breakingthemirror.com

June 27th, 2008

Are some personal trainers triggering eating disorders in their clients?

I’ve often wondered if personal trainers have to take any kind of oath to look out for the health of their clientele?  Probably not, if what I’ve seen is any indication. 

In the past, I’ve watched trainers humiliate and berate their clients into “top physical shape”.  Are those “customers” really benefiting in the long run, or are they being molded into some kind of ideal that could be a trigger for an eating disorder?  (To my current gym’s credit, I have NEVER seen it happen there… and it’s an all-women’s club with amazing, kick-your-ass-in-a-second trainers.  In fact, one trainer asked a client to leave the club until she was in therapy and had gained weight.) 

I’ve known anorexia sufferers whose trainers turned a blind eye to the eating disorder in favor of getting results (thinner thighs, smaller buttocks, lower weight) and, presumably, making money.  Personally, I think that’s a little cold; shouldn’t trainers be on the lookout for health risks on behalf of their clients?

What are your feelings about this topic? 

If you were (or are) a trainer, would (or do) you stop training someone who was obviously becoming unhealthily thin or obsessed with exercise?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Only three days left in our Crazy Cool Contest!  Where is your entry? 

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 26th, 2008

Some fun posts from May’s Breaking the Mirror Archives

I always enjoy evaluating the posts from Breaking the Mirror. 

Therefore, I’ve decided to highlight a few from the month of May:

The post with the most comments: 

“Crazy Cool Contest” - http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/16/crazy-cool-contest-help-us-write-a-breaking-the-mirror-theme-song/

The post that’s been seen the most:

Again, the same…

“Crazy Cool Contest” - http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/16/crazy-cool-contest-help-us-write-a-breaking-the-mirror-theme-song/

The post that’s been seen the least:

“Do you like to be around food?” - http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/25/do-you-like-to-be-around-food/

The post I wish you’d read (and respond to!):

Actually, it would be all of the Summer Solstice Series:

Part I: http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/20/summer-solstice-audience-participation-part-i/

Part II: http://breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/20/summer-solstice-audience-participation-part-ii/

Part III: http://breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/20/summer-solstice-audience-participation-part-iii/

Part IV: http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/20/summer-solstice-audience-participation-part-iv/

Part V:  http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/20/summer-solstice-audience-participation-part-v/

The post I think we should expand upon as a group:

“Nerds and Anorexia” - http://www.breakingthemirror.com/2008/06/25/nerds-get-anorexia-too/

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 25th, 2008

Do you like to be around food?

I don’t know what it is, but when I was anorexic, I kept putting myself into positions where I was around food.  I think I delighted in pretending to eat and fooling everyone.  Or maybe I enjoyed (perversely) watching other people chow down.

Whatever the reason, I thought about that all this evening.  I was watching my son eat his dinner and considered how much I enjoy cooking for others.  I love to feed, nourish, delight with culinary creations (some much better than others!)  Yet I have such a struggle with the very thing that can cause me such joy — food.

Tell me — do you like to be around food?

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 25th, 2008

Does dishing about anorexia and thinspiration in celebs make it “cool”?

This morning, I actually clicked on an AOL homepage link talking about Courtney Love, the very quirky (and unstable, in my opinion) rocker chick who was married to (or at least living with) Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain.

The link shows a pic of Courtney looking quite skinny.  Truly, she does look pretty sick.  But is this a case of the media just being a pack of dogs?  Do they really give a damn about what happens when they show pics of a troubled woman?  Do they even realize (or care) that they may be encouraging anorexics and bulimics everywhere to emulate the thinness?

Now, I don’t know if Love is anorexic.  She’s obviously not eating right now.  But what kills me is that if she gains 20 pounds, the papparazzi will be all over her a&*, talking about how she’s “ballooned up” and has cellulite.

Share This

By angelique -- 1 comment

June 25th, 2008

Nerds get anorexia, too

I am a self-professed nerd. 

In high school, I dreaded gym class like the plague because I had zero athletic ability. 

(Ironically, I work out 3-5 days a week now and have discovered I have more talents in this arena than I thought I had 20 years ago… but I digress…)

If our school had organized a chess club, I’d probably have joined.  Same with A/V (audio visual). 

I got straight As, was an honors student and to this day have never been drunk nor have I tried any illegal drugs.

And I had anorexia.

Me.

The nerd.

The one who was threatened by the “cool” kids and eschewed by the jocks.

I became anorexic.

Who would have imagined that Ana would choose me?

Share This

By angelique -- 4 comments

June 24th, 2008

Thought-provoking article about eating disorders from an Arab Emirates newspaper

I came across this article, “Dangerous Territory“, from The National, an Arab Emirates newspaper with an online presence.  In it, the author, Caroline King, talks about her daughter’s struggle with an eating disorder.

Not only do I think the article is poignant and candid, but I also believe it shares some insights that people need to realize, such as:

“Death, divorce, illness in the family – all these problems can lead teenagers to flee into the strangely all-enveloping cocoon of an eating disorder, women who have escaped the trap tell me. But how come my daughter was in this state? Ours is, apparently, a normal two-parent family with all the usual squabbles and stresses but nothing that I would view as out of the ordinary.

On a straightforward level, I could see how it had happened. Three months beforehand I had embarked on a much-needed diet, cutting out carbs in order to deflate the spare tyres of middle age. Since my daughter had been hitting the Krispy Kreme doughnuts with some vigour in the preceding months, I didn’t discourage her when she said she would join me in cutting back on sugar and starchy foods. Cutting out bread, pasta and rice did me a lot of good. Even with a bit of cheating, I lost a stone and felt much better. She, however, followed the same rules with the rigour of youth and a perfectionist personality and lost three stone from a body that started off within the normal weight range.”

I highly recommend you read the full article and let me know what your thoughts are. 

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 24th, 2008

A short eating disorder poem for a hot day

In the mirror,

There’s a flaw.

Then two, then three —

My heart is raw.

I hate my hips.

I hate my thighs.

I hate my ass.

(I like my eyes.)

I hate my tummy,

Hate my knees.

Make it stop now, 

Pretty please.

===================

You can be a songwriter! 

It doesn’t take as much time as you think, and if you enter, you’ll be eligible to win prizes!  Check it out here!

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 23rd, 2008

An eating disorder quiz I recommend & other stuff

QUIZ ALERT! 

I don’t like every quiz I find on the Internet, but I really think the quiz at Something Fishy is decent and can be a great starting point for anyone concerned that he or she has (or is in danger of developing) an eating disorder. 

Check it out and tell me what you think.

===========================

UPDATE! 

Breaking the Mirror’s Crazy Cool Contest deadline has been extended to 6/30/2008 and a new prize has been added.  

===========================

NEW POLL!

I’ve set up a new poll at the sidebar.  Please add your vote!

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 23rd, 2008

Crazy Cool Contest — Extended and Enhanced!

We have three great entries for the Crazy Cool Contest, but I think that our singer/songwriter, the talented Julie Moffitt (seen on the cover of her CD, here) deserves many more from which to choose a winner.

Consequently, I’m extending the deadline until Monday, June 30, 2008, at 11:59 p.m. EST! 

PLUS, I’m adding an extra prize based on the number of entries we receive.

IF we receive fewer than 10 entries, I’ll personally donate $5 to the charity of the winner’s choice (as long as it’s not for anything untoward or something I’m firmly against.)

If we receive 10-19 entries, I’ll up that amount to $10; 20-29 entries will be $15; 30-39 entries $20; and so on up to a maximum of $50 donated toward a charity of the winner’s choice.

So what are you waiting for? 

Win a CD AND donate to your fave charity just by writing a body-image related sentence or phrase!  What could be easier?  Click here now!

Share This

By angelique -- 0 comments

June 22nd, 2008

What do you know about B.E.D. (binge eating disorder)?

Of all eating disorders, I’d say that binge eating disorder probably gets the least amount of press. 

(I suppose people simply assume that if you gorge yourself and don’t vomit, you’re simply a glutton rather than someone suffering from a legitimate mental illness.)

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) mentions these tidbits about binge eating disorder (or BED):

• BED is an ED-NOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified) characterized by recurrent binge eating without the use of compensatory measures to counter the binge eating.  (In other words, it’s half of bulimia — all the bingeing, none of the purging behaviors.)
• BED is characterized by frequently eating large quantities of food in short periods of time; feeling out of control when it comes to eating; feeling ashamed of the behavior; eating in secret; and eating when you’re not hungry.
• BED affects approximately 1-5% of the population; and of those who are affected, 60% are women and 40% are men.

Have you ever known someone with BED?

===================================

(As a side note, the short story I posted a couple months back centers around a BED sufferer who falls into a vicious cycle of bulimia.  Check it out but please go easy on the writing — it was penned over 10 years ago!)

Share This

By angelique -- 2 comments