Dear friends, This is the place for you to share your thoughts about my books as well as your tips on writing. Please don't use this as a forum to discuss works by other authors, pro or con. There are plenty of places you can go for general book discussions. I'd like this to be a friendly place where you can get to know others who enjoy my books. Stir up a little controversy if something in a book bugged you, as long as it's done in a reasonably gentle way. Feel free to ask questions of me and each other. I'll sign on as frequently as possible to answer your questions. Okay, then...jump in anytime. Sherryl
Sherryl
Member since Mar-19-03
68 posts |
Mar-03-07, 11:26 AM (EST) |
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"Tips on Eating Disorders"
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For those of you with kids, I can't stress how important it is in this day of size 0 supermodels and actresses to keep an eye on the eating patterns of your children and on the examples you set for them. Of course, this is the theme in A SLICE OF HEAVEN, but in doing the research for the story I discovered not only how prevalent anorexia is, but the fact that it is affecting girls -- and sometimes boys, especially young athletes -- at younger and younger ages. Considering the potentially life-threatening consequences of anorexia and other eating disorders, it's yet one more thing that parents need to stay on top of with their kids. Rather than running through a list of signs and symptoms here, I'm going to refer you to an outstanding website run by the National Eating Disorders Association, which certainly provides lots of information on dealing with someone who has an eating disorder, but it also offers plenty of tips for building a positive body image and for preventing eating disorders in the first place. If you even remotely suspect that your child is heading into dangerous territory with his or her eating habits, please go to www.edap.org for more insights into this problem and guidance about the help that's available. And if any of you have faced an eating disorder, either your own or a child's, please share your experiences here, so that others can benefit from what you've learned. |
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daisy2811
Member since Mar-12-07
1 posts |
Mar-12-07, 02:21 AM (EST) |
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2. "RE: Tips on Eating Disorders"
In response to message #0
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I suffered from an eating disorder starting at age 10. I had been taking dance for about 5 years at the time and I switched dance teachers to a teacher who motivated us by calling us derogatory names, usually involving fat. Up to that point, my dance teacher had been a role model and someone who I believed, so when this teacher called me fat, I believed him (I was not, nor have I ever been fat. I am 5'7 and am underweight when I'm not in the middle of a relapse). At that age, I knew about healthy dieting, as my other dance teacher had lectured us on healthy weight loss. But I also felt that the sooner I dropped the weight, the sooner my teacher would stop calling me names. I knew that if I drastically cut my eating, I would loose weight faster. Everyday that I went to dance class, I would leave it crying. That lasted until December, when my mom had enough and pulled me out of dance. However, the damage had been done. I felt I was fat and unlovable and the weight had to go. I am a very honest person about everything, but when I'm in the middle of a relapse, I will lie to anybody about my eating habits. At school, I told my friends and teachers that I ate a big breakfast and I would eat a big dinner. I was also very social at lunch to keep people distracted from me not eating. At home, I'd tell my family that I had eaten a big lunch and I had just eaten a snack right before they got home. That way I could just pick at my food. I would also take food to my room so my parents would think I was eating it. However, I could never bring myself to throw food away so people would see the decline in the box of food. I just couldn't bring myself to waste the food. But anything I did eat, I ate in front of people...see, I knew exactly what I was doing and I didn't feel it was bad, but I knew others worried.
The biggest thing I can tell parents if they suspect their child of an eating disorder(guys develop it too so please watch them too) is not to confront them about it. If you want to talk about it, do it in a casual manner and slowly build up to it. Also, if you suspect them of being anorexic, don't believe them when they tell you they are eating. If you or someone you trust don't witness it, it didn't happen. That's actually how I got busted. My boyfriend had some of his friends who had lunch at the same time as I did see how much I ate and when he realized I wasn't, he called my mom and told her that I hadn't eaten much for lunch and to make sure I ate a big dinner. When I tried my usual "I had a big lunch" thing, my mom called me on it and tried to make me eat. My mom tried to make me a eat a big plate at dinner. I ate it but I promptly threw it up. When I finally decided I wanted to get better, I had to slowly build back up to eating heavy foods. It's a slow process and eating truly does make you sick for awhile but you just have to persevere through it
Hopefully my story will help someone else. Also, if you get a bad feeling about teachers, go with it. Better to be safe than sorry. Also, I'm very willing to talk to anyone one on one about my experience.
Good luck,
Catherine |
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