Health is Wealth

Have you ever had one of 'those days' when you REALLY do not feel happy? It is as though everything is going wrong and nothing is going right. You know: you forgot to pay your bills so now you have to pay interest, your child is sick but you need to go to work, you are tired and do not want to get out of bed, and there are a million things that you need to get done but do not have the energy, motivation, or will-power to do any of them. Well, I had one of those days yesterday. And what really helped me was writing reasons why I should smile instead of frown. Why I should be happy and thankful instead of being down and gloomy. Here are my thoughts - I hope they lighten up your day and fill you with peace and joy!.... Smile today because you are alive. Smile because you can see, hear, and walk. Smile because you woke up in a house and not the street. Smile because you have food to eat and need not starve. Smile because you have clothes and need not be cold. Smile because ...

I have a confession to make: I used to be absolutely terrified of grocery stores and grocery shopping. I hated it. I would walk into the store and see so much food in one place and become anxious. It would also make me frustrated because as much food as there was, I could not eat any. I could not even buy myself a piece of fruit to munch on, a drink to sip, or a meal to prepare. ED made me feel this way. Why go to a grocery store where there will be food that you don't want and can't have anyways? Look at all those people shopping! Sure, they may look happy during grocery shopping. But what about after they eat? They will GAIN WEIGHT! Do you want that? I don't think so. Avoid grocery stores - they are useless and give you the temptation of wanting to eat! You foolish girl! You are hungry? HA! Have some self-control! You can imagine that this meant that I did not eat a wide variety of foods during ED. What I are was very limited because I was afraid and reluctant to try ...

I'm not a fan of the BMI scale. I just don't think that it is very accurate - and this is supported by facts and research. Now, before I go on, let me put a WARNING. The BMI (body mass index) scale is sometimes needed. For example, we use this all the time to help patients lose weight, to gain weight, and to monitor growth in children and teens. But what I am not fond of is the preoccupation with BMI, when really, we might be losing the bigger picture of things. First, what is BMI? You can calculate yours by dividing your weight in kg by the square of your height in m. Generally, 18.5-24.9 is normal, less than 18.5 is underweight, and more than 25 is overweight. But what is wrong with this, you might ask? Well, all this measures is your height and weight. It does not take into account other factors, such as muscle mass. If someone with a lot of muscle used BMI, they would likely be in the overweight section. But are they overweight? No. They simply have more muscle, which mak...

I used to love wearing jeans - they were the most comfy pants ever! Then...you guessed it, ED came along. I stopped wearing jeans because I couldn't find any that didn't fall off my hips. For around six years, I wore sweat pants all the time.  Last week I went shopping and decided to buy a pair of jeans - just in case I would need them. Today, I wore them all day. It was weird. I never wanted to wear jeans ever again because that was what I was wearing when my childhood crush called me fat. That teasing has scarred me for so long. And yet, today, I gathered enough courage to wear jeans again.  It sounds silly, but it was actually hard to do. At first, I felt that they were too tight. But then I realized that they were in fact just the right size - but that voice in my head told me that I looked fat. I ignored it. But I felt restricted. I felt that my stomach would roll over and expand. I felt that my thighs were moving around. It was hard to breathe. Simply put, we...

You must be wondering why on Earth I am writing about this topic on my blog. Well, let's start with some facts: I'm a girl. And I'm 20 years old. Oh yes, and I'm Middle Eastern. What does that have to do with anything? Typically, girls in my culture are expected to get married and have a happy marriage. This may seem old-fashioned to some, but it is traditional. My parents (and many other Egyptian parents), do not force their girls to do this, but many do. So, for the sake of some girls out there, this post is for you. I hope it helps you and gives you the peace of mind that I have been blessed with. For the males out there, this is so you can appreciate what some of us go through! It might also apply to those males who have not found a life partner yet. Either way, I think it is worth reading. Just a reminder: most people are too shy to speak about this topic, so please appreciate that I am bringing it out in the open! :) It is tough being in a society where dating a...

As promised, here is the post on hypoglycemia. What is it? Hypoglcyemia means that you have low blood sugar. The body's normal mechanisms regulate blood glucose levels to be about 4.4 - 6.1 mmol/L. This is done through two hormones: insulin and glucagon. This can get confusing, so I'll try to make it as simple as possible. When we eat, insulin is released from the pancreas. Insulin takes the glucose we eat and stores it as glycogen, thereby reducing glucose levels after a meal. This helps our body to use the glucose we eat. When our glucose levels get too low (as in, between meals), our pancreas releases glucagon. Glucagon breaks down glycogen into glucose, so that our glucose/sugar levels will be normal (increase) again. So, what happens during hypoglycemia? Let's assume that you have not eaten for a long time, and your blood sugars are too low. This is hypoglycemia. Now, on a regular basis, your body is very good at regulating glucose levels so that this does not ...

Do you remember back when we discussed portion distortion ( http://anorexiarecovery1.blogspot.ca/2013/03/portion-distortion.html ) and talked about how with ED patients, this tends to get a little funky? ED patients have found to have difficulty estimating how much food is on the plate at any given meal. What does this mean? That ED patients somehow see portions as actually being bigger than they really are. This contributes to how difficult recovery can be, as the patient must rely on his/her judgment in order to eat enough. Clearly, this presents a problem if the patient sees that they are eating more food than what is really on the plate. This is why many patients have a treatment team to help them, or measure their food for accuracy. Let's consider another study that showed the same results: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23276722. This study found that ED patients overestimated how much food was on the plate, and also labelled some meals as being 'large' whereas...

Many parents and patients alike ask me how someone with ED can be so sick, yet they look healthy and their blood tests are normal. Of course, there is not one answer to this question. But, we do know that the body is extremely good at adapting to changes and surviving. The body fights and fights to keep the patient alive, even when severe damage is occuring on the inside. ( http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/194/1/10.short ) What causes death in ED patients? Eventually, the body cannot sustain life anymore and fails to thrive. This can be because it no longer has enough energy to keep the person functioning. A lot of the causes of death can also be related to the effects of ED on the organs. For example, the kidneys cannot function properly and may shut down, which can be deadly. The brain does not have enough glucose and starts turning off. The lungs cannot bring enough oxygen and nutrients to the body, so the organs lose their nutrition. The heart muscle becomes too weak to pump, which...