Anorexia Recovery Tips

What is anorexia and what is the difference between anorexia and anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia
is simply the loss of appetite regardless of the cause, while anorexia
nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual is completely
obsessed with their weight and therefore starve themselves, exercise
excessively or eat and then induce vomiting
because of their intense fear of gaining weight. It normally starts in
the teen years and is more common is teenage girls than in teenage boys.

The
term Anorexia Nervosa is normally used interchangeably with anorexia to
mean lack of appetite but this can be misleading since anorexia nervosa
is more of an obsession to fasting.

Anorexia
nervosa is both a physical and a mental disorder making the person
suffering from it see themselves as overweight while they are clearly
thin and malnourished. Anorexic people are dangerously obsessed with
their weight and will either diet and exercise excessively or eat and
the self-induce vomiting.

Though people with anorexia nervosa have extremely high levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, they simply ignore it.

If not treated early, this condition can be very harmful to the body and even lead to bone thinning.

Anorexia Symptoms

Some
anorexia symptoms like low body weight, obsession with being thin,
inappropriate eating habits and the fear of gaining weight are quite
apparent. Below are more anorexic symptoms;

Deliberate self-starvation with weight loss
Intense, obsessive, persistent fear of weight gain
Refusal to eat or a strict limit of how much food one takes
Continuous dieting
Excessive body/facial hair caused by inadequate protein in the diet
Compulsive exercise even when one is sick
Abnormal weight loss
Sensitivity to cold
Absent or irregular menstruation
Hair loss
Less than normal weight
Refusal to stay at a normal weight.
Thinking one is overweight even when they are in fact very thin
Inducing vomiting or using laxatives or water pills to avoid weight gain.

What Causes Anorexia

To
understand what causes anorexia, it is important to appreciate the
fact that the condition is not only physical, but also emotional. It
can therefore be triggered by social, emotional or physical triggers.

Below are a number of factors that can be termed as anorexia causes:

Studies
have shown that weight loss from various factors can act as a trigger
by itself. It could be due to sickness, surgery or parasitic
infection.
Another factor is genetics. Anorexia cases are more in people whose relatives also suffer from one eating disorder or the other.
Depression ad anxiety
Inability to deal well with stress
Physical and sexual abuse
A stressful live event
Perfectionism
Obsessive-compulsive personality

Anorexia in Men

Anorexia
has for a long time been associated with females. Though studies have
shown that boys who have twin sisters are at higher risks of developing
eating disorders as a result , probably, of hormone exposure, it’s
still comes as a shock that 5% of the total anorexics in America are
actually men.This number is in fact increasing at an alarmingly high
rate.

While it’s still curious how a man would desire
to be thin, certain professional demands could be to blame. There are
jobs that simply call for a lean body, an example being athletes, and
such people could result to dieting to remain trim.

The entertainment industry also demands that men
pay more attention to how they look. gay men also develop the eating
disorder tendencies as they aspire to be smiler and consequently more
attractive to other men.

It is therefore safe to say that most men are
more likely to be anorexic more for the athletic appearance than simply
for the sake of looking thin. The eating disorders for men begin at an
older age as compared to their female counterparts who develop it in
their adolescent years.

Dealing with the problem in males becomes a
problem since very many males are willing to come out and confess tat
they suffer from n ailment that is predominantly for the females. This
could mean that there could be a lot more male anorexics that actually
thought.

Anorexia Statistics

Here are a few eating disorder’s and especially anorexic statistics.

95% of all dieters regain their lost weight within 5 years.
Of all mental illnesses, the highest mortality rate lies with eating disorders.
Over 50% of teenage girls use inhumane and unhealthy
weight control behaviors such as smoking cigarettes, skipping meals,
fasting, taking laxatives and, vomiting.
81% of 10 year olds are obsessively afraid of being fat.
47% of girls in 5th-12th grade want to lose weight because of magazine pictures.
42% of 1st to 3rd grade girls want to be thinner.

It
takes time to fully recover from anorexia or any other eating disorder
for that matter. This is because it involves a lifestyle change and that
cannot be done in one day. Below are tips that can go a long way in
helping you on your anorexia recovery.

Start your day with a glass of water. It not only gives your body a kick-start, it also re-hydrates the body.
Always take your breakfast. It is the most important
meal of the day. Include protein as it makes you full for longer and
helps prevent cravings.
Consume high fiber foods like beans and leafy vegetables. The fiber helps make you full faster and improves your bowel movements
Omega three fats are good as they help your body burn more fat. You can get these in avocadoes and fatty fish.
Avoid refined and processed foods as they make the sugar spike. They also come packed with loads of empty calories.
Use a healthy diet plan to make meal plans for a week. This will ensure that you do not consume unhealthy foods.