Do yoga for your inner peace!

Can practicing yoga help in the recovery from eating disorders? Well, I have always believed so! During my recovery I took classes in yoga paired with mindfulness, breathing exercises and body awareness - and it made me look at and move my body in a different way! It also helped with my panic attacks and it took my focus away from disordered thoughts filling up my head.

That is why I am so excited when more and more studies on this subject keep popping up! I read a real interesting study from Complementary Therapies in Medicine where they looked at patients with BED, Binge Eating Disorder, and it showed that a 12-week yoga program along with yoga performed at home decreased the number of binges and increased the physical activity level of the patient! I am not saying that yoga is a cure, but it can be a complement to other forms of therapy and medical help for an eating disorder. And my opinion is that more recovery centers should start having yoga and mindfulness on their weekly schedule for their patients!

 

I am actually in training to become a fitness instructor (alongside my university studies in physiotherapy) and I want to focus on yoga and mindfulness - so watch out 'cause maybe soon I will be starting up a class you can join! Until then, keep checking the blog and please e-mail me any correspondance, thoughts, tips, or recovery stories! xoxo

Beautiful, Brave, Bodylicious!

 This picture keeps coming back to me, so I thought I'd share it with you all! Lizzie Miller is the model who created a media-storm in 2009 by showing of her real, beautiful body, free from airbrush tanning, retouching and computermade modifications.

Showing of her body and especially her tummy is brave and inspiring for all us out there who only get bombarded with size zeros an Kate Mosses. It is a lesson in learning to love youself!
Or in her own words;  "I learned to love my body for how it is, every curve of it. I used to be so self-conscious in a bikini because my stomach wasn't perfectly defined. But everyone has different body shapes! And it's not all about the physical! If you walk on the beach in your bikini with confidence and you feel sexy, people will see you that way too."

Way to go Lizzie!

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/08/on-the-cl-the-picture-you-cant.html

A closer look on Bulimia

I have updated my ED guide pages and it is now filled with information about not only Anorexia but also Bulimia. Keep checking back because I will soon dig deeper in the issues of binge eating disorder (BED) and ortorexia. The information is too long to post in full-length in the blog page but here comes a summary:

Bulimia Nervosa (from greek: meaning ravenous or insatiable hunger) is a serious eating disorder and mental illness characterized by binging on large amounts of food which is then followed by attempts to get rid of the food through purging (throwing up), using laxatives, extreme exercise or committing to bouts of very restrictive eating.

Bulimia is more common in occurrence than anorexia and is also more common in women than men. It affects nearly 1% of the people in the United States (3 % of the female population) at some time in their life and although that might sound like a small number, it corresponds to millions of individuals! Another scary statistic is that bulimia’s frequency of occurrence has doubled since the 1960s - something we have to put a stop to! 

What are some common bulimic signs and symptoms?

·         Secrecy surrounding eating

·         Alternating between overeating and fasting

·         Obsession about food, calories and fat content

·         Going to the bathroom after meals

·         Excessive exercising, especially after eating

·         Calluses or scars on the knuckles or hands

The consequences of bulimia are many and often dangerous; in rare cases it can even be fatal. It affects the individual in a number of ways including impacting his/her physical, mental and social health. It can destroy the teeth with dental cavities and enamel erosion (from the stomach acids) as well as cause stomach ulcers and open soars in the throat and mouth from purging. Electrolyte imbalances (low potassium levels) are common and can lead to heart rhythm problems or even heart failure. Other consequences are loss of menstruation, muscle weakness and severe fatigue or fainting. Bulimia is often linked with depression and it is estimated that in half of the cases the individual is battling these two conditions at the same time.

The treatment of this complex disorder is very critical and usually the earlier the disorder is detected – the better. But remember that it is never too late to seek treatment! I always encourage everyone to get help because there is a lot that can be done for you even if you have been ill for years and years! One of the hardest challenges that faces people recovering from bulimia is to enforce and explore the attitude that a person’s self-worth is not based on weight or body-shape!

 

Portia de Rossi's unbearable lightness part II

If I had known what popularity my Portia de Rossi post would lead to! None of my other posts are even close to that when it comes to visits. I want to follow up that post with another picture of her recovery. I google her a lot (as well as read her book) and the fact that she has done so well boosts my self esteem every time!

First off I want to give some cred to her wonderful and inspiring book Unbearable Lightness. I have read it several times and her life-long battle with anorexia is grabbing my heart each time! Here are, yet again, some pictures of her during her most severe descents into anorexia and also what she looks like today, as of year 2013: I mean how GORGEOUS she is at a healthy weight!




Today! :-)

Beating the eating disorder!

Many times during my journey through bulimia and anorexia I have doubted myself and my strength. I start thinking that I will never be free from the disorder and that I will never be a healthy happy person again - just able to enjoy life. But these are very dangerous thoughts and most importantly: they are not TRUE! There is recovery from eating disorders and many very ill individuals
When in doubt I usually try to inspire myself by reading or looking into some "celebrity recoveries" and I try to think If they can do it so can I!

When the Crown princess of Sweden (soon to become queen) was in high school she was under a huge pressure from the media and from the fame along with school grades eand everything else a teenager is expected to accomplish. She quickly lost weight and it was confirmed that she suffered from anorexia nervosa. But she fought her way back, today she is married to her husband (and prince) Daniel, has a gorgeus daughter and she is rocking a beautiful body! Go Vic! :-)

Before:                                                                    




Today!

Anorexia: a closer look

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder and a psychological disorder where dieting and controlling food intake becomes a preoccuation and main focus of the daily life. Some more key feautures are a distorted image of your own body, refusing to want to maintain a health body weight and also an intense fear of gaining weight. It can become very serious and severe, with thoughts about exercising, dieting, food, your body and purging becoming a full-time task and take up most of your day—leaving little time for friends, family, and other activities you used to enjoy. Life becomes a relentless pursuit of thinness and going to extremes to lose weight.

But no matter how skinny you become, it’s never enough. Because the main issue is not really about the food or the weight but the control and the (short) feeling of success that restricting food intake can give. Controlling the emotions of hunger can become almost euphoric and spending so much time thinking about weight and dieting becomes a 'safe place' where you do not have to face the hard emotions of other problems in your life. But the euphoria is shortlived and soon you will be facing even lower self-esteem, less control, depression and isolation along with an array of physical consequences!

While people with anorexia often deny having a problem, secrecy is a big part of disordered eating behavior, the truth is that anorexia is a serious and potentially deadly eating disorder. But remember - recovery from anorexia is absolutely possible and there is help to get! With proper treatment and support, you or someone you care about can break anorexia’s self-destructive pattern and regain health and self-confidence.

What are some common anorexic signs and symptoms?

• Preoccupation with food, planning meals and cooking for others
• Counting calories, weighing food and reading nutritional values before eating
• Lying about eating or avoiding events where food will be present
• Wearing baggy clothes to hide a rapid weight loss
• Secretive behavior about food, eating alone or in ritualistic ways, hiding or throwing away food
• Denial about weight loss and dieting
• Obsession about scales and the weight in numbers or measurements (such as sizes)

It is not crystal clear why some people will fall ill with anorexia, it can come from a range of factors such as genetics, sexual or physical abuse, low self-esteem or high-level athletics. It does not even have to be a clear reason for the disorder, somehow resticting food intake came into your life when you were at a low point - and it became a way of coping with hardships. We do know that it is more common in females, but remember it can effect people from all gender, social classes and ages! If untreated, you can go on for decades with a disordered eating pattern and I have met elderly women in treatment being up to 70 years old. But it is never a day to late to start recieving treatment!

Hope this gave some insights! Keep checking back, I will continue on in an upcoming post and guiding you through bulimia - 'til then - be as happy as you can be!

Consequences of anorexia

I will shortly be posting a longer article about anorexia, why it occurs, how to recognize the symptoms and how to take steps towards recovery. But I ran upon this image and just had to post it. I thought it was such a striking illustration of the physical consequences that anorexia has on your health. It is recognized as a mental disorder, but it is so important to remember that it has physical attributes and can actually be fatal! So please take care of yourselves and your loved ones!