Warning: if you don't want to read anything about eating disorders, please scroll on!
Also, food addiction and eating disorders are not the same. One may have an addiction to certain foods but never struggle with an eating disorder.
I recently read an article* that described one of the side effects of this pandemic has been an increase in eating disorders.
Food scarcity--or the fear of it and the unknown, combined with other factors such as even the fear of eating healthier--has triggered the disorder in many people.
And, to top it off, many healthcare professionals are unaware of it.
I believe it. Besides being diagnosed with anorexia at age seventeen, no physician or medical professional ever discussed the disorder with me. . . even after I had gained 100 pounds a few years later.
Silence.
Unfortunately, according to the article, many physicians and medical professionals have negative attitudes toward patients with eating disorders, which has only perpetuated it.
Even as recently as this past month, I got trapped in the disorder for a few days. It started with reading a comprehensive article on the benefits of water fasting.
Water fasting is a powerful modality to optimal health.
So guess what I did?
I fasted for a couple of days. It's winter. I'm in hibernation mode. It's a good time to fast.
(In my book, I described one of my water fasts of 33 days. I can fast a LONG time when I set my mind to it!)
Well, the water fast ended up being a disaster, once again.
I fasted and then binged on quasi-healthy food for a few days. . .until I came to my senses.
Lesson learned, once again.
I cannot severely restrict food in order to lose weight quickly, or to be healthier--nor can I water fast for extended periods of time. (Maybe at an in-patient clinic, supervised by medical professionals I could safely undergo a water fast. . .but there would still be the high probability of detonating binge eating upon returning home.)
My "anchors" are nourishing and satiating meals. They keep me mentally healthy and stable. They keep the eating disorder inactive. Dead.
I eat a huge salad for lunch every day; one that's filled with lots of greens, and some onions, ground flax seeds, and beans. I also eat some berries and a piece of fresh fruit. AND, I also have a bowl of raw veggies, but I only eat them if I'm still hungry--which is hardly ever. But it's my choice. I can eat them if I want to, but 99% of the time, I'm just not hungry.
[I do the same for supper, except I eat a large plate-full of steamed or stir fried veggies, nuts, some more berries and a piece of fresh fruit. I also have the additional bowl of raw veggies, but again, I eat them only if I'm still hungry. . . which is hardly ever. They are my choice to eat or not.]
However, if I'd be under pressure to tightly restrict, I'd be bingeing on those raw veggies. . . and then the downward spiral of a runaway mess.
Water fasting and restricted eating in tightly calculated amounts always backfire on me and eventually leads to binge eating; it's an integral part of the disorder.
I've accepted it—most of the time.
I may never be as “healthy” as a person who fasts monthly or annually. And I may never be in a “right sized body”. . .even jeopardizing optimal health and longevity; but I’ve learned the hard way that my mental health and stability—on a daily basis— are more important to me.
I'm not ashamed that I have an eating disorder. I didn’t choose it any more than I chose having blue eyes instead of brown. I've struggled with it since childhood. It is what it is, and I'm loved unconditionally, regardless.
The article on COVID-19 and the increase of eating disorders really hit home.
Medical professionals do need to be cognizant of eating disorders and include them in the assessments of their patients; especially in the aftermath of this pandemic! Untreated eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating are serious and life-threatening conditions.
If you are struggling with severely restricting food or chronic fasting—and then binge eating—you are not alone. I’ve been there, and I still succumb to it at times.
There’s no shame in it.
You are loved.
And I care.
Emily Boller, artist, mother, and author of Starved to Obesity, lost 100 pounds more than twelve years ago by eating an abundance of high-nutrient, plant-rich food. Today, she’s certified in whole plant food nutrition from the Nutritarian Education Institute. She’s on a mission to combine practical, no-nonsense and cost-effective tips—with easy to understand science—in order to help anyone escape the addictive grip of the Standard American Diet.