■ Both the Metabolic Testing and Body Composition Analysis are extremely helpful in convincing the individual and their family that starvation is affecting the body. Too often, if they do not “look sick” (e.g., have a low body weight), there is much denial from both the patient and/or the family. When faced with concrete data that shows the body is malnourished based on the test results, the patient and family are much more able to understand the severity of the illness. These two tests help convince even the most difficult patient that he or she is doing damage to the body and that they need to follow the recommendations to correct it. A typical reaction from a patient is, “I didn’t realize I was doing any damage to my body; I thought I was just being healthy.”
■ From a patient: “The initial evaluation was a wake-up call. My bloodwork was always normal despite the fact I might purge as many as six to ten times a day. The Metabolic Test showed how few calories I was burning and that I was using my own lean tissue, not fat, to exist. This was the first test that ever indicated that there was something wrong.”
■ Our overall philosophy in working with eating disorders is: “You can’t do anything different until you see it differently.” As clinicians, this philosophy is infused into our practices and influences us to incorporate Metabolic Testing and Body Composition Analysis into our treatment protocol. It drives us to break away from numbers on a scale and instead to measure health from the inside. We also try to impart this way of thinking to our patients so they’re not relying on numbers on a scale when gauging their recovery. Instead, they’re tuned in to changes in their bodies, as well as the way they think about themselves.
> Go to www.measuringhealthfromtheinside.com for more book excerpts.
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