I read this article - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24295957/ - and posted about it in the 100-pound thread, but I have been unable to get it out of my mind. Then, I watched the HBO documentary "Thin," and that blew my mind even more. I hesitated to post this here, 'cuz I don't want to get into other people's heads about all of this, but I want some reassurance.

The first thing that struck me the most about the documentary was how much these anorexic and bulimic women looked like the celebrities we're taught to idolize. In fact, the word for pictures of Victoria Beckham, Mary Kate Olsen, Natalie Portman, etc. is "thinspiration." Yet, their eating and purging habits were clearly dangerous.

The other thing, though, was how closely I could relate to their feelings in treatment. One woman (who recently committed suicide due to her eating disorder) was forced to eat a cupcake piled with frosting on her birthday. How cruel is that? The other things they ate for their meals - greasy pizza, cheeseburgers, bagels with cream cheese, etc. - were things that I have almost completely excluded from my diet, and I could just imagine how horrible I would feel to be forced to eat that stuff daily.

Everything I've learned here teaches me that the control is key, though. So - does disordered eating just mean that we are the ones that aren't fortunate enough to have faster metabolisms and are destined to choose between being fat and having a "disorder?"

I read this article in Self magazine and it really irritated me. It's not enough that women lose weight, now we have to lose weight but without dieting. While I can see that using laxatives or skipping meals is dangerous, I fail to see what is so dangerous about some of the other habits they disparage. I count calories--I weight, measure, and count everything I put in my mouth and keep my calories under a specified limit everyday. This requires a lot of time in terms of planning, preparation, and tracking. It's been an extremely successful strategy for in terms of weight loss and it also encourages me to eat healthier foods. Yet, this is considered disordered eating.

How does counting calories harm me? I eat healthier (I also monitor my fat, protein, and carb intakes) because I look for foods that are going to sustain me on the calorie level that I'm eating at. I try to stay away from foods that I consider to be empty calories (chips, desserts, crackers, white carbs, etc.). I am eating the healthiest I ever have in my life and eat far healthier than a lot of my friends that don't count calories (and supposed aren't disordered eaters).

I exercise every day. Again this is considered disordered behavior but how does it harm me? I'm not overexercising, I exercise at a reasonable level. It's just easier for me to stick with it if I do it every day. Between eating and exercise, I am the healthiest I have ever been in my life, even including my childhood years. How is this bad for me? In what way is it hurting me?

I weigh myself twice a day. Again, this is considered disordered behavior but I don't see how it hurts me. I don't worry about the daily fluctuations in weight unless I've been off-plan with my eating and/or exercise for several days in row (for example, if I'm on vacation or a business trip). But I lost 35 lbs and most days I still have trouble believing it. It helps me to see that number on the scale every day, especially right now as I'm trying to increase my calories and transition into maintenance. I also feel like not weighing myself is the first step in gaining the weight back. I weigh twice a day because I don't like surprises. There's not very much variation from weigh-in to weigh-in; I always know exactly what to expect when I step on the scale. If I weighed only weekly, that wouldn't be the case.

I fail to see how any of these behaviors harm me. I'm happy with my lifestyle, I'm with the foods I eat and the exercise that I do, and I'm happy with how I look. Yet, according the article and their quiz, I'm at risk for disordered eating.

Personally, I think that this whole "disordered eating" fad is just another way of trying to get women to feel bad about themselves. It's not enough that I lose weight and keep it off, now, if I don't do it in a manner that meets someone else's definition of what is acceptable, I still have a problem. Phooey! I refuse to accept that there is anything at all that is disordered about my eating and exercise; in fact, I think there are a lot of people out there that would be a lot healthier if they adopted some of my supposedly "disordered" habits.

Self magazine is runs a bunch of articles that suggest that women are too extreme with their diets. Recently they also ran an article about "finding your happy weight." Yet every one of their exercise models is Victoria Beckham, Mary Kate Olsen, Natalie Portman thin (and very scantily clad). It's so hypocritical it drives me nuts. I got the subscription for free or for a very low cost and I definitely won't be renewing it.

These articles drive me crazy as well. I too weigh myself everyday. I am learning to eat cleaner, healthier and my next "oomph" is to start moving physically. I'm dealing with this bulemia issue personally at home with my 14 1/2 years old. I found "signs" around the toilet rim and when I asked her if she was sick, she said no, and when I told her what I found, she shrugged and said, maybe the dog did it....well, he's not THAT well trained. Anyhow, her dad and I confronted her and I made sure she knew I was NOT mad, NOT disappointed, but scared and want to help her. She now wants boys to notice her, most of her friends have boyfriends, she doesn't, she's so involved with her horse, but the workout she gets is more "core" workout and inner thigh muscles, she's more solid, not flabby, but it's not all muscle neither. I removed all the junk food, bought those fat free or sugar free fudgecicles and told her not every thing is OFF limits, it's the quantity and also, we need to be more active. She's helping me and I am helping her. She's (I think) starting to come into her own and isn't sure who/what she wants. She's still a tom boy, but .... she is starting to like dresses and wear lip gloss and mascara. She even said the girls in school told her to drink shampoo and bubbles??? A lot of them are stick figures and of course the women/girls on tv. So she and I are working through this. She will be spending the summer with her father and he's asked her to help him when they go grocery shopping and help him get out in the evenings and walk.
Any advice would be appreciated. It's so painful watching your child cry saying she feels so fat and so ugly. In all honesty, she could lose maybe 10 pounds, but not really much more. We have a doctors appointment scheduled for next week for this.

Our whole society's view on eating- disordered or normal- is a complete paradox. Some days I think I would fit in more if I still possessed my old habits. We are a society that collectively overeats and is overweight, yet we are pummeled daily with messages that we don't measure up.... or we do. But then we don't. But then we should embrace our expanding waistlines and be happy in our own skin. But then we are shamed at the turn of every corner for being "fat and proud".

See where I'm going?

I understand your confusion and battle it myself sometimes. I have learned that for a good at-home arm workout and the occasional recipe, Self is a good way to go. And it keeps my eyes busy on the elliptical. I have also learned that when it comes to me maintaining my healthy lifestyle, I am the best judge of that. Let them prey on someone else.

My name is Jen. I question the caloric content of everything I put in my mouth.

I weigh myself everyday (usually). I factor in everything as well (pee or no pee, naked or not, etc... hey, it's a quirk).

I look up the menu online whenever I go out to eat so that I have a plan. I will even see if there is nutritional content available.

I get really cranky when I don't exercise regularly. I am committed to it. Committed, Obsessive, potato, po-tato.

I take a long time at the grocery store because I'm a label reader. It's true.

The check out lady usually finds something that she's never heard of in my grocery cart.

People comment on my lunches. Often.


So, if that's disordered then send me to rehab. I'm in the best shape of my life. I've cured ailments. I've taken control of my health and my LIFE. If the trade off is some silly magazine or a random person commenting on that, so be it.

And I second everything Barbara said.

I took there little test. It was difficult because many of the questions were have you EVER..... Well yeah I USED to do a lot of strange unhealthy things, but I don't now. I think some of the questions are too broad. I mean how would I feel if I gained 5 pounds...Well that depends. If I had been sticking to regular workouts (not increase weights or anything) and healthy eating within my calorie range...I would be P*ssed Off!!! Or I would realize it was TOM related or something and expect it to be gone in a day or two. But if I had been increasing weights at the gym or hadn't been eating on plan and I gain 5...I would feel that is what happeens now get it together!!

I would find it more troublesome for someone to gain 5 pounds and not be phased by it. String together a few months of gainng 5 pounds and ot caring and pretty soon you are obese.

And WHO has NOT ever lied about their weight....saying they weight less than they do???? Right like everyone weighs what their DL says!!! Does that really mean you are a disordered eater. What next DL police??? SHEESH!!!

I think this was a poorly written poor researched piece of journalism. As we all know none of this is as simple as black and white.


And Jen- I love what you say, maybe we can count the calories in while we share lunch at rehab one day!!!

oh....loaded up on vegies, cut them up, fruit, low fat cottage cheese and lf cheese sticks, chicken (I bake my own chicken fingers), trisciuts, and fat free dip, so when we're home this weekend, evenings watching tv and want something to munch on, instead of chips and dip, it's veggies and wheat thins/triscuits and a fat free dip. And dessert, cut up strawberries with the lower cal fudgecicle. Hoping I am on the right path here.

I think what they mean is doing all of those behaviors to a harmful extent. You do it healthy, others don't. Some people get freaked out of they go over 800 cals (sometimes less). Some people cry if the scale goes .5 up at the end of the day.

It's a case-by-case situation, and the warning signs are meant for people who go overboard.

When these behaviors get in the way of living life and ARE your life, that's when it's a problem. Yes, these are part of living healthy, but that's the key-- PART of it. Granted, the article itself is presented in a major scare-tactic sort of way, but the truth is there are people whose lives are dictated by these behaviors, and they can't do anything else because of it.

Everything in life is case by case. This article lumped everyone together and deemed you disordered if you possess a given number of those qualities. Well, I hate to break it to you, but most of the maintainers possess MANY of them at least to some extent. And yes, they DID get in the way of my life, but my life wasn't really worth a whole lot before I changed it. I'm doing a whole lot more livin' now, which is amazing considering all of the time I spend looking at menus and standing on a scale...

I realize it is about not leeting any of these behaviors dictate your life, but in my opinion that is not how it is presented in this article.

I think this one size fits all survey is what caused them to come out with their "SHOCKING" report....I mean if the information wasn't "SHOCKING" then Today show wouldn't be promoting (101 Ways to feel Bad about your) SELF magazine.

I don't mean to get so fired up, but it's just such a damming article on some of the things I do in order to live my life. I mean some of those things are just ludicrous.

I so hear you and I agree completely!

The end of that article was just another list of healthy eating "rules" that we all have to follow. And I'm sure everyone recalls previous posts about how we all CAN'T follow the same rules. We have to find a healthy way that works for us.

I think I was far more "eating disordered" when I wasn't watching ANYTHING that went into my mouth thankyouverymuch. Yes, now I have some control. What's wrong with taking responsbility for what you eat? I'm healthier for it. It'd be like saying it's unhealthy to have control of your finances! Ridiculous. No article in a magazine like Self is going to change my mind.

My name is Jen. I question the caloric content of everything I put in my mouth.

I weigh myself everyday (usually). I factor in everything as well (pee or no pee, naked or not, etc... hey, it's a quirk).

I look up the menu online whenever I go out to eat so that I have a plan. I will even see if there is nutritional content available.

I get really cranky when I don't exercise regularly. I am committed to it. Committed, Obsessive, potato, po-tato.

I take a long time at the grocery store because I'm a label reader. It's true.

The check out lady usually finds something that she's never heard of in my grocery cart.

People comment on my lunches. Often.


My name is Traci, otherwise, ditto. That's my life now. I really don't care if it's a problem for someone else or not. Especially a magazine that exists to tell people what is wrong with them.

I don't weigh in every day because I *KNOW* I have obsessive tendencies, but I try to at least weigh/measure weekly to keep on track. Other than that, I too weigh and measure everything I eat, get cranky if I don't exercise and have to 'plan' indulgences.

Recently gained a couple pounds (up to the red line, ow!), but at least I KNOW what did it - we just moved cross country and I had to sit on my butt the entire day for many days and live off beef jerky and whatever was the healthiest thing you can buy at a gas station. And occasionally I gave in to ice cream. But life happens - it sucks, we gain, but it happens to just about everyone.

As someone else said, when I do everything right and STILL gain, I'm PO'd. If I gain when I wasn't so perfect, well.. at least I enjoyed the journey. :P Still, my jeans are pinchy and that makes me mad. And what's wrong with that?

Now if you are eating outrageously low calories a day and exercising for hours on end, that's problem behaviour, no question about it. But journaling, watching what you eat, and reasonable workouts? Bah. That's what SHOULD happen.

What I used to do was "disordered eating" and it made me morbidly obese.

What I do now is "ordered eating" and it caused me to lose 122 pounds, keep it off for almost six years, and be fitter and healthier than 99% of people my age (per my cardiologist).

Is someone seriously going to tell me that what I do to maintain my weight is "disordered"? How could they possibly say that with a straight face?

We live in a toxic food environment and very, very few of us can intuitively eat what we want, when we want, in the amounts that we want and still maintain a healthy weight. Instead, we need to use our brains to determine our food choices and portions. It's no different than other areas of life, such as managing finances and making career decisions. As responsible adults, we don't careen through life doing whatever strikes our fancy, without regard to consequences, and managing our food choices is no different. We make choices, recognizing that choices have consequences (thanks, Heather! )

We're criticized if we become obese (lazy, greedy) and then we're criticized if we take the necessary steps to remedy the problem (obsessed, unhealthy). We can't win, so the best option is to simply ignore stupidity like this.