Orthorexia - Interesting Article

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage · February 2015

breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/orthorexia-when-clean-eating-goes-too-far

Sharing this because I think a lot of us can relate to certain points in this article, namely:
-Do you look down on others who don't eat this way?
-Do you spend more than three hours a day thinking about healthy foods?
-Does the diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing yourself from family and friends?

I admit to having a hard time not letting my weight loss journey control my life, and I have certainly seen a lot of threads here on MFP relating to these issues.

Thoughts?

Jolinia · February 2015

-Do you look down on others who don't eat this way?
No

-Do you spend more than three hours a day thinking about healthy foods?
I'm enjoying learning everything I can about nutrition. I don't consider that part a problem. The difficulty of application sometimes, though, maybe.

-Does the diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing yourself from family and friends?
Nope. I can eat anywhere that serves up steak.

NoelFigart1 · February 2015

-Do you look down on others who don't eat this way?

God no.

-Do you spend more than three hours a day thinking about healthy foods?

I'm a foodie on a diet. Thoughts of food certainly hit my brain that often, yeah.

-Does the diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing yourself from family and friends?

I don't socialize enough in general that breaking over my diet when socializing would make all that much of a difference long term.

SuggaD · February 2015

I can definitely see a few people having this problem.

sofaking6 · February 2015

I have a friend who is rapidly heading down this path. She ate terribly for her whole life and then went totally clean/vegan and lost a lot of weight. So of course now she is convinced that all that 'dirty' food and meat and GMOs are what made her overweight for so long. She posts something (on FB) at least once a day about what everyone should and should not ever ever be eating.

OTOH, she's retired so maybe having something to obsess over isn't so bad?

_John_ · February 2015

"born again" anything people are annoying as ****.

kitsilana · February 2015

Thanks for sharing this.
I think there's a LOT of people on these forums that have an unhealthy obsession with 'clean food'

Sometimes I read posts and think that diet and nutrition has become someone's religion or belief system.

Everything in moderation.

kimw91 · February 2015

Orthorexia is one of those hard to spot issues, because healthy eating has become such a hype and glorified (and mostly rightly so) thing. I definitely had it and to an extent still do. No one really notices, because making healthy choices is almost what's expected of you and of course no one knows what goes on inside your mind.

Jolinia · February 2015

kimw91 wrote: »

Orthorexia is one of those hard to spot issues, because healthy eating has become such a hype and glorified (and mostly rightly so) thing. I definitely had it and to an extent still do. No one really notices, because making healthy choices is almost what's expected of you and of course no one knows what goes on inside your mind.

I think a lot of us who have suffered the consequences of a bad diet and are now determined to eat as nutritiously as possible were also food obsessed before. So we just transfer that obsession from the bakery section of the store to the produce and/or fresh meat section.

I suppose being obsessed with something required to sustain life is marginally better than being obsessed with, for example, video games. Although my level 60 gnome monk would surely disagree.

JPW1990 · February 2015

This is hardly specific to clean eating, or even eating at all. This is the same thing that happens to everyone who gets a new religion or hobby or lifestyle change. The same thing happens to new parents, new couples, fandoms, anyone who learns about a "new" workout program...

kimw91 · February 2015

JPW1990 wrote: »

This is hardly specific to clean eating, or even eating at all. This is the same thing that happens to everyone who gets a new religion or hobby or lifestyle change. The same thing happens to new parents, new couples, fandoms, anyone who learns about a "new" workout program...

I see why you'd say that, but I don't fully agree. Orthorexia is not something you automatically develop when you just start eating healthily, as opposed to your examples of new couples spending all their time together and new parents whose lives revolve around the baby. I personally developed orthorexia rather gradually and it was only full blown about a year after I started paying attention to food and exercise. It doesn't just go away. You don't after a while simply open your eyes again to the rest of the world.

Orthorexia often has very negative consequences, as it limits people in their activities: you won't eat out because you don't deem it healthy enough, you won't finish your work because you're too busy figuring out your meals for the day, you'll be up at 1am because you hád to meal prep for the next day.

melimomTARDIS · February 2015

this is why I enjoy the MFP style of "no food is evil". I can eat just about anywhere, and eat whatever I want. I choose to eat alot of soups/salads/ fresh fruit/beans/breads/almonds, but I am not better, holier, or whatever-er than someone who chooses to eat differently.

JPW1990 · February 2015

kimw91 wrote: »

JPW1990 wrote: »

This is hardly specific to clean eating, or even eating at all. This is the same thing that happens to everyone who gets a new religion or hobby or lifestyle change. The same thing happens to new parents, new couples, fandoms, anyone who learns about a "new" workout program...

I see why you'd say that, but I don't fully agree. Orthorexia is not something you automatically develop when you just start eating healthily, as opposed to your examples of new couples spending all their time together and new parents whose lives revolve around the baby. I personally developed orthorexia rather gradually and it was only full blown about a year after I started paying attention to food and exercise. It doesn't just go away. You don't after a while simply open your eyes again to the rest of the world.

Orthorexia often has very negative consequences, as it limits people in their activities: you won't eat out because you don't deem it healthy enough, you won't finish your work because you're too busy figuring out your meals for the day, you'll be up at 1am because you hád to meal prep for the next day.

But there are people who react the same way to those other things. New parents who won't let anyone near the baby or leave the house because of "germs," or new relationships that are co-dependent an unhealthy. My point was more that someone prone to one, is more than likely going to be prone to the others, so it's not the external issue that's the problem.

Need2Exerc1se · February 2015

I guess I'm okay
-Do you look down on others who don't eat this way?
No, though I do sometimes feel sorry for people I know who are aware that the way they eat is harming their health, but are unable to control it (their words, not mine), or are just too lazy.

-Do you spend more than three hours a day thinking about healthy foods?
Only during growing season.

-Does the diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing yourself from family and friends?
No, I eat a good number of my meals with family and friends. We don't eat at restaurants often, but it's not because we feel we can't.

HealthyFit23 · February 2015

My sister ate clean all of her life. We thought she was the healthy one. She is now down to 90 pounds and has throid, heart, and migraine issues. Doctors have her on a high protein diet. Doctors are telling her that fat is not bad for you.

Orthorexia - Interesting Article

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