S/o encouraging disordered eating

Reality

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 11:16 am

amother [ Blue ] wrote:

Your remark about a type of crowd bothered me
Because I’m posting on that forum and I don’t have any eating disorders.
My meal plans are very balanced, I’m not restricting anything and getting at least 1600-1800 calories a day. And I often include little treats….
What you said is simply not true…. Maybe one poster ate little on one day.

I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. It certainly wasn't everyone but it was more than one poster. And then the non-disordered posters are so naive and cheering everyone on including the posters that are eating so poorly.

If you want to continue posting on that thread I promised not to comment on it again.

amother

Orange

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 1:05 pm

amother [ Clear ] wrote:

And that's an easy to say when you don't have 200 lbs to lose. Every single diet has a rebound effect. I actually find that the very restrictive diets that help you lose a lot very quickly are most ideal - for me - because I can actually lose the weight rapidly enough that it has a long term effect. (Meaning, if I can lose 100 lbs in 6 months, I'm way better off than a different diet in which I lost 12 lbs in 6 months. The weight gain, in my extensive experience, is no quicker following a restrictive diet or a more moderate diet, and it takes a lot longer to regain the 100 lbs lost in 6 months than the 12 lbs lost in 6 months. (The first 12 lbs can come back in one measly month bringing me right beck to square one.)

Really don't judge someone until you are in their shoes. Everyone is just trying to do their best. There is no one dieting answer/ eating method that works for everyone and it's really not our place to criticize someone else's dieting decisions (even if you are a nutritionist) unless they came to you specifically to ask for your specific opinions.

I had 200 to lose. Now I could maybe lose another 85. That said, the science does not bear out the efficacy of extreme diets.

I agree that no one has a clue what we go through. The problems caused by extreme obesity ( and obesity is chronic regardless of if you’re symptomatic) AND extreme weight loss put you in a much more likely position to regain plus.

Interestingly the data shows that many ppl can stay on a diet of whatever kind for about six months before they start regaining. Only with a sustainable food plan and strong behavioural changes can weightloss be maintained.

Even then, it might not actually be beneficial to lose all the weight. For example, my medical people feel like I won the lottery. I’m happy and healthy and they aren’t suggesting that I lose more because weightloss is not benign.

There is such a thing as being metabolically healthy and overweight. It is better scientifically to maintain a loss than gain more, or when it gets down to brass tacks to prevent weight gain altogether if possible.

Once you’ve become obese, only a sustainable plan that included non stop behaviour change will work

Chana Miriam S

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 1:08 pm

amother [ Tanzanite ] wrote:

Well I would argue that anyone following a restrictive diet with the intention of doing so in the short term is doing something wrong. There is a rebound effect, and if you're not making permanent changes, you're better off doing nothing than losing 20 lb in a month, only to regain more later.

That being said, I wouldn't say that on the diet thread itself. I don't think they'd be open to hearing it.

I agree with this statement. Better to maintain address health issues at whatever weight you’re at

amother

Indigo

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 1:43 pm

Reality wrote:

On the other thread I was told I was being rude and negative because I said these diet threads where posters list what they eat in a day attract a certain crowd. I.e people with disordered eating.

So we are just supposed to stay quiet while posters list unhealthy eating plans and allow other posters to encourage them? I don't think imamother should be a safe space for disordered eating.

I don't think anyone should be encouraged to follow eating plans that include counting cheerios and filling up on many cups of coffee a day.

I didn't think that thread encouraged disordered eating. If it bothers you just don't follow it. I just read some of it and I don't agree with you. Maybe I missed the post about coffee and cheerios.

amother

Gladiolus

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 2:38 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

I didn't think that thread encouraged disordered eating. If it bothers you just don't follow it. I just read some of it and I don't agree with you. Maybe I missed the post about coffee and cheerios.

I don't think you missed anything. No one in that thread suggested filling up on coffee. One poster just has 2 coffees a day, sometimes 3. The OP here assumed it was to avoid eating, which doesn't even make sense because how is a coffee filling enough to replace food?

Honestly, I know lots of women who have a few caffeinated beverages a day. Also lots of my coworkers do as well. It's for caffeine. Might not be the best choice but it's not indicative of an eating disorder.

amother

Clear

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 3:33 pm

andrea levy wrote:

I agree with this statement. Better to maintain address health issues at whatever weight you’re at

No, it is not better for someone in the 300-400 lb range to mantain at that rate. Impossible. Maybe for a 190 lb person, but she doesn't have to lose 200 so the quote wasn't about her.

And anyway, people who are obsese, typically if they aren't actively losing they are actively gaining. It's not so simple to just maintain. There is a reason they go to that size and if that reason still exists they will likey keep gaining.

amother

Clear

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 3:42 pm

amother [ Orange ] wrote:

Science doesn't really bear out the effeicay of almost any diet, extreme or moderate.

If I can only be on a diet for 6 months, I'm much better off having lost 100lbs in that time than 12 lbs...

Of course the only way to maintain a weight loss is to have changed habits. That's regardless of how you lost it. In my experience it doesn't really come back faster if it was lost faster. The initial water weight yes, but that's it.

That's what my extensive dieting experiences have taught me. Anyone can argue it, but I know what works (and even more - what doesn't work) for me personally.

And I have no eating disorders and extreme diets haven't caused any form of disorder within me either.

Reality

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 8:20 pm

lamplighter wrote:

Just want to point out that disordered eating is not the same as having an eating disorder.

Agreed. 100% true. Having disordered eating is way more common than an eating disorder. The next step is an eating disorder.

As far as nutritionists go, plenty are terrible and don't have any good suggestions. Someone I know went to one after discovering she was prediabetic. The nutritionists suggestions were so off the mark. Telling her to snack on energy bars and have a fruit smoothy for breakfast. My friend told her she has a hard time planning meals. So these were her quick meal suggestions for a prediabetic?

dena613

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 8:23 pm

amother [ Gladiolus ] wrote:

No. for example from that thread:

2 cups coffee,
1 salad for lunch,
A super with a protein, veggie, carb

Is almost Not eating. That's one mesh a day. 500-800 calories.

Reality

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 8:26 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

I didn't think that thread encouraged disordered eating. If it bothers you just don't follow it. I just read some of it and I don't agree with you. Maybe I missed the post about coffee and cheerios.

Yes you obviously missed some posts. Reread.

People posted eating 20 cheerios, 6 grapes, drinking 5 cups of coffee in one day.

And yes women use drinking coffee as a meal replacement all the time. It is hot and works as an appetite suppressant. So if someone is posting a very low food intake for the day, why are they listing the 2-3 coffees they drink every day? Aren't they using it as a meal replacement? Not healthy and not admirable and people reading it shouldn't get ideas and copy these unhealthy habits.

Chana Miriam S

Thu, Nov 18 2021, 9:56 pm

amother [ Clear ] wrote:

I can bring citations. And the problem, acknowledged by the science is that obesity is a complicated,chronic, multi factorial condition. Weightloss is NOT BENIGN.

And honestly, if you already weight that much, it is better to maintain than gain. Losing can make you gain.

Look, I’m five one and I Weighed 315 pounds. Of course I feel better and move better at 200 pounds. But I felt better before I ever lost weight because changing what I ate helped immensely and when I felt better, it was way more motivation than a number in a scale could be.

Last year, I read seventy or so papers on this topic and studied for a year in a specialized program. I had access to PhD profs.

They acknowledge that they have no idea how to keep weight off people. 98% of people fail to maintain and gain more. The changes that have to take place to fix the problem are huge. They can ge stressful. Obesegenic behaviours must be changed and the Way a person eats must be sustainable without triggering the adaptations of weightloss that make you regain.

THEY are multi factorial and ongoing. And weightloss is not benign. So you have to take into account all if this.

Trust me, I have taken all of this into account. I have had myriad discussions with doctors and scientists in the field. I spent t a lot if time researching this. I could not understand how I managed to do it and maintain it. I’m telling you that it was a miracle.

The scientist who I think has the best handle on this is James O.hill. He is from the national weightloss registry. He’s a prolific scientist. He specializes in this. Once I read numerous articles by him I understood why we all fail over and over again. It’s predictable and there are common things between maintainers and regainers. WAY more regainers to study.

amother

Maroon

Fri, Nov 19 2021, 6:22 am

Reality wrote:

I have a degree in dietetics and know a lot about EDs. On one hand, I agree that posting about eating so little is promoting unhealthy behaviours and it makes me sad that this is so prevalent in our community. The dieting series in a popular Jewish magazine has run some pretty disordered food plans before as well, and it is unfortunate that these behaviors are being idealized. I think Imamother should have policies about this, though it may be difficult for the mods to know where to draw the line. At the end of the day, these posters are not only hurting themselves, but hurting others as well, and there should be some oversight to discourage posts that are promoting blatantly unhealthy eating. That being said, we can’t control what other people do. Someone who is feeling triggered by an unhealthy thread should not open it. I would flag the post, write an explanation to the mods, and leave it at that.

amother

Burlywood

Sun, Nov 21 2021, 8:46 am

amother [ Clear ] wrote:

I also thought the meal plan she posted was pretty measly, but I don't think it will actual cause anyone else to all of a sudden have disordered patterns and I don't think saying something will actually help/prevent anything. Disordered eating is so much more complex than that, our posts here aren't causing or preventing, let's not kid ourselves. Live and let live.

As a SW dealing with sadly too many cts struggling with disordered eating, I disagree. Sharing specifics about weight (threads like ‘if you’re 5’3 houses much do you weigh) and how much, or how little you can eat daily, are really dangerous.