First things first, Monday, Jan. 31, 2011

In addition to using ED names such as Binge Eating Disorder (BED), we're going to talk about underweight, anorexia, overweight, obesity--what do these words mean?

I'll use the term "fat." I like the word, and Fat Pride people have reclaimed it, the way gay people reclaimed "Queer" for Queer Nation. Fat is not a pejorative when I use it here. I'll most often be referring to both the overweight and the obese, for while they have very different health problems, lifestyle problems, and other problems, they also have something in common--they're discriminated against. They should be allies in the fight against the attacks on fat people, and someday, that may come.

Note that I'm not saying fat is good--on the contrary, it can be at the very least unhealthy. For the obese, it's always unhealthy--in fact, it's a matter of life and death. But we aren't cruel to cardiac patients and people with irritable bowel syndrome and we shouldn't be cruel to the obese. Sometimes I think that the last people on earth it's okay to make fun of are smokers, the overweight/obese, and people with a mental illness. It makes me sick, and it hurts those who suffer. I'll try not to get too political in this blog, but discrimination and oppression are always a part of being fat, and can't be ignored.

But "fat" isn't a medical word. For accuracy, we have to go to a measuring tool called the Body Mass Index, or BMI. It's a formula which uses your height and weight to give you a number--the BMI--which is then compared to a chart. Here's the chart I'll use:

Emaciated = UNDER 15 BMI
Anorexic = Under 17.5 BMI
Underweight = Under 19 BMI
Normal = 19 - 24 BMI
Overweight = 25 - 29 BMI
Obese = +29 BMI

Here are two good places for BMI calculators:

CDC

NHLB 

You'll see that the chart I'm using is different from the two used by the two calculator sites. That's because I prefer the expanded chart, which includes anorexics and some bulimics. I'll be talking about them, too, later, and we'll need the expanded chart for that.

Since I don't know you, I'll use me as an example. I'm 5'4" tall. My normal weight, according to the BMI, would be 108-145 lbs. That's a large range, much larger than the old charts used to be. From 146-174 lbs., I'd be overweight, and obese at 175+. Morbid obesity sets in at 100+ lbs. over normal weight, which I'd take as the highest normal weight of 145 lbs., for a total in my case of 245 lbs. In the old days, that would be the lowest weight at which some form of bariatric surgery would be contemplated. In today's medicine, it would be considered at a much lower weight. I disagree with that, but we'll get to it later.

There are problems with the BMI as far as determining weight labels, however. For very frail people, such as the elderly, the lighter weights might not actually be underweight. With osteoporosis, bones are more "lacy;" that is, not as dense, so the person will weigh less. For extremely flabby people, with little or no muscle tone, the same holds true. For athletes, with lots of muscle and bone, they might have a high BMI yet still not be overweight.

Let's get one thing clear, however. I've seen a lot of overweight people call themselves athletes and deny the BMI as being accurate in their case. An athlete is not someone who walks five miles a day, or plays an hour of tennis a day, or bikes for four hours a week. That's a fit normal person. That's who the BMI was designed for--average muscle to fit muscle. An athlete is Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The chance that you're 79 years old, or an athlete, if you're reading here, is very, very, small. For you and me, the BMI is accurate.

Use one of the calculators today and learn your BMI. It will help to determine your ED, too. A compulsive overeater is not going to have an anorexic BMI. Not many bulimics are underweight, either. In fact, they can be overweight, as can binge eaters, who are sometimes obese.

I've received permission to link to two blogs I like a lot. These belong to obese people who are working very hard to lose weight, and so far have been quite successful. I have no doubt that either one will reach her/his target weight--a normal BMI. As soon as I figure out how to add the links, I'll put them up. Yeah, I'm a little on the stupid side.

That's it for today. I promise that later, it won't be so dry, but information comes first. That way, we can soon get down to business.

Sunday night, January 30, 2011

My goal for this blog is to gather those of us with eating disorders (EDs) together to discuss them, learn from each other, support each other, and teach those without them what EDs are and how they can help.

I'll start out my blog discussing what EDs are--how they develop; who's vulnerable to them; their dangers to the sufferer; how they can be treated, and what's their usual outcome. Later, I'll discuss in depth the five major EDs: Compulsive Over-Eating (COE), Binge Eating Disorder (BED), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Anorexia Nervosa (AN), and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS).

If you have COE, you might not be interested in AN, so I'll try to keep each type separate. However, obesity can be a result of both COE and BED. Someone with AN may have started out obese and once she began dieting, became ill and "fell" into self-starvation. Thus, you might find something of value in another section. However, it's all up to you what you want to read. I'll try to title the entries so that you can judge whether or not you want to skip them.

Remember: I'm not a doctor, psychologist, or licensed therapist, just an obsessive reader who's digested everything I can find on EDs. I've studied both professional and popular books, research papers, and videos. Each has different--sometimes very different--information about EDs. I'll try to present all the answers I've found and will find, since I'll continue to learn as much as I can, some of it from you. I'll offer links for more information, too.

I'll try to write every day, but blogging is new to me. Sometimes I'll bore you, since some of the material is dry, but I'll do my best to keep your interest until we get to more interesting and personal stuff--about you, people we don't know who we admire or like (celebrities), and so on. Together, we can accept and love who we are, and with hard work, recover from an ED, no matter which one we have. I certainly don't think this place can take the place of a therapist or doctor. As I said, I have no qualifications to do that. But we can help each other--I'm sure of it.