Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders is OPEN today. We urge caution in picking your route to our office. We understand that many major highways are still closed. Please check your normal route before leaving your house and give yourself extra time if possible.
If you have any concerns, please call us as soon as possible.
(770) 458-8711 x0
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
There is No Freshman 15…It's the "Freshman 2!
A huge fear of college freshmen, especially women, is the "Freshman 15," the mythical average weight gain during the freshman year.
This is the cause of a great deal of self-induced misery, fear of food, body preoccupation and hours of over-exercise. At it's worst, severe food restriction results in binging, diet-binge cycles, purging, or life-threatening anorexia.
What is tragic is that there is no Freshman 15. It is an urban legend, a college bogeyman repeated year after year for decades. Little scientific evidence exists to substantiate or rebut this commonly held belief. The few studies who have examined weight gain among freshman college students are equivocal.
However, a recent study of 137 freshman women at the University of Oklahoma did show an average weight gain of 2.4 pounds. Hardly the 15 pounds of legend that, research suggests, drives many freshmen to panic around food, obsess about weight and categorize themselves as overweight and ugly.
Here are some ways to have a healthy, successful year and to avoid the Freshman 2:
1. Take a food plan to college, not a diet. With so many changes in your life, it is not the time to try to lose weight. Have a plan that enables a healthy, enjoyable relationship with food.
2. Eat intuitively. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are mildly full. Period. This is difficult at college where there is a lot of recreational eating and a lot of eating to medicate stress. It is worth the effort.
3. Eat mindfully. Enjoy every bite. Use your senses. Avoid unconscious eating.
4. Move your body. Enjoyably. Keep up a similar activity level to high school.
5. Stop comparing your body. Do not create a daily mandatory beauty contest in your head. Your college awards diplomas, not tiaras. There is nothing constructive about comparing your buttocks to every other pair in the room.
6. If you have an active eating disorder, stay home. Take a deferment for a semester to enter recovery. Any addiction in college is a set-up to crash and burn. Most colleges would prefer you take time off and return when you are not a liability. If your eating disorder escalates - and it likely will - you may be asked to leave school. If you are already struggling with food and body image issues, ask for a deferment, stay home, get treatment and start college when you are at full strength mentally, emotionally and physically.
7. If you are already at school with eating or body image issues, put up a safety net fast. Meet regularly with a registered dietitian who has eating disorder experience. The dietitian can be your food coach. Your college has a free counseling center. Do not isolate and try to go it alone. Addictions love that.
8. Enjoy your only freshman year. You needn't worry about the "Freshman 2" if you remember to listen to your body, feed it intuitively and move it enjoyably.
Rick Kilmer, Ph.D.
www.eatingdisorders.cc
(article may be reprinted in its entirety without previous permission)
This is the cause of a great deal of self-induced misery, fear of food, body preoccupation and hours of over-exercise. At it's worst, severe food restriction results in binging, diet-binge cycles, purging, or life-threatening anorexia.
What is tragic is that there is no Freshman 15. It is an urban legend, a college bogeyman repeated year after year for decades. Little scientific evidence exists to substantiate or rebut this commonly held belief. The few studies who have examined weight gain among freshman college students are equivocal.
However, a recent study of 137 freshman women at the University of Oklahoma did show an average weight gain of 2.4 pounds. Hardly the 15 pounds of legend that, research suggests, drives many freshmen to panic around food, obsess about weight and categorize themselves as overweight and ugly.
Here are some ways to have a healthy, successful year and to avoid the Freshman 2:
1. Take a food plan to college, not a diet. With so many changes in your life, it is not the time to try to lose weight. Have a plan that enables a healthy, enjoyable relationship with food.
2. Eat intuitively. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are mildly full. Period. This is difficult at college where there is a lot of recreational eating and a lot of eating to medicate stress. It is worth the effort.
3. Eat mindfully. Enjoy every bite. Use your senses. Avoid unconscious eating.
4. Move your body. Enjoyably. Keep up a similar activity level to high school.
5. Stop comparing your body. Do not create a daily mandatory beauty contest in your head. Your college awards diplomas, not tiaras. There is nothing constructive about comparing your buttocks to every other pair in the room.
6. If you have an active eating disorder, stay home. Take a deferment for a semester to enter recovery. Any addiction in college is a set-up to crash and burn. Most colleges would prefer you take time off and return when you are not a liability. If your eating disorder escalates - and it likely will - you may be asked to leave school. If you are already struggling with food and body image issues, ask for a deferment, stay home, get treatment and start college when you are at full strength mentally, emotionally and physically.
7. If you are already at school with eating or body image issues, put up a safety net fast. Meet regularly with a registered dietitian who has eating disorder experience. The dietitian can be your food coach. Your college has a free counseling center. Do not isolate and try to go it alone. Addictions love that.
8. Enjoy your only freshman year. You needn't worry about the "Freshman 2" if you remember to listen to your body, feed it intuitively and move it enjoyably.
Rick Kilmer, Ph.D.
www.eatingdisorders.cc
(article may be reprinted in its entirety without previous permission)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Looking For….
We are looking for more referrals for Physicians and Psychiatrists who understand Eating Disorders.
If you think that your personal Physician or Psychiatrist is someone you would refer another eating disorder patient to, we would like to know.
If you could provide us with the name, phone number and location of your Physician or Psychiatrist, we would really appreciate it.
Please contact the Front Desk either in person, at gethelp@eatingdisorders.cc or (770) 458-8711 Ext.#0.
If you think that your personal Physician or Psychiatrist is someone you would refer another eating disorder patient to, we would like to know.
If you could provide us with the name, phone number and location of your Physician or Psychiatrist, we would really appreciate it.
Please contact the Front Desk either in person, at gethelp@eatingdisorders.cc or (770) 458-8711 Ext.#0.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Join the Breakfast Club
Presented by Nutrifit, Sport, Therapy.
The Breakfast Club is FREE for anyone who struggles to eat a healthy breakfast on a regular basis. This monthly meal group offers a time to work on eating, making balanced choices, trying more challenging foods, adding more variety to your menu plan, and selecting appropriate portions. The meeting time will help you stay committed to eating breakfast at a regular time.
You'll meet with Page Love, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian nutrition therapist, who will provide coaching to help you push through food fears with peer support. She will also help you master intuitive skills like eating slowly, tuning into your hunger and fullness, and responding two cravings.
Become a Breakfast Club regular!
Meetings are every other Thursday or Saturday of the month, 8:30am - 9:30am
NEXT MEETING:
Date and Time: Saturday, July 25th at 8:30am
Location: IHOP, 6120 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 404-256-4639
Please call Page Love at 770-457-1457 with any questions.
The Breakfast Club is FREE for anyone who struggles to eat a healthy breakfast on a regular basis. This monthly meal group offers a time to work on eating, making balanced choices, trying more challenging foods, adding more variety to your menu plan, and selecting appropriate portions. The meeting time will help you stay committed to eating breakfast at a regular time.
You'll meet with Page Love, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian nutrition therapist, who will provide coaching to help you push through food fears with peer support. She will also help you master intuitive skills like eating slowly, tuning into your hunger and fullness, and responding two cravings.
Become a Breakfast Club regular!
Meetings are every other Thursday or Saturday of the month, 8:30am - 9:30am
NEXT MEETING:
Date and Time: Saturday, July 25th at 8:30am
Location: IHOP, 6120 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 404-256-4639
Please call Page Love at 770-457-1457 with any questions.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Experiential Yoga Group starting July 22 at Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 The Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders will be restarting its Experiential Yoga group as part of our group therapy programs. This group will be held every Wednesday from 4pm to 5:30pm.
This group uses gentle Hatha yoga and yoga nidra (meditation/relaxation) to integrate themes of recovery into a yoga practice focusing on breath work, postures and body awareness. Participants identify intentions for each group such as balance, flexibility, acceptance or being gentle with yourself. Often what shows up in this practice (our reactive patterns and judgments) has implications for the over all recovery process. Gaining insight and awareness into our self defeating patterns will help us transcend our misperceptions and achieve greater self acceptance.
If you are interested in joining this group, please talk to your individual therapist. If you are not currently a patient at the Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders, you may call us at (770) 458-8711 x0 and we will be happy to give you more information about our therapy programs.
This group uses gentle Hatha yoga and yoga nidra (meditation/relaxation) to integrate themes of recovery into a yoga practice focusing on breath work, postures and body awareness. Participants identify intentions for each group such as balance, flexibility, acceptance or being gentle with yourself. Often what shows up in this practice (our reactive patterns and judgments) has implications for the over all recovery process. Gaining insight and awareness into our self defeating patterns will help us transcend our misperceptions and achieve greater self acceptance.
If you are interested in joining this group, please talk to your individual therapist. If you are not currently a patient at the Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders, you may call us at (770) 458-8711 x0 and we will be happy to give you more information about our therapy programs.
Monday, July 6, 2009
New Children's Group
Beginning July 11th the Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders will be offering a group for children who are struggling with eating issues and/or body image issues. This group is designed for ACE participants aged 9-12. The children's group is an activity-oriented group focused on developing age-appropriate social and problem-solving skills. The activities will encompass both individual and group work to promote healthy behavioral changes and a positive self-image.
Additionally, a free parent support group is offered through ACE, as well as family therapy. The children's group will be held on Saturdays.
Other services available at The Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders include:
• Intensive Outpatient Therapy
• Partial Hospitalization Therapy
• Residential Bed and Breakfast (for patients over 18)
• Nutrition Therapy
• Individual Therapy
• Family Therapy
For more information about our services, please call (770) 458-8711 x0 or visit our website at http://www.eatingdisorders.cc
Additionally, a free parent support group is offered through ACE, as well as family therapy. The children's group will be held on Saturdays.
Other services available at The Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders include:
• Intensive Outpatient Therapy
• Partial Hospitalization Therapy
• Residential Bed and Breakfast (for patients over 18)
• Nutrition Therapy
• Individual Therapy
• Family Therapy
For more information about our services, please call (770) 458-8711 x0 or visit our website at http://www.eatingdisorders.cc
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