Eating Disorders and Weight Loss/Gain

What do you think is a good way to lose weight? A good way to lose weight is the old fashioned way, eating healthy and excersizing.
And its not even so much eating healthy as it is cutting portion size down, I lost 50 lbs on eating pop-tarts and things like that, I just didnt eat alot of them.

Do you think it's bad for young kids to go on diets? No I do not, it depends on what kind of diet and how young the kids are. If your talking makeing them eat healthier than yes thats great, if your talking about makeking kids lose a bunch of wieght, well I think thats a choice they should make and if they want your help than help them, otherwise its their choice.

Why do people get eating disorders? Eating disorders as in bulimia and anorexia could start for a few different reasons, I've done lots of research in this area actually, and speak from personal experience. The reasons are in the mind and thoughts, the person has an obsession with food. They are constantly thinking about food, how much food they are eating or how much food they are not. It could also start with an obsession for perfection, or acceptance. The problem is when the problem does start setting in and an eating disorder does develop, the people are dissapointed because they arent becomeing anymore accepted, the eating disorder takes over their lives. It makes them cranky, irratable, and exhausted, completely unenjoyable to be around. Its a huge problem and something that shouldn't be taken lightly, although in some cases, you can get through it on your own, but its best that that person gets help ASAP.

How do we help people with eating disorders? There are hotlines you can call and websites you can go to. Tell someone, tell an adult, tell the persons parents, tell your school councelor, tell SOMEONE. If not that person can/will die, its something to serious to mess around with and not speak up.

Okay, why do kids get eating disorders? It could be a handful of reasons (a really big hand!) I mean, everyone thinks it's just pressure from the media. The fact is, it's not! Yes, that is a reason, but that's not the only one! I mean, couldn't it be a suicide attempt? My friend and I were talking about it the other day. An Eating Disorder could be caused be DEPRESSION. Now, it's not like I'm saying that's the only reason. There are other reasons out there. I just wanted to let people know that this is a reason too. And think about it. Doesn't this tie in with the Low Self-Esteem factor?

Do I think it's healthy for young kids to go on diets? Depends... I mean, if a doctor tells an extremely overweight child (we're talking over 150 pounds at age 8, and the kid's not that tall.) that they need to go on a diet, by all means, go right ahead. But for a five year old kid who's 60 something pounds to starve themselves? Hell no. HELL NO!!!!

A Healthy Way to lose weight? Simple. Eat less junk and exercise. And don't use diet pills. They're just as bad as spraying lysol in your mouth...

How can we help? Well, the schools could pull a little more weight, I agree. My school only spent three days on anorexia and bulimia. Then we watched a documentary on it. That's it. Plus, there are TONS of websites and hotlines out there. What can we do? If you know someone who's suffering from an eating disorder, or you think they might be on the verge, talk to them. They can use all of the support they can get...

That's it...

*Sakura-chan*

i think a good way to lose weight would be to eat balanced meals and exercise...i think people decelope eating disorders because they are so uncomfortable with their bodies, maybe because of pressures to look thin from certain people...eating disorders are a serious thing and any1 who does should always contact a doctor because it can make you seriously ill and some people have died from eating disoreders!!!

A good way to lose weight is to exercise...

But not EXTREME EXERCISE...if you nearly kill yourself at the gym it's not good.

It's bad for kids to go on diets unless they are over weight...because then they get obsessed with the diet and always believe they can look better if they just stop eating something more...and finally they don't eat anything at all.

Have any of you people read the book Perfect by Natasha Friend? Well, anyway it says that people can get eating disorders from believing they are diguisting or problems.

Like this girl loses her father and starts eating...

Then she gains weight and desides she has to throw up to lose weight.

So, eating disorders whether eating too much or too little can be caused by problems at home.

I think that children should not go on diets first of al there bodies are still developing and i think there is a higher chance of them etting an eating disorder later on.
I know some people who have had eating disorders and of course eating disorders lead to death sometimes.
I got some really good afdivce, You shuld go to your docter get a food plan together and an excersice oen and it will take longer but itz healthy guys.

I think our society pushes people's limits and stretches people further and further to become something "ideal" I thikn a good way to lose wieght is to just eat healthy. I'm not talking about going and eating a sandwich and a DIET soda. Soda is bad. When you realize what you eat, with all the things they put into just one slice of ham, lettuce, turkey, you realize that's why i'm fat basically because school's aren't using healthy products into their food AND on the menu. But first and foremost I thikn it stops with the people who love you the most. Your parents. If they choose to eat based on what's time consuming, easy, and affordable then really you have is McDonald's. Yes I know organic foods are pricey but hey your eating alot healthier than you would if you ate a Big Mac. Eating healthy just doesn't improve your body but the way you think. If you eat healthy you tend to be more energetic and more alert. I don't think girls and boys really see what the outcome of eating disorders cause. I know I didn't. But once I stared being sleepy and paranoid (from thinking I was fat) I began to look up effects of bulimia. It's not a hard decision but the way the tv, movies, magazines. put it they make it sem as if you will only get to be anything if your pretty. that's not true. it really isn't. everyone sees if you are pretty based on what you think of yourself. I don't think that people who think they are ugly are pretty. they need to have self concious. And if they are overwight than you know what, who cares. they are beautiful inside so they will be beautiful outside too. If you are dangerously overweight then i think you should seek mediacal attention becasue really if you have tried exercising and eating right. doctors can help if this is a real problem to your health ( not meantal health beacuse you weigh oh 80 lbs!) but because you have heart problems and have diabetes. But if your not dangerously overwight or overwight at all , just eat healthy and excercise. it works. really. it's been said thoussand times before but really everyone is beautiful..

Children shouldnt go on diets because they are still growing and if they are put on a diet they might have an eating disorder when they get older.

i dont think that anyone should have a problem with their bodies. u are the way that u are and if someone says something fuck em up!

*braces for flaming*

I'm of the opinion, and call me shallow and/or disgusting if you will, but I believe that being fat is far worse than being skinny.
Yes, extreme thinness (anorexia/bulimia/EDNOS) can lead to health problems, but I see the media being far more focused on the burden obesity is putting on the health systems, and the fact is that ours is the first generation not expected to outlive its parents, because of the massive rate of childhood obesity etc.
This opinion could well be a carry-over from my days of having (not suffering, having) an eating disorder, but I happen to find overweight people a lot more grotesque than skinny people. Being fit, slim and healthy shows you have some self-control or some functioning brain cells, rather than being lazy and reaching for something disgustingly greasy/fatty/sugary rather than eating healthily.
What sickens me most is seeing overweight parents out in public, buying their already morbidly obese children sugary, greasy snack foods - to me, it's akin to child abuse/negligence.

Yes, the media places a lot of importance on being thin, but could that be because it's just human nature to strive for 'perfection' or to be in constant competition with our peers, and to better them? The eating disorder phenomenon could also apply to those who study all the time to beat their classmates at graduation time, those who stab colleagues in the back to achieve a promotion over them, or those who are obsessed with having the newest clothing and accessory trends to be 'cooler' than their friends.
We all suffer from some degree of envy, and I feel that this may be a part of succumbing to an eating disorder.
I know that when I look in a magazine and see pictures of Mischa Barton or Nicole Richie, I don't feel guilty - I feel jealousy. Their bodies, to me, are close to perfect and, to be honest, being pregnant is killing me on the inside because I've gained around ten kilos and still have another three months to go before I can go back to my old habits of obsessing over what I eat.
Yes, I'm enjoying the constant bacon and egg breakfasts, thickshakes and fattening 'wholesome' meals that I cook for my husband and I, but I can't wait to go back to realising it's 10pm and I've eaten one biscuit since I got out of bed that morning.
It's making me (and my husband) a little crazy - he says he loves my new curves, but I'm driving him mad by refusing to be half-clothed when he's around, and feeling turned right off just by the thought of seeing myself naked. He says my eating habits, even now, remind him of a 'fat person', in that I can never eat food the way it is - I have to pick it apart, add salt or sugar or do something to it to change it, and I've explained to him that these actions are symptomatic of an eating disorder. I just can't help it, I'm unable to eat normally and healthily.

As someone pointed out before, why do people get so up in arms about skinny people, but we're meant to be sympathetic towards obese people with no self-control? I would never say anything outright to a fat stranger on the street because I'm not a cruel person seeking to hurt their feelings, but I don't see why they should be pandered to and accommodated when being fat, in my opinion, is worse than being skinny.
Of course, I'm not talking about 'big-boned' people at all - some people are just larger by genetics, and that's okay. It's the morbidly obese people that refuse to entertain healthy eating and exercise habits, and then rail at the rest of the world like we're to blame.

I just think it's such a double standard - obesity has to have some element of mental disorder to it, just as extreme dieting does. And although I don't approve of people killing themselves to be thin, I believe that it's preferable to attempt to be healthy rather than just blowing up like a balloon and then blaming everyone arond them.

TrappedInACubicle:

Yes I know organic foods are pricey but hey your eating alot healthier than you would if you ate a Big Mac..

It's actually been proven that organic foods are no more healthy than any regular food you buy at a supermarket.
'Organic' doesn't mean it has any more nutrients or is fresher, it just means it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals to get rid of bugs - and the chemical sprays don't detract from the basic nutrient structure of the fruit or vegetable in question.
In fact, canned and frozen fruits and veg are healthier than a lot of fresh produce on the shelf because they're snap-frozen/processed quickly after harvesting and retain more nutrients than if they were put in a fridge and left out on a shelf to deteriorate for weeks.
But yeah, I don't see the big deal with 'organic' - it's been proven time and time again that they have no advantage whatsoever over regular produce, because you're meant to wash fruit and veg before eating it anyway so the pesticides are rinsed off - all they have is a bigger price tag and they manage to make it work because people are so paranoid about their health, so they pay extra because they think they're getting superior goods. They're wrong, and playing up to the media's hype.

What do you think is a good way to gain weight? I've weighed the same weight since i was 10 and i'm 14 now

^^ A good, healthy way to gain weight in addition to Ruby's advice, is to eat a lot of protein-rich foods, and foods that are relatively high in GOOD fats and oils - nuts, avocados, cheese, that kind of stuff. It's still quite healthy, but will help you hang onto some weight because they have unsaturated oils and fats that aren't bad for your heart.

What do you think is a good way to lose weight?
Eat right and excerise as often as. Though I don't think people should be brainwashed into thinking that they can't eat certain things like chocolate ect, since if they do refrain from eatting stuff it's what will make them 'fall off the wagon'.

Do you think it's bad for young kids to go on diets?
Yup; due to kids having puppy fat they really shouldn't go onto a diet. Upon saying that I don't actually believe in an actual 'diet' per say; eatting healthy and getting a good amount of exercise is fine, along with wee treats as well, ie chocolate or skittles.

Why do people get eating disorders?
Numerous of reasons, a lot of it is usually blamed on the media and skinny models and people wanting to look like them. Another is due to bullying, people usually comfort eat as a way to proect themselves; though some people eat alot then bring it back up. So it could be psycological too.

How do we help people with eating disorders?
A lot if up to them; they have to want to be helped and want to stop doing what they are doing to themselves. It will be a long hard road for everyone involved, so long as they are aware of it and have the love of there friends and family they could be able to get there, but there is always a risk of them going back to what they had, just do to life and infulences, kinda like how some people cut themselves and stop; but they can feel drawn to go back into it when it feels like life is getting too much for them.

Do you think it's bad for young kids to go on diets?
It's bad if the kid is otherwise healthy.
Childhood obesity sickens me, it's essentially akin to child abuse in my book. I mean, parents would have social services involved and get their kids put in foster homes if they were being starved, so how is feeding them shitty junk food and making them so fat they can't climb stairs without huffing and panting any less neglectful?
I believe in blanced diets, including treats like takeaway, chocolates and candy, the kind of stuff that makes being a kid fun. But it MUST be consumed in moderation, just like health councils all over the world are telling us adults.
And yeah, a lot of kids do have 'puppy-fat' - I had it, everyone I know had it (except my twig of a husband, but that's his metabolism). There's nothing wrong with that, but it should be monitored to ensure it doesn't turn into outright fat.
I was just reading an article in yesterday's newspaper about how QLD Health's baby weight guides are about 30 years out of date, based on incorrect information, and therefore new parents are being vilified for having 'underweight' babies, and being forced by health care 'professionals' to feed them up more and more, which in turn leads to childhood obesity. The tables were drawn up in the 1970's, and based on bottle-fed babies rather than breastfed babies, so now all these babies who are breastfed are being forced into bottle-feeding to fatten them up so they're 'healthy', when the WHO (World Health Organisation) has researched the studies and proven them false. The fact is, Queensland is doing a horrible thing by not updating their guidelines, as the WHO has proved that overfeeding babies does lead to obesity, even if they start eating normal amounts when they start eating solids - they've been overfed protein-rich formula milk and it essentially destroys their metabolism, so they can't regulate food later on.

little kids diet because other kids tease them
kids who diet should only diet for health causes, not because they feel big or obese.
teens diet because they feel the need to be a certain size such at 0 - 7
these sizes are influenced by the media, celebrities and stores where they sell
small clothes.
dieting shouldn't be a matter of the weight, instead it should be about health
because what you do eat does affect how your body functions.

i think when you're young, your job is to have fun, do well in school, and hang out wtih your family/friends, NOT to lose weight! when you stop growing and you want to stay healthy, sure, go on a diet or exercise. i think there's way to many airbrushed models in magazines that get kids thinking they need to look like that.

i think losing weight can be good and bad. depends if u work out a few times a week and eat healthy, then go ahead. if ur starving urself and forcing urself2throw up.... u have issues. u should like the way u r. if ppl dont like the way u look, say FUCK OFF and find new friends.