The Downside of Diet Culture

When does a healthy approach to fitness become obsessive or problematic?  When you find yourself doing any of these things:

●  Skipping meals
●  Making excuses for not eating
●  Eating only a few certain “safe” foods
●  Adopting rigid meal or eating rituals
●  Cooking elaborate meals for others, but refusing to eat them yourself
●  Collecting recipes
●  Withdrawing from normal social activities
●  Persistent worry about being fat or gaining weight
●  A distorted body image, such as feeling fat despite being normal- or underweight
●  Not wanting to eat in public
●  Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws
●  Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweet or high ­fat foods
●  Use of syrup of ipecac, laxatives, the over ­the­ counter weight­loss drug orlistat (Alli).
●  Use of dietary supplements or herbal products for weight loss
●  Food hoarding
●  Eating in secret

--from Mayo Clinic, Signs of Disordered Eating

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