Dear all:

We have come from several generations that were taught to ignore hunger and satiety cues from birth.  How can we then not expect to have eating disorders?  Anorexia is merely the flip side of overeating.  

So, I see breastfeeding as an excellent opportunity to turn around the situation and set up healthier eating patterns for the entire family right from the start.  This starts with allowing the baby to establish healthy hunger and satiety cues (which will help moms with eating disorders to establish a better supply even if they have hormonal issues that make it harder to attain a full supply).  This can then be used as a teaching tool to help them start working on their own eating patterns and establish meal routines that build on family conversation and enjoying and savoring real food.  The hazards of the starve and stuff model of infant feeding can be an excellent teaching tool for how to turn things around.

I recently read something about self esteem in terms of teaching elementary school children.  It turns out that constant praise does not really build self-esteem, it builds entitlement which is not necessarily want to achieve.  I didn't watch the movie on charter schools, but saw a clip of one of the children being interviewed separately.  Self-esteem is built when children learn how to do something well even when it is difficult.  There is a difference between berating children for not doing well and assisting children to do well even if it is difficult.  False praise doesn't really help.  

I think the article by Bowles in the latest issue of Clinical Lactation is pertinent.  When it comes to fat tissue, it is very hard to help women attain self-efficacy we need to look towards providing them recommendations with response efficacy.  If they can take small steps towards feeling confident that they position their babies so they attach well, provide them with guidance so they feel confident that they can recognize their babies hunger and satiety cues and realize that setting up a healthy eating environment where food is savored and enjoyed with conversation and companionship, they may then gradually translate some of this towards better eating habits for themselves and their family as a whole.  If we can find a model to assist women to switch from the starve and stuff model to recognizing satiety -- we may spare the next generation the difficult challenge that some of these women face.                                       

As for BMI - is that it doesn't distinguish fat from muscle tissue.  And of course, having surpassed 50, I keep hoping that the climb in my BMI would drop. Despite hoping that the rigorous pushups, situps, sprawls, mountain climbers, sparring etc would reduce the number, the opposite occurred.  So like anyone faced with a number they don't like, I keep passing it off as muscle tissue which I am sure is not entirely the case.     

Best regards, 

Susan Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome