Top Pro Tips To Know What Is Orthorexia - Obsessed With Healthy Eating?

Top Pro Tips To Know What Is Orthorexia - Obsessed With Healthy Eating?

Body Trust

 A few months ago I took an online course on Be Nourished about Body Trust. It has made a huge impact on my thinking about my body, weight, diet, and exercise. I had put on quite a bit of weight in my 40s and no matter what I did, nothing would budge. But I learned a lot about nutrition and exercise along the way. I was very ashamed of my weight and the way I looked, and it affected my ability to be out in the world and be seen. Exercising and walking as many steps as possible occupied my thoughts during the day. I had a Fitbit and Fitbit scales and was constantly thinking about food, exercise, and how to lose weight. I hated looking in the mirror and feeling like I wasn't doing enough to lose weight. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2016 and had to go for 6 weeks of blood tests for my thyroid and liver. Two tests on my liver showed that I had elevated enzymes. When I took the Body Trust course, I discovered how it controls my relationship with my body. One of the memes they have on their site is "We can't hate ourselves into a version of ourselves we can love". The shame I felt was because we live in a fat-phobic society and think we can diet and get the size we want AND still have a loving relationship with our bodies. We can't.

 Fat Shaming

 We are not the problem, our society has dysfunctional values ​​and leads us to believe that we can control our weight if we just apply ourselves in the right way. I wanted to fit in so I wouldn't be embarrassed. I needed to be undetectable and not stick out, and being overweight caused me to feel like I stood apart excessively. I assumed I was drawing in an excess of negative consideration.

 Healthy eating

 I knew so much about food. I tried a lot of diets, all of which focused on healthy eating. The Wheat Belly Diet, Paleo, The Plant Paradox, Eat Right For Your Blood Type. I tried them all. Nothing was changing but I told myself I eat healthily so I must have a slow metabolism or the thyroid is affecting my weight or her high cortisol from the stress of the earthquake. I had very good self-control. I couldn't go sugar-free, wheat-free, or gluten-free and I was always trying new ways of eating, importing food from overseas, or trying to track down ingredients across the country. I had tons and tons of vitamins and supplements. My body was like an obsession, wanting to change it, and control it through what I eat and how I moved.

 Orthorexia

  Orthorexia is the other end of the eating disorder spectrum. It's an obsession with healthy eating. He can be virtuous and elitist and shame anyone who doesn't eat healthily. It's very hidden because it looks like you take really good care of yourself. I told myself that I was just keeping up with trends, and different chefs who wrote healthy cookbooks. I optimized my health. I put a LOT of pressure on myself to eat perfectly. My best friend died of pancreatic cancer and it freaked me out a bit. I gave the food a lot of power to hurt me and was very rigid about what I ate. I think the way I ate contributed to my thyroid condition, since then I read that cutting carbs can throw the thyroid off balance.

 Management

In the course, I learned all about how to get rid of my food shame, and my obsession with my size and weight. I realized that I was also obsessed with exercise in an unhealthy way. I sold my fit bit and scales. I was very afraid that I would stop thinking about exercise and food. I was afraid that I would become a fat pig, that I would eat everything in sight, and that I would have no self-control. But in reality, the problem was self-control. It was all fear-based and very rigid. When you restrict your food intake, even if it's just eating rigidly healthy, your body goes into survival mode and part of that is your brain becoming obsessed with food and all the foods you start to crave. It will ensure your survival and you will start eating more than just a restricted diet. Intuitive eating is where you trust your body to guide you in what you eat. All foods are of equal value, you can eat what you want when you want. And you can eat for emotional reasons. You guessed it, I ate all the things I denied myself, it was amazing. And I felt so satisfied. So saturated. I ate a lot less food. I was satisfied because I was eating what I wanted. I wasn't trying to stuff myself with something I didn't want, but I thought I should eat. So the pendulum has swung the other way. Then it slowly started to come back to the center. I started to see that I didn't like ice cream, I felt sluggish and phlegmy. That I don't like sugar as much, and it doesn't hold the same appeal for me. That I wanted to exercise more naturally than hanging out on the machine.

 Freedom 

I went for a blood test and lo and behold, my liver enzymes were within range. I began to focus on other things because my thoughts were not occupied by thoughts of food and exercise and body control. I got a haircut and went to get reading glasses, all things I was too scared to do because I didn't want to think about my body and how I looked.