The title contains a popular search engine query. But this article won't offer tips like "count to 10 and drink a glass of water. "Let's talk about something else: why forcing yourself not to eat to lose weight is a bad idea and how to deal with your attitude towards food.
What's wrong with not eating to lose weight?
practicing psychologist: If you have a healthy attitude towards nutrition, then you are in contact with your body, you listen to its signals and you know how to negotiate with it. If the body signals hunger, you satisfy it; satiety, you stop eating. The message "do not eat to lose weight" implies the breaking of this contact, the confrontation with oneself and the manifestation of self-harm. It turns out that to achieve the goal (weight loss), you are taking action against yourself. This is not OKORboring and unhealthyORin.
Psychiatrist: Most people who have lost weight as a result of a restrictive diet regain it within 1 to 2 years. Also, 2/3 of them win more than they lost.
Endocrinologist:The message of forcing yourself not to eat to lose weight is irrational. It is important to understand: what happens to the body? Perhaps this is not a question of improper diet, but of hormonal characteristics.
And what is it about? A healthy attitude towards food?
PsychiatristThis is when regular meals and snacks are not accompanied by anxiety, shame, and guilt. Lack of "forbidden foods", diets and calorie counting. And when you allow yourself to enjoy food.
Endocrinologist:It is about treating food as a condition for a full and happy life. And not as a substitute for joy and pleasure.
practicing psychologist: This is when you eat out of hunger, stop when you are full, do not focus on the deficiencies of your body, which must be "corrected" with food or rejection, when you do not overeat, do not take advantage of emotions.
Can you give more details? How and why do we devour our emotions?
practicing psychologist: There are no good and bad emotions for the psyche, it can cope with anyone. She does not need food, alcohol, gadgets or television for this. But there are situations when a person drowns her emotions with food. Annoying, I ate a bowl of ice cream, it became easier. Her behavior received positive reinforcement and the person began to resort to this strategy over and over again.
Consultant psychologist:Many times, people overeat because they lack rest. Let me give you an example. A young woman came up with a problem: she at night she eats a lot and she cannot stop. It turned out that she works for three, because she does not know how to reject her colleagues. There is no time to eat something: business all the time. And at night she cannot eat. That is, a person is exhausted, works too much, is stressed all the time. How to replace lost energy? Hamburger, potatoes, chocolate.
It turns out that if a person eats when they are bored, anxious, angry, tired, or sad, is that wrong?
Consultant psychologist:In itself, this is neither good nor bad: food is unconsciously associated with safety. For a newborn, food is not only food, but closeness with mother, calm, trust, acceptance, love, communication. Adults also sometimes eat to calm down. It is bad when it is the only way to deal with anxiety or fear.
Psychiatrist: With food we satisfy different psychological needs. For example, dining with your family is intimacy. Going out to a restaurant with friends closes the need for social interaction. The problem arises when food becomes a crutch for our negative experiences. This brings us to the topic of an eating disorder (EID) or eating disorder. Psychiatry deals with these problems.
Wait wait! It turns out that if I ate a chocolate bar after the hour and I feel guilty, is this already a disorder? Should I go directly to the psychiatrist?
practicing psychologist:Complex problem. There are situations in which a person eats on the run, chaotically, he does not pay attention to what he eats. Or he eats when he is not very hungry, out of boredom or for company. It may just be an eating disorder that can be corrected with a nutritionist. But, at the same time, eating out of hunger is one of the symptoms of RIP. The line is very thin. And only a doctor can determine it. In our country, a psychiatrist is dedicated to this.
Endocrinologist:It happens that a person is constantly sad, worried, tired and takes advantage of these problems. Perhaps this is the result of constant stress. But they are also symptoms of endogenous depression and anxiety neurosis. A psychiatrist is also involved in diagnosing such conditions.
But isn't it ERP - Bulimia and Anorexia? The symptoms are difficult to confuse.
Psychiatrist: It's not just bulimia and anorexia. Eating disorders also include psychogenic overeating (also called paroxysmal or compulsive), eating inedible foods (Pick's disease), and psychogenic loss of appetite. They are disorders included in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). However, there are disorders that are not included in this list, but that also attract the attention of psychiatry: selective eating disorder, orthorexia (when the desire for a healthy lifestyle exceeds all limits) and pregorexia (the more strict and restrictive diet in pregnant women).
practicing psychologist: Psychology also distinguishes the Overeating Syndrome (BOE): when a person does not eat almost anything all day, he cannot sleep for a long time, or he often wakes up and wakes up to the refrigerator.
Is obesity also an ERP?
Psychiatrist: Not always. There can be many reasons: these are genetics, a sedentary lifestyle, and hormonal disturbances. It is not possible to equate RPP with obesity.
practicing psychologist: Yes I agree. There are people with an absolutely healthy eating behavior who are obese. And it happens the other way around, for example, patients with anorexia nervosa.
Did you hear that the RPP issue is primarily about women, teens, and models? It's true?
Psychiatrist:Of course not. The disorder can develop at any age in both men and women. For example, selective eating disorder occurs more often in children: the child only eats certain foods.
practicing psychologist: Anorexia and bulimia are more common in women. But compulsive overeating - equally in men and women. So it is impossible to say that RPP is a purely female problem. And yes, teenagers, models, athletes participating in aesthetic sports (rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, sports dancing), TV presenters, bloggers, actresses - all those in sight and whose work depends on appearance are at risk. But the problem can overcome anyone, including those who are far from the modeling business or beauty blogging.
Any nutritional problem is believed to be an attempt to get attention. This is true?
practicing psychologist: There is such an opinion, but it is not scientifically substantiated. Yes, during therapy, it can happen that RPP starts when the person was not accepted by peers. For example, for a 13-15-year-old girl, it is important for children to look at her and for her friends to approve, so she followed a strict diet. It also happens that problems with food are an attempt by the child to get the attention of the parents, often unconsciously. But these are quite special cases. It is a mistake to think that the need for attention is the main cause of eating disorders.
So what is the reason?
practicing psychologist: There are three groups of reasons: biological, psychological and social. Biological, for example, a genetic predisposition to RPC, unfortunately, can be inherited. Psychological: domestic violence, prohibition of the expression of negative emotions, violation of attachment between parents and children (for example, if the child has cold and distant parents). Social: the cult of the ideals of beauty, thinness, intimidation.
PsychiatristA: There are certain personality traits that can contribute to the development of IDD, such as perfectionism or hyper-responsibility. The peculiarities of eating behavior in the family, attitudes towards weight and figure also affect. The child could be rewarded with candies for his good behavior and study, and this stuck: since I am good, you can take a piece of candy. Very well? I'll take ten.
Consultant psychologist:Many ECD patients have experienced physical or sexual abuse. Also for many, food helps to derive secondary benefits from the situation. For example, one of my clients needed weight to protect herself from men. In the course of therapy, we found out that at school age the girl got into an unpleasant situation with an adult man. The client was surprised to remember this: this story seemed "forgotten", but it continued to influence the girl's behavior into adulthood. They also revealed the belief that men only love the slim. If so, her extra weight helped her "be safe, " that is, without men.
How common are eating disorders in society?
Psychiatrist: The prevalence of RPC in the world is believed to be around 9%. In risk groups, the prevalence is higher. Studies of adolescent girls report that by age 20, about 13% have symptoms of CRP. Anorexia is one of the deadly mental disorders, ahead only of chemical addiction.
practicing psychologist: It is difficult to give exact figures, because people with PAD often do not understand at all that they need help. There are numbers for the United States, as it is an eating disorder research and statistics center - there are approximately 30 million people living with eating disorders. There are twice as many women as men (20 million versus 10 million). And every hour in the world at least 1 person dies from the consequences of RPE.
What are the symptoms of RPE? Can I diagnose it myself?
Psychiatrist: Generally speaking, the main symptoms are the following:
- A person makes himself vomit after eating or compensates for what he has eaten in other ways, for example, excessive physical exertion (physical tyranny), laxatives, and diuretics.
- Strong fixation on weight and figure (you can't add / lose a single gram or centimeter! ).
- Numerous attempts to reduce weight and body weight swing.
- Various numerous rules in nutrition (I eat only protein, only vegetable, only red).
- Constant thoughts, fears, and feelings of guilt and shame related to food intake and body weight. When thoughts and behaviors related to food bring a lot of suffering.
- Loss of control over the amount ingested.
But many can have such symptoms to varying degrees. Is there a more accurate diagnosis?
Endocrinologist:RPD is a chronic systemic disease. It causes metabolic changes in systems and organs, changes in human neurohumoral regulation. This is a complex problem that can manifest itself in neuroses, organic brain pathologies, organic lesions, and depressive disorders.
But first you need to determine the cause of the symptoms. For example, if a person runs to the refrigerator at night, he must find out the glycogen level to exclude insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
What if you understand that you or your loved one has an RPP?
practicing psychologist: If you have - consult a psychiatrist for diagnosis. If you suspect a PTR in a loved one, it is more difficult: he often refuses, does not want to admit that something is wrong with him. And unnecessary pressure can break trust. Let your loved one know that you are on their side, ready to help and support them.
Who treats ECD? Just a psychiatrist?
Psychiatrist: No. A psychiatrist diagnoses. And cure, depending on the disease, a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist (as prescribed by a psychotherapist). Why is it so important to see a psychiatrist in the first place? Because it can reveal comorbid conditions such as depression or anxiety disorder, which are found in around 80% of cases in people with RPD. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease. It can be drug therapy in combination with psychotherapy (group, cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavioral). Family therapy is also recommended.
Consultant psychologist:Anorexia and bulimia are mainly treated by a psychiatrist. Emotional overeating - psychologist, counseling psychologist. Obesity - a nutritionist-endocrinologist (must monitor hormones, if metabolism is altered) together with a psychologist or psychotherapists.