Do You Think That Anorexia Might Be An Adaptation Gone Wrong Posted: 07-14-05 20:20pm
This occurred to me when the group
faccilitator told us that it was gentic.
Then I remembered reading that the first
recorded case of anorexia was in africa.
In a time of famine, some parents gave up
eating so that their children could have
more. When the famine had passed, they
still didn't eat and had to be cured by a
shaman.
I know that not all anorexics are alike,
but some of us have an easier time being
anorexic than others. The less we eat,
the easier it is to eat less. For
example, if we don't eat for an entire
day, it is much easier not to eat the
second day. Other people are ravenous if
they don't eat for a day, but I and some
others are the opposite.
In the past, people only resitricted their
food in times of famine. It might be an
advantage to not want to eat and lose some
hunger cues if there would be no or little
food available for a time. They could
also help their children or their
communities by eating less or not at all
during these times. Of course to live,
we all have to eat again. Since humans
have intellect, we could use that, not
hunger instinct to resume eating.
What do you think? I know that some
anorexics really do feel hungry all the
time, but some of us don't. As I said,
the less I eat, the easier it is to eat
less. Gentically, my sister was always
underweight because she didn't eat enough.
My mother was the same way until
pregnancy.
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damsel
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 69 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Totally Agree Posted: 07-15-05 00:01am
Yeah, I totally agree with you on the
point that the less you eat the easier it
is to eat less. I was hungier when I was
eating 1400 cals a day a couple of years
ago, now I only eat 600-700 and it seems
much, much, much easier not to eat. Maybe
my metabolism is screwed, although I am
still loosing weight. I wonder if the
reason i'm not hunrgy is phsyical or
mental...Can't figure it out. But thanks
for that insight, it was really
interesting! Xoxo
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Super_K
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 50
. Posted: 07-15-05 00:41am
Aneorexia is genetic??? Does that mean
since my mom was aneroexic I am going to
be??
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bbbbb
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Jul 2005 Posts: 11
Interesting Posted: 07-17-05 21:16pm
I like well-thought out proposals like
yours, it makes sense...I find it easier
to "forget" to eat than to try to manage
my food and i'm trying to lose about
10lbs...I mean every time I eat "sensibly"
I gain weight, so instead of a low-carb
diet I went on a no-food diet and what I
found is that in fat america there's no
way I can go a single day without someone
offering me something to eat, and so
that's about the extent of my food! I
don't buy anything or worry about it, it
just is always around, comes to me...My
favorite thing is not to eat all day and
go out for dancing and a drink and an
appetizer, I can look forward to that all
day and it's not that many calories, I
mean no more than the 600-700 you said,
and yes i'm losing weight finally. I'm
so jaded about diets, and I think I was
looking at your posts wondering how you
guys do this, and it's just about not
eating, not weighing grapes or counting
carbs and fat grams...I went to weight
watchers and i'm not even "fat" by most
standards I just like being lean, and a
lot of these women were mass chunky and I
couldn't relate to their light breakfast
then snack then lunch then snack then
drink then dinner then light dessert then
snack and so forth, it's just easier to
"forget to eat"!! You're so right! I
lose my appetite, and when I think well
i'm not going to eat until something comes
along I stop thinking and planning my next
meal and get into other things, the day
sails by and voila, I lost another pound.
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mshanson
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 102 Location: California
History of Anorexia Posted: 07-17-05 21:58pm
You gave me some real 'food for thought'
(ha, ha). Seriously, the history of
anorexia goes way back to ancient times.
Even the romans were bulimic ~ they had
their vomitoriums where everyone would get
together & purge after a feast! Many
people in history went on long starvation
diets, even jesus in the bible.
There is a great book all about it called
"fasting girls".
As for the genetic thing ~ my dad was
anorexic back in the days (1920s &
1930s) when no one even knew what that
was. I think I inherited some of his
tendencies, like being able to go a long
time without food & getting a sort of
'high' from starving. But he also taught
me alot when I was a child, like about
over-exercising & about fear of
getting fat (he was always putting down
fat people). So I believe it's a
combination of genetic &
environmental.
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hanoi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 2
Posted: 07-18-05 16:22pm
I'm not sure if its an adaption. I always
thought it was due to the fact that when
you stop eating, or restrict your food
your stomach starts to shrink, so you are
less hungry?
