Do You Have An Eating Disorder?

Each year, more than 5 million Americans are affected by serious and often life-threatening eating disorders which include anorexia, bulimia, compulsive eating, obesity, binge-eating, and more.

Though every age group and gender is affected, women in particular are targeted and suffer in many ways. It might surprise you to know that:

• Most women in the US and in other countries hate their figures.
• It is estimated that approximately 65% Americans are overweight.
• It is reported that approximately 300,000 people die prematurely every year because of obesity in the form of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and more.
• Reports also show that approximately 300,000 teens under the age of 18 have corrective body surgeries yearly.
• Air brushing is a standard $60,000 computerized procedure for a magazine cover to remove blemishes, lift cheekbones, restructure the jaws and/or nose, increase the bust line, slim the hip line, and create the “perfect” woman that doesn’t really exist (the woman on a cover magazine may only be a computerized constructed figure).
• Many teens and women perceive these figures and models as real and become dissatisfied with their own bodies, even if at a normal weight.
• Many, many women suffer with low self-esteem and depression (more than you can imagine). And though we may teach them principles of fulfilling their inward selves, becoming who they are spiritually and mentally, and focusing less on their outward appearance, the truth of the matter is that it is the nature of women (and all) to feel good physically and to look good physically not only to themselves – and especially themselves – but also to others.

It’s time to address the real issue and work to solve it. The real problem begins with the fuel we put into our bodies. If we put an equally comparable poor grade of fuel into our automobiles as we do our bodies, our cars wouldn’t drive more than a mile past the gas station. They would sputter to a halt! Our bodies cannot and will not function properly without the right nutrients that are only found in good wholesome foods. As long as we fill our bodies with ‘man-made fluff’ and ‘genetically modified taste bud pleasures’, we will end up with one eating disorder or another.

It is important to understand that women will never feel good about themselves mentally and emotionally unless they feel good physically. Why? Our emotional, mental and physical health all greatly depends on the proper nutrients that only come from pure grade fuel. God has given us the means through his pure and perfect creations: pure water, raw foods, whole grains and legumes (beans), raw nuts, etc. These provide us with that pure and perfect fuel our bodies need to function optimally. If we don’t get these in abundance – and few people do – then we have petitioned for dysfunction, disorder and disease. Research continues to prove that less than 5% of diseases and disorders are hereditary conditions.

Eating disorders specifically stem from a vicious cycle that needs to be understood:
1) Most or our diets come from highly processed foods from: advertised sales at the supermarket, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores.
2) Because these foods are depleted of vital nutrients, we crave more and eat more.
3) Because we overeat, we put on extra pounds and begin to feel emotionally stressed and depressed.
4) This creates feelings of body hatred, needing to diet – though diets deprive us and we end up putting on more weight.
5) We go out in public and see too many obese people – then we see the billboards and magazines with cute, slender bodies, and we become dissatisfied with our own bodies.
6) We try every fad diet (though none of them are effective in the long run), we become more depressed and that can spur us towards bulimia and anorexia, or binge-eating, compulsive eating, and obesity.
7) Its down hill from there!

The exciting news is that there are concrete solutions! There is a way to avoid eating disorders as well as reverse them, but it will only happen if there is a willingness to follow some very important steps:

1) Understand that you have the capability and the power within you to become healthier and reach a weight that is right for your body that you can be happy with. But the focus must be on the principles of health!
2) There will need to be willingness to make permanent changes – yes permanent, in order to have permanent success!3) Understand that there are foods that work with your body to heal, nourish, cleanse and energize – creating health and vitality. These foods come straight from nature – from God in the way he created them: basically raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes (beans and pea family), raw nuts and seeds, and more. Vitamins and minerals are the key fuel factors.
4) Understand that there are foodless foods – those that are man-made refinements and reconstructions that are only capable of causing chemical reactions and thus pollute, toxify, and clog the body – creating sickness, disease, and disorder. Foods void of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other elements are just fillers – useless to the body (like putting styrofoam or sponges in your cells). Learn to omit these foods, and run from them.

These are key, yet simple steps for success. There are a lot of unhappy women, men, and children out there that are not only suffering, but they are suffering needlessly because they either don’t know where the answers are, or don’t know the steps to take or have the confidence to proceed.

Commit to filling your body with pure fuel – those foods that create health and vitality. You will not only heal yourself physically and get to your desired weight naturally, but you will also heal any emotional and mental disorders as well.

If you need one-on-one help with concrete solutions and direction for long term results, consider coming to a 3-day health retreat with Erleen. See http://erleentilton.com/retreats.htm