The disorder next door

TamTastic

Are you at risk for disordered eating?
Your score: 13
10 to 15 points:
You are slightly at risk for being a disordered eater. While concerns about your weight and eating habits don't rule your life, they may from time to time trigger guilt, anxiety and other negative feelings—emotional spam that consumes your mental and physical energy. You might also be eating in ways that are less than nutritious, so your physical energy probably flags often. Don't worry—you can nip this problem in the bud with a few simple but significant shifts in your everyday habits. First, make sure you're getting enough calories to fuel yourself by eating meals and snacks at regularly spaced intervals throughout the day (always start with a nutritious breakfast). Otherwise, fatigue can lead to a binge, which may make you feel guilty and more likely to overcompensate the next day with a disordered behavior, such as skipping meals. Second, focus more on what your body can do for you than on what it looks like or how it translates into a number (the scale, a clothing size). Can your body walk or bike through a park on a beautiful summer day? Lovely! Did it create a baby? Amazing! Broadening your focus so you appreciate all aspects of your physical self will help push away fledging disordered thoughts that could lead to unsafe dieting down the road.

TamTastic

Are you at risk for disordered eating?
Your score: 13
10 to 15 points:
You are slightly at risk for being a disordered eater. While concerns about your weight and eating habits don't rule your life, they may from time to time trigger guilt, anxiety and other negative feelings—emotional spam that consumes your mental and physical energy. You might also be eating in ways that are less than nutritious, so your physical energy probably flags often. Don't worry—you can nip this problem in the bud with a few simple but significant shifts in your everyday habits. First, make sure you're getting enough calories to fuel yourself by eating meals and snacks at regularly spaced intervals throughout the day (always start with a nutritious breakfast). Otherwise, fatigue can lead to a binge, which may make you feel guilty and more likely to overcompensate the next day with a disordered behavior, such as skipping meals. Second, focus more on what your body can do for you than on what it looks like or how it translates into a number (the scale, a clothing size). Can your body walk or bike through a park on a beautiful summer day? Lovely! Did it create a baby? Amazing! Broadening your focus so you appreciate all aspects of your physical self will help push away fledging disordered thoughts that could lead to unsafe dieting down the road.