Do I...
weigh myself every day,
skip at least one meal a day
count calories and fat grams every time I eat,
exercise because I have to, not because I want to?

Am I...
on my way to an eating disorder?

Unhappy with the reflection in the mirror?
Don't change your body. Change your attitude!

Me? On my way to an eating disorder? Come on!

Bet a lot of you took one look at this brochure and thought that we were full of it. Well, maybe it's time to think again. Those innocent little habits you're counting on to make you thin and supposedly happy can spin out of control and leave you face-to-face with a serious, even life-threatening, eating disorder.

Of course, we are being dramatic to get your attention. Just because you weigh yourself, skip meals, count calories, and obsessively exercise doesn't automatically mean you will get an eating disorder. It does mean that you need to think about what you are doing to your body and your life.

BAD SCALE DAYS?

Letting the numbers on the scale determine how you feel about yourself allows your weight to control you. The scale doesn't say anything about the kind of person you are on the inside. it doesn't measure you creativity, your thoughtfulness, your intelligence, or even your physical beauty.

Besides, why do you want your self-esteem to be so dependent on one little number that will naturally fluctuate from day to day. That's right. We all notice small increase and decreases in our weight - it's biologically normal. And, anyway, those precious few pounds you may be losing aren't really worth getting psyched up about. It's a physiological fact that your body will usually shed water and lean muscle mass before fat. Dehydrated and weak - that's no way to be, is it?

Any dietitian will tell you that skipping meals is not the secret to weight loss or better health. your body needs a consistent source of fuel throughout the day to keep your brain alert and alive and to rev up your energy level.

When you regularly skip meals, you are not "saving" calories, you're just scaring your body into thinking that it might not get any more fuel.

When you tease your body like that, it tries to store up all of the energy it can - and it stores it as fat!

You'll notice that when you don't eat you are tired and that you have trouble keeping your mind on your studies or your work. You may feel weaker when you try to exercise or compete. You may also find that you eat even more the next time you let yourself near food. These natural responses are your body's way of telling you it needs to be fed.

Keep missing those meals and you may find yourself in an unwelcome tailspin.

Once you get int he mindset that you are going to miss just one meal to help you lose weight, it becomes all too easy to miss another and then another until you are hardly eating anything at all.

There's a name for that kind of starvation - anorexia nervosa - and trust us,

We all take note of the number of calories or fat grams in some foods some of the time. But, when you can't eat anything until you know the exact number of calories and fat grams in each bite, then you move on one step closer to the chaotic and destructive world of eating disorders.

You may think that the fewer calories and the less fat you eat the better. Not necessarily! We all need calories and fat to keep our bodies healthy and tuned-up. In fact, you need approximately 20-30% of you calories from fat everyday!!

And, as for calories, remember that a calories is a measure of the amount of energy released from your food. ENERGY. Restricting your calories is like restricting your energy. If you are too low on energy, your body just might rebel someday.

There's nothing wrong with a little exercise - in fact, it's good for your health and your attitude. But, you can push your exercise workouts too far. Exercising to rid your body of fat, ban cellulite, and shed pounds can take over your life. You many soon find that you plan your day around several workout times, that you panic when you miss a trip to the gym, and that you begin to spend more time with your funning shoes that with your friends.

This one brochure can't tell you whether you are definitely on your way to an eating disorder or not. Eating disorders are extreme expressions of the food and weight issues discussed in this brochure.

So, while we can't diagnose you through a brochure, we can tell you that if you are worried about your weight loss habits, you need to find a health professional to talk to about your concerns.

We also can tell you that even if you aren't on your way to a case of anorexia nervosa or bulimia, you can still find ways to improve your self-esteem and body image by losing your dieting-drive

Dieting, including the behaviors described in this brochure, can be linked with depression, feelings of failure, low self-esteem, and anxiety. Think about it

Do these weight loss habits really make you feel better about yourself? Or, do they just make you more dissatisfied? Is spending time counting fat grams and planning ways to skip meals really the best use of your energy and talents? Just think of all that you could accomplish if you learned to:

We'll be honest. We can't help you change your body image overnight, but we can help you get started. next time a "thin" thought attacks, try changing your mental tape to one of these messages:

-When you look in the mirror, catch yourself before you say something negative. Say something positive. It'll feel better.
-Keep a Top-10 list of things you already like about yourself. Add to your list often.
-Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Surround yourself with people and possessions that remind you of your inner strength and beauty.

Remember, if you think you have a more serious eating issue, like anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder, you need to seek professional help.

And finally, don't ever forget that:

Source: EDAP brochure, Copyright 1997, 1998