By Gina Brindisi, Staff Writer, Emerson College
This summer I promised myself that when I got back to Emerson, I was going to feel great—and look great too. It may sound untrue, but I wasn’t doing it for anyone else, nor was I conforming to the pressures of society. It was just something I wanted to do for me.
So I made myself a diet and healthy living plan. I spent a good part of the summer looking up health and nutrition facts. I cut out most junk foods (goldfish excluded), hit the gym every day, and ate a lot of fruits, veggies and Greek yogurt. That was it. I was not taking any supplements, following any specific weight loss plan or starving myself. All I was doing was practicing a healthy lifestyle. Before I knew it I had dropped thirty pounds and was feeling great. Now, I look fit and more defined. I feel strong, confident, and happy.
For the most part, people I knew were agreeing with me. I received compliment after compliment about the new me. However, some people close to me didn’t quite see my new and improved lifestyle as healthy. They assumed I was making choices based on body image issues and not simply to be healthy. They jumped to the conclusion that I was anorexic despite the fact that they would see me eating daily and regularly (and even cheat on my diet with a Bova’s cannoli every once and a while). I may have cut my daily calorie intake a little bit, but I was still eating and making sure I was getting a healthy amount of nutrients.
One day, they planned an “intervention” and confronted me about my eating habits. They begged and pleaded with me, but I wouldn’t budge. I wasn’t going to admit that I was anorexic, because I genuinely knew I was not. After years of health education in high school, I knew all the dangers associated with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. I was educated on the subject and the idea of eating disorders scared me a bit. So I knew I was not nor ever could be anorexic. I trusted myself, but they didn’t trust me.
It took a lot of convincing, but they finally got off my back about it. However, I can still tell the thought of me being anorexic lingers in the back of their minds. I can’t blame them, though – they’re merely victims of society’s assumptions regarding weight loss.
Weight loss tends to have a stigma attached to it. It’s often assumed that when you lose weight, unless advised by a doctor, it’s a direct result of magazine ads and celebrities making you feel insecure. It’s also assumed that when people lose a large amount of weight, especially as a teen or college student, they always do it in an unhealthy way. We have all been taught that anorexia is a serious and prominent illness; after all, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), it was reported that 24 million people were suffering from an eating disorder in 2003.
Sophomore marketing communication major Lia Pichardo knows first hand the reality of anorexia.
“My mom was always getting me to lose weight,” explained Pichardo. “I finally [lost weight] and then I became obsessed with it.”
At thirteen-years-old, she was anorexic. At the height of her illness, Pichardo, who stands at five feet and eight inches, was 92 pounds. Now nineteen-years-old, she’s been in and out of rehab and still struggles with the disorder. Despite being on the road to recovery, she still hopes to lose weight, but in a healthy way.
So yes, anorexia is a dangerous illness with detrimental effects. However, not everyone that is losing weight suffers from the disorder. According to Pichardo, the best way to determine if someone is battling an eating disorder is to look at his or her table habits. Typically, those with anorexia will have eating rituals and add a large amount of salt to their food. ANAD cites hair loss, excessive body hair or sensitivity to cold as other signs that point this disorder.
If someone you know is exhibiting those signs, try and get them help. However, if someone has replaced French fries in their diet with an apple, don’t jump to any wild conclusions. Feel them out at first, because there is nothing wrong with losing weight in a knowledgeable way. It just means that they want to take care of themselves and live a longer, fuller, and healthier life.
Gina is majoring in Writing, Literature & Publishing with a double minor in Leadership & Management and Sociology. She may be a sophomore, but she's a five-year old at heart who is super passionate about education reform. She also loves peanut butter and all things related to Paris, France. You can find Gina on Twitter and LinkedIn.
So I made myself a diet and healthy living plan. I spent a good part of the summer looking up health and nutrition facts. I cut out most junk foods (goldfish excluded), hit the gym every day, and ate a lot of fruits, veggies and Greek yogurt. That was it. I was not taking any supplements, following any specific weight loss plan or starving myself. All I was doing was practicing a healthy lifestyle. Before I knew it I had dropped thirty pounds and was feeling great. Now, I look fit and more defined. I feel strong, confident, and happy.
For the most part, people I knew were agreeing with me. I received compliment after compliment about the new me. However, some people close to me didn’t quite see my new and improved lifestyle as healthy. They assumed I was making choices based on body image issues and not simply to be healthy. They jumped to the conclusion that I was anorexic despite the fact that they would see me eating daily and regularly (and even cheat on my diet with a Bova’s cannoli every once and a while). I may have cut my daily calorie intake a little bit, but I was still eating and making sure I was getting a healthy amount of nutrients.
One day, they planned an “intervention” and confronted me about my eating habits. They begged and pleaded with me, but I wouldn’t budge. I wasn’t going to admit that I was anorexic, because I genuinely knew I was not. After years of health education in high school, I knew all the dangers associated with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. I was educated on the subject and the idea of eating disorders scared me a bit. So I knew I was not nor ever could be anorexic. I trusted myself, but they didn’t trust me.
It took a lot of convincing, but they finally got off my back about it. However, I can still tell the thought of me being anorexic lingers in the back of their minds. I can’t blame them, though – they’re merely victims of society’s assumptions regarding weight loss.
Weight loss tends to have a stigma attached to it. It’s often assumed that when you lose weight, unless advised by a doctor, it’s a direct result of magazine ads and celebrities making you feel insecure. It’s also assumed that when people lose a large amount of weight, especially as a teen or college student, they always do it in an unhealthy way. We have all been taught that anorexia is a serious and prominent illness; after all, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), it was reported that 24 million people were suffering from an eating disorder in 2003.
Sophomore marketing communication major Lia Pichardo knows first hand the reality of anorexia.
“My mom was always getting me to lose weight,” explained Pichardo. “I finally [lost weight] and then I became obsessed with it.”
At thirteen-years-old, she was anorexic. At the height of her illness, Pichardo, who stands at five feet and eight inches, was 92 pounds. Now nineteen-years-old, she’s been in and out of rehab and still struggles with the disorder. Despite being on the road to recovery, she still hopes to lose weight, but in a healthy way.
So yes, anorexia is a dangerous illness with detrimental effects. However, not everyone that is losing weight suffers from the disorder. According to Pichardo, the best way to determine if someone is battling an eating disorder is to look at his or her table habits. Typically, those with anorexia will have eating rituals and add a large amount of salt to their food. ANAD cites hair loss, excessive body hair or sensitivity to cold as other signs that point this disorder.
If someone you know is exhibiting those signs, try and get them help. However, if someone has replaced French fries in their diet with an apple, don’t jump to any wild conclusions. Feel them out at first, because there is nothing wrong with losing weight in a knowledgeable way. It just means that they want to take care of themselves and live a longer, fuller, and healthier life.
Gina is majoring in Writing, Literature & Publishing with a double minor in Leadership & Management and Sociology. She may be a sophomore, but she's a five-year old at heart who is super passionate about education reform. She also loves peanut butter and all things related to Paris, France. You can find Gina on Twitter and LinkedIn.