic gains their weight. In average many experts believe that 10-12 weeks with full nutritional support are required to restore weight in case of anorexia.

Weight gain goals should be set by a doctor according to person's BMI (body mass index). But in average 1-2 pounds a week is a good goal to strive for and it is what normally happens in hospitals.

Calorie consumption can vary but severely malnourished people need to begin with as little as 1500 calories per day (to avoid stomach pain and vomiting) and then progress to higher calorie consumption over time.

People who are unable to eat have to be fed through tube or intravenously. Tube feeding has many disadvantages and some professionals believe that this method discourages people from normal eating in the future. Nevertheless for some patients it can be the only way to gain weight.

Intravenous feeding is when a tube gets inserted into a vein and nutritional substances go into a blood stream. This way of feeding can also create some biochemical imbalances for patients and is only used in extremely severe cases of anorexia.

Severe anorexia patients also can have complications and organ failures due to long starvation and malnourishment. This has to be corrected while the person stays in the hospital. Kidney failure, heart failure, electrolyte imbalances, early osteoporosis are common complaints for severe anorexics.

The second stage of treatment begins after a person reached an acceptable body weight. This stage is the longest and the most difficult one because many anorexics relapse at this stage and go back to their old habits (losing all the weight they have just gained).

This happens because they still continue to see themselves as overweight in a mirror and feel that they need to lose weight instead of maintaining it or gaining more. They still continue to focus on their body image and forgetting about all other things in their life.

At this stage they do it subconsciously and their perception becomes their reality. The main issue that has to be addressed here is changing their perception by affecting their subconscious mind (the part of human mind responsible for feelings, internal believes and perception).

Failing to change the subconscious mind of the sufferer causes the symptoms of anorexia to come back all the time and doesn't matter how long she/he stayed in hospital, they relapse. Our subconscious is formed at a very young age and if any subconscious blockages that do occur they are formed with "child logic" and continue to impact on the sufferer in adulthood.

Anorexics have many subconscious blockages about body image and food. However because they exist at the subconscious level they are neither aware of them nor able to judge whether or not they are logical.

To conclude, the major step to curing severe anorexia lies not just in reaching and maintaining a certain amount of weight. It lies in identifying and eliminating the subconscious blockages from the anorexic mind and changing the person's focus from weight and food to other useful things in life.

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The Lady’s Guide To Reduce Thigh Fat

2008-12-08T03:07:00.001-08:00

It is no secret that most women want to have lean and well-formed thighs. Unfortunately not every woman has such wonderful thighs by nature. I have compiled a guide with the most important points every woman should keep in mind when she is interested in losing thigh fat. This article will cover the role of the body’s overall fat percentage in order to reduce thigh fat as well as proven strategies to increase your metabolic rate. If you comply with the points discussed in this article you will be able to reduce thigh fat fast and naturally.

At first you need to understand that you have to lower your body’s overall fat percentage in order to reduce any thigh fat at all. It is impossible to lose fat only on a particular part of the body. Once you have understood this fact you are mentally prepared to embark on the process of losing fat. As a result of this you will also be able to reduce thigh fat. A key factor in this process is your metabolic rate.

An increased metabolic rate automatically helps you burning fat. An increased metabolic rate will allow your fat metabolism to increase as well. As a result you are able to lose fat and lower your body’s overall fat percentage at the same time. You can achieve this effect by performing exercises.

Performing exercises is a great way to boost your metabolic rate. Now that you know about your being the key factor in order to reduce thigh fat, you should simulate your metabolic rate as often as possible. It is recommended to practice at least 3 times a week. 5 workouts per week or even workouts on a daily basis would be optimal. Working out 3 times a week, however, is also OK. There is no need to perform for an hour or even longer at a stretch. Workouts of a duration of 30 to 40 minutes will sufficiently stimulate your metabolic rate. Let us discuss now how you could optimize your eating habits in order to reduce thigh fat.

If you consider the following two important factors you will be able to get rid of thigh fat without having to starve. Firstly, you should eat 5 smaller portions instead of the usual 3; because every time you ingest food to your body, your metabolic rate is slightly boosted. In addition, you should drink a lot of water - at least 3 liters per day. Secondly, you should reduce the intake of high calorie food to a minimum. This type of food contains a lot of simple sugar and trans fatty acids.

Now that you have gained greater knowledge about how to reduce thigh fat in the right way, you will probably see things probably from a different perspective. You should particularly be aware of the necessity to lower your body’s overall fat percentage, the significant meaning of your metabolic rate and your eating habits. There is, of course, a lot more specific information about this topic, especially referring to nutrition and diet. With the knowledge you gained from this article, however, you should be able to burn thigh fat.

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Quick Exercises For Metabolism Boost

2008-12-08T03:06:00.000-08:00

Fast weight loss comes in no way better than with a fast metabolism. Much of the food you eat and the calories it contains stay in your body when metabolism is slow. You are however able to live a healthier life when your systems works just a bit faster.

Don't listen to those kinds of people that insist it's difficult to stick to a regime to boost metabolism. The fact about life is that it's not a piece of cake for someone to do anything, especially when their minds aren't really into it. Same applies to boosting metabolism. If your mind isn't really bent on doing everything you can to boost your metabolism, you will keep looking for excuses that will lend credence to the fact that it can't be done easily. But if you make up your mind to really work on boosting your metabolism, you will find it easy to do.

If you are seriously concerned about the rate at which your weight is growing, you might want to take a look at the speed of your metabolism. Too slow means your body gets to keep stuff that you dont need. In this case, you might want to boost it up.

Speed up your metabolism if you don't like the food staying in your system for too long. It is one sure way, at least, to see to it that you don't begin to pack up the pounds, or store away unwanted stuff in your body.

Lest you get confused, your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. The calories are from the food; your metabolism determines how quick it goes down and is passed out. Many people still dont understand what and how the entire process works. Its that simple, really.

Your metabolism can be as fast as you care if you really want it that way. Already you know that is helps to stave off infections and obesity, so what else could you possibly be waiting for? The sooner you get to it, the sooner you can reap your rewards. And what's surprising is that it's not that difficult to work on boosting your metabolism.

You need calories in your body we all do. However, you also need to get them out once they are no longer being used. By not using up all the calories in your body, you are setting yourself up for cardiovascular issues in the future. The solution, quite simply, is to always work each and every day on boosting your rate of metabolism.

Boosting human metabolism is easy. In fact, it's one of the easiest things to do that can help you live long and healthy. You could do it either by increasing your daily exercise or overall activity. This way, you get to consume a lot of the calories that could have stayed in your system and caused you illness.

The control you have over your metabolism is evident in three ways. The first is your body mass your muscles; more is faster, less is slower. The second is the food you eat; the lighter, the faster. And the third is how much exercise you do. You already know how that works for you. So, what are you going to do& sit and stare? I say you should do something about it right away.

Body building is one great way to boost the metabolism of your body. By adding muscle, your body tends to consume foods faster, hence a quicker metabolism. And the fact that you will look much better with some muscles should convince you to go for it. Of course your friends, colleagues and spouse will love you more for it.

Do you do resistance training? If yes, you will find that the real benefit of resistance training is in the fact that it boosts your metabolism. Added to this is the muscle that it adds on to your body. I wouldnt want to lose any of that for anything. Im sure the same thing applies to you.

Do you do resistance training? If yes, you will find that the real benefit of resistance training is in the fact that it boosts your metabolism. Added to this is the muscle that it adds on to your body. I wouldn't want to lose any of that for anything. I'm sure the same thing applies to you.

There has to be a balance in your diet based on what foods you eat. You certainly dont want to be saddled with an overly slow metabolism so you want to eat foods that are not too heavy. However, when your food is too light, your body digests it too quick and you lose still. You must find that place called normal in the kind of food you eat and when to eat them.

Any doctor or dietician who knows their onions will tell you this: food is not just food. It affects your body in various ways following how you treat or consume it. Eating foods that are much too heavy will slow your metabolism in ways you will not appreciate, and eating light ones might cause you to digest too fast. You must find the balance.

This might sound strange, but your metabolism reacts not only to your food and exercise levels, but also to the environment in which you find yourself. You can use this to your advantage by moving to areas that give your system just what it needs when it does. To speed up your metabolism, you simply have to know where best you need to be.

Your metabolism practically rules the way your body functions, and your body functions also affect your metabolism. It is imperative to keep the metabolism on point all of the time for optimized living conditions. Many people who are living healthy and happy lives today are doing just that. You can get the same results too if you emulate them.

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How To Control The Causes For Obesity – A Guide For Obese People

2008-12-08T03:04:00.000-08:00

Most obese people want to lose weight and cure their obesity. The problem often is to identify the causes for obesity exactly – and the knowledge on how to approach it. For this reason I have created this article especially for obese people. In this guide we keep the focus on the two major causes for obesity – a lack of physical activity and the wrong habit of eating. I will provide you with clear and easy to follow recommendations. Acting on this guide enables you to lose weight and reduce obesity.

Before we dive into the two main causes for obesity, let us talk about the other causes, so that we have them out of the way. Besides the major causes mentioned in the introduction there are a few other causes as well: age, gender and genes. The point of matter is that we can not influence these causes positively. For this reason we have to focus on the two main causes.

A lack of physical activity is one of the main causes for obesity. Once you haven’t practiced any exercise for several months or even years it becomes more and more difficult. The trick is to make a long term action plan. Make the decision to seriously lose weight and write a To-Do list. Start with 2 workouts per week for 15 to 20 minutes without a pause. Increase the duration of your workout every week by 2 minutes until you are performing 45 minutes at a stretch. At the same time you have to increase the quantity of workouts every week by one until you are performing at least 5 workouts per week. Here are some great options: Power Walking, Incline Walking, Rollerblading, Jogging, working out on a Climbing Machine or doing Circuit Training with weights.

Another plausible cause for obesity is the wrong eating habit. The only way to cure obesity is to change your habit of eating permanently. It’s a waste of time to follow a diet for 6 weeks and than come back to the old eating habit. It doesn’t work. In order to actually lose weight you have to avoid high caloric products at all. High caloric products contain a lot of simple sugar and fat. Here are some bad examples: crackers, candies, sweets and biscuits, jam, cakes, pastries, baked goods, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, salad dressings and many processed foods. I highly recommend that you get into reading the ingredients of the food packages before you buy any food. Split your meals into 5 smaller portions per day. This will help you to stimulate your metabolic rate as well. Eat healthy low caloric products and drink a lot of water – at least 3 to 4 liters per day.

Now that you have read this guide you probably control the causes for obesity in a new way. Focusing on the two main causes (wrong habit of eating and lack of physical activity) allows you to tackle the problem in the right way. Make a long term action plan and implement the recommendations provided in this article. There is, of course, more useful information about how to control obesity; e.g. information about diet and nutrition. By putting the information provided in this guide into practice, though, you will be able to lose weight and reduce obesity.

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