Disordered eating

We live in a culture today where we are bombarded by images of celebrities on social media, TV, magazines, internet and advertising. These images promote unrealistic, unobtainable and highly stylised appearance ideals that are then digitally manipulated that cannot be achieved in real life.  

Intense body dissatisfaction can occur in those who compare themselves to these images and feel as though they don't measure up. People experiencing body dissatisfaction can become fixated on try to change their body shape, which can lead to disordered eating behaviours. 

Disordered eating can present in a number of ways, but can usually be identified with by fixed or inflexible eating patterns, which lead to distress if they cannot be maintained. Disordered eating may include:

• Restrictive dieting: Fasting, skipping meals, chronic restricted intake, or eliminating food groups such as carbohydrates/sugars or fats
• Binge eating: Feeling out of control while eating and eating large amounts of food in a relatively short period of time
• Compensating for dietary intake: Could include excessive exercise, using diet pills, laxatives or vomiting
• Using steroids or other supplements to alter one's physical appearance.

Disordered eating behaviours, and in particular, dieting, are the most common indicators of the development for an eating disorder. Dieting is also the most common form of disordered eating.

Research has shown that dieting just does not work in the long term. There is no evidence to support that dieting results in long term weight loss. In fact the research shows that at least 1/3 to 2/3 of people who diet,  not only regain the weight they lost whilst on the diet, but go on to gain further weight within a 4-5 year period, placing them at a higher body weight than when they started dieting.

But it's not just dieting's lack of success in sustained weight loss that is the problem. Frequent weight loss dieting has been associated with increased mobility and mortality risk; it reduces bone mass and increases cortisol production which is a strong predictor of weight gain over time. 

When the body is starved of food, it goes into life preservation mode and reduces the rate it burns energy making it much harder to lose weight. It can also result in unplanned overeating and binge eating behaviours which can all combine to result in weight gain and obesity. Feelings of guilt and shame are common when the diet is 'broken', contributing to low self esteem.

Other emotional changes seen with restrictive dieting include an increase in anxiety and depression which can lead to withdrawing from social situations and feelings of inadequacy. Changes in thinking are also common, such as more rigid or obsessional thinking as well as impaired concentration and decision making ability.

Emotional eating (or stress eating) is using food to make yourself feel better; eating to satisfy emotional needs, rather than to satisfy physical hunger. You might reach for the ice cream when you’re feeling down, order a pizza if you’re bored or lonely, or swing by the drive-through after a stressful day at work.

Occasionally using food as a pick me up, a reward, or to celebrate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But when eating is your primary emotional coping mechanism—when your first impulse is to open the refrigerator whenever you’re stressed, upset, angry, lonely, exhausted, or bored— you get stuck in an unhealthy cycle where the real feeling or problem is never addressed.

Emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. Eating may feel good in the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. And you often feel worse than you did before because of the unnecessary calories you’ve just consumed.

No matter how powerless you feel over food and your feelings, it is possible to make a positive change. You can find healthier ways to deal with your emotions, learn to eat mindfully instead of mindlessly, regain control of your weight, and finally put a stop to emotional eating