The goal of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is to promote public and media attention to the seriousness of eating disorders and their biological as well as environmental triggers, and to try to combat the pressures, attitudes and behaviors that can contribute to them.

2011 Theme: It’s Time to Talk about It

This year the National Eating Disorders Association is stressing that it’s time to talk about eating disorders. We live in a culture saturated with unrealistic body-image messages and almost all of us know somebody struggling with an eating disorder. Because this is true, we urge you to talk about it……and do just one thing during NEDAwareness Week to 1) raise awareness that eating disorders are serious illnesses, not lifestyle choices; 2) provide accurate information to medical, educational and/or business communities, and 3) direct people to information and resources about eating disorders.  Join us, and do “Just One Thing” You don’t need to have a lot of time, money or other resources to make a difference. Simply choose one thing you will do to help.

Here are a few examples:
• Bring a NEDAwareness Week Volunteer Speaker to your school, work, or social group.
• Download and print a free copy of NEDA’s Educator Toolkit, Parent Toolkit and Coach & Athletic Trainer Toolkit to give to your local schools.
• Provide accurate information: Put NEDAwareness Week posters, pamphlets and handouts in your schools, community centers, medical offices or workplaces.
• Maximize the power of your social networking: Re-tweet a fact about eating disorders, post signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, put up a link to the NEDA website and Helpline, encourage your contacts to learn more about eating disorders and join you in doing just one thing.

1. Eating disorders are serious illnesses, not lifestyle choices
Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, biological and social factors. As our natural body size and shape is largely determined by genetics, fighting our natural size and shape can lead to unhealthy dieting practices, poor body image and decreased self-esteem. While eating disorders may begin with preoccupations with food and weight, they are about much more than food. Recent research has shown that genetic factors create vulnerabilities that place individuals at risk for acting on cultural pressures and messages and triggering behaviors such as dieting or obsessive exercise. In the United States, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. Approximately 15 million more are struggling with binge eating disorder.

2. Education, early intervention, and access to care are critical
There has been a rise in incidence of anorexia in young women 15-19 years old in each decade since 1930; over one person’s lifetime, at least 50,000 individuals will die as a direct result of an eating disorder. In the United States, we are inundated with messages telling us that thinner is better, and when we “fit” our culture’s impossible beauty standards, we will be happy. Did you know that 80% of all ten year olds are afraid of being fat? As a culture, it is time for all communities to talk about eating disorders, address their contributing factors, advocate for access to treatment and take action for early intervention. You can make a difference: do just one thing to initiate awareness, education and discussion about eating disorders in you community. If we all do something, we’ll have a tremendous impact!

3. Help is available, and recovery is possible
While eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses, there is help available and recovery really is possible. It is important for those affected to remember that they are not alone in their struggle; others have recovered and are now living healthy fulfilling lives. Let the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) be a part of your network of support.

NEDA has information and resources available via our website and helpline:
NEDA www.nationaleatingdisorders.org NEDA Helpline: 800 931-2237

As someone that has been in recovery for an Eating Disorder for 10 years, one of my biggest fears is that my daughter would one day follow in my ED footsteps. But even scarier that that is the thought that if she did suffer from an ED, would I be able to get/pay  for the treatment she needed?

Approximately 11 million people suffer from an eating disorder – the HIGHEST mortality rate of any mental illness. Twenty percent of people with an ED will die prematurely from complications related to their disease.

Yet, unlike depression and other mental illnesses, EDs are not often covered by health insurance. Insurance companies regularly deny patients coverage, which is expensive and long term. And if an insurance companies does cover the treatment, they base “wellness” on the person’s body mass index (BMI), without considering the crucial psychiatric treatment for the emotional & mental issues that linger long after the patient reaches that magic BMI number of 18.5.

Federal legislation is addressing the issue—but only partially. Insurance providers are clever little suckers and are constantly finding loopholes to set limits on treatment & coverage.

So today, I ask you to help in supporting a young girl, Sofia Benbahmed, that wants to get well and is fighting for her life to do so, yet her insurance company has cut her off.

I am in a place where I am willing and wanting to get well, but due to the long term nature and severity of my illness I need a lot of help to do so. Eating disorder treatment, especially in the form recommended for someone with a disorder as severe as my own, is incredibly expensive. What is being professionally recommended (and has been for some time now) for me is help in the form of residential treatment: a live in center where I can be monitored at meal times and afterward, receive therapy in group and individual form, see a dietician and a doctor and be medically monitored with a nursing staff. Last year in November I was admitted to such a facility: it is called Monte Nido and is located in Southern California. During my time there I began to feel myself changing and rising to the occasion in a way I never had before. It was as though all of these years I have been in a room with no doors or windows, and suddenly doors began to appear – and not only did they become visible, but I began to walk through them. It is the only way that I have been able to describe it. Unfortunately, due to the cost of treatment, most insurance companies are unwilling to cover the recommended length of time. Generally they will cover a few weeks, some of the better companies will cover a few months – but in January of 2008 my insurance policy changed from a less problematic carrier to United Behavioral Health. UBH has been atrociously inappropriate in providing me the coverage that I need to get well. After 3 weeks at Monte Nido, UBH stopped paying for my treatment and I had to leave.

Sadly, Sofia’s story is not uncommon, but she is trying to do something about it and is fighting for her life.  And we (and by we I mean me & you) can help, by shedding a light on this issue and speaking up to advance the federal recognition of eating disorders as a public health priority. Organizations such as the Eating Disorders Coalition, is working tirelessly on this mission. You can like them on facebook here.

Sofia is now working with an attorney named Lisa Kantor who has worked exclusively with clients with eating disorders, helping them to get their insurance companies to authorize appropriate levels and lengths of care. Lisa has agreed to work with her on a contingency basis, which means that unless they win in court, she doesn’t get paid anything. In the meantime, Sofia, desperately needs to be in a long term treatment facility and is trying to raise funds to do so.

You can read Sofia’s story on GivingForward.org and also make a donation to support her treatment.  I don’t be believe we have to have lots of money to donate and support others.  It can be as simple as forgoing your $5 Starbucks coffee today and passing that $5 on to Sofia.

Thanks for reading.

Here is the article that is referenced.

xo
Fitty

I’ll bet you’ll say no. You don’t feed your kids candy, soda or cookies. You know too much sugar is bad. Right? You’re just not a freak about it. Am I right?

Well, listen up. I use to be just like you. A good mama — buying organic, eating healthy, giving my kids Annie’s and Cascadian Farms stuff, all that. Until last week. That’s when I pulled my four year old off sugar and learned the biggest surprise of my life.

Okay, two biggest surprises.

1. Sugar is like crack. Detox is hell.
2. I am a sugar pimp. Who knew?

Here’s a typical eating day at my house for my 4 year old. For the sake of exemplification, I’m going to tell you the sugars for 1 “serving.” See how you compare to me. (We don’t do dairy – but you can be assured that milk also has sugar in it!) P.S. We don’t do veggies well either.

Breakfast:
• GoLean Crunch 13 g or Gorilla Munch 8 g with Pacific organic almond milk 6 g
• Scrambled eggs 0 g
• (weekends: Ian’s French Toast Sticks 5 g plus Aunt Jemima Lite Syrup 25 g)

Lunch:
• Oroweat multi-grain sandwich thins 2 g with Smucker’s Low Sugar Strawberry Preserves 5 g
• ½ apple 7 g
• FruitaBu Fruit rolls 13 g
• Apple juice 28 g

Snack:
• Cascadian Farm Organic chocolate chip granola bar 12 g Or
• Craisins 26 g and cashews 0 g

Dinner:
• Chicken hot dogs 0 g
• Apple juice 28 g
• Cantaloupe / grapes 10g
• Bread 2 g and Olivio spread 0 g

Holy Sugar, Batman! This is between 100 g to 150 g of sugar a day.

I’m not going to lie. It was torture removing sugar from my 4 year olds’ diet. You will hate your life. But it’s only for a few days. (Have you watched those television shows? Expect some serious mood swings.)

Now, you may be wondering why I put myself through this craziness. Well, health reasons like . . . food allergies, concentration, fatigue, headaches, fat storage, hyperactivity, . . . the list goes on and on. Plain and simple, less sugar = a healthier child. For us, I’m hoping it will help my baby girl with seizures, migraines and constant fatigue.

Still not convinced? Email me and I’ll give you a homework assignment of reading to convince you.

Then, when you decide to believe me, here’s what you do . . .

1. Take sugar out of your child’s diet. No sugar. (white sugar, honey, maltodextrin, malted barley, brown sugar, sucrose, fructose and high fructose corn syrup.)
2. Read all labels. Grams of sugar? Ingredients? Look carefully, most prepackaged foods have sugar.
3. White flour and corn act like sugar in the body. Don’t eat.
4. Take up cooking. (Sorry.)
5. Use sweeteners like agave, Stevia and Xylitol.

Where to start? Here’s some suggestions approved by my four year old.

• brown rice spaghetti noodles with Olivio spread
• egg white shake (vanilla)
• eggs – scrambled and hard boiled w/ salt
• So Delicious yogurt (vanilla)
• Think Thin bars (green packaging – white choc chip is a favorite)
• cashews (salted & toasted)
• rice crackers and hummus
• chicken hot dogs
• Ezekiel tortilla pizza: no sugar red sauce + rice cheese
• oatmeal w/ Stevia
• brown rice tortilla or brown rice cake with Sun butter

You will notice a HUGE energy increase in your child – it’s been an incredible difference in my little one. Before the sugar detox, she’d get so tired in the morning she’d say, “Mommy, my legs say they have to lay down now” or “I feel like I need to lay down.” That is not normal four year old behavior!

The good news is that I haven’t heard her say those things lately. She’s not lying down in the middle of the grocery store. (Dirty, I know!) She’s participating in her gymnastics class again instead of asking to lie down. She has energy back in her body. I’m beyond thrilled. I will never give her that amount of sugar again. Ever. (Me, either for that matter!)

Although I’m not a nutritionist, I’m happy to support you if you have any questions. Melissa@imaginationsoup.net May the sugarless force be with you. You can totally do this!

Melissa is an expert parenting and education writer with a M.A. in Education from the University of Denver. As a classroom teacher for many years, she lived the educator’s life. Now, as a mom, she knows and experiences education from a parent’s perspective. In May 2009, she created Imagination Soup — a blog about fun ways to learn at home in math, science, reading and writing. Melissa’s writing portfolio is online at http://melissatayloronline.com .

There was a system. I had a system. I couldn’t just be one of those crazy bulimics that snuck down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to binge and purge. That was too messy and way too gross for me. Besides, what if there was nothing in the refrigerator that I wanted to binge on? Talk about annoying. So, I had a system. It was an expensive system, but that’s a whole other topic. When I think about all the money I spent on food that I only wasted, it makes me sick (no pun intended). The system was quite elaborate and depended on whether I was alone, what was in the refrigerator, did I have plans later that day, how much money did I have to spend, how much time would I have for the actual purge? All questions that needed to be answered beforehand so that I got it right. The only thing that could never be planned was how my body would react and whether it would actually stick to the plan.

It was a Saturday, so I had the whole day to do whatever I pleased. Days like that excited me because it meant that my binge would be pressure free. I didn’t have to be anywhere or talk to anyone, it would just be me and my misery. I was living alone which made things quite easy. Images of all the different food danced in my head as I counted my money to make sure I had enough. By this time, I had already learned (the hard way) which foods worked for me and which did not. By “worked” I don’t mean taste or flavor, sure it helps to like what you’re binging on, but most important was the texture and how easy it was to bring back up. Today there are internet sites that can help you with all this, but back then it was all trial and error. One wrong food down that won’t come back up is a bulimic’s worst nightmare, and I have lots of those stories. And today would be one of them. When I think about how I rationalized things back then, it seems crazy, but yet I can honestly remember feeling like it all made sense to me. Since I had the entire day to myself, I could go out on a limb and get some of those “off limit” foods because I had all day to try and bring them back up! Eventually they would have to come out, right?

First thing was an order to the Chinese food place. I made sure to order some food with broccoli in there just in case. If it doesn’t come back up, at least the broccoli is healthy! Delivery was going to take about 30 minutes so I got dressed and headed out to the corner store & diner. I got milk, water, doughnuts, cake, egg & bacon sandwich, home fries, pretzels & butter. These places carried no-no food that I previously had a lot of trouble with bringing back up, BUT today was going to be different for sure!

I made it back to my apartment in time for the Chinese food delivery guy. The order cost about $30, all my groceries $25, equaled a total binge worth $55. And this was only one binge. At my worst I got up to about 6-7 a day and had to make multiple trips to the supermarket.

Next up, was the ambiance. I needed everything set up and sprawled out so I could pick & eat freely, phone was turned off, pager was off (remember beepers?!), blinds pulled down, and TV on with a good program to keep me company.

And then I ate. And ate. And ate. I ate until my stomach looked like I was 7 months pregnant and it hurt to breathe from the pressure. This was the worst part. The euphoria of eating was wearing off and now I had to get it all out of me before any damage was done. I was not one of those “lucky” bulimics, I couldn’t just make myself throw up instantly (that would come months later), I had to work at it and it was painful. “Oh G-d, why did I do this again? Please oh please let it all come up this time!” And to the bathroom I would go to try to complete the ritual.

Depending on what was coming up, sometimes it splattered, so I had gotten in to the habit of taking all my clothes off and pulling back my hair. My nails should have been cut beforehand, but they hadn’t been. I had to be careful not to scratch the back of my throat (did I mention I was a singer?)

And so it began, first with a few fingers, and then soon an entire hand pushed back into my mouth and down my throat. Think it’s impossible to fit the entire hand? It’s possible. I pounded on my stomach with my left hand and I tried to shove my right hand deeper down my throat to make everything come up. This was a big binge so it would take a while. I knew everything that had gone inside of me, so I had to make sure it was all accounted for on its way out, nothing could be left behind.

45 minutes and 2 breaks later I still wasn’t done. Where were the doughnuts? What happened to the pretzels? I knew this would happen. Bread products were the worst because they turned into a thick pasty gluey mess in the stomach and were the hardest to bring back up. If taken in with the right amount of liquid, it could be ok, but this time my proportions were all wrong and now I was stuck.

The pounding on my stomach got harder and I tried to manipulate my gag reflex with precision. I stopped to give myself pep talks “you can do this”, “keep going” “you have to get it all out, you sick fuck!”

But I couldn’t. It wouldn’t all come up. I sat on the floor crying and trying to make a deal with G-D. “Please get me through this and bring it all up and I’ll never do it again. This is the last time, I promise.” And I truly did feel that way at the time, I wanted so bad for it to be the last time. My throat was sore, my face was swollen and my knuckles were cut from hitting the back of my teeth. The party was over and it was time to retreat.

Walking back into my living room I couldn’t even look at the mess I had left behind. Everything got dumped into the trash just like it never happened. And if I pretended hard enough, it didn’t. Next came a hot shower, always good for some imagined cleansing of the soul.

Binges this large made me sleepy, so I crawled into bed and clicked on the TV. A rerun of 90210, perfect. And before I Donna could lose her virginity, I was in la-la-land, sleeping my binge off.

By the time I awoke it was evening. My throat was incredibly sore. I had 4 messages on my machine and a bunch of pages. Funny how the sicker I got, the more invitations to parties I received. To me it was obviously complete validation that I was not really sick, but rather doing what was necessary.

What to do tonight? I thought. Meet the crew at the party going on or stay home and relax? I pretended to think about it, but I had already made up my mind.

There were still half eaten doughnuts, cake & a carton of Chinese food in the trash. I couldn’t possibly let that all go to waste.