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August 5, 2007
And We're Happy...
A series of exciting entries have been posted lately on the differences between CR and anorexia. Emi's and Mizzi's were both awesome.
Another difference that may seem obvious to those who actually know both CR practitioners and anorexics in real life (as opposed to in media caricatures of either) is that CR practitioners, by and large, are happy people.
I mean, we're not always freaking out with joy and singing the Barney song. We have just as many trials, tribulations, and problems as anyone. But we're not in the grip of a disease that controls our thoughts and actions. The anorexics I've known have expressed a feeling of being at war with themselves, and often of feeling the anorexia as an outside force that imposes its will on them, causing them not to eat, or angrily chastising them if they did succumb to temptation and eat. Some even drew pictures of their mental image of anorexia. One of my good friends drew the most amazing picture of herself chained to a mirror. Inside the mirror was a beautiful, happy world, but she couldn't get to it because of her chains. I suspect that that picture said more about anorexia than all the stupid pop psychology crap out there ever could.
The anorexics I have known look back on a time before they were stricken with the disease, and they miss that time. They describe pre-anorexia as a happier, more carefree time. They would like to return to it, but often don't know how. Several, with treatment and some with hospitalization have found a way to live again. Some are extremely successful and have even used their experiences to help others. Others are not as fortunate.
I want to make it clear that I do not attempt to speak for anorexics, or even believe that anyone could. There's no monolithic description that would fit any group of people, from anorexics to CR practitioners to Red Sox fans. There's a lot of variety. But when comparisons are drawn between CR and anorexia, it's hard for me to not compare my experiences with folks of either sort, and note that they just aren't very similar.
The CR practitioners I've known have been much more at peace with both their bodies and their lives in general than most other people I know. Sure, horrible things happen. My CR friends have recently dealt with illnesses and deaths of parents, loss of jobs, and other challenging events. But the basic default outlook on the world is that things are pretty good. Life is interesting and fun, and when presented with a challenge, the approach is to find out what to do and do something about it. We tend to be an engineering, tinkering kind of bunch, and certainly a bit odd, by "normal" people standards. But we're cheerful.
When someone is in the grip of a disease, it's hard to focus on much else. Some of the anorexics I've known have been incredibly functional, just like some of the alcoholics I've known have been incredibly functional. But there's an overriding compulsion that effects the sufferer's actions in ways that she or he, if asked, says he or she does not like. Less cheerful.
CR practitioners are not like that. The food part of life is important, but once a routine has been developped, it's just another part of life, just like work, school, cleaning the house, or shopping for shoes that look like the ones the Labor Board agent was wearing at my last vote (candy apple red, five inch patent leather platforms with ankle straps.) There's no compulsion about it. We make your decisions about what's healthiest to eat and what fits into our goals and priorities, then we just do it. Sure, it takes self-discipline. Sometimes it takes a lot of that. But that's quite different from a compulsion: if anything, it is the opposite of a compulsion. Conscious decisions, made in sound mind, to create sound body. Weird, I know, but not a disease. Much like someone who takes their tennis game seriously, we spend some time on it, and we sometimes spend time learning how to do it better, whether that be reading nutrition information, cooking, or reading medical studies. We care about it. But when we think about it, we think things like, "Neat! A new study! A new way to cook brussels sprouts! A free DEXA scan!" Not, "I hate myself I am horrible I ate food ugh ugh ugh ugh."
Kelly Brownell says something, and I can't find the quote, but it goes something like: if you're wondering if you have an eating disorder, you should ask yourself, "Would my life be better/would I be happier if I didn't feel this way? If I weren't this way?"
When you ask an anorexic this question, she or he will usually say yes.
When you ask a CR practitioner this question, he or she will usually say, "Are you **(&ing serious? No ^*(&ing way!"
I do not mean to imply that CR practitioners swear a lot. Just that the answer would be an emphatic no.
Most of us look back on our pre-CR life with a sense of mild sorrow that we wasted so much time before discovering CR. We just feel so much better now. Whether it's those who battled weight problems before, or just those who used to get a cold once a year and now never get sick, or those who, as Mizzi points out, experience a relief from anxiety when on CR, we all seem to feel better now than we did pre-CR. We watch the people around us age, and yet we don't seem to be looking much older. It's creepy at CR conferences how everyone looks exactly the same as they did at the conference two years earlier. One of the organizers of the conference, and I will admit that I've always had a big crush on him, is in his fifties and looks like he's at most 40. He's been doing CR for years, is weight stable, is an incredibly successful researcher and professor at a university, has two lovely children, and loaned me a sweater at a restaurant when I was cold. Oh he is so cute. Anyhow, he says he'd never go back. He doesn't seem to age. The men his age are starting to look truly awful, and he continues to look and feel fabulous.
I think it's important to look at long term CR practitioners, and see how they are doing, what they think, how they live. A lot of people start CR but either can't or choose not to sustain the practice. I can totally sympathize with this... I've had a hard few months during which I really let my CR slip, and I know as well as anyone how difficult it can be to maintain this lifestyle in the "real" world, full of gak and social eating and stress and people who wag french fries in front of your nose. I am not trying to cast aspersions on those who start but take a break, or start but decide it's not right for them. But I do think it's more instructive to study those who've done it longer, and have worked it into their lifestyle on a permanent basis. Most of these folks:
-- are weight stable
-- get their bloodtests done and visit their doctor at least once a year
-- are pretty happy, most of the time
-- express satisfaction with their bodies
-- eat fairly consistently, neither binge nor purge
-- like cats.
Actually, I made up the part about liking cats. That seems to run just about the same as the rest of the population. I happen to like cats a great deal.
If you've actually known both CR practitioners and anorexics, you're unlikely to see much similarity between the two. And I'm talking about real anorexics, not the people who beat themselves up because they've gained a few pounds and can't figure out how to lose it. Difficulty maintaining a healthy weight in an insanely unhealthy food environment is not an eating disorder, but that's a topic for another day. One of the many things I think is so awesome about Emi's contributions to the CR blogosphere is that as a real recovering anorexic, she shows folks in a calm, rational way what it's really like to suffer from that disease. Of course her experience is not universal, but the way she describes her true struggles to eat -- and she wants to recover -- helps people who've never known anorexics understand that it's not about having self-discipline and choosing not to eat, it's about feeling compelled not to eat. It's horrible. It destroys lives. It's a fight to get back to eating, and we get to cheer for her as she fights with grace and courage to get her health back.
A really cool commenter wrote in awhile back that it's no wonder both the ED community and the CR community are outraged by comparisons of the two. She said that an ED is not a choice. CR is a choice. She was awesome... she needs her own blog. If you're out there, write more! It was because of her that I took the link to Liza May's CR vs. anorexia piece out of my FAQ.
People seem to want to label something as a disorder if it doesn't agree with their own values or practices. If I were to do that, I would label all Red Sox fans as having a baseball disorder. And the same for Yankees fans. I can't imagine why one would spend time on watching a sport, but that's a difference in taste, not evidence of a psychological problem on any of our parts. MR can't imagine why I want to spend money and calories on wine: he'd rather have more broccoli. But he doesn't have a drinking disorder. He just doesn't care for it.
Having spent considerable time both as a serious CR practitioner and not, I can honestly say that I am happier when I am on serious CR. I'm sure that I could get to a calorie level so low that it would start to make me less happy, but if I got there, I'd eat more. I refuse to set arbitrary calorie or weight goals, and I don't worship numbers. MR would say I should spend more time worshiping the 100%s on COM and 30-40-30 (that's protein, carb, fat, not bust-waist-hips) but we can argue about that some other day. I think it's much more important to strive for one's own personal best than to get fixated on a number that is probably meaningless. Phantom calorie reports from people who don't weigh and measure or random weight goals that have nothing to do with one's own body type or activity level are not helpful for setting up a healthy CR program. Cron-O-Meter, a good food scale, and PubMed are much more useful tools.
Those who have suffered from anorexia and are now exploring CR add so much to the discussion. I am always so happy to read about how learning about nutrition and thinking of food as nutrients is helping Emi eat what she needs and get her health back. CR would definitely not be appropriate for all recovering anorexics, or for all of anyone (though I do rather wish that all men would practice CR so that the world would be populated with skinny guys. Or at least all men I come into contact with and have to look at. There's nothing sexier, IMO, than a really skinny man in a Brooks Brothers suit. Or green Army surplus pants and Canadian army dress boots. Or a utili-kilt.) But for those who can responsibily incorporate the principles of ON into their diets as they're struggling to learn how to eat again, I think it's got to be at least as healthy as the traditional "force feed them milkshakes" approach to treating anorexia. If someone finds she can more easily get herself to eat broccoli, eggwhites, almonds and kale, while she has trouble choking down milkshakes, shouldn't we rejoice with her and see if we can get her to try brussels sprouts too? Taking back control, away from the disease, and learning to embrace food as nutrients that the body deserves, is just awesome. I love Emi's blog... and I understand why she doesn't like Hello Kitty. I don't claim that she has a Hello Kitty disorder because she doesn't feel compelled to buy all the Hello Kitty crap she can afford like I do. She just has tastes that differ from mine.
I think that people are going to get the idea that Emi is my favorite of the CR bloggers. Okay, I'll admit it. She is my favorite. But others are also my favorites, just for different reasons! Robin is my favorite because she's my role model, she's such an icon of health, both mental and physical, and she's such a great writer. And she always has my back in a fight. (Does that make me Batman? hmmmm...) Sara is my favorite because she loves good food and good wine and has the same social struggles that I do (though lucky for me, I don't have these struggles with my partner, just my friends) and I think she's the one I identify with most. I love Mizzi's blog because her life is so fascinating, so different from the rest of us, and she's so reflective and thoughtful. Deborah is always a good example of a real live grown up mom eating right and staying young and gorgeous by eating healthy. I miss the blogs of the past: Hazel, Liz, etc. I hope Carolyn and Chris come back. I follow with interest and concern Amy's struggles to eat right in the midst of motherhood, pregnancy, and job stress. I missed Christina and Miss M when they went private, and I'm glad to see Christina resurface. I loved Miss M's scientific chef perspective on CR... I get the feeling she knows a lot more than I do, and her food always sounds delicious. Arturo and YC are always fun for the yoga perspective. So many more I love and read almost every day. But okay, Emi is the one I check constantly for a) new pictures of the kitten b) her brilliant perspective on everything. She is so different, so smart, so straightforward and rational, even about the irrational things in life.
Well, enough of a blogger lovefest.
I'm sure I'm going to get a host of angry comments ranging from:
a) you're all in denial, you're really miserable and you just don't know it
b) how dare you say anything about anorexia, you're neither a specialist nor a sufferer
c) you're just as bad as the fashion industry, encouraging men to starve themselves to fit your ideal of beauty, which is impossible for most men to attain, and might cause the economy to grind to a screeching halt as men abandon their jobs, their children, and sports on TV to spend hours a day weighing and chopping vegetables in pursuit of a giraffe-like physique.
Let me go ahead and answer them:
a) is just stupid. If we think we're happy, we are. I can see how a lot of folks think that restricting their food intake would make them unhappy, and perhaps it would. I do not encourage them to try it if they would prefer not to. We're not trying to recruit (she says for the gazillionth time.) But for us, we actually are happier now than we were before. We adapt our CR style to fit what makes us happy, and that varies a ton from one CR practitioner to another. Some have increased their calories if they feel like they've gone too low for whatever reason. Some change their macronutrient ratios, or their eating times, or try EOD fasting, or whatever. But they do what works for them. Don't impose your vision of what makes you happy onto us. You don't know us. You might like us if you did, but you don't.
b) is fair, but considering that everyone from Rebecca Traister to Kate Taylor to random recent Yale grads to nasty commenters who don't even give their names feels competent to comment on the supposed mental health of CR practitioners, I figure I can say a few things too.
c) is totally fair. However, the male population shows no signs of adopting my standard of beauty. I am just lucky that I found and acquired the white tiger of males: a naturally skinny boy who practices hardcore CR.
White tigers, btw, are a genetic anomoly that should not be bred in captivity. In fact, no tigers should be bred: there are enough tigers in captivity. We should focus on preserving the habitat of wild tigers so that tigers can live where they belong: in the wild. There are many unwanted and abandoned big cats who either live in horrible conditions or get put to death. They can't function in the wild because they never learned how to hunt, etc. I learned all this from Big Cat Rescue.
There's plenty of habitat for skinny guys, though a distinct lack of clothing that fits.
It's been awhile since I've felt up to wading into a controversial topic. The nasty comments really bother me, and when I have to deal with a ton of stress at work and personal sadness and such, I just don't want to deal with any more negative energy. But I don't want to censor myself forever. It's my blog, no one is forced (to my knowledge, and if someone is being forced to read the blog the police should be called) to read it. If you don't care for it, or have decided you just don't like me (or anyone else you don't know) then please feel free to spend your reading time elsewhere. Or watch baseball. Is there still baseball? Or is it over?
For those of you who like to engage in meaningful discussion and disagreement, you are always encouraged to post. We've had some interesting discussions, haven't we? I miss some of the fascinating commenters of the past. Where do they go? Did they get bored during the all-food-all-the-time days and go away? Did they forget to pay the internet service bill and lose their access to a computer? Was reading the blog just a passing phase, now replaced with more meaningful activity? I miss Dan, and Noah, and Chris, and that lawyer from Maine, and I even kinda miss the guy who really hated me at first but seemed to like the food writing. What was his name? That anorexic who posted such thoughtful comments that she convinced me to take down my link to Liza May's CR vs. Anorexia piece. Where's she? She was awesome. Discussion and debate are fabulous. Nasty ad hominem attacks, unfounded accusations, and threats are not.
But karma has a way of coming around, and I do my best to pray for even the nastiest of the nasty commenters. Just because they want to rack up bad karma does not mean that I have to do the same. I actually became good friends with the nastiest commenter of all times, you know who you are. :) She turned out to be an incredible support to me during a very difficult time, and was the one who got me started writing again when I felt like I couldn't anymore. I'm even rather friendly with RT these days... wonder of wonders. We have a lot in common, as it turns out. It just goes to show that you should never jump too quickly to judgement about a person.
Or about a vegetable. Which brings us back to the eternal question: why do so many people dislike brussels sprouts? And what is to be done about it? Because while I don't want to convert anyone to CR (other than Julian Dibbell, because he's brilliant and really good looking, and my best friend because I'm going to miss him when he dies), I do want to convert the world at large to brussel sprouts. I already changed MR's mind. Are you next?
Posted by april at August 5, 2007 6:53 AM
Comments
As someone who has been struggling with one eating disorder or another for the past 3-4 years I have to say that CR definitely has its appeal. Restricting and being in control of food and eating "cleanly" without the guilt of disappointing my loved ones in my self destruction is like the best of both worlds. Everyone is happy. Though I think CR cannot be the sole means in helping an eating disordered person recover. I've yet to seek professional help and I fear sometimes that my excitement for CR is only playing on my unhealthy obsession with food and weight. I feel somewhat guilty reading CR blogs and using COM and all that good stuff because I feel I'm using it for evil. I'm still using it to further my eating disorder and not trying to get over that hump and start using all these tools to get healthy and happy. But I don’t claim that what I'm practicing now is CR. I'm just using the whole idea of this lifestyle as a way to mask my behaviors and feel a bit less guilty. But if I was in therapy and seeking help in conjunction with actually practicing CR, I think it actually could work very well. I just need to give it a chance. When I first came across CR a year ago I was overly excited [and still am] that I had finally found a way out. It’s a way to actually live a healthy life while still getting the “high” that I get when I’m restricting and pretending to be being healthy. Except I can actually be healthy! The truth is I don't want to go back to the way I was eating before my eating disorder. I may of been in a better state of mind and at a healthier weight but I cannot simply forget all that I've learned with all my research on food and nutrition that I've done since then. It's like asking me to ignore a part of myself and pretend it simply doesn't exist anymore. I may not be "ready" to recover from all this right now but I know that when I am CR will be there and knowing that brings me just a bit closer to recovery.
But why limit CR to helping just anorexics? I guess it seems obvious that anorexics would be much happier to use CR as a means to recover since it doesn’t involve being force-fed thousands of calories and instead lets them ease into eating again. But why not other eating disorders as well? The need to feel okay with eating and not eating too much and maintaining a somewhat lower weight than normal appeals to almost all the eating disordered minds I’ve come to know these past few years.
After that rambling and I'm sure very confusing comment I'll get to the reason I started out posting here. It’s not nearly as interesting, heh. I'm finally splurging for a food scale and I wondered if you had any recommendations? I'm going around to my favorite CR blogs and asking about this. I'm just a poor college student so I'm looking for one that is accurate but not insanely expensive. thanks!
Posted by: thatofapirate at August 5, 2007 1:10 PM
Actually, we DON't want more people to like brussel sprouts. See, when they all die off, there'll be more for us (insert evil villain laugh track here).
Thanks for a thought provoking post. Now I'm going to have to think...
Posted by: illiah at August 5, 2007 1:45 PM
I eat 1500-1600 calories per day, and though I'm not at all sure I'm getting ON, I do know that I eat *waaaaaaay* better than I ever did before. And I haven't been sick once since I started--not once. Plus my skin cleared up (not totally, but much better than before). So I guess I'm doing something right.
At the same time, however, I am not at all sure that this is really truly honestly "better" for me than eating ad lib. There are other factors to consider! *That* is what bothers me about some pro-CR writing--I feel that it defines health too narrowly. Yes, health means optimal nutrition and, probably, at least a certain degree of calorie restriction. But--health is also spontaneity and indulgence and not giving a damn. You know? Health is watching your diet, but health is also going downtown and eating a 3-scoop apple caramel sundae because it's delicious and fun. Peace is found through self-discipline, yet also through abandon.
The naysayers to CR are often shrill and angry, and this says a lot more about them than it does about what they're criticizing. At the same time, I would encourage CR defenders to look for the kernel of truth and validity inside the screeching. Maybe something is out of balance? Yes, we live in an obesogenic, out-of-balance environment, and that distorts *all* of us and *all* our choices. But within that--really, could any one of us just go for it and eat a plate of pot roast with gravy because it's there and it tastes awesome and, tonight, we just don't care? And feel good about it afterwards? Because I truly believe that the ability to do that, every now and then, is a vital marker of health. And if we lack it, we may not be disordered, but we are not entirely whole either.
Posted by: Yvonne at August 5, 2007 2:44 PM
Yvonne,
Thank you for your comment! Please use nutritional software, then you'll know if you're getting ON!
As to abandon... have you read my posts about going out to eat? I think my meals out are much more fun than just a few scoops of ice cream.
Yet, I don't think that's necessary for health. Others don't really need that sort of thing. Sure, I enjoy it, but not everybody does.
a
Posted by: april at August 5, 2007 4:14 PM
Thanks, thanks, thanks! I'm trying to be reflective and thoughtful and insightful, and I'm glad it's working. And I promise more Leilu pictures!
Emi
Posted by: Emi at August 5, 2007 4:17 PM
Illiah,
I love your blog too!!!
a
Posted by: april at August 5, 2007 4:18 PM
Excellent, deliciously long, intelligently written and altogether "meaty" post, April. Now, as to Brussels Sprouts: I don't like them because in my mouth, they taste somewhat bitter and just generally nasty, as does kale. The few times I ever ate the little green critters somewhat willingly was when I would buy Green Giant, boil-in-the-bag packaged ones that had them floating in a salty, butter sauce. The sauce basically covered up the taste. Maybe we who can't stand them actually have some mutant taste buds or something. IAE, if you try to convert me, I'll give you the same kind of response I give all the handsome young Mormon guys whom I encounter frequently: "Sorry, guys! I'm Catholic so don't waste your breath, but I truly admire the work you do. Have a great day!" It comes with a big smile but I keep on walking. Here's a big smile :-) but don't try to accost me at the Brussels Sprouts bin, OK? I'm on my way to load up on peppers & asparagus! JD
Posted by: Judith at August 5, 2007 4:42 PM
Like lamb, which was so sadly the victim of horrendous overcooking until it smelled literally of dog crap, I used to hate brussels sprouts too until I discovered you can just take a bag o' frozen ones, steam em, and throw in some chopped garlic at the end. I used to cook em in oil, but now I take the oil at the end, with the lemon. And, of course, as in every dish, the obligatory bucket of crushed red pepper. I imagine brussels sprouts would be good with mustard too.
Posted by: allswellinhell/ashley at August 5, 2007 4:58 PM
Nice post April.
judith;
I hated brussel sporuts for maybe 15 years before I made myself like them (took about 3 days). Plus my mother used to always cook the hell of them so they tasted nasty. Now I steam frozen brussel sprouts and they taste good. Maybe use something like Salsa or tomato sauce, or something else with them. Kale is also nice lightly steamed, but don't like it raw.
Matt
Posted by: Matt at August 5, 2007 6:02 PM
Re: CR and anorexia, to thatofapirate (cool name!), I hope you can get help and if it is right for you, work CR into an overall healthy relationship with food. For some, it does seem to be a way out. But after knowing a lot of anorexics, I'd definitely urge you to get help if there's any way you can. My friends who made it out did so with the help of wonderful professionals who knew from experience how to guide the way out. Of course the hard work has to be done by the individual sufferer, but the pros can help, if you find the right one. Cognitive behavioral therapy really helped one of my good friends, and she practically swears by it. I'm sure it's different for every individual.
Meanwhile, Target has some good food scales, and we got ours on ebay for less than $30. If you're using your scales to make sure you're getting *enough* food, that's great. I hope it helps, and that you can find someone to work with who can incorporate the good things you've learned about nutrition with an approach that works for you to getting healthy all around.
Good luck! We'll be thinking of you...
a
Posted by: april at August 6, 2007 3:37 AM
As the mother of someone who nearly died from anorexia, I can tell you that there is NO WAY someone recovering from anorexia should go near CR. What an absurd idea.
As to your argument about why it isn't just as good to eat brussels sprouts as milkshakes, it's simply wrong. Our brains and bodies need fat to work properly. The brain of someone recovering from anorexia especially needs fat. And carbohydrates. And protein. And all that other good stuff.
Anorexia is not just a disease of weight loss. It's a disease of obsession. Trading the obsessiveness of AN for the obsessiveness of CR is not a path to recovery. It will lead to relapse, because part of recovery from AN is to deprogram the brain away from obsessiveness around food and eating. You people make a religion out of it.
You know nothing about anorexia. Please stop writing about it. You have no idea what you're talking about and I'm afraid you will do a lot of harm. I've seen anorexia up close and personal. It's a hideous, tragic disease and it kills 20 percent of those who have it.
Posted by: Mom of a Former Anorexic at August 7, 2007 5:46 AM
How many times have I written that everyone, especially growing people or people recovering from illness, needs fat? and protein? Only about a million. In fact, I got tons of hate mail when I criticized a school for obese teens because the diet they fed the kids was so low fat that it would likely cause brain damage. How many times have I encouraged others to add more protein and fat to their diets, and in fact to eat more calories? Only about a million.
I understand that you're upset, and no doubt you've suffered terribly. But you're not the only person who's seen anorexia up close and personal, and seeing it up close does not give you a monopoly on information about it.
If you are allowed to make judgements like "You people make a religion of it," about CR, something about which *you know nothing*, then I am allowed, after consultation with several people who are successfully recovering from anorexia while improving their nutrition using tools like nutritional software, to observe that for some, at least for those who are actually recovering successfully, it might hold possibilities. If real people are actually saying that they find it easier to eat the food they need when it's healthy food (including fats -- like avocadoes, nuts and olive oil, and protein, including fish and eggwhites, etc.), then why do you have the right to tell them they can't do that? I'm not endorsing CR as a treatment for anorexia... I'm merely observing that there are a few people who prefer eating healthy foods to eating crap, and that if that makes them eat instead of starve, then that's great. I'd much rather see my friends eating something rather than nothing, and if they can get down broccoli and almonds but not milkshakes, what's your problem with that?
How many times have I said, CR is not for all, in fact, it's not for the vast majority of people? How many times have I said, please, please get professional help if you have an eating disorder? Only about a million.
Most treatments for anorexia are miserable failures. Surely there is room for an exchange of ideas?
In any case, I'm not in favor of censorship. No one is forcing you or anyone else to read this blog. If you don't like it, go read something that agrees with you. You don't have the right to censor what I write about.
In fact, I wrote this entry mostly in response to people who know nothing about CR but compare it, inappropriately, to anorexia.
In any event, I hope that your child is fully recovered and doing well, and can live happily and healthy. Having been very close to someone, actually more than one person, who is only alive today thanks to very wonderful professional help after many years of suffering, I know what a tragic disease this is. And again, I urge anyone who thinks he or she might be suffering from an eating disorder to please, please seek help.
a
Posted by: april at August 7, 2007 7:37 AM
April and Mom of a Former Anorexic:
I think April is assuming certain things that MFA isn't, and so they're talking past one another. I think April is addressing anorexics who are pretty far down the path of recovery--out of immediate physical danger, at a place where they understand fairly well what's motivating them. If they understand that they need a certain amount of calories per day, and they're willing to eat that, but they'd rather get there with almonds and broccoli, then fine.
I think MFA, by contrast, is thinking about anorexics who are deeply in the grip of their illness. Definitely, you would not want to go up to a denial-ridden 86-pounder and say "Go ahead and swap that shake for some broccoli." That would not be helping her make a choice, it would be encouraging the mental illness which tells her that a milkshake is "bad" and she's "bad" if she drinks it. Actually, milkshakes are great and (in my view) totally in line with CRON for an anorexic, because they're a highly efficient means to a crucial health goal for the anorexic: gaining weight. As Mizzi said on her blog, high-calorie foods will be embraced by the CR practitioner if they fill a need.
Posted by: Yvonne at August 11, 2007 6:30 AM