"I have a love-hate relationship with eating. All I can think about is food. There are days when I eat nothing, but then I secretly binge. I feel permanently guilty."
Most eating disorders appear to be influenced by cultural factors, such as the modern fashion for a slim figure and the craze for dieting. In an age where male and female models with ‘perfect’ figures grace all the glossy magazines and movie screens, being the wrong shape can have a devastating effect on self-confidence. As a result, food and eating have become a battleground for many people, especially women, where there are goodies and baddies, good days and bad days. When some people are under stress, their eating problems may become worse and can lead to a more serious condition, such as anorexia (extreme weight loss due to not eating) or obesity (overeating) .
It is estimated that 1 in 20 women in the developed world experiences distressing episodes of uncontrolled binge-eating. For some, their concern about their shape and weight drive them to extreme measures such as prolonged fasting, self-induced vomiting, and taking appetite suppressants and unnecessary laxatives. This condition is called bulimia, which literally means "ox hunger".
The obvious way to achieve the shape you want, is to go on a diet. However, despite the amount of time, effort, and commitment expended on them, diets are rarely successful. There is good evidence that dieting places people under physi6logical and psychological pressure not to eat and paradoxically causes overeating. Dieting leads to mood swings, causes cycles of starving and overeating, upsets appetite, and creates a preoccupation with food. People who replace a pattern of dieting and bingeing with regular meals do not tend to gain weight, and some lose weight.
Eating problems are often triggered by a period of dieting or a stressful phase in which you have too many demands on your time and feel helpless. There are also a number of predisposing factors:
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LOW SELF-ESTEEM |
A low opinion of yourself may be caused by an unhappy childhood during which your parents did not openly express their love for you. Up to one-third of all people who suffer chronic bulimia report having been sexually abused. |
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PERFECTIONISM |
If your goals are unattainably high, you will never feel content and relaxed. |
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SENSE OF USELESSNESS
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You may be unhappy with your present circumstances but feel powerless to do anything to change them. |
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CULTURAL FACTORS |
Certain eating problems occur only in particular cultures. Bulimia is almost totally confined to women in developed countries where the emphasis is on slimness. |
Obsessive eating damages your health, creates shame, guilt, and depression, encourages isolation and can devastate your social life. The best way of breaking any of these eating disorders is to establish good eating habits with three regularly spaced meals a day, interspersed by light, healthy snacks. Try to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your daily meal plan and remember that this is not a diet. Eating regular meals does not make you fat.
1 Restrict eating to one or two areas in the house.
2 Do not engage in any other activity while eating, like watching TV or reading.
3 Eat slowly - put your cutlery down between mouthfuls. Savour the food.
4 Clear up after every meal. Do not leave leftover food lying around.
5 Limit the amount of bingeable food in the house. Don't buy ready-to-eat foods.
6 When shopping, buy only what is on your list. Avoid shopping when hungry.
7 Never eat directly from containers. Put food on a plate.
8 Leave a small amount of food on the plate at the end of every meal.
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1. |
ESTABLISH A MEAL PLAN |
Work out a sensible eating pattern and keep to it. Eat three meals a day, with two or three light snacks. Do not go for more than three or four hours without food. |
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2. |
KEEP A DIARY OF YOUR EATING |
If you are aware that you have a specific eating disorder, such as bulimia, obesity, or anorexia, write down when, where, and what you eat. Use a new page for each day. Do not abandon your diary even when things go wrong. Look at this record for a pattern, and use it to identify times when you are at your most vulnerable. |
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3. |
STOP BINGE EATING |
Learn to recognize the circumstances that cause you to binge and work out ways of dealing with them so you can prevent the bingeing. Try telling a friend how you feel. |
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4. |
STOP DIETING |
Learn more about healthy eating, particularly the benefits of more fibre and reducing saturated fats. If you narrowly restrict yourself to eating only certain foods, try to broaden your range by gradually and progressively reintroducing avoided foods back into your meal plan. Establish a routine of healthy, regular eating - make it a lifestyle, not a diet. |
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5. |
LIST DISTRACTING ACTIVITIES |
These should be easy, enjoyable activities that remove you from the place of eating, e.g. cycling, gardening, walking, or sport. |
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6. |
CHALLENGE IRRATIONAL THINKING |
Do you consider other people worthy only if they are the right weight and shape? Do you see yourself as a success one day and a failure the next? Challenge this "black-and white" thinking and look for a middle ground. |
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7. |
EXPECT THE OCCASIONAL LAPSE |
Do not let this demoralize you, it is a part of progress |