In light of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, people are speaking up about diseases like anorexia nervosa.
Ariella knows firsthand what it’s like to suffer from the condition -- at the age of 18, she reached her lowest weight of 95 pounds.
Most important, though, Ariella knows what it’s like to recover from anorexia nervosa. She wants individuals suffering from the condition to know that starving oneself isn’t going to lead to happiness, a positive body image or a satisfied feeling of being in control.
In fact, she points out that most with anorexia, looking to obtain these ideals, actually find themselves miserable and unhappy, with little to no self-confidence.
For Ariella, anorexia began to develop during her junior year of high school, when she entered puberty and gained weight from birth control. At that time, she began to fear the new and unsettling changes her body was going through.
“That was the first time I began to think about diets and nutrition and exercising,” she said. “I tried to cut meals to lose the extra couple of pounds.”
Like many people seeking to drop weight, Ariella began to cut back on her food consumption, skipping a meal here and there. As her symptoms began to snowball, she found herself eliminating meals multiple times a day.
Health
Eventually, her daily food intake consisted only of a bowl of cereal with a banana for lunch and a small piece of grilled chicken with a handful of steamed vegetables for dinner.
“I was hungry all the time, but it felt good to be hungry. I felt like I deserved it and prided myself on the hunger pains. I was proud of myself when I was able to sustain myself on the littlest amount of calories,” said Ariella. “I got down to 500 calories a day and was working out for one-and-a-half hours a day, six days a week. It took all my time to think of what to eat, when to eat, how many calories and then how I could work it off at the gym. Food was all I thought about.”
Sandra Pinney, MS, RD, LD, who works with patients with eating disorders at a private practice on M Street, explains that anorexia is a condition that develops over time. Though an individual with anorexia thinks she or he is in control, the very truth of the matter is that the disease ultimately reigns power.
“Each individual develops [anorexia] due to a different set of circumstances, but generally there is a period of restrictive eating that then takes on a life of its own. Most people do not say, ‘I want to develop an eating disorder,’ but…there is a desire to lose weight,” stated Pinney.
According to the experts of the Mayo Clinic, anorexia is an emotional disorder, in which individuals transfer their feelings into an unhealthy relationship with food. The condition is also defined as an obsession with weight loss, including the rigid monitoring and calculating of food consumption.
Pinney adds that anorexia is the inability or refusal of an individual to maintain a weight level above 85 percent of the expected range based off of age and height. Though the end result of weight loss for those with anorexia is the same, each person’s weight loss methods vary.
“The pattern of food consumption varies widely. Some individuals count calories and fat grams and only eat foods with low calories and a high nutrient density. Others will limit total calories but will eat the same foods rigidly, even if they are not low-calorie foods,” said Pinney. “In an individual suffering with anorexia nervosa, the body image distortions are key. Most of the individuals I see have never been overweight, but they report feeling fat, flabby and disgusting even at a weight that is healthy or below ideal.”
Despite Ariella’s rapid weight loss, she still found the image staring back at her in the mirror unsettling.
“I saw that I was skinny but was proud of myself for getting skinnier. I was excited when my hip bones started to jut out even more, and my stomach was always my main source of concern. Having a flat stomach was my concentration,” she said. “Even before I started dieting, I knew I was on the skinnier side, but I wanted to be perfect, which always came back to a flat stomach.”
Ariella came to quickly learn, though, that the ideal of weight loss was mentally and physically punishing to her body. Not only did osteopenia develop, but so did severe depression and anxiety.
“During starvation, the body must adapt to the lack of available energy, and this has a detrimental effect on the skeletal, gastrointestinal, muscular, cardiac, endocrine, renal and nervous systems. Individuals who suffer with anorexia nervosa are often exhausted, dehydrated, depressed and anxious,” Pinney said.
The Mayo Clinic further details the effects of the condition, which include bone loss, anemia, gastrointestinal complications, kidney malfunctioning, electrolyte abnormalities, heart irregularities and even death.
In terms of treatment, a team of experts, comprising of both family and individual therapists, dietitians and a primary care physician, is often necessary to ensure recovery. Most important, an individual should maintain an ideal body weight in order to prevent relapse.
If you think you have symptoms of anorexia, speak with a confidant or specialist to make the first step in seeking treatment. Likewise, if you suspect someone else is struggling with the condition, speak with them. “Do not talk about their weight or exact eating behaviors, but let them know that you are concerned,” advised Pinney.
Looking back, Ariella is thankful that she hit rock bottom. Even though friends and family approached her about getting healthy, it wasn’t until she herself acknowledged the problem that she began the first step down the road to recovery.
Now, Ariella is at a healthy weight and finds herself happier than ever. She’s also a certified mental health counselor and nutritionist, and she hopes to one day work with individuals seeking help for eating disorders.
Said Ariella: “I am happier now, because I am healthy and eat right and exercise regularly. Anorexia is a life-long battle and a life-long commitment to health. If we can prevent the disease, we can help a lot of young women from ever having to go through what I went through.”
If you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder, here are some local resources that can provide help:
Sandra Pinney, MS, RD, LD
2440 M Street (429)
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 296-7033
Specialties: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
Eating Disorders Support Group At Dominion Hospital
2960 Sleepy Hollow Road
Falls Church, VA 22044
2 South Conference Room (2nd Floor)
When: Wednesday Evenings, 7 to 8 p.m.
For More Information, Contact:
Julianne Brechtl, R.N. at (703) 538-2886
Visit http://www.edreferral.com/states/dc.html for contact information of other nutritionists and therapists with experience in treating eating disorders.
For information about diagnosis, treatment options, research or how to help a loved one, visit The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders at www.ANAD.org.
