Archive for November, 2009

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Meryl Lin McKean, Meagan Kelleher, Web Producer
Fox4KC

OLATHE, Kan. -

Get Great Tips on Eating Healthy -Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy Lifestyle

In this age of monster burgers and bulging waistlines, it’s good to eat healthy, right? Not when it becomes an obsession. There’s no official name for it yet, but many call that obsession “orthorexia.”

Laura Hergert developed the obsession through junior high, high school and college. Foods were either good or bad to her. She’d eat only the good ones and she’d spent hours each day thinking about eating healthy and going online between meals and snacks to log everything she ate.

“I had so many grams of carbs, what can I have for lunch that would match that up,” Hergert recalls.

Kori Hintz-Bohn, the director of Renew, an eating disorder recovery program in Olathe, sees a growing number of people of both sexes who have orthorexia.

Healthy Lifestyle

“They’re obsessed about food and thinking about it all the time. Their quality of life and relationships have decreased because of all the time it takes for them to spend planning meals, thinking about meals,” Hintz-Bohn said.

Hintz-Bohn said fruits and vegetables are often “safe” foods for those with orthorexia. Organic foods may be, too.

“Usually protein goes, any kind of food that has fat goes, and it just keeps getting more and more rigid. They could lose so much weight, it’s like anoriexa where they cannot function,” she said.

That wasn’t the case for Hergert, but it was isolating and going out with friends became difficult. Like many others with orthorexia, Hergert became obsessed with going to the gym and any delay in her work-out became a crisis.

“I’d almost be having an anxiety attack because I would think I already ate. I need to go to the gym and work it off,” she said.

Hintz-Bohn said many people with orthorexia think all of this is “right.”

“Which is why there’s such a denial and why so few of them get help because they think they’re being healthy. They’re eating better than everyone else,” she said.

Hergert’s family and friends thought she was just eating better, but it was Hergert who realized she needed help.

“I think I just got to the point I could not take thinking about it all the time. It just becomes your life,” she said.

But not anymore. If Hergert wants an occasional piece of cake, she has it with no guilt and no obsessing over calories, carbs and fats. No more good foods, bad foods.

Healthy Lifestyle

But Hergert said it wouldn’t have been possible without professional eating disorders counseling.

“There are psychological components as to why they went to this healthy extreme of a diet,” Hintz-Bohn said.

My personality is really passive,” Hergert said. “I don’t like to tell people I have problems or deal with them, so it really became a way for me to have control over something.”

But with counseling, Hergert saw how she could have control over her life instead of obsessing over food.

Common Symptoms
If you answer “yes” to 3 of more, please seek professional help for an eating disorder assessment.

• Do I have an intense fear of becoming fat?
• Do I constantly think about weight or feeling fat?
• Do I spend excessive time thinking about food and critiquing food choices?
• Does my weight determine my self-worth?
• Do I find extreme pleasure in times of eating alone?
• Do I regularly eat when not physically hungry (emotional eating)?
• Do I feel extreme guilt or shame after eating?
• Do I label food as “good foods” and “bad foods?”
• Do I eat large amounts of food in a short period of time (less than 2 hours)?
• Do I feel out of control when I’m eating?
• Do I feel satisfaction and in control due to restricting my food intake?
• Do I have to know calories, carbs, or fat grams in the majority of food I consume?
• Do I feel self-conscience or embarrassed about eating in front of others?
• Do I often sneak food?
• Do I find myself lying about my eating habits to others?
• Do I exercise for the purpose of getting rid of calories consumed?
• Do I think I am fat when others think I do not need to lose weight?
• Do I skip meals as a way to lose or control weight?
• Have a tried self-induced vomiting?
• Have I used laxatives and/or diuretics as a means of getting rid of calories?
• Do I feel controlled by food?
• Do I have long gaps between eating to the point I feel extreme physical hunger?
• Do I eat in a certain pattern (ritual)?
• Do I feel guilty about eating?
• Do I feel a “high” for restricting my food intake?

Helping an Individual Seek Help
(Source: Renew Eating Disordery Recovery, Olathe, Kan.)

1. Find a safe, calm environment free of interruptions to talk to your loved one in a caring and supportive way.
2. Share your observations using “I” statements such as, “I notice…” “I observe…”
3. Share your thoughts and feelings. “I am scared for your health and am worried about you. What I am seeing are symptoms of an eating disorder behavior.”
4. Affirm that you are concerned, you care and would like to help. Suggest that he or she seek professional help from a physician and/or therapist that specializes in disordered eating. Offer to go with them to their first appointment, if that is helpful. The first step/appointment is often the hardest to make.
5. Avoid getting into an argument. If defensiveness occurs, remain calm and again share your feelings and concerns.

Remember: Be honest in a way that is loving and honoring to your friend/loved one. Talk openly and honestly about your concerns with the person who is struggling with eating or body image problems. Avoiding it or ignoring it will only make the problem last longer. Be caring, but be firm. Your friend must be responsible for their actions and the consequences of those actions. Avoid making rules, promises, or expectations that you cannot or will not uphold. For example, “I promise not to tell anyone.” Or, ‘”If you do this one more time I won’t talk to you again until you get help.” If you are an adolescent, tell someone who can help the individual such as a parent or school counselor. Addressing body image or eating problems in the beginning stages offers the best chance for working through these issues and becoming healthy again. Don’t wait until the situation is so severe that a person’s health is in danger. Know there is never a “right” time to confront a loved one. It is extremely difficult. He/she may not thank you now, but know you are investing in restoring him/her to wholeness for the rest of their lives. There is no easy or fast solution. Trying “harder” is not the solution. Professional care can help heal and restore someone who has any kind of unhealthy eating habits.

For more information go to www.renewkc.com

Get Great Tips on Eating Healthy -Healthy Lifestyle

A Healthy Lifestyle is only a few steps away

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Tips for surviving the holidays without sacrificing your weight-loss goals

Fudge, cookies, breads, pies, ect… Nobody likes to pass up on these fantastic goodies during the holiday, but there is a way to eat the yummy foods and not sacrifice your weight loss goals.

Start the holidays with a plan. Here are some simple steps to help aid in your weight loss goals.

Two Months of Goodies

We have two to three months of holidays. It starts off with the Halloween sweets, Thanksgiving abundance and Christmas baking.

We set goals to not over indulge in these foods during the holidays but the temptations can be very overwhelming. The goal to exercise can fall by the waist side. How do we overcome these challenges and maintain our weight loss goals? Maintain our healthy lifestyle?

Healthy Lifestyle tip 1. Understand the Challenge

Set achievable goals that can be maintained during the holiday stress. Sometimes we cannot exercise as much as we would like to because of all the holiday festivities we are invited to, the shopping, the baking and the wrapping. Set goals for how often you would like to exercise and how many calories you will eat a day. If you eat a cookie, fluctuate the calories from something else. Set your weight loss goals to a few pounds during the holidays. You may not loose as much as you normally do but the goal is also to not gain any weight. 

Healthy Lifestyle tip 2.

Write It Down

Once you set your goals write them on a piece of paper and put it where you can see them everyday. Read them daily and visualize your self reaching those goals.

Keep a food journal daily. Keep track of the foods you consume and how many calories.

Healthy Lifestyle tip 3.

Choose a Partner

Find a partner to compare goals with and help each other stay on track. During the stress of the holidays and facing the temptations of yummy foods, it is nice to have someone to talk to about your struggles. Partners can encourage each other to achieve their weight loss goals.

Healthy Lifestyle tip 4.

Choose Your Calories Wisely

Avoid alcohol. Many alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories. Also as you drink more snacking is also increased. Save your calories for foods you really ant to eat rather than the drink. Try to eat some vegetables or fruit before a party so you are not too hungry when you arrive.

Before you eat something ask yourself if you really need it.

Healthy Lifestyle tip 5.

Take A Breather

Holidays are stressful. Stress can wear you down. It can be very exhausting. Take a few minutes everyday to just take some deep breaths and appreciate the things around you. While you are taking deep breaths think about all the things you are thankful for.

Healthy Lifestyle tip 6.

Do Not Skip Exercise

Even if you do not have time to exercise daily try to squeeze in a least a day or two. Oxycise is a great workout that boosts the metabolism. It only needs to be done 15 minutes a day and does not need to be done all at once. You can spread the exercise out through out the day. They can be done while you are driving or cooking.

GET STRIP THE FAT HERE AND LOSE THE WEIGHT NOWSome Extra Healthy Lifestyle TipsWeight specialist Susan Bartlett suggests the following ways to keep your caloric count in check at a big event:

1.         Don’t arrive hungry; eat something before you go.
2.         Pass up peanuts, pretzels, chips, and other everyday snacks. Spend your calories on the special treats you really want.
3.         Wear a form-fitting outfit, with a belt if possible.
4.         Make socializing, rather than food, the focus of the event.
5.         Keep your portions in check — to keep calories under control.
6.         Plan how much alcohol you’ll drink. It loosens your inhibitions and contributes to calorie consumption.
7.         Don’t stand near the buffet table. In fact, keep your back to it, so you won’t even see it!
8.         Make a deal with yourself that you will learn something new about someone you don’t know at the party.
9.         Wear a special piece of jewelry — a sparkly bangle or big ring — as a visible reminder to yourself to eat in moderation.
10.       Practice saying “no, thank you.” It’s okay to turn down invitations or tell a pushy host you don’t want seconds.

GET STRIP THE FAT HERE AND LOSE THE WEIGHT NOW

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE is only a few steps away.