Most people remember Karen Carpenter and how she hid her healthy aging behind the word “dieting”.
Many people, especially women, claim to be dieting in order to cover up the fact that they are actually suffering from an eating disorder.
Causes of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders, sometimes called “extreme dieting”, can come about due to numerous reasons, but common ones are listed below:
- Major stress or life trauma
- Dieting to please others
- Testing out one diet after another (OCD)
- Negative self-image
- Negative comments/action from friends or family members
How to Tell the Difference Between Dieting and an Eating Disorder?
Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell if someone is truly just dieting or if they have developed a dangerous problem with food.
Dieting
Typical dieting involves:
- Improving one’s life and body image
- Healthy weight loss
- Improves the dieter’s self-esteem
- Makes the body healthier and stronger
- Does not disrupt a person’s life
- Does not become the center of a person’s life
- Dieting involves smaller amounts of a fairly wide variety of food
- Dieting improves a person’s brain, health and body shape
Eating disorders
Common eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia involve:
- Food becomes a part of every aspect of a person’s life
- Food controlling a person’s life
- Makes the body weaker
- Usually involves serious health consequences
- Often causes people to eat large quantities of food or eating in private
- Alternately, people eat an only tiny amount of one type of food or no food
- Has a negative effect on a person’s life and body image
- Draws negative attention to oneself
- Negatively affects a person’s overall health and body shape
Orthorexia: Diet or Eating Disorder?
While most of us are aware of the words bulimia and anorexia, but there is a new type of dangerous diet that has reared its ugly head lately: Orthorexia.
What is Orthorexia?
This is a newer term that has been developed for eating problems that don’t conventionally fit the bulimia or anorexia models. Orthorexia is a pathological food obsessive behavior that is often associated with extreme types of eating or “lifestyle” movements such as a raw food diet or veganism.
While neither of these eating plans are dangerous in and of themselves, for the person who has eating disorders, these types of groups offer dangerous support for those who are food obsessed.
The main focus for Orthorexia victims is that they aren’t looking to lose weight necessarily or to look thinner, the focus is on seeing food as a moral issue. Orthorexia victims will alienate people who don’t share their “moral views”. Unlike anorexic or bulimic victims, Orthorexia sufferers find themselves with a great deal of online support for their eating problem.
What Should I do?
If you suspect someone you love has an eating problem, take action as quickly as possible. Eating disorders only get worse with time. Call an eating disorder treatment center for more details. Try to determine whether someone you care about has an eating disorder and convince them to consult an expert.
An Example of a Healthy and Balanced Meal Plan
Isn’t it strange that in the information age, at a time when we are literally drowning in material, yet we can’t seem to sort out fact from fiction?
There are more diet plans than you can shake a stick at and all of them claim to be healthy or balanced or even “clean”.
Some are good plans, others…. Well, not so much.
To make things simple, we are going to lay out a basic 3-day plan of what is considered to suit almost everyone without risks of moving from a healthy diet to an eating disorder.
The Healthy Eating Plan
This healthy eating plan is based on a roughly 2,200 calories a day plan. You should use an online calculator to determine the number of calories you need and adjust this plan accordingly. To lose weight, simply subtract about 200 calories per day from your basic needs.
Day One
- Breakfast: Two poached eggs, two slices of whole grain toast, one cup of black coffee, one cup of non-fat milk, half of one grapefruit.
- Snack: One cup of plain yogurt mixed with two tablespoons of honey and one medium-sized banana.
- Lunch: a 6-ounce chicken breast (grilled or baked), a large garden salad with one cup of mixed veggies and two tablespoons of low-fat dressing, diet soda or water.
- Snack: Half of pita bread stuffed with one cup of cooked carrot slices and three tablespoons of hummus or plain Greek yogurt.
- Dinner: One cup of rice, one cup of steamed broccoli, a four-ounce piece of grilled halibut, a small garden salad with two tablespoons of oil and vinegar, one 5 ounce glass of white wine, if desired.
- Evening Snack: One cup of fresh or frozen blueberries topped with two tablespoons of real whipped cream (not canned).
Day Two
- Breakfast: One cup of whole wheat flake type cereal, one cup of non-fat milk, one teaspoon of sugar or honey, one banana, one slice of whole grain toast topped with one tablespoon of nut butter, one cup of black coffee.
- Snack: One tangerine and one cup of grapes.
- Lunch: Veggie burger on a whole grain bun, one cup of beans or bean soup, one cup of non-fat milk.
- Snack: Mix one cup of cooked carrot slices and one cup of steamed broccoli pieces, cover with two tablespoons of Ranch dressing.
- Dinner: One 4 ounce serving of pork loin, small garden salad with tomatoes and topped with two tablespoons of dressing, one small baked sweet potato, one cup of asparagus, one glass of white wine, if desired.
- Evening Snack: One cup of strawberries, 5 graham crackers, one cup of non-fat milk.
Day Three
- Breakfast: One cup of oatmeal with a half cup of blueberries or strawberries, one-half cup of non-fat milk, and one tablespoon of almond slices.
- Snack: One cup of plain yogurt mixed with half a cup of blueberries or strawberries, and two tablespoons of almond slices.
- Lunch: One cup of whole wheat pasta with half a cup of marinara sauce or red pasta sauce, a medium-sized garden salad with one cup of vegetables, a diet soda or water.
- Snack: Half a cup of cottage cheese and one peach.
- Dinner: One serving of vegetable lasagna, one small garden salad with two tablespoons of dressing, one cup of non-fat milk.
- Evening Snack: One apple with one cup of non-fat milk.