All should read! EDs, calories, and the truth
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No worries.
And I'm probably going to get criticised for this, but I offer it as what I believe to be genuine and useful advice:
As a moderator on another large forum I well know that most want everyone to read what they have to say and consider it to be important.
I do appreciate how passionate people can get to share and encourage others with their happy-success and it's perfectly understandable - I've got quite evangelical* at points myself, especially, trying not to sound too condescending, when I was your sort of age.
*Not in a religious sense, of course; but about the areas I was interested in at the time.0 -
I have enjoyed reading this. Your very wise for someone so young.
Thanks.
That's what I was thinking too.0 -
Congratulations for improving your attitude with food, and its good that you feel you wish to share your advice. You may have changed a few peoples attitudes, even saved a life by choosing to write what you wrote since you never know how troubled a person could read it.
All I would say is that a disagree with a few things, some factually, some subjectively. But I certainly wouldn't say calorie counting is unhealthy and to instead eat till i'm full. Thats why I'm fat, I ate till I'm full and beyond cos I eat with my mind not with my stomach, like most people here. Calories are my way of saying 'This is how much I need to eat'. If I listened to my body that plate would be 4 times as big and I'd be in a food coma.0 -
I see no one "quite large" at 5'2" http://www.mybodygallery.com/
I will say, the rest of this is lovely and well written :] Thank you for making me smile and keeping me from binging at the moment0 -
Thank you so much for sharing this, full of common sense and great attitude to our health!
I appreciate the reading of such a well written statement.
Thank you
Pat0 -
Thank you for this0
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What a great message! Thank you!0
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My weight fluctuated between 90 pounds and 120 pounds (which for my 5'2" frame is quite large).
jeez.. i'm 5'2" and my *goal* is 120. i can only hope i'm lucky enough to get there, i'd settle for 125 even. i understand it might be the way your particular frame is, but i worry about the average 5'2" girl reading this who now thinks her weight of 120 is "large".
yeah im 5 ft 0 and 250. Now i feel like a beastly whale0 -
I'm very happy you found help and that it has saved you with the information you have learned. It's a good read. I agree with some things and disagree with others but that's ok. We aren't all of the same mold.I'm glad that works for you, and in theory these rules are true.
However, for people like myself with PCOS and other hormone disorders, often our bodies are affected by a hormone imbalance, which can sometimes mix up our hunger signals etc, so if we were to eat whenever we were hungry, chances are we may very well never stop eating.
Also, hormone imbalances can cause huge cravings for sugar, meaning that we literally 'cant get enough' of the white stuff. So it is more of an addiction, rather than our bodies being physically hungry.
Personally, calorie counting has really saved me. Sometimes this works for people, sometimes it doesn't. But it's somewhat close-minded of you to dismiss it.
Do what works for you, and we'll do what works for us
PCOS is a ***** and I agree with you. I don't find counting calories unhealthy or anything like that, in fact MFP and counting calories has helped a lot. As for eating what I want, until I am full - well that is why I am here with thinking like that (for me).0 -
Hello. My name is Cam, and I'm a 19 year old girl, almost 20, living in San Francisco, CA. I had an eating disorder that developed in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. I was insecure with everything and just wanted some control. But even as I starved, I would slip and binge. My weight fluctuated between 90 pounds and 120 pounds (which for my 5'2" frame is quite large).
When my parents found out, when I was 16, they got me a therapist, an ED doctor, and a nutritionist. With their help, I changed how I see food and how I see weight loss.
1. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. My wonderful nutritionist had been in her profession for years and understood the science between weight gain and loss, and how calories actually work. You see, you NEED carbs. You need a healthy, normal, amount of carbs.
2. Do not ever eat below maintenance level of calories. Trying to gain weight and trying to lose weight have the same solution. If you've been starving, slowly reintroduce amounts of food to work up to a normal level. If you're trying to lose weight, decrease your amount of food until you're at your normal level. The body wants to be healthy. It's hard on the body to be fat. If you give it what it's aways needed, it will give you the body you need to have (over time). Not everyone needs to have THE perfect body, but every single person can have his or her perfect body.
3. Enjoy. People on here so often say that "food is only for nourishment" or "I will not treat my body like a trash can." Sure, it's irresponsible to eat 3 pans of brownies and 7 cheeseburgers and 5 ice cream cones. But really, do not restrict yourself on what you can and cannot eat. Seriously. Don't try to "add things back in later", eat how you're going to eat forever. Maybe physically, yes, food is only for nutrition, but people who say this fail to take culture into account. Sharing a meal or a dessert can be a wonderful culturally significant experience.
4. Don't exercise for weight or appearance. People need to stop running and doing crunches to get that "perf beach body". I understand the desire to want to look great, but unless you FEEL great, about yourself, that's not going to be possible anyway. If you exercise, it should be because of how it makes you feel happy, strong, relaxed, etc.
5. There are NO healthy or unhealthy foods. This was the first thing that my nutritionist told me. I had been categorizing, like many of you, food into "healthy", "okay occasionally," and "bad for you!". She debunked this rather quickly. Huge amounts of anything can be harmful. But no one food can destroy or restore health, so no one food is healthy or unhealthy.
6. Understand, respect, and love your body. Yoga really helped me with this. Your body has a purpose. That purpose is to survive. Help your body fulfill its purpose more efficiently and effectively. Understand why it does why it does. Your body needs to conserve fat sometimes, because fat can be healthy. Understand that, and stop fighting your body.
These are some of the most important lessons I learned through my treatment. People call MFP a great tool for weight loss, but I respectfully dissent. Calorie counting is quite unhealthy. Eat until you're no longer hungry, and eat foods that make you feel GOOD. This is life. If you spend your whole live at war with your body, will that really a be a life worth living? Enjoy everything, experience everything. And above all, love yourself.
Wow!! Well written and so very true!!!! I agree with every single word! Thank you :flowerforyou:0 -
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I really need this but am I going to listen to it tomorrow? No probably not. I'm going to tag it though so I can come back when I slip up.0
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thank you for sharing..is helpful to hear this perspective0
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Here I am reading this again because I really need it. I have to learn to just go with the flow and eat in moderation without restricting or going over.0
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Great post! I couldnt agree more with the calorie counting.
ED is something I have dealt with for far too long and it wasnt until I took the numbers out of the equation that I finally started to live and enjoy eating and exercising. My life and happiness for so long revolved around the number of calories in what I was/was going to eat, the number of calories I burned, the number on the scale.
Congrats to you and I wish you much luck and happiness in your future!0
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