WEIGHT LOSS AND EATING DISORDER
In this era of social media, it is not a surprise that people often feel the need to become "fit". Many people have developed severe body dysmorphia, and the exposure of social media plays a huge role in that. Everyone feels that the only way they will be noticed is if they change their body in so-and-so way. It is especially difficult for the people who, although are of normal weight but, are not exactly model type skinny and for those who are slightly over weighted. This leads them to adopt different ways of weight loss. These include strict diets and often ends up with the person starving themselves in order to achieve the perfect body.
The weight loss journey often begins with the person cutting down on carbs slowly and gradually. Then soon enough this results in the person cutting off extremely essential nutrients that the body needs in order to function properly, for example proteins etc. The person starts to enjoy the feeling of achievement every day when they start to lose weight. The feeling of being skinny every morning is what they start looking forward to. To achieve that feeling, they often restrict themselves from eating and start ignoring their cravings. They decide what their target weight will be and even when they do reach that weight, it is never enough, they always want more and more and get stuck in a vicious cycle which never ends. This is the part of weight loss that is always left unnoticed. These behaviors lead to severe eating disorders which includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder etc. and these can last for years on end.
A person with an eating disorder develops an extremely tiring and dangerous relationship with food. The thought of losing weight takes up most of the space, and there is not enough energy left to pay attention to other normal life activities. They are obsessed with the thought of losing weight. They constantly come up with excuses not to eat. They are constantly checking their weight to see some progress. The one part of starvation that is not discussed is the weight gain that comes with it. When the body does not get enough food to work properly, the body starts to store any food that comes its way since it is so rare as the person does not eat for days and when they do have food, they binge. This leads to weight gain and that is even more disturbing, the person is unable to even look at themselves in the mirror. They begin to hate the way they look and start starving themselves even more, and again binge-eat all at once. This is a constant, ongoing cycle. Some people begin purging after eating, which does lead to temporary weight loss, but is also ineffective long term. These behaviors also affects their relationships with family and friends. The thought of having food gives them anxiety and are unable to spend quality time with the people around them. Depression is a big part of it as well, as can be clearly seen from all these behaviors.
I would like to end this article by requesting all the people suffering from an eating disorder, it is never too late to ask for help, you are never alone. The beauty of the body does not matter as long as the soul is beautiful. Beauty fades, character does not. The social media is a lie. Everyone is special and unique in their own ways.
-H
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