Disordered Eating or Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders, we are all fairly familiar with what these are, conditions such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia and Binge eating disorder. We generally associate these conditions with ‘scarily’ thin females with protruding bones, paper thin skin, wiry hair, brittle nails and no life force around them at all. However, not many of us are overly concerned with ever having an eating disorder, because ‘NO’ that won’t happen to us. However, what about disordered eating? This is NOT an eating disorder…. Yet.
Disordered eating involves partaking in a range of unusual eating patterns, which cause a level of discomfort and disruption to a person’s life. It negatively impacts on an individual’s emotional, social, mental and physical wellbeing, which essentially affects overall ‘happiness’ within life (www.eatingdisorders.org.au).
So this brings me to MANY questions:
- How do you feel about food?
- How do you feel about the choices you make in regards to your meals?
- Do you find yourself avoiding certain foods because they have been deemed ‘dirty or unhealthy’?
- Do you cut out particular food groups because the new diet you are following specifically instructs you NOT to eat those foods?
- Do you find yourself following what others have said, because it works for them?
- Do you find social events around food uncomfortable?
- Do you get irritated when people scrutinize you for your strange food choices?
From all these questions, did any of them ring true to you? If so, you could be experiencing a form of ‘disordered eating’, which could be negatively affecting your general well-being, health and happiness.
I’m now going to dive into a whole range of issues around food and our relationship with it.
* Mindfulness
If something just doesn’t ‘feel’ right, you need to take the time to sit back and ask yourself ‘what is going on and why do I feel this way?’ Have others influenced you to build an unhealthy relationship with food? Has social media influenced the way you view certain food sources? Do your family or friends criticize your food choices and body shape and therefore you find yourself turning to food for comfort or control? Do you scrutinize your body shape, wishing you looked like someone else and therefore adopt their eating habits to try look similar to them?
Can you see where I am going with this? Most people can feel that something is not right, and have a tendency to blame others for why they are feeling inadequate. However, this negative feeling comes from within you. So it is ever so important to take the time to sit back and reflect exactly on WHY you feel a certain way. You will be amazed at some of the answers you will discover.
* Food, Feelings & Self Esteem
Within a social situation where there is food, there should be no ‘fear’, ‘anxiety’ or ‘stress’. As a beautiful, confident and healthy individual, you should be able to enjoy the company of others, while appreciating nourishing food. There should be no feelings of ‘guilt’ surrounding indulgent foods, as ‘everything in moderation’ is a great mantra to follow.
* Food as Nourishment
Most people with an altered disposition on food, view it only as a ‘fuel’, ‘energy source’ or ‘calories’. You can see how this can lead to avoiding particular types of foods as they may contain more calories than others, which can then lead to cutting out entire food groups, and it just snowballs from there. So, it is better to start thinking of food as ‘nourishment’ – Be mindful how the types of foods you choose make you ‘feel’. How do they benefit your physical, emotional and mental health? It is obvious that eating 12 ‘Krispy Kreme’ donuts in one sitting is not going to make you ‘feel’ great or provide you with any nutritionally nourishing health benefits. However, eating a banana and a piece of dark chocolate contains valuable nutrients and minerals which play a role in making you feel and look radiant. So ‘nurture’ the body with ‘nourishing’ foods.
* Don’t Diet
This is the biggest cause of disordered eating, eating disorders and self-esteem killers ever! To keep it very simple, dieting involves doing something different and cutting someone out of your regular diet. Removing something permanently from your regime leads to ‘deprivation’. Deprivation (unless required because of specific food intolerances or allergies) over a long period of time can lead to detrimental health issues. Not only does your physical body become negatively affected from deprivation, but this also creates a damaging ripple affect on your social and mental health also. Diets have a tendency to lead people to believe that they need to follow a specific structure or formula in order to lose weight. So, you can see how people can form a very unhealthy relationship with food. At the end of the day – No diet is a good diet J
* The Five Food Groups
Ah the infamous five food groups model. Grains, fruits, vegetables/legumes, dairy, lean meats and sweets/alcohol. Now in all honesty, I’m not the biggest believer that the ‘quantities’ that are suggested by the ‘Australian Healthy Eating Guide’ are spot on, but it acts exactly as the name suggests, as a ‘guide’. So WHY has this model been designed? Why was it created? It was fashioned because eating a ‘balance’ of all of these food sources almost every single day is essential for optimal health! It is not rocket science; our body requires a little bit of everything to function at its most optimal level. So don’t cut entire food groups out because you think they are not good for you, as that’s not healthy at all.
* Listen to your body
This is the most important thing of all! Really begin to understand your body, what it responds well to and what it doesn’t like. Having this understanding and relationship with your body will help you make the right choices for you and your health. Everyone is different, and so what may work for one person, may not be the right option for you. This life journey is about experimenting and finding out what works for you.
* What is ‘normal eating anyway?’
Normal eating is not looking specifically at the types and quantities of foods that are consumed, but rather the ‘relationship’ that you have with your food. Normal eating is very flexible. It is expected to be different every single day, and can vary in response to how you feel, your daily schedule, the weather, exercise habits and many other factors. The key is to make the right choices for your health based on how you are feeling. There should be a ‘no fear’ approach to consuming foods from all the different food groups.
So there you have it, disordered eating in a very small nutshell. One of the most important things in life is not to be adversely influenced by the opinions of others. Everyone has something to say and will preach that certain ‘fad diets’ work wonders for them. However, at the end of the day everyone is just striving to be ‘happy and fulfilled’ within their own lives. To be a slave to food for your entire life is an unnecessary stress that can be avoided.
So, in short – Get to know you and your body; eat to ‘nourish’ your insides, so you ‘flourish’ on the outside.
‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Happy Life’
