Tips for guaranteed weight loss

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Weight loss tip 10


Plan healthy vacations - Why go all the way with healthy weight loss, when one tiny vacation will just come along and topple it all? Healthy vacations aren't impossible. Take a look at how you can eat smart on a holiday, and then at bodyweight workouts that you can carry with you wherever you go, to understand how to holiday right. Above all, remember that these are lifelong habits that'll help you stay fit forever and not short term weight loss quickfixes.

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To eat or not to eat?


Miss Anorexia : 22-year-old Avni has been on a diet since she was in college.

A thin waist wasn't enough, her goal was to lose 5 more kilos, which she did by a strict diet, counting calories and weighing herself twice a day. Her family is worried about her weight loss, but she insists it is work stress. She occasionally has fat-free chocolates only if she can run right after that to lose it.

Avni has Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by an irrational fear of becoming fat coupled with a constant pursuit of thinness, and maintaining a precarious low body weight. They push themselves to the limit, even when they have met their weight loss target. More the scales dip, more obsessed they get about their diet, food intake and weight loss.

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Miss Bulimia : 19-year-old Preeti has decided to stick with fruits and not give in to her cravings this time. As the day progresses, she weakens, all she can think about is food, and finally she succumbs to the temptation, opens the freezer grabs her favourite Swiss chocolate and gulps it down without remorse.


She is so stuffed, she can't walk. Disgusted with herself and petrified of the calories she has consumed, she runs to the bathroom to throw up, taking a laxative as well to empty her load. She ensures the scales haven't tipped. She makes up her mind to follow a diet tomorrow; hoping this time it will be different.

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Bulimia Nervosa is characterised by people who are extremely concerned about their weight yet they can't fight the compulsion to binge. So, they drastically overeat and then frantically purge by vomiting or taking laxatives or diuretics. They fast or exercise just to get rid of calories. Feelings of anxiety, guilt and shame and desire to hide from others are a distinguishing factor in Bulimia.


Anorexia and Bulimia : If you or any of your loved ones seem to follow such food eating trends and feel trapped in this vicious cycle, remember, it can be broken! A whole lot of Hollywood actresses have been in the news for being a victim of these disorders. Singer Britney Spears was reportedly known for indulging in binge shopping and eating too much at the time of her divorce with rapper husband Kevin Federline.

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Actor Nicole Ritchie was also reported to be eating too less to remain thin even when she was pregnant. Singer Ashlee Simpson (sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson) had publicly admitted that she battled with an eating disorder during her pre-teen years. It was rumoured that Paris Hilton's svelte figure was the result of an eating disorder rather than any exercise regime. Some of Hilton's friends believed the heiress was suffering from bulimia. Victoria Beckham too had admitted that she suffered from an eating disorder.

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Order or disorder?
The difference between dieting and eating disorders


Normal dieting and exercising is a way of life to get in shape to improve physical health and appearance and an attempt to control obesity. The goal here is to lose weight in a healthy way. After losing a certain amount of weight, there is contentment and satisfaction about the weight loss achieved.

In an eating disorder, weight loss is seen as a way to achieve happiness. Becoming thin is what matters most, health is not a concern. It is an attempt to control one's life and emotions. Self esteem is entirely based on how thin you are. There is no satisfaction with the weight loss, feelings of guilt, anger and loneliness are on the rise.

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Causes and risk factors


Mirror mirror on the wall who's the thinnest of them all? In this highly cosmetic world, everything from the colour of our hair to our toe nails is artificial. We tend to get awed not just by the latest fashion trends but also by the hour glass bodies. This makes us reach an over the edge quest to look perfect. Moreover, with the job opportunities that modelling, acting and airlines offer, teenagers especially feel that only when they have the perfect body will their lives be perfect. That's when they fall prey to eating disorders.

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No confidence motion


Experiencing feelings of being useless, unattractive and worthless, they tend to be perfectionists in their attitude. Their body image is their only source of confidence. The root cause for this could be a critical home environment especially in childhood where they have been pressurised to perform and excel.

An event changes you. With the physical changes that accompanies puberty, going to college, having to face relationship break-ups, change of jobs, etc may push a person over the edge to fall prey to an eating disorder.

Is it in my genetic code? Research does suggest that eating disorders do run in families. People with food disorders have high levels of cortisol, the hormone related to stress and decreased levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, which is associated with feelings of well being.

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Signs and symptoms


Lack of energy and weakness.

Restlessness and insomnia.

Constipation and abdominal pain.

Dizziness, fainting and headaches.

Loss of menstrual periods in girls.

Depression, anxiety and sudden irritable mood.

Hair begins to thin and gets brittle.

Constant low blood pressure.

Anaemia.

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Additionally in Bulimia having a sore throat, blood in vomit, rupture of blood vessels in oesophagus, swollen cheeks and broken blood vessels in the eyes.


Helping a person diagnosed with an eating disorder.


Medical treatment: To stabilise any physical health issue, hospitalisation may be necessary to avoid starvation, suicide or medical crisis. Healthy weight restoration is a priority.