In honor of National Eating Disorder Week, I thought I would shed some light on what eating disorders are. Eating disorders have long been a problem affecting the global youth. At least 24 million Americans were being affected by eating disorders and 90 percent of that population is between the ages of 12 and 25, according to The Examiner in Buffalo.
From the unattainable body portrayed by print and television advertisements to looking “just right” for spring break, many college and high school students are affected by eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa is the loss of appetite that has become a compulsion. This compulsion can completely control the patients causing dangerous weight loss and serious health problems.
Bulimia nervosa is much different, involving vomiting instead of cutting out food completely. With bulimia, the person will usually experience a scratched up throat from the constant vomiting and they actually gain a little weight initially. The weight gain comes from the massive intake of food and calories, and then the purging. With spring break right around the corner, many students are trying to diet to get the body they want to show off. Instead of crash dieting, try to diet in a healthy way.
Here are some tips for how to lose weight in a healthy way to get ready for beach and pool season:
-Reduce your fat intake. It has long been known that large amounts of fat will lead to unwanted weight. -Exercise a little bit each day. Try going out for a walk in the morning before you go to class and while on campus try taking the stairs instead of the escalator.
-Drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.
-Try to get eight hours of sleep. I know getting that much sleep today is hard but the more sleep you get the more weight you loss. Being tired can lead to unhealthy foods and snacks to stay awake and being too tired to prepare anything healthy.
-Eat more fiber. Fiber is a filler and offers no nutrition to the body making it indigestible. This helps to curb your hunger and can be found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Even though dieting does mean you have to cut out unnecessary things like excess fat, I have a very strong sweet tooth. Every time I have tried to diet I make sure to have some guilt free snacks around my apartment.
Here is a super easy and tasty guilt-free snack,: Brownie Oatmeal Cookies.
Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix
2 cups uncooked oats (walnuts, and if desired)
Directions:
Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients into the brownie batter and let it stand covered for 30 minutes. Grease a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and drop cookies onto the baking sheet. Cook for 12 minutes and enjoy this guilt- free snack.