Could You Be Anorexic?

It goes without saying that weight loss requires taking in less calories than you burn. However, you must be careful not to restrict caloric intake too drastically. A weight-reduction diet should promote weight loss and still be nutritionally sound. It should improve and promote good health, not endanger it. When you can’t stay off the scale and always feel as if you can stand to lose a few pounds no matter how thin you get, you may be anorexic and not realize it.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person reduces their daily caloric intake to dangerously low levels to lose weight. An anorexic may also purge through vomiting or using diuretics or laxatives in an attempt to lose weight. According to the University of Maryland, the disorder mostly affects teens and young women, two groups who are constantly under societal pressure to be thin. The current  fixation with being thin and lean has also resulted in an increase in anorexia among male athletes.

Anorexics typically have a distorted body image. They refuse to maintain a healthy body weight and stress over gaining even one pound. They obsess about staying thin even after they’ve become too thin. Anorexics don’t realize they have a problem and will deny it long after the disorder takes its toll on their health. It’s important to know the difference between watching what you eat and being anorexic.

Non-anorexics eat a healthy diet to control their weight and improve or maintain good health. They strive to lose weight slowly and safely, and they make sure their diets are not nutritionally deficient. They have a healthy body image and high self-esteem regardless of what they weigh. Anorexics, on the other hand, use extreme dieting as a way to control their emotions and lives. For them, weight loss equals happiness. Only being thin matters, even at the expense of their health and well-being. An anorexic’s self esteem is closely tied to the numbers they see on the scale.

When caloric intake falls well below 1,200 calories per day, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down in order to save energy. If starvation continues, your body eventually starts to feed on itself. This can lead to a slew of health problems such as fatigue, weakness, loss of mental clarity, brittle nails, tooth and gum problems, fainting and dizziness. Left untreated, anorexia can kill.

Are you anorexic? If the following signs seem familiar, you may have a problem.

• You’re always on a diet even though you’re already thin.
• You only eat low-calorie foods and stay away from fats and carbs.
• You obsess over the fat and calories in your food.
• You toss out food and/or fiddle around with it on your plate, under the guise of not being hungry.
• You constantly think about food.
• You would rather not eat around other people.
• You have been chewing your food and spitting it out, or vomiting after you eat a meal.
• You’re fixated on your weight, clothes size and body shape.
• You constantly weigh yourself.
• You still feel that parts of your body are fat or flabby, or you still feel fat overall, no matter how thin you get.
• You don’t think you’re getting too thin even when it’s disturbingly obvious to others.
• You gruelingly work out for hours after you’ve eaten, especially after eating food you consider “bad”. You exercise despite being ill or injured and even in bad weather.

Identifying the signs of anorexia and admitting that you may have a problem are the first steps to recovery. If you think you are anorexic, get help from a trained eating disorder professional who can help you re-establish a healthy relationship with food and develop a healthier attitude about your body. Enlist the support of family and friends as well. The road to recovery will be tough one, but you can do it.

More articles by Connie