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Post by QueueMistressMags on May 16, 2014 15:39:15 GMT
I think this guy's got a problem with food, and it's not that he eats too much or too little.
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Post by WinterMoon on May 16, 2014 16:23:11 GMT
He's a self-admitted food addict, yes. So for him, dieting is a bit like drinking in moderation is for an alcoholic. But for myself, personally, I think I'm just a bit too indulgent.
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Post by Ensign Sandra on May 16, 2014 16:36:03 GMT
Yeah, I kind of think he's managed to convince himself that "Skinny people have NO problems. And when they do, the problem is less serious than it would be for a fat person." He didn't say that anorexia was healthy, per say, just that it was a much lesser evil than dying from fooooood. Either way, you're still dead. Anorexics are not happy; they are desperately ill, which is why people have sympathy for them. They may feel they finally have control over something in their lives, but the reward system in their brains is seriously disordered. In fact, all eating disorders, addictions, anxiety, and depression are associated with dysfunctional neurobiology. I haven't read enough to know whether they know yet in which direction the causal relationship runs, but it ain't virtue. So this one sick dude and he's looking for other people to join him in his constructed misery. Don't!
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Post by Lady Barbara on May 16, 2014 17:19:58 GMT
To be honest I almost feel sorry for the Boss: He seems to be an extremely unhappy person to me. He might think: Less weight, less pain! I don't know him, but I could imagine that he isn't aware what he does to others, when he asks them to join him in his mania.
Glad that you realised that this form of "dieting" is totally wrong, but maybe someone should offer your Boss help also.
>> Anorexics are not happy; they are desperately ill, which is why people have sympathy for them. << I'm not really much with you about this case, @ensign Sandra. My perception is, that skinny women (anorexic or not) often are called "unhealthy", "like a skeletton", "horrible" or even "ugly" while the same people call heavier women "feminin", "healthy", "well-rounded" or "erotic". And I heard / read more than once, that it is a woman's own fault, when she suffers from anorexia or bulimia.
But of course every eating disorder is a serious disease. And you very easily slip into one. So stay away from every "diet". My personal experience is, that the less you think about your weight, the more you will maintain it. Or even lose some weight.
I wish you the very best!
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Post by Ensign Sandra on May 16, 2014 22:40:47 GMT
>> Anorexics are not happy; they are desperately ill, which is why people have sympathy for them. <<
I'm not really much with you about this case, @ensign Sandra. My perception is, that skinny women (anorexic or not) often are called "unhealthy", "like a skeletton", "horrible" or even "ugly" while the same people call heavier women "feminin", "healthy", "well-rounded" or "erotic". And I heard / read more than once, that it is a woman's own fault, when she suffers from anorexia or bulimia. Not sure I follow your thinking here. The neurobiological component of eating disorders is well-established; it is a psychiatric illness rather than a psychological condition. Societal pressure and unrealistic body images promoted in the media do contribute to the condition, but it is not "all in your head''. Other than the fact that your brain IS in your head. People may say that having an eating disorder is all the person's (and many more men are being diagnosed with them) own fault, but only because they don't understand what they're talking about. Being of slender or slim (skinny, if you will) body type is not the same thing as starving yourself to the point where you're causing damage to your internal organs. There's a good review of the evidence here. It was published in 2008, and much more work has been done since, but it covers a lot of the territory. The sympathy to which I refer is the concern that anyone would naturally have for someone who is very ill, regardless of the type of illness. For instance, I have several family members with chronic auto-immune disorders. They are sick and they suffer because of it. I certainly don't think that they brought it on themselves. And even if they had, that wouldn't alter the fact that they are legitimately ill.
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Post by Dolphin on May 17, 2014 7:25:34 GMT
Glad that you realised that this form of "dieting" is totally wrong, but maybe someone should offer your Boss help also. Good point, I agree, but I doubt that he would accept it or even acknowledge that he has a problem (and he has!) while he is still on his starvation high... >> Anorexics are not happy; they are desperately ill, which is why people have sympathy for them. <<
I'm not really much with you about this case, @ensign Sandra. My perception is, that skinny women (anorexic or not) often are called "unhealthy", "like a skeletton", "horrible" or even "ugly" while the same people call heavier women "feminin", "healthy", "well-rounded" or "erotic". And I heard / read more than once, that it is a woman's own fault, when she suffers from anorexia or bulimia. I agree with both of you, which is kind of strange. Or course, we have sympathy with anorexics and bulimics but I think this sympathy only sets in when they are already very obviously ill. As long as they look thin but not emaciated, and as long as they keep pretending to be happy, often it is neither realized that they have a problem or it is mixed with a weird kind of admiration. "Wow, you are so thin!", "You have lost weight" and "I wish I had your willpower." is something that in my opinion is said much more often than "skeleton" or "ugly". And then, when finally it is obvious that they are ill, this admiration switches to sympathy (probably sometimes mixed with a bit of disgust if you learn too much about purging habits...) I mean, let's be honest, even though I know that their dieting/starving is dangerous and has nothing to do with having control (if anything their ED contols them!), even I have sometimes caught myself thinking "how do they do it? How do they manage NOT to eat while I just don't have enought self-control to eat this chocolate"... I have never actually heard someone say that it is their own "fault" that they suffer from anorexia, but I think a lot of people still can't understand that from a certain point on not-eating is not their choice and that they cannot just say "OK, I'll eat" because the fear of ffood and gaining weight sits by then so deep in them. That even if you technically COULD eat, you just CAN'T. BTW, for me it doesn't matter if the ED is "just in someone's head" or has a biochemical component. Seeing the suffering is what causes the/my sympathy, I think, regardless of its medical cause. Praise for heavier women is much rarer, in my experience, I think sympathy for them comes much easier because they so obviously do not fit into modern society's Beauty ideal. Sympathy or mocking. And binge eaters will probably never experience the same "admiration" as anorexics because they do not seem to be in control - even though they are also ill. So in this point I would disagree with you, Lady B. A friend of mine has just posted this on Facebook, famous paintings (Botticelli's Venus, or La Maya desnuda, Gaugin#s Thahitian Women etc.) in which the depicted woman has been photoshopped to have the measurements of modern models. I found it rather interesting (Ok, some of the photoshopping is not very good), especially because they looked more or less normal to me and I had expected them to be much thinner. Chance of Beauty ideals over Ages... www.takepart.com/feature/2014/05/15/famous-paintings-photoshopped-to-look-like-fashion-models
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Post by Lady Barbara on May 17, 2014 11:41:40 GMT
>>weird kind of admiration<<
Because of this admiration I think there might be less sympathy for anorexic people - you usually don't pity what you admire. And people don't tell them into their faces, that they look like skeletons. No, they tell them: "You are soo skinny, like a sylph", but behind their back they might talk differently. Just have a look into (online) magazines: "The formerly beautiful actress (model, ...) is just skin and bones anymore. See the shocking pictures." If someone would write: "The formerly beautiful actress,... gained at least 10 pounds" public would crucify the writer of these lines. In my very own opinion there is less sympathy for anorexic people than for gentry who suffer from other diseases. Many might think: If he/she just starts eating again the problem might be solved. Of course there was a lot of awareness training over the last 10 years, but I don't know if it really has changed people's perception about these diseases.
>>probably sometimes mixed with a bit of disgust if you learn too much about purging habits...<<
Exactly! No matter how tolerant people are, but would they really want to invite a bulimic person into their house for dinner? And feeling uncomfortable when this person walks toward the bathroom afterwards? Thinking: "What a waste?"
>>And binge eaters will probably never experience the same "admiration" <<
No admiration, but more sympathy if you ask me.
>>www.takepart.com/feature/2014/05/15/famous-paintings-photoshopped-to-look-like-fashion-models<<
Like this site! I agree with you that the photoshopping isn't very good, but the idea behind it is interesting. Especially, because the women on this painting aren't heavy (especially the Naked Maya I never expected to be). Let's hope, that the photoshoppers might at least stay away from art!
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Post by Dolphin on May 17, 2014 14:53:48 GMT
>>weird kind of admiration<< Because of this admiration I think there might be less sympathy for anorexic people - you usually don't pity what you admire. That is what I mean - you admire them as lon as their illness is not recognizable as such. An then, when it can't overlooked anymore, the admiration changes to pity and worry. Just have a look into (online) magazines: "The formerly beautiful actress (model, ...) is just skin and bones anymore. See the shocking pictures." If someone would write: "The formerly beautiful actress,... gained at least 10 pounds" public would crucify the writer of these lines. But which reaction is caused by the "shocking pictures" and what does the Magazine aim at (apart from a high printrun and good sales): I think it is usally also pity and worry (and the good old voyeuristic fascination), as they tend to link the weight loss to some personal problem (relationship, deaths, stress, ...). It is not "Look how skinny she has become, haha, you can see her ribs"). And of course it is also hypocritical as the same magazines praise their Beauty as Long as the ED is not yet evident. I also don't think that they are any nicer to celebraties who have gained weight, if anything, they show even crueler images of their problem zones. In my very own opinion there is less sympathy for anorexic people than for gentry who suffer from other diseases. More obviously physical diseases, you mean? I agree. But that is a problem that most mental or mainly perceived as psychological illnesses share. But I think it is changing as people are more and more open about EDs and the side effects and consequences are better known than before. I am sure that the perception has changed a lot, unfortunately in both directions. On the one hand, the more you know about EDs and the organ damage it can cause etc the more smpathetic you feel. "It is not just hunger, it affects the whole body." On the other Hand there is the Pro-Ana movement.. >>And binge eaters will probably never experience the same "admiration" < No admiration, but more sympathy if you ask me. I'd say exactly the opposite. No admiration, little sympathy, but a lot of contempt and ridicule. You say, people do not call anorexics "Skeleton" to their face but talk about them behind their backs. Maybe I am too naive, as always, but I think a lot of this "talking behind their backs" is caused by worry about the person, or pity with them. But how many heavy people are called "fat" or "lazy" or "greedy" or worse to their face and behind their backs. And I think in their cases it is not motivated by worry but by much nastier thoughts. I think that the perception of binge eating as an illness is even worse than for other EDs, even though they can't help it either. Anyway, I am not sure if this discussion is still within the Forum rules. Mods, please call us to order if we go too far.
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Post by WinterMoon on May 17, 2014 15:10:51 GMT
Remember the photoshopped pictures of Britney Spears, where her chin hung down to her breasts? People thought they were real, and couldn't understand how she was in such good shape a few weeks later.
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Post by Ensign Sandra on Jun 5, 2014 21:16:48 GMT
Here is an interesting piece about the beneficial effects of "prolonged" [authors' chosen term] fasting. In this study, "prolonged" means cycles of two to four days of fasting, over a period of six months .
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