Both LeAnn Rimes and Duchess Kate have received mixed media reviews for their bridal weight loss; with some saying both of these ladies are “way to skinny,” and others noting “they look great.” In turn, Dr. Michelle May thinks it all sounds confusing because most American women today don’t know what to do about weight and, in turn, jump into fad diets that put themselves at risk for eating disorders that she calls in her new book – “Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat” – as a health epidemic for women in America today.
Students here in this university town are bombarded with health information from elementary school into college, say local Eugene health experts. However, “when it comes to eating right and not starving yourself to be thin,” that’s something “inside of their brains that can’t be controlled with just health classes.”
For instance, in a recent Cornell study of 273 women who were getting married within the year, 70 percent of respondents reported wanting to lose more than 20 pounds. However, those same women could not articulate “why” they needed to lose 20 pounds or more before their wedding day.
Also, local health experts in the Eugene region note that women are now “dropping lots of weight with new fad diets” for such things as the summer bathing suit season, taking a vacation, a visit from relatives, a high school or college reunion, or just about anything and everything that’s an excuse to shed a lot of weight.”
“Clearly we live in a culture that values thinness, and this is probably the event of most women’s lives that puts the brightest spotlight on them,” says Dr. Jeffrey Sobal, a co-author of the study and a professor of sociology at Cornell.
Dr. May says that eating what you love is good not only your waistline but also for your mind, heart, and spirit. In turn, she warns that Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are clear and present dangers for both young and older females in our society noting in her book something she’s dubbed as the “eat-repent-repeat cycle.”
While Dr. May wants people to “not focus on dieting, but on a healthy approach to eating.”
“The idea is that improving your eating behaviors and your relationship with food can allow you to manage your weight without restrictive diets,” states Dr. May in her new book that also notes how “Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.”
As for another killer of young women – Bulimia Nervosa – this disease is also very serious, writes Dr. May in her new book. “Bulimia Nervosa is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.”
Dr. May goes on to state that “the criteria for both Anorexia and Bulimia are found in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” that’s available for free online.
According to Dr. Ira M. Sacker, an eating-disorder specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at NYU-Langone Medical Center, there are “red flags” about someone who may have an eating disorder. They are:
– Changes in food-related behavior: Does she avoid social situations that involve food? Does she play with her meal instead of eating it? Has she turned eating into a ritual — eating the exact same thing each day or refusing to eat outside of a rigid schedule?
– Extreme calorie shedding: Is she suddenly exercising more than 30 to 45 minutes a day? Does she run to the bathroom after a meal?
– Changes in mood: Has she become depressed, irritable, apathetic or agitated?
– Social isolation: Is your friend withdrawing socially? She may seem more self-involved, introspective and spacey.
– Extreme weight loss: Abnormal thinness is an obvious sign, as well as fatigue, dizziness or fainting, dry skin and brittle nails.
At the same time, Dr. May warns both friends and family of someone who’s trying to drop a lot of weight that one main characteristic of eating disorders is “they never think they’re thin;” but somehow view themselves (even while looking in the mirror) as fat.
In fact, one local Eugene health expert says the mantra for many young college girls she’s counseled is “I’m fat,” even when they are not fat at all.
Overall, Dr. May says “diets don’t work, so the sooner you realize that it is not about being on or off a diet, you can begin to take control over what you eat and realize that you really can eat what you love and love what you eat without guilt or emotional eating.”
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