Do You Suffer From Disordered Eating?
If you’ve read any of my blogs, you are familiar with my stance on living a healthy lifestyle, and most likely have the same beliefs. But how do you know if you’re health conscious or if your eating is disordered?
75% of women in America - even girls as young as 6 - suffer from some form of disordered eating. So how do you know if your interest in nutrition is helpful or harming your health?
Living a healthy lifestyle is a combination of healthy eating, fitness, and balance of the not so great things that bring you joy. Eating right is amazing for your inner (and outer) self as it reduces your risk of disease, inflammation, illness, and fatigue. Exercise is amazing for your heart health, bones, strength, and happiness. Both of these combined can lead to an outer appearance that makes you happier.
However, today’s culture has created an obsessive pursuit of wellness and self-care; putting popular diets up on a pedestal creates stress and anxiety around what to eat that usually leads to most people giving up and resorting to old, unhealthy habits. That is why it’s so important to work with a professional to guide you in the right direction for your body’s specific needs!
Without guidance from a professional, it can become so easy for your simple interest in food, nutrition, and fitness to spin out of control into a full blown obsession.
When most people think of someone suffering from an eating disorder, they picture a frail woman with her bones exposed and little energy - not the seemingly happy, athletic and glowing woman in your life who eats beautiful salads and green juices. Little do you know, that woman suffers from Orthorexia and has restricted her food intake to only include vegetables, minimal fruits, and green juices.
In fact, a study by Johns Hopkins found that “Often, people with bulimia keep a normal or above normal body weight, helping them hide their problem for years.” which makes it even harder to know if someone you love is suffering from disordered eating.
Disordered eating is a spectrum, and because we live in a world where women are consistently airbrushed and photoshopped to unattainable standards, most people fall somewhere closer to the disordered side.
Now remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong with valuing nutrition, exercise, and an overall healthy lifestyle. It only becomes a problem when your “healthy” efforts start taking a toll on your overall physical and mental health as an obsession.
If you’re concerned that your habits lean towards the disordered side, take the first step and start working with a nutritionist and/or fitness specialist who can give you a routine that’s healthy and effective for your body type and goals. I’d love to help you get started on this journey, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.