When dieting takes over

Well my vacation was a blast! So many good times and so much fun. I amso sad that it isover but I love my tan! And I have to say I thought that I looked good out there on the beach in my bikini. I did see some girls with real toned legs and stomachs - so I just look at that as now I have something to work towards for next year. The best part is I have a whole year to get there :)

Seriously though, my vacation with my family was so much fun but I am worried about my cousin. She is 16, about 5'7 and maybe 105 lbs - but all week she talked about how fat she thought she was and how she needed to lose weight. All she ate all week was low-fat yogurt and water/diet soda. Every now and then she had a bowl of cereal or a half of a sandwich but nothing compared to what she should be eating. I mean the girl didn't even eat a single dessert all week, at least not that I saw. The worst part is - I don't even think my aunt and uncle noticed. Not that they don't pay attention but she always slept through breakfast, said she wasn't hungry at lunch, and would make sure she was still out at dinner time. I don't know how she survived! I tried to take her out to lunch one day on the boardwalk but she just got a soft pretzel and ate one small piece of it - she threw the rest to the birds!. Every time I tried to talk to her about it, she just said she had eaten earlier when I wasn't around and then would go into another room.

Now that vacation is over and I'm not around her, I am really really worried because I think this is serious. I know sometimes on vacation when you are in a new place or there is a weather change your appetite may be different but we only went to North Carolina - not Mexico. So her appetite should have come back quickly. I want to talk to my parents - and her parents but I feel like I need some more information first.

I have been searching online the past few days and I think I have gotten some good resources together about eating disorders. I don't want to alarm anyone or make her feel like she is going to get in trouble. But I need to be there for her - this is a huge health issue that could have long term effects if it isn't dealt with now.

Some of the sites that I went to are:

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/teens/eating/277.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/eating_disorders.html

http://www.anred.com/toc.html

On one of the sites, I read a really scary statistic: "Eating disorders are so common in America that 1 or 2 out of every 100 kids will struggle with one, most commonly anorexia or bulimia. Unfortunately, many kids and teens successfully hide the disorders from their families for months or even years." - This is why I am so concerned about my cousin - who knows how long it has been going on for. I mean we only live about 30 minutes away from each other but I only see her at holiday get-togethers and family parties.

Based on what I read, she is showing many of the signs of an eating disorder-
- she is already thin but so concerned about her weight and her diet
- she only eats a few foods and avoids eating meals in front of people
- she was tired a lot and didn't have a lot of energy - which makes sense since she wasn't eating any foods to give her energy
- she didn't like us talking about her eating habits or her weight


I guess I will let you all know how this goes. If anyone else has some suggestions on where I can get information or what other resources are out there, I am very open to feedback.

Thanks for "listening".

Ten Steps to a Positive Body Image

After doing some more searching for positive body image boosting tips, I found this site:

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41158


I think that this site may have a lot of good information about body image and diet. I'm going to check it out and post more soon!

Beach Vacation - Hooray! Bikini - Oh No!

Well my beach vacation is coming up in a few weeks and am I bikini ready? Not exactly - I wanted to start working out this year (another New Years resolution) but here it is July and the roller blades I bought in March are still in the box in the closet and I haven't gotten my exercise bike from my parents yet. But the more I think about it, the more I am okay with going just how I am. In fact today when I was with my boyfriend visiting his grandparents and helping to clean their pool, his grandmother told me I have great legs - and I hate my legs. I want them to be thinner, more muscular, and toned up.

I'm not different than anyone else though. I mean who doesn't want to change something about themselves? It is hard to ever be completely satisfied with your body. And I bet deep down, even the supermodels and Hollywood chicks out there have something they wish they could change about themselves. Actually I know they do - because we see them on the magazine covers after they have liposuction or breast augmentation.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with changing yourself to please yourself but only to an extent. And if you do something like plastic surgery or dieting, it should be for yourself and not for anyone else. It should be to make you happy. But you know what - even after the change, you might still have an ugly or fat day. So what do you do?

I went looking online a bit and came across some self-esteem boosting tips that I think could work.

-- Pay yourself a compliment (or visit a nice grandmother that gives compliments)
-- Treat yourself (to a day out or a day in)
-- Wear nice underwear (it's hard not to feel sexy!)
-- Get away from the people that put you down


Does anyone else have some tips to share for self-esteem boosters ???