paleo and ED's

long but VERY good read on disordered eating behaviors and the paleo community.

http://carbsanity.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/paleo-approved-enough.html

Replies

  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    in before butthurt
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Very interesting read :flowerforyou: Thanks for posting :smile:
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    can I get a summary?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Thanks for sharing that popcorn.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Very interesting article. Now in here for the freak out.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    can I get a summary?

    paleo dudes talking about a ladies miraculous body composition and health changes from turning paleo. On the surface, that could be mistaken. Article delves into triggers and changes in the ladies health and other aspects of nutrition which could easily be perceived as disordered eating.
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
    No carbs? No thanks.

    I enjoy my potatoes and oats.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    can I get a summary?

    A summary wouldn't do it justice. IMO it's worth reading.





    oh yeah, and IN for the

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  • rb16fitness
    rb16fitness Posts: 236 Member
    I personally don't buy into eliminating food groups except for valid medical reasons. However, one student's possible ED shouldn't be grounds for vilifying the entire paleo way of eating. One poorly written 'transformation' story doesnt mean paleo encourages or causes EDs. That's fuzzy logic.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    can I get a summary?

    A summary wouldn't do it justice. IMO it's worth reading.





    oh yeah, and IN for the

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    I agree, especially because quite a few will base their answers solely on the summary instead of actually reading the article. Then eventually it won't matter because it'll bound to go off topic in some way. Hahahaha. That's why I didn't want to attempt a summary at all.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I personally don't buy into eliminating food groups except for valid medical reasons. However, one student's possible ED shouldn't be grounds for vilifying the entire paleo way of eating. One poorly written 'transformation' story doesnt mean paleo encourages or causes EDs. That's fuzzy logic.

    on the other hand, it's does not say anything good for the MDA website if it can't spot that this girl's health problems were caused by undereating and overtraining, and that she may have been developing (or already developed) an eating disorder, and that the paleo lifestyle seems to have made it worse (and certainly hasn't restored her to health - she had to quit tennis to improve her energy levels??? so the paleo diet actually wasn't giving her tons of energy.... and she probably wasn't doing it right, i.e. still engaging in eating disordered behaviour, but healthy people on a healthy diet don't have to quit sport to improve their energy levels), AND THEN used her as an example to promote paleo dieting.... even as an isolated case, it really puts that site in a bad light

    Also, her before pics, as in before she accidentally lost weight, she was a healthy weight for her height and looked athletic with a mid-low 20s body fat percentage. i.e. 100% healthy. IMO she looks best in that pic.

    Even if her example isn't typical of paleo dieting (It probably isn't) - how can they use her as an "advert" for their diet?? That they did speaks volumes....
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    yep, sorry for my crap summary. I'd just read it :smile: Long but worth it.

    It's not saying that all people who eat paleo will develop ED's but the exclusion mentality certainly doesn't help the situation.

    How good are they :laugh:

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  • Oh my God. I really love Mark Sisson's website, I do. I didn't realize they posted an article like that there, though. How come they thought this was a good thing? She was at a very healthy weight before beginning anything, and she was not the least bit "pudgy".

    I like paleo, and I want to try it. The people can get pretty fanatical, though. I guess that can be said of many communities out there that started out as "for the good"...
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    It was a good article with an important message which I felt was sadly distracted from by the somewhat hysterical tone of the writing.

    I think classifying that girl's transformation as a "success" story is not right and certainly some of the Paleo folks do need to get their house in order.

    That said you could make the same observation with literally dozens of other "fitness" based sites (I use this in a loose way) which sadly seem to place aesthetics above all else. You could convincingly make the same argument on here or even in an athletics environment where less than great coaches push their athletes beyond the bounds of what is ethically responsible.

    There is no "them and us" and I hope the discussion will not devolve into that.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    How good are they :laugh:

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    Lifelong Asterix fan here....
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Speaking of paleo, there was a great read on it with Alan Aragon. Can't remember who sent me this link but it's well worth reading.

    http://paleomovement.com/alan-aragon-paleo-critic/
  • blackNBUK
    blackNBUK Posts: 58 Member
    Speaking of paleo, there was a great read on it with Alan Aragon. Can't remember who sent me this link but it's well worth reading.

    http://paleomovement.com/alan-aragon-paleo-critic/

    That interview was surprisingly and refreshingly open and unbiased. Despite being on a Paleo website the interviewer let Alan say his piece. Definitely worth a read!
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    It was a good article with an important message which I felt was sadly distracted from by the somewhat hysterical tone of the writing.

    I think classifying that girl's transformation as a "success" story is not right and certainly some of the Paleo folks do need to get their house in order.

    That said you could make the same observation with literally dozens of other "fitness" based sites (I use this in a loose way) which sadly seem to place aesthetics above all else. You could convincingly make the same argument on here or even in an athletics environment where less than great coaches push their athletes beyond the bounds of what is ethically responsible.

    There is no "them and us" and I hope the discussion will not devolve into that.

    I agree, and would add that the paleo/exclusionary way of eating likely attracts those who feel the need to exert excessive control over their diet, a large part of the ED mentality. If not paleo, they would turn to the cabbage soup diet or the like. The same can be said for IF as well.

    I do agree it should not have been used as a success story on the website.
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    It was a good article with an important message which I felt was sadly distracted from by the somewhat hysterical tone of the writing.

    I think classifying that girl's transformation as a "success" story is not right and certainly some of the Paleo folks do need to get their house in order.

    That said you could make the same observation with literally dozens of other "fitness" based sites (I use this in a loose way) which sadly seem to place aesthetics above all else. You could convincingly make the same argument on here or even in an athletics environment where less than great coaches push their athletes beyond the bounds of what is ethically responsible.

    There is no "them and us" and I hope the discussion will not devolve into that.

    I agree, and would add that the paleo/exclusionary way of eating likely attracts those who feel the need to exert excessive control over their diet, a large part of the ED mentality. If not paleo, they would turn to the cabbage soup diet or the like. The same can be said for IF as well.

    I do agree it should not have been used as a success story on the website.
    Haven't yet had time to read the article but it's so nice to see this mentality on the boards for once. As someone in her 9th month of recovery from an ED, which was largely encouraged by a very restrictive over-training/under-eating mentality and a group of similarly minded folks obsessed with running/fitness, it really doesn't matter what brand of craziness you're hooked on.

    There is no "them and us". There is just a need for those who are invested in a healthier and happier society with better self-esteem to speak that message loud and clear, and to ensure that any authority on the subject pushing our friends, daughters, sons, parents, partners or any stranger "beyond the bounds of what is ethically responsible" are kept accountable and made very well aware of the harm they are doing to our kids and our future...
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    very well said Meag.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Bump
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    to be honest, I think if you have a tendency towards disordered eating, leaning on overly structured eating can help and harm in equal measures. If gives you healthier control, but for me it would be too much control somehow.

    I also think the overdefensiveness of *some* paleo people is a little like the way come people defend their 'choice' to not eat much.

    But I agree with the person who said it was fuzzy logic to assume that it's the same for all people on paleo
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    can I get a summary?

    Illogical food restrictions are eating disorders. Paleo is full of illogical food restrictions. Therefore it is by definition a form of eating disorder.

    ETA: Thread was totally worth it for the A&O pix alone! :)
  • RekindledRose
    RekindledRose Posts: 523 Member
    Stop Hating. Goodness gracious leave people alone.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Stop Hating. Goodness gracious leave people alone.

    Did you actually read the article? Because no one in the article nor in this thread is "hating". Overreaction?
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    Stop Hating. Goodness gracious leave people alone.

    You probably should have just said TLDR.

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