The downside of HEA. Unpredictable consequences of proper nutrition

Today, healthy lifestyles and proper nutrition are becoming increasingly popular. It has become “fashionable” to eat healthy and environmentally friendly food: avocado toast and a “proper” lunch, cooked at home and taken to work in a container, are attacking users in their Instagram stories. People count calories, write out their diet for several days in advance, hunt for “clean” products. In the pursuit of the perfect body, some people cross the boundaries of reason and go too far. We tell you what psychological disorders can hide behind the mask of a “healthy” lifestyle.

Anorexia: aversion to food

Today the word “anorexia” is on everyone’s lips, but few people really understand what it is. Often it is also used as an insult to an allegedly too thin girl (or guy). However, this is a serious psychogenic (that is, arising under the influence of mental processes) disorder. Moreover, it consists not so much in the external thinness, but in the attitude of a person to food: loss of appetite, refusal to eat, even when its lack is obvious. People of any build can suffer from this disorder. Such anorexia – in the presence of all symptoms except significant weight loss – is called atypical.

In the pursuit of the “right” number of calories, some people trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle can go too far. For example, they may set their daily calorie intake extremely low, resulting in malnutrition or starvation. A strong desire to possess ideal, according to subjective ideas, forms can negatively affect the perception of a person’s own body and its needs, distort it and provoke the emergence of anorexia.

Among the main signs of anorexia can be distinguished:

• denial of the problem;
• a constant feeling of fullness;
• disordered eating patterns (e.g., eating standing up, eating alone, or the habit of dividing food into small pieces);
• sleep disturbance;
• panic fear (of gaining weight, of eating, of seeing yourself in the mirror);
• Depresyon;
• unreasonable anger or resentment;
• sudden fascination with topics related to food (e.g., fascination with cooking: the person cooks sumptuous meals for family and friends without eating them);
• changes in social life: the person tries to avoid meetings with friends, common meals, begins to communicate less with loved ones;
• decreased activity.

Rebecca Liyan, better known as Rebecca Jane on YouTube, is a girl who has been struggling with anorexia for several years. She shares her successes on social networks. The blogger not only talks about how she copes with her disorder, but also shoots distracting videos. This helps Rebecca to not snap and abandon her recovery from her critical weight.

I recently came across this photo that was taken in New York City during my relapse. I don’t remember that day well. And today, besides looking like a Union Jack (jokingly named after the UK flag – ed.), I feel so much more free, energized, proud of myself. I’m so happy.

Bulimia: overeating and “payback” for eating

Another equally common eating disorder is bulimia. People suffering from this disorder are extremely concerned about their weight. As a rule, they eat a lot, but then, to compensate for what they have eaten, artificially induce vomiting. To “dump” food, they may also use laxatives or diuretics, enemas, specially overload themselves with physical exercise.

Bulimia is most common among teenage girls and young women who pay unhealthy attention to their weight and figure. Often this disorder occurs against the background of a distorted perception of food: food is not as a necessary source of energy and nutrients, but as a pleasure and “bad habit”.

In company, bulimia sufferers, as a rule, eat the “right” food and small portions. However, when left to themselves, they consume high-calorie foods in large quantities – that is, they overeat. After such breakdowns, the person feels guilt, worries that they will invariably get better and therefore so radically gets rid of what they have eaten.

Often people who suffer from bulimia, hide it, but you can recognize the disorder by some signs:

• complaints of being overweight (even in the absence of it);
• distorted perception of their own body;
• consumption of food in large quantities (especially fatty, sweet, high-calorie) in one meal;
• the person tries not to eat in public places and in the presence of other people;
• goes to the restroom immediately after eating;
• there are noticeable lesions, scars, or calluses on the hands (due to the constant inducing of vomiting);
• lesions on teeth and gums.

A girl from the UK named Shannie has a blog in which she describes what it’s like to struggle with bulimia for almost 20 years. She hasn’t managed to completely defeat the disease yet, but the girl doesn’t give up on herself and inspires others to do the same.

Shanny tries to raise public awareness of the problem of eating disorders. In 2016, the blogger made the video “One Day in the Life of a Bulimia Sufferer” to show what lies behind the “beautiful” facade. Throughout the video – a day – all she does is eat, weigh herself, and “get rid” of food.

In the description of the video, Shanni draws viewers’ attention to the fact that she is in no way showing how to do things, but rather wants to vividly explain the dangers of such a disorder.

The seriousness of eating disorders and the number of people suffering from them continues to grow. Please take the first step and ask for help if you need it.

Orthorexia: a fixation on eating right

While many people have heard of anorexia and bulimia, few people are familiar with the term orthorexia. This is also one of the types of eating disorders. Its peculiarity is that a person is obsessed with the most healthy and correct food. In fact, the approach to eating of people suffering from orthorexia is difficult to call healthy: the obsession greatly limits the choice of products and makes you constantly think about whether you eat right enough, whether you missed the planned meal and how to compensate for an apple eaten in excess.

To date, orthorexia is not officially a disease, but it is widely used by specialists as a term. Signs of this disorder can be:

• choosing foods based not on their personal taste preferences, but on their “usefulness”;
• dividing foods into “healthy” foods that can and should be eaten and “harmful” foods that should not be eaten under any circumstances;
• inventing “punishments” for oneself for improper eating;
• planning your menu for several days in advance;
• strict attention to cooking methods, their own “rituals” (for example, the board must be ceramic);
• a sense of superiority over those who do not adhere to the correct, in his opinion, diet.

Orthorexia was faced by a girl named Meg. A little over a year ago, she had been eating an extremely healthy, “clean” diet and doing a lot of exercise to keep herself in shape. Even during her vacation, every two days Meg made sure to run 16 km on a treadmill.

In the photo on the left, Meg eats only the right foods. On the right, she can eat whatever she wants.

The girl started to pay attention to it and get rid of “punctures” a year and a half ago. Despite the fact that since then she has gained weight, Meg feels much better and “more herself”. As she herself writes in her “instagram”, her relationships with her loved one and friends have improved. Now she can finally enjoy life and eat in public places without fear of panic attacks.

Is Drancorexia an alcoholism?

Drankorexia is another “unpopular” eating disorder. The name comes from the English word “drunk” – “drunk”, and the abnormality manifests itself in the fact that a person prefers to replace meals with alcohol. As a rule, “Drankorexics” are very worried about their weight, panic afraid of getting better, and also suffer from depression. This disorder is more common in teenage girls: by refusing to eat, they save not only money to buy alcohol with, but also “space” in the stomach to avoid gaining excess weight.

In fact, drankorexia combines the signs of anorexia and alcoholism. Therefore, the damage of this disorder is also “double”. Although at the moment drankorexia is not officially recognized as a disease, highlight some signs of this deviation:

• regular refusal to eat;
• red eyes, swollen face and spots on it;
• careful control of the number of calories consumed;
• sometimes in order not to gain weight after drinking alcohol, the “drankorexic” may exhaust himself with physical exercises to “work off” the calories;
• consciously drinking alcohol in large quantities to induce vomiting and get rid of previously eaten food.

Drankorexia was experienced by Lindsey Hall, an American woman. During college, she, like many of her friends, tried to lead a healthy lifestyle: she worked hard in the gym and counted calories. At the same time, the girl could not give up parties, where she abused alcoholic beverages, and occasionally broke down, eating unhealthy snacks. For several years Hall suffered from eating disorders – anorexia and bulimia, and addiction to alcohol only aggravated the situation.

Lindsay suffered from drankorexia for several years.

The effects on Lindsay’s body were significant: bone damage – nine fractures, a ruptured esophagus, and extremely low electrolyte levels in her blood.

[The doctors] said I had bones like an 82-year-old woman. I didn’t believe them. My weight wasn’t that much below normal, so I didn’t even think I could have any problems.

Now 27 years old, Lindsay is still on the road to full recovery. Despite remission, Hall has not given up alcohol completely, but now controls its consumption and, as the girl herself notes, does it “wisely”.

I’m only 27. I go on dates, drink wine, but I control myself.

Proper nutrition. How not to overdo it?

Superfoods, avoiding sugar, meat and dairy products, interval fasting – all of this works differently for each person: it helps some people, and can harm others. Today, when a nutrition program can be obtained by simply downloading an app, it is especially important to know the measure and understand what is better and healthier for you specifically. Nutritionist Anna Berseneva told “Championship” how not to go too far in the pursuit of an ideal body.

Anna prefers “harmonious” nutrition to “correct” nutrition, because in harmony there can be no violence and suffering. If a person chooses this option, he shows care for his own body and love for it. With this approach to the choice of nutrition disruptions and kinks are excluded, believes nutriciologist.

To understand whether it is enough “right” and balanced you eat, you just need to listen to yourself. After eating should not be any heaviness, weakness, desire to sleep soon. “A feeling of pleasant light satiety, vigor and emotional calm – that’s how we should feel after lunch,” says Anna.

As for the daily calorie allowance – the “cherished” figure for everyone is different and depends on many factors.

In any case, nutriciologist does not advise to reduce the number of calories consumed below 1700 kcal (for men) and 1500 kcal (for women), even if you need to lose a lot of weight.

Calories are far from a perfect indicator. They do not give information about the qualitative composition of food. It is much more important to pay attention to sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals.

The main rule, which Anna recommends to adhere to, is to calmly treat situations when you want (or have to) deviate from the “regime”. “Exceptions” or, as Anna calls them, “days of disobedience” will not harm the nutrition program. If you treat them lightly and with humor, it will not happen often. “Good nutrition should not become the meaning of life: “It’s just a tool that allows you to have a lot of energy and strength to get the most out of life.