Guys, stop with the orthorexia already!
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My understanding of orthorexia (based on what I read - correct me if I'm off my rocker) is when a person has become terrified of eating certain foods due to the fear based propaganda they have subjected themselves to and the more research they do, the more foods they eliminate until their diet is so restricted that they miss out on key nutrients & it becomes harmful to their health. Kind of a sad irony - in the search of the healthiest way of eating/living, they end up making themselves crazy and sick.0
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yeah, pretty much.My understanding of orthorexia (based on what I read - correct me if I'm off my rocker) is when a person has become terrified of eating certain foods due to the fear based propaganda they have subjected themselves to and the more research they do, the more foods they eliminate until their diet is so restricted that they miss out on key nutrients & it becomes harmful to their health. Kind of a sad irony - in the search of the healthiest way of eating/living, they end up making themselves crazy and sick.
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going vegan/vegetarian/paleo/clean does not guarantee weight loss[/quote]
Kirstie Alley (not the most credible source I know, but bear with me) came out on a talk show when she dropped a bunch of weight the first time and they asked about her eating. One of the hosts said she was vegetarian and Kirstie replied,"I was vegetarian for 4 months and gained 12 pounds." Apparently she was eating pastas with veggies thinking she was following a vegetarian plan. Well, she was, but pasta is loaded with carbs that turn to pure sugar and then get stored as fat if you don't use them. Oops. See how easy it is to be misled by the latest trend?
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This, so much this.ndj1979 wrote:when someone says they eat 500 calories over maintenance and lose weight, they are going to get pegged with the special snowflake label ...
OR
claim that CICO does not work for them ... or some other absurd claim...
Last night on facebook I saw an article posted by NPR about a new pill which is being developed which tricks the intestine / body into thinking it's having food, when all it's having is a pill. Somehow it activates the release of bile & burning of fat & turning white fat into brown fat.
One of the gals commenting claimed that she exercises almost every day & eats a special diet, but because of how her body digests food she's still overweight.
:facepalm:
:disagree: 
Yes, I took the time to explain that she's not a special snowflake & the reason she's overweight is because she's eating more than her body needs, whether that's because she likes to eat lots of high-calorie foods, or her thyroid is wonky, or she cannot physically exercise.
Haven't been back to see if she blew a gasket.0 -
brenlikethat wrote: »going vegan/vegetarian/paleo/clean does not guarantee weight loss
Well, she overate carbs that put her in a surplus and therefore put weight on...... funny how that works.
Kirstie Alley (not the most credible source I know, but bear with me) came out on a talk show when she dropped a bunch of weight the first time and they asked about her eating. One of the hosts said she was vegetarian and Kirstie replied,"I was vegetarian for 4 months and gained 12 pounds." Apparently she was eating pastas with veggies thinking she was following a vegetarian plan. Well, she was, but pasta is loaded with carbs that turn to pure sugar and then get stored as fat if you don't use them. Oops. See how easy it is to be misled by the latest trend?
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YES! And it's becoming mainstream. People on my FB page keep lecturing about the "right" way to eat. Ugh.
Isn't that the truth? I keep getting beaten up by vegans when I post recipes which contain meat, so that I can refer to them later. WTF? Are you my food police? Unfriend me or hide my posts from yourself. smh...0 -
Ironically, a post about orthorexia is actually being orthorexic itself.0
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I honestly don't think that the "orthorexia epidemic" is really something we as a society need to devote too much concern and attention to. There are a lot more important things to attend to than worrying about whether people are becoming too focused on a healthy lifestyle.
Any time I perceive someone as being "militant" about their food or fitness routines, I don't automatically assume that it's a problem just because it's not my thing. I don't even worry about it unless it appears to be causing harm. I think the term orthorexia is thrown around way too lightly. Really, unless you are qualified to diagnose eating disorders, you probably shouldn't be making those kinds of judgments.
I'm sure IT IS a problem when an OCD person (orthorexic or not) gets fixated on anything, but I don't think that orthorexia is some huge, sweeping problem. If anything, our widespread lack of health-consciousness is far more problematic.
By the way, I guess I could be labeled orthorexic by some posters here just by virtue of being gluten free. I have to be focused on avoiding gluten in my diet. But rather than being a harmful thing, my healthy food "obsession" keeps my immune system from going nuts and attacking my digestive tract (Celiac).
I suggest not worrying so much about other people's choices. I think it's totally uncool to label people whose choices or ideas you don't agree with as mentally ill (having an eating disorder.)
I totally agree ^^^ I am in the same boat (GF because I HAVE TO BE for actual medical reasons
). The more people obsess about going GF even if they don't have to, the better the choices for us who do have to, lol.
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YES! And it's becoming mainstream. People on my FB page keep lecturing about the "right" way to eat. Ugh.
Isn't that the truth? I keep getting beaten up by vegans when I post recipes which contain meat, so that I can refer to them later. WTF? Are you my food police? Unfriend me or hide my posts from yourself. smh...
Yeah, I really do have a lot of respect for people who are able to go vegan - but forcing everyone to listen to their rants can be really off-putting. I only have one vegan friend and thankfully she does not invade other people's lives with her ideals. She does post a lot of anti-cruelty articles and if you ask her about it she will talk your ear off, but she isn't obnoxious or accusatory.0 -
I lost 40 pounds once where every single night I ate either McDonalds, Wendy's, Chipotle, or Taco Bell for one meal, and then the other meal (I only eat two meals - always have, probably always will) was processed high sodium TV dinners.
The first thing that happened when I joined MFP was someone looked over my food diary after maybe one week and sent me a huge essay on how the foods I was eating were terrible high sodium, high processed garbage. I believe her exact words were "cut the crap"0 -
"Gluten free" is only getting out of hand in terms of the number of people who don't have Celiac. For those of us that do... I appreciate products getting smacked with all of those GF labels.
Now if only I could get restaurants to take me seriously instead of laughing me off as just another fad dieter...0 -
Except for the enamel on their teeth, which is eaten away by the acids.I see a lot of the apple cider vinegar with the cinnamon, lemon and whatever else is in it thing, people on my facebook are doing. Then when you tell them that doesn't work because it won't burn fat they tell you, "well I'm trying it anyway it cant' hurt"
http://jdr.sagepub.com/content/70/6/942.shortThere was considerable risk of erosion when citrus fruits were eaten more than twice a day, soft drinks were drunk daily, apple vinegar was ingested weekly, or sport drinks were drunk weekly.
The only benefit I've been able to find to drinking vinegar is this bit of research, which says that:
Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes
(that's the title of the research)
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/27/1/281.long0 -
I know it is a problem for people that actually have Celiac, but you have to keep in mind that there is a plethora of people with all sorts of eating restrictions that will pass it off for allergies. New Years Eve I had a table of six where 3 of them said they were very allergic to onions and I told the waiter that unfortunately I couldn't guarantee any cross contamination and suggested just having dessert and even then I mentioned cross contamination....... the waiter came back and said, don't worry as long as they don't see any onions they should be alright. This causes all sorts of problems for people that are actually allergic to one thing or another and I must take all inquiries seriously, so I suspect you are taken seriously except in the kitchen we know through experience that most are nothing more than eating irregularities."Gluten free" is only getting out of hand in terms of the number of people who don't have Celiac. For those of us that do... I appreciate getting smacked in the face with all of those GF labels.
Now if only I could get restaurants to take me seriously instead of laughing me off as just another fad dieter...
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Guess what. In order to not be overweight or obese and avoid related risks, you have to be a little weird, at least in our society.
Disagree strongly.
Also, the idea that someone being "gluten free" in our culture is being countercultural (or even weird) is like the idea that long hair on men in the late 60s or early 70s was bucking the system and being an individual, man. It was just trendy in a different social group. Being into food restrictions is totally trendy in many US (and probably other English-speaking country) subcultures.
Orthorexia specifically is about clean foods, yes, but we all have to make conscious adaptations to prevent overweight, obesity, regain, etc. Some of these adaptations, like calorie counting, demand what some might call slightly obsessional behaviour. You really don't think, in your heart of hearts, that calorie counting is a little weird? Really? I did it for years and am doing it now, and it's much easier than it was when I first-first started, but I still think it's a little weird.
(Also, why didn't you include the rest of that paragraph in your quote, where I said basically what I just repeated above?)
Calorie counting is just as weird as orthorexia, imo.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Guess what. In order to not be overweight or obese and avoid related risks, you have to be a little weird, at least in our society.
Disagree strongly.
Also, the idea that someone being "gluten free" in our culture is being countercultural (or even weird) is like the idea that long hair on men in the late 60s or early 70s was bucking the system and being an individual, man. It was just trendy in a different social group. Being into food restrictions is totally trendy in many US (and probably other English-speaking country) subcultures.
Orthorexia specifically is about clean foods, yes, but we all have to make conscious adaptations to prevent overweight, obesity, regain, etc. Some of these adaptations, like calorie counting, demand what some might call slightly obsessional behaviour. You really don't think, in your heart of hearts, that calorie counting is a little weird? Really? I did it for years and am doing it now, and it's much easier than it was when I first-first started, but I still think it's a little weird.
But you don't panic if you have to guess at some calories, do you? You don't blindly avoid situations in which you don't know exact calorie counts of your food because otherwise you have a sense of terror, right? Because that would be orthorexia, not just counting calories.0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »
I know this point has been picked on in this thread, but I agree with you somewhat on that. There are tons of people on this forum who simply ate whatever they want, got overweight, and now have success with weight management by counting calories and realizing their calorie needs. I feel confident that a lot of the people I know IRL don't eat like this at all (especially those who are overweight).Guess what. In order to not be overweight or obese and avoid related risks, you have to be a little weird, at least in our society. It is not exactly psychologically normal to count calories for a lifetime, yet that is what many will have to do to keep it off long-term.
However, I do also know people who have never really had to worry about their weight but don't count calories. These people don't regularly indulge in very high calorie foods or eat out at fast food/restaurants much, though.
Thank you Yeah, I mean, just eating "naturally" in a context of overabundance and underactivity = 66% overweight & obese people. Social policy, regulation, even changes to city design etc., are ways of changing the context a little. 0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Being into food restrictions is totally trendy in many US (and probably other English-speaking country) subcultures.SnuggleSmacks wrote: »This. I don't understand the mentality that makes one think that not being able to eat something due to some real or imaginary sensitivity makes one special. It's seriously bizarre. AND THEN to assume everyone around you constantly wants to hear about it. It's maddening.
It's a cultural proxy-war and all about tribal identification, I think. Super annoying and inane, but these things always are.
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This was me about a year and a half ago. Totally anti gluten. I could go on and on about the dangers... all the while popping my Phentermine pills. Lol! Super healthy! Now all foods are in my life in moderate amounts.0
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Someone I work with just paid someone 200 bucks to cut out all her sugar and all her carbs. Can't have any fruit of any kind, not even one gram and telling her she has to eat every 2 hours. I tried telling her it is literally calories in vs out and you can eat when you want to. She hates it and cried the first day0
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herrspoons wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »Guess what. In order to not be overweight or obese and avoid related risks, you have to be a little weird, at least in our society. It is not exactly psychologically normal to count calories for a lifetime, yet that is what many will have to do to keep it off long-term.
It's an adjustment related to disorder, yes, except it's society that's disordered.
("Our" society = English-speaking countries, like the ones MFP users belong to, and some others.)
Explain please. Weight control is the obligation of the individual, not society. In addition, if there's a body image Western society promotes, it sure isn't a fat one. Quite the reverse actually.
Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight, including obesity: 69.0% (2011-2012)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_09_10/obesity_adult_09_10.htm#x2013;1962 Through 2009–2010 </a>
Charts over time, since 1968 - sharpest rise is in obesity, #s overweight mostly steady
There's no way all of them decided, individually, to have too many cheeseburgers. But it's UP to the individual to fix it, yeah. At least it is until food manufacturers have to start facing some appropriate regulation, which I hope happens
Unfortunately, it was precisely because they all decided to have too many cheeseburgers or pizzas or donuts. The food may have been more available and come in bigger portions, but we still had to eat it.
Also, in the UK it has been a legal requirement for some years now for all packaged food to show calorie and nutritional content clearly on the packaging. It has not made any people any thinner. In fact, obesity rates have risen.
It's not the food manufacturers. It's us. There are some other factors, but those are more to do with the outdated and averaged calorie requirements used, poor advice from health agencies, and falling activity levels.
Bolded is one spin on things, it's a question of emphasis. Ordinary participation in society means working 8-10 hours a day, dealing with long commutes, being tired from all that and so struggling to negotiate food choices when tasty, convenient meals are hard to pass up. It's a lot of work to cook and eat well, it takes knowledge and planning and effort. That's why MFP exists. You can see how hard it is for people.
Only the individual can answer to her or his own body most directly, but there are multiple factors. I think it's good to change some of them if it helps people
What I mean is, yes people are choosing cheeseburgers, but in what context, and why?
Where this argument falls short is that it is not a lot of work to eat within your calorie allowance. You can get convenience meals that will fit the bill at fast food places and at grocery stores, at least you can in the US.
Calories are posted at many of these places, so information on intake is available.
But still, people tend to pick what they like. And what they like is generally more calories than they should be eating.
Personally, I don't think most people ever think about how many calories they should be getting per day. So, the calorie information posted is mostly wasted.
It seems like there's two extremes for the general public. It's either no thought at all into calorie allowance, or it's 'I can only eat 1200 cals because someone told me so' - again with no thought as to the individual's activity level, size, etc.
Just quoting to say that my older neighbour (like, 60s?) once remarked in conversation with my mother that 1000 calories is a lot of food. She's also definitely larger. So yeah, unless people are specifically tracking calories, they probably don't even know what calories are or what a typical day's worth of food for them equates in calories. I never even looked at nutritional info when I was "eating clean." Just at ingredients, mainly if it had more than 2 ingredients I questioned if I could eat it.0
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