Mathilda is 30 years old and for 10 years she suffered from an unrecognized eating disorder: orthorexia. His daily life was then obsessively punctuated by a precise calorie count not to be exceeded under any circumstances. She testifies for Aufeminin.
In France, nearly a million people suffer from anorexia, bulimia or hyperphagia. This figure focuses on diagnosed cases, and only on the most well-known eating disorders. But some eating disorders are sometimes more insidious. This is the case, for example, of the little-known orthorexia. People who are affected suffer from the obsession to respect very strict nutritional rules. This constant obsession with “healthy eating” is considered pathological when it affects all of daily life. “If the patient makes a distinction between healthy and unhealthy foods, if strong or even disproportionate emotions invade him towards unhealthy foods and this has an impact on his daily life, he probably has orthorexia.“, summarizes Alexandre Chapy, psychologist in Montpellier (Hérault) to our colleagues from Doctissimo.
This was the case of Mathilda, now 30 years old. From her adolescence and for almost 10 years, the days of the young woman were punctuated by her obsession with healthy eating. An experience that led her to embrace a new profession today: that of nutrition coach.
“With orthorexia you control your diet 24/7. I only thought about eating. (…) I had a ratio in my head: the perfect product was less than 200 calories per 100g, enough protein, very little fat and maximum food volume so as not to be hungry.” The objective for Mathilda: to stay at all costs within the daily caloric total she had set herself. An obsession that absolutely does not tolerate deviation. “When I went to my parents. If I saw my father pouring oil into the frying pan I could throw a tantrum… I have already gone to tears. (…) I was always anxious at the idea of going to parties with friends, for example. I often asked what was on the menu, where I brought my dish. My friends didn’t really notice it. I was told ‘wow that’s crazy, you eat super-healthy all the time, I don’t know how you do it’. They did not realize that it reflected a malaise.”
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“I thought I was in control”
It was during adolescence that Mathilda’s eating habits began to change “I gained a lot of weight all of a sudden. In less than a year I went into the overweight box. So, with one of her friends, she realizes that by reducing their calories, they can lose weight. “I restricted myself to 1400 calories per day, which is very, very little. All while exercising twice a day every day.”
Gradually, over a period of 4 to 5 years, it falls into obsessive control. “I thought I was doing it right. I thought I was in control.” Gradually, his health deteriorated. “Beyond anxiety and guilt, you can have hormonal imbalances, deficiencies… I had a lot of intestinal disorders (…) We break his metabolism, it’s a vicious circle. As soon as you eat more, you gain weight very quickly, which you can’t bear. Those who try to get out of it can quickly become discouraged.” Paying attention to your diet is initially well perceived from the outside. Relatives do not always realize the dimension that this obsession takes on in the daily lives of orthorexics.“My mother came to tell me ‘Stop you’re completely anorexic’, instead of helping me, it completely blocked me.”
Years after starting to count her calories, Mathilda clicked thanks to the friend who had fallen into trouble at the same time as her. “She sent me an article she had written that talked about orthorexia. She told me to be careful, that I might have fallen into it too and that it could be dangerous. When I read it, I recognized myself a lot.”
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“To really get out of it, I took between 2 and 3 years”
To get out of it, Mathilda starts a reverse diet. She goes off on her own “I was not followed. Out of pride I think.. in my head the only people who could possibly help me were the dieticians, and I hadn’t heard good things about them.” During this reverse diet, she still counts her calories but in a healthier way. “I no longer looked only at fat, but also the distribution of fibres, proteins and I increased what I ate each week. From 1400 calories I went to 1900 calories. I quickly gained 3 kilos and they did me good.(…) To really get out of it, I took between 2 and 3 years. But between the time when I gained weight as a teenager and the time when I really found the diet that suited me, more than 10 years have passed.”
One thing leading to another, with her experience and her desire to leave Paris, Mathilda changed her profession. From a job in advertising, she embarked on nutrition coaching. “Around me, lots of people are still stuck with their diet, and they can’t take 10 years to get out of it. I tell myself that I have a role to play. (…) I am not a dietician, I do not support TCAs. I accompany people who want to lose weight in a healthy way, without counting calories. Or who want to improve their sports performance”
Some orthorexics have sometimes requested his services “I saw them for an hour. To tell them about my experience. I try to play the same role for them today as my friend for me at the time. Then I refer them to a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders.” Today, Mathilda is completely out of her orthorexia. She advocates a diet “satisfying, good for you both physically and mentally.”
thanks to Mathilda Sinig for answering our questions.