Eating Disorders and Weight Management

Come back to balance with a healthy mindset, improved lifestyle and positive approach towards food.

About 20 million women and 10 million men have or have had an eating disorder at some point in their life. By age 20, about 13% of youth would have experience at least one eating disorder.

Disclaimer: The following may be emotionally and deeply disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

Many people mistaken eating disorders as a relationship with food. Eating disorders are more than just about the food. Often, eating disorders develop and begin as an obsession with body weight or body shape. It is a distorted view and perception of self-image in accordance to societal pressures or perceived pressures to be thin to match distorted and impossible standards of beauty, whether or not imposed by cultural preferences for thinness or a self-imposed pressures. Obsession with body weight or body shape can be exacerbated through ongoing consumption and exposure to media promoting such ideals or ‘standards of perfection’. Individuals with eating disorders often seek such materials and hold themselves against these unrealistic images (these images are often altered) and impossible standards. They may have also experienced rejection (in relationships, in school, work, in society) or may be victims of bullying (overt and covert), where they are body-shamed or felt that they had been left or rejected from a partner who chase after such ideals. Often, individuals suffer from low self-esteem, poor confidence, trauma, and lost a sense of self-assurance and personal identity. It can feel as if their entire values system has been hijacked and overtaken by this relentless obsession.

It is a painful experience to have felt rejection and not being accepted for who you are, especially when it comes to self-image, which forms such a core part of our personal identity.

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Others develop an eating disorder because of unbearable pain and overwhelm experienced in school, at work, or at home, where they ruminate in their thoughts and are unable to escape the confines of their space and the restrictions experienced in their own personal life circumstances. Eating disorders than become a private and deeply painful secret ritual they partake in, in order to numb the extreme emotional pain and distraught they feel inside, or in extreme, severe cases, as a form of self-harm.

Individuals suffering from eating disorders experience a burden of insurmountable pressures to keep up with appearances (which is not only confined to physical appearances, and includes peer and societal pressures, or what is deemed acceptable in societal standards) and fears the repercussions of not complying to those standards, or risk being ex-communicated, rejected or being labelled as a social pariah. Overwhelmed by these impossible standards that are weighted on them from external factors beyond their control, they turn the emotional pain inwards – silently and slowly, they are slipping away. They may feel like they want to disappear altogether.

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Types of Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa (most common)
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorder
Pica
Rumination Disorder
Avoidant/ Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Other Eating Disorders

Overview

Anorexia Nervosa	Bulimia Nervosa	Binge Eating Disorder	Pica	Rumination Disorder	Avoidant/ Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Affects: Adolescence / Young Adulthood	Affects: Adolescence / Early Adulthood	Affects: Adolescence / Early Adulthood Can develop in Later Adulthood	Affects: Childhood/ Adolescence/ Adulthood	Affects: Infancy (3-12 months)/ Childhood/ Adolescence/ Adulthood	Affects: Infancy/ Early Childhood (under 7 years of age) up to Adulthood
Prevalence: Women	Prevalence: Women	Non Gender Specific	Prevalence: Either Gender with Mental Disabilities Pregnant Women Children	Non Gender Specific	Non Gender Specific
Self-Perception: Views self as overweight (although self is dangerously underweight)	Self-Perception: Views self as overweight (although self is at normal weight)	Self-Perception: Views self with feelings of distress, shame, disgust, guilt	Self-Perception: Views self as not a normal part of his/her culture or religion and adopts non-conventional behaviours and practices by engaging in non-socially acceptable practices from the perspective or lens of his/her peers.	Self-Perception: N/A Rumination is a reflex, not a conscious action	Self-Perception: N/A ARFID is a feeding disorder of infancy and early childhood
Sub-Types: Restricting Type : Lose weight through dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise.Binge Eating and Purging Type : Binge on large amounts of food or eat very little.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Behaviours and Traits: Restricting Type Monitors weigh constantly Food avoidance (certain types of food) Restrict consumption of food/ calorie intake/ eating patterns Dieting excessively Binge Eating and Purging Type Preoccupied with and have constant thoughts about food Obsessively collect recipes Hoard food Both Types Difficulty eating in public Exhibit obsessive-compulsive behaviour Purge activities include vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, or exercising excessively Intense fear of gaining weight Persistent behaviours to avoid gaining weight (despite being underweight) Relentless pursuit of thinness Unwillingness to maintain a healthy weight Self-esteem is heavily influenced through perception of body weight and/or body shape Distorted body image – denies being seriously underweight	Behaviours and Traits: Food binges happen frequently, are recurrent and continuous Eat unusually large amounts of food in a short period of time Eat until become painfully full Cannot stop eating during a binge Cannot control how much they are eating Binges on foods the individual would normally avoid Attempts to purge to compensate for calories consumed and relieve gut discomfort Purging activities include vomiting, fasting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas, and excessive exercise Fear of gaining weight despite having normal weight Self-esteem is overly influenced through perception of body weight and/or body shape	Behaviours and Traits: Eat unusually large amounts of food in a short period of time Cannot stop eating during a binge Cannot control how much they are eating Eat large amounts of foods rapidly, in secret until uncomfortably full, despite not feeling hungry Do not restrict calories Do not have purging activities nor exhibit purging behaviours	Behaviours and Traits: Eat things that are not considered food Crave non-food substances, such as ice, dirt, soil, chalk, soap, paper, hair, cloth, wool, pebbles, laundry detergent, or cornstarch	Behaviours and Traits: Regurgitates food they have previously chewed and swallowed, re-chews it, and then either re-swallows it or spits it out Occurs within first 30 minutes after a meal and is voluntary Restrict amount of food consumption (especially in public)	Behaviours and Traits: Disturbed eating Lack of interest in food or eating, avoids food Distaste for certain smells, tastes, colours, textures, or temperatures Restrict consumption of food/ calorie intake/ nutrients Do not like to eat in public, social functions, or with others Nutrient deficiencies Dependence on supplements or tube feeding
Physical Appearance Considerably underweight compared with people of similar age and height	Physical Appearance Usually maintain a relatively normal weight, rather than becoming underweight	Physical Appearance Often overweight or suffer from obesity	Physical Appearance Normal and no particular deviation from usual normal appearance of the individual	Physical Appearance Underweight	Physical Appearance Poor development for age and height Underweight
Impact on Health: May experience thinning of bones through time Infertility Brittle hair and nails Growth of layer of fine hair all over their body Heart, brain, or multi-organ failure and death (in severe cases)	Impact on Health: Inflamed and sore throat, swollen salivary glands Worn tooth enamel, tooth decay Acid reflux Irritation of gut Severe dehydration Hormonal disturbances Imbalance in electrolytes levels (sodium, potassium, and calcium) which leads to stroke or heart attack (in severe cases)	Impact on Health: Obesity Type 2 Diabetes (linked to excess weight) Increased risk of heart disease, stroke (in severe cases)	Impact on Health: Increased risk of poisoning Infections Gut injuries Nutritional deficiencies Fatal/ death after ingesting poisonous/ toxic substances	Impact on Health: Weight Loss Severe malnutrition Fatal/ death (in severe cases)	Impact on Health: Weight Loss Severe malnutrition Fatal/ death (in severe cases)
Summary: Individuals who suffer from anorexia nervosa may limit their food intake or compensate for it through various purging behaviors. They have an intense fear of gaining weight, even when severely underweight.	Summary: Individuals who suffer from bulimia nervosa eat large amounts of food in short periods of time, then purge. They fear gaining weight despite being at a normal weight.	Summary: Individuals who suffer from binge eating disorder regularly and uncontrollably consume large amounts of food in short periods of time. Unlike people with other eating disorders, they do not purge.	Summary: Individuals who suffer from pica tend to crave and eat non-food substances. This disorder may particularly affect children, pregnant women, and individuals with mental disabilities.	Summary: Rumination disorder can affect people at all stages of life. People with the condition generally regurgitate the food they’ve recently swallowed. Then, they chew it again and either swallow it or spit it out.	Summary: ARFID is an eating disorder that causes people to undereat. This is either due to a lack of interest in food or an intense distaste for how certain foods look, smell, or taste.

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Many individuals whom have undergone therapy have shared that they experienced a sense of freedom and relief after processing their innermost thoughts, fears, emotions and regaining a sense of control. This is a process that can be deeply fulfilling and meaningful. Each individual is unique, with their own unique experiences, expressions, intention, dreams and goals. We can facilitate these changes and shift your mind-set to the outcomes that you determine yourself. In these therapy sessions, you will gain insights that may not have been apparent to you before and you will discover a myriad of possibilities including what personal freedom means to you. You will also begin to seek and form more meaningful relationships and gravitate towards solutions and resolutions that work towards your own personal freedom and choices.

We, and many of our clients can be a testament to their own personal success stories and now, you can be part of this testimony of strength, of endurance.

Weight Management

Therapy and counselling, in combination with nutritious diet and exercise can be an effective method to shed the pounds. Weight Management therapy is suitable for individuals experiencing overweight and/or overeating that results in being overweight.

Our weight management therapy sessions help and support individuals address the following:

Identify underlying emotions driving eating habits, such as eating for emotion rather than hunger
Conscious choices about what, when and how much to eat
Stop emotional eating or food binging
Interrupt and change false beliefs and emotional connections that interfere with your ability to modify your diet and exercise routines effectively
Eliminate unhelpful beliefs associating food with self-reward
Anchor in and shift belief systems and emotional connections to more positive and healthy eating habits and choices
Improve quality of life in all aspects, from having more self-esteem and confidence with an improved self-body image, feeling better overall with improved energy levels, increased health levels and emotional well-being
Mindful practices which are available to you at any time, where you will automatically respond to making empowering choices

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Weight gain or weight loss may affect individuals whom :

Individuals may be unaware that their personal histories or their past could and are affecting their current attempts to maintain a healthy weight.

Therapy can help heal the trauma so that the individual can go on to release the weight.

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Eating Disorders and Weight Management