Eating disorder patients make peace with their bodies
Guided by therapists, support communities, many look beyond scales, make progress
Bao Guang stood before the snack aisle, his fingers tracing the edge of a potato chip bag.
His eyes were fixed on the first line of the nutrition facts panel: 2,228 kilojoules per 100 grams. Eating the contents of the bag would push his daily calorie intake over the limit he'd set for himself. In the end, he walked away.
His friends called him fat, and he agreed. Using the internationally recognized Body Mass Index, he admitted he was "beyond the range generally considered healthy".
Disliking exercise, Bao believed he could only restrict his eating. However, long-term dieting hadn't led to significant weight loss. Instead, it took a toll on his mental health.
"I've become a weirdo now," Bao confessed. "The more I fail to lose weight, the more I deny myself proper meals. But seeing all this delicious food, I crave it so much. Sometimes I hate myself, and I hate people who are naturally thin."
