Day 3

DEFINING THE DIFFERENCE:

Im sure we have all heard of Anorexia and bulimia, but very few of us have ever heard of ORTHOREXIA. Every time I mention the term to someone, there immediate reaction is: “you mean anorexia, don’t you? “. There is a distinct difference between anorexia, bulimia and orthorexia but it seems as though very few people, especially males can differentiate between the three. So I have decided to give a brief outline of the three to help people differentiate.

ANOREXIA:

A psychophysiological disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese and therefor a distorted self-image. This results in an unwillingness to eat leading to severe weight loss. It can also be accompanied by vomiting, excessive exercise and other physiological changes.
www.adipex-phentermine-diet-pills.com/diet-pills-glossary.asp

BULIMIA:

A chronic eating disorder where a person “binges” on large amounts of food in a short period of time and then “purges” what they consumed by either self-induced vomiting, taking heavy doses of laxatives and diuretics (water pills), exercise or any combination of these methods.
www.nutritionwerks.net/glossary.asp

ORTHOREXIA:

Orthorexia, or orthorexia nervosa is a term coined by Steven Bratman, a Colorado MD, to denote an eating disorder characterized by excessive focus on eating healthy foods. In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation so extreme that it can lead to severe malnutrition or even death.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthorexia

These images below were taken for a fashion spread by a German photographer who was inspired by Anorexic girls. The fact that he has hidden their identity may indicate that girls are ashamed of who they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference: http://freeusweb.com/Fashion/Anorexic-models-inspire-German-photographer_3.html

Whilst doing some research on these three disorders, I stumbled across this video on youtube, which is from a recording of an American tv show. It high-lights the Pro disorder websites that are available on the web and talks to a girl who has experienced Anorexia and looked to these websites for motivation. It made me think just how frightening the web can be and how deceiving it can appear to many. The websites are even titled “Pro Ana” and “Pro Mia” which is a much more welcoming name than pro anorexia and pro bulimia. On these websites, girls encourage each other to lose weight and send each other tips on how to become thinner. It’s as though these websites are like cults.

Have a look at this shocking video:

Isolation:

So today, I lost 0.8kg. Still successful but not as good as the day before. I was also informed today that I would be going out for dinner with the family. Usually I would be excited about this as  it allows me to get out of the house for a couple of hours and take my mind off things but today the thought of going out for a meal was killing me. I was dreading it. What would I order? Which restaurant would we go to? Would there be anything on the menu? Is it rude if I don’t order?  I know from experience from where I work, waitors hate it if a customer orders tap water. Would I be rude?

The rest of the day became a blur.I’ve noticed that my diet has become my priority. In some way it has taken preference over family and friends. Another friend asked me to go for cocktails tonight. I never see her during the week so usually this would have been a treat but I found myself coming up with every excuse in the book to not go. I knew the calories in 1 cocktail would equate to the some total of my daily intake at the moment.

Dinner was dreadful. Choosing a meal on the menu has never been so complicated. I resorted to sole and veggies with no garnishing’s or sauces. I avoided all the orange vegetable  leaving half my meal behind.  I regret eating.