Eating Disorder: Did you think about food today?
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Did you think about food today?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: Of course. This morning I thought about what my daughter should get on her sandwich. Then I thought about what I like to have breakfast. And guests are coming tonight, so I have to think about what I'm cooking.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Many women counterbalance the calories of breakfast with the calories of lunch, treat themselves to a piece of cake in the afternoon and abstain from it for dinner. How many food thoughts are normal?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: The alarm bells ring when you stop eating, until you're full, when you think about whether you can have half a honey roll, for example, because you already had a cereal or a whole roll. Someone who gives enough food to his body does not worry about eating.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: That is, as soon as my thoughts are only about food, do I eat too little?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: Or too much. At least not normal anymore.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Many women annoy these thoughts themselves, they would like to turn them off ...
Dr. Lisa Pecho: ... and continue to eat in strict control so as not to increase one gram. All I can say is that it will not work. Everyone naturally has a set, individual body weight, the so-called set point. However, this is usually a few pounds above our ideal of beauty. We consider a BMI of no more than 19 to be ideal - my own fluctuates between 23 and 24. Anyone who eats restrictively does not give enough food to his body. That then thoughts only revolve around food, is a normal reaction of the body.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: How do I get out of the spiral of thought?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: By changing my behavior, we can control that more easily than our thoughts. That means: I no longer stand on the scales. I eat normal portions. And normalize my weight in the direction of my set point. This is not an easy way. I would therefore get help from the outside and go to a professional nutritional advice. It's absurd: every baby knows when it's going to happen. Many women have lost their natural satiety.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Why is it so important to us to be skinny?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: Women are expected to work perfectly on more and more levels: at work, as a mother, in the home, as a partner. If everything gets too much for me, then it can be a kind of relief to deal with the food and not with the underlying problems. On the surface, restrictive eateresses have a perfect grip on a part of their lives. That gives them a sense of security. And then the equation applies in our society: whoever is thin is beautiful, fit and successful. Even slightly overweight people are considered excessive and undisciplined. Who wants to be that in our performance society?
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: The Robert Koch Institute has found in a recent study that one third of girls between 14 and 17 are eating disorders. What should I do if my eleven-year-old daughter wants to go on a diet?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: Yesterday evening comes to mind: A friend of my twelve-year-old daughter was eating with us. When I smeared butter on the bread, she asked in astonishment: Are you not on a diet? There are many children who grow up with dieting mothers and experience very early that body and weight play an important role. How should these children then develop a normal relationship to food? First of all, I would like to ask myself what kind of eating behavior I have for my children. If the mother moves in the other direction, then the child has almost no chance. And then I would talk to my daughter, listen to her and ask her what bothers her body. And that without evaluating it. Otherwise the child will close immediately.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: What, if it is no longer about a diet - but my daughter regularly vomits?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: In the initial stages, most bulimics hide their illness. So, if I find out that my child is vomiting, then bulimia is usually already advanced. If I only assume that my child is bulimic, I should address it directly. In the best case it starts to talk. Often everything is simply denied: The eating disorder is like a good friend who has to stay secret in order not to lose her. Parents should get professional help in such a case. A doctor, for example, recognizes in the best case whether there is something in the suspicion. Above all, it has a bridging function: Because it is not part of the family, the child can open up more easily.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: My child or my best friend has an eating disorder.How do I behave correctly?
Dr. Lisa Pecho: By interest, demand and search for solutions together. But if the eating disorder is already very advanced, all conversations are only about this topic and still nothing changes, then I have to delineate myself. An alcoholic does not buy a box of beer. But if you do not like vegetable soup, you prefer pudding, or what else can I cook for you? The topic of food, however, should be completely out of the question at some point, otherwise the affected person has the feeling: If I lose the eating disorder, I also lose the attention of my mother or girlfriend. It's hard to keep up. But it is the only way.
Many women just scrape past a disturbance with their espresso sticks: one only eats fruit twice a week, another lettuce at lunchtime, and the third after 18 o'clock nothing at all. How do I protect myself from not falling into this eating trap? I have to realize what these women are going through. You may weigh a few pounds less than me, but at what price? Her thoughts constantly revolve around food. It's like thinking about my job after work and at the weekend. And full of fear and laden with guilt. What a loss of quality of life! My life is cramped, and not just in my mind: I go to the gym three times a week, jogging every day - and I do not have that much time for social networking. Everyone has to decide for themselves: is it worth it?
