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If you eat little to nothing for a week, how much weight would you lose normally? Also this is for a person whose weight has been always very constant (hard to lose, hard to gain).
btw before anyone attacks me as anorexic, this is for someone else that I am concerned about.
Thanks.

By Allena (Allena) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 02:54 pm: Edit

It depends on the person. My weight has for the last 7 or so years remained within a 10 pound range. I can eat nearly nothing for a week and lose little, if any weight, or I can eat constantly for a week and likewise gain little, if any, weight.

By Yoyomama04 (Yoyomama04) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 03:40 pm: Edit

If you eat almost nothing for a week, you might lose a few pounds but you'll lost muscle as well as fat. It's an extremely dangerous and dumb thing to do. I was depressed for a while when I was 16 and hardly ate anything for more than a week, and had so little energy and felt so sick. My heart was racing and my brain was in a fog. My father finally got pissed off enough and forced me to sit down and eat a big dinner. I could only eat so much because my stomach shrank, but it definitely wasn't a good idea.

If your friend is considering doing this, tell him or her not to. For one thing, if you don't eat or if you eat very little or rarely, your metabolism slows way down - when you do eat, you don't digest it well and you convert more of it to fat. You absorb fewer nutrients and don't supply the muscles and brain with enough of the nutrients they need to survive and prosper.

If this person is not overweight, then s/he shouldn't be screwing around with any major changes in his/her diet. Cutting carbs and junk (potatoes, pasta, white flour, sugar, rice) will have an impact on your weight but again, any major diet changes should be discussed with a doc. I know some people who tried Atkins and felt rather sick on it.

By Taru (Taru) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 04:37 pm: Edit

If you practically stop eating for a week like that, your metabolism will slow down and your body will store anything that you do eat (starvation mode). If you still don't eat, your metabolism gets even slower and your body will begin to consume itself.

What happens in terms of the weight fluctuation depends on the person, but it is NOT a healthy thing to do. If this question really pertains to someone you're concerned about, try finding help for him/her elswhere than on a college message board. If this actually has to do with yourself, please find someone you can talk to.

By Mazzo (Mazzo) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 05:16 pm: Edit

starving yourself is not good.

while low carb may be the current "fad" its not necessarily the best option for everyone. low carb diets yield quick weight loss initially but begin to level off after the body readjusts. some people on low carb diets actually gain back the weight they lost ( average gain = 11 lbs ) over a year's time.

low fat/protein diets yield slower yet more constant results and the loss is continuous if you are willing to stay on it.

By Fallenangel85 (Fallenangel85) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 05:50 pm: Edit

Not eating is not a cool thing to do...it shocks your metabolism and could even cause you to gain weight. Sadly though fad diets arent the way either. The only real way to loose weight is to eat a good combination of protein and carbs and do some kind of activity for 30 min 3 times a week, even walking at a regular pace (more about this below).
Btw if you want to feel more energized instead of not eating try cutting out all liquids except for water for a week. No coffee, No tea, No milk, No juices, No sodas, NO diet sodas!, No flavorings (ala kool-aid or crystal light). Nothing but plain water. You will notice a difference. Its good if you like a challenge cause its a lot harder to do than it sounds..and its benefits are tremendous. Did you know if your not getting enough water you can gain weight also? Kinda like eating if you dont get enough through your system on a daily baisis, then it will start the dehydration reaction. The first part of this is retenion of the water thats already in you system...it doesnt want to lose anymore so its keeping all it has ...this happens as swelling of the legs mostly. And foolishly people look for a quick fix by using water pills which force the retained water out and really messes your sodium levels up.
Also if exercise is a problem...get a dog, preferably one from a shelter(who needs expensive purebreds besides mutts are cuter?)...they make excelent walking buddies and if you have one it has to be done anyway. 2 15 min walks a day are perfect for you and pup.

**Background on how i know so much about this: Went through bad depression and ballooned from 250lb to 398lb within one year...is now recovered from depression and has been working on weight for 2 1/2 year...is now down to 314lb....you only hope im kidding**

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

I would recommend just reducing the amount of calories that your friend eats. Like instead of 3000 go for 2000 calories. And only eat what is good for you, with a few exceptions. In the fall I weighed 170 lBS(I was 5" 10.5') and started eating less and mainly healthy stuff. By December I was at 160, then the next month 152, then by January I was at 141. I did notice that when I played baseball that I didn't have as much power, and couldn't hit the ball that far. But losing 20 or 30 pounds will do that to you. I then began eating 2500 calories for a couple of weeks, and was soon up to 145. And I've been eating 28 or 2900 calories a day for last couple of months and I'm 5" 11' and 147 now( I figure most of it is muscle). And just so you know, it isn't really what you eat, its the quantity. But its better to eat healthier and less if you can. Let the food pyramid be the guide. Ask youself what would the food pyramid say? And also don't use any butter or any additives(including salt, bad for blood pressure).

http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/Nutrition_Information.htm. This site really anwered a lot of my questions plus other sites. For exercise I would recommend 2+ miles a day(walk or run), 100 pushups, 100 curls, 100 situps. Or at least thats what I did for 172 days in a row, and it worked real well.

Oh BTW, the pounds normally came off on Sunday morning for me. It seemed like I would not lose any weight for 6 days, and next thing I know i see a two pound drop. But don't expect anything over 2.5 a week, or something is wrong.

7 months of research has lead me up to this list, and this is ALL I eat.

__ Potatoes __ Broccoli
__ Fresh Carrots __ Corn
__ Lettuce __ Peas
__ Tomatoes __ Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
__ Red Bell peppers __ Milk
__ Bananas __ Strawberry Yogurt drink
__ Oranges __ Non fat cheese
__ Pineapple __ Non fat Yogurt
__ Cantaloupe __ Blood Pressure
__ Watermelon __
__ Grapes __
__ Peaches __
__ Pears __
__ Plums/prunes __
__ Cherries __
__ Strawberries __
__ Apples __
__ Ground Beef __
__ Premium White Rice __
__ Premium Brown Rice __
__ Green Beans w/out salt __
__ Macaroni __
__ Thin Spaghetti __
__ Pinto Beans __
__ __
__ Bread Flour __
__ Nuts Mixed __
__ Walnuts

I went from eating chocolate donuts and lemonade for breakfeast, chips at lunch, candy at 4:00, 3 sodas a day to :bread and milk for breakfeast, bagels and yogurt at lunch, 5 fruits a day, and 8 serivings of vegetables a day, so it is not impossible. The most important thing you need is will power, when it gets tough, suck it up and have a carrot! Hard work and disclipine. Also make sure to contribute to each of the major food groups, as each has essential reasons, that cannot be ignored.

One thing I will say is avoid the Atkins diet. Eating all fat and protein is bad for kidneys and your body, plus you lose nutrients. Try for <20% fat, <15% proteins, >65% carbs.

But the way I lost was like 85% carbs, and I almost eliminated fats completely. Nuts,milk and meat are now my primary sources of fat.

If you have any more questions or any comments to me, email me or post them. I have done a lot of research about food, and would be glad to answer any of your questions.

By Glowingamy (Glowingamy) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:17 pm: Edit

That's a great list, Rbc! I totally admire your willpower.

...Yumm, blood pressure. :P

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:19 pm: Edit

I go to Safeway to shop, and I always check my blood pressure. Its been 103-113 and 58-72, so that is pretty good I figure. I am big into numbers and math.

By Chamonix (Chamonix) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:44 pm: Edit

I don't know about you guys, but if I forget to eat lunch I lose over five pounds. In a whole week, that could add up to quite a bit. But I would never do a thing like that. Obviously if I skip lunch I eat a huge dinner and gain at least ten. Then if I happen to step on the scale the next morning it's down about five. Either my weight fluctuates a lot more than everyone else which I assume is the truth, or Rbc is exagerating when you say that you stay exactly the same for a whole week until sunday.

By Karie (Karie) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:50 pm: Edit

Yes its my friend, i've already spoken to her and her mom about this. She is (I think) about 5'2 and 115-120, which I keep saying is healthy. But anyways shes basically trying to skip meals and I was wondering what the normal weight loss is compared to extreme (anorexic) weight loss is in a week, b/c Ive been noticing that she is losing weight but she keeps saying that she's doing it the healthy way. I think she's influenced by her sister who is a known anorexic and lost a lot within a week. Anyhow she keeps saying that shes trying to "adjust" her stomach to eating less like those who just naturally dont eat a lot--which I don't know if its BS or not.

Thanks for the info, Rbc that is a good list that Im going to copy.

By Ticklemepink (Ticklemepink) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 07:07 pm: Edit

I am right there at your friend's height and weight. I also read about articles on Mary Kate Olseen's supposedly anorexia and she and I are the same height so I can picture myself if I was at same weight as she! LOL

The docotrs in the articles have said that anything below 103 pounds or so is considered to be anoxreic. The list that RBC13 put together for food looks very similiar to my list. I definitely feel good about myself!!! While this list may not help to lose or gain weight, it definitely makes your body feel better about itself.

By Twinkletoes696 (Twinkletoes696) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 07:20 pm: Edit

No, actually, 103 pounds or under at 5'2 would not necessarily be anorexic. Actually, you would still be within a healthy range at 5'2/103 pounds.

It depends on your height as well; if you're 5'2" and 103, you're probably okay; if you're 5'10" and 103, chances are you aren't.

But it's not necessarily about the weight, it's about the behavior as well. There are normal weight anorexics as well (although some doctors would argue that although they have an eating disorder, they aren't anorexic because technically you have to be 15% under what you're "supposed" to weigh as a minimum, but this really varies from person to person according to their build/muscle, etc), just as well as there are people who may according to the charts be quite underweight but are actually healthy because they have a naturally small build/fast metabolism.

Your friend IS in a healthy weight range for her height. She really doesn't need to lose weight, but she could still be healthy and weigh a bit less if it is really that important to her. However, how she is going about it is bad. For example, if she wants to be, I don't know, 108, maybe she can achieve that by eating hardly anything for a week, but she is in effect slowing down her metabolism which will make it harder for her to lose weight over time, plus if she reverts back to eating as she was before, she will just put the weight back on. Likewise, little to not eating can become a really, really unhealthy pattern and lead to becoming anorexic (which she already knows by the example her sister has set).

Of course, this is not to mention that you will feel like crap by not eating for a week (fasts can be "euphoric" at first, but really, you are killing off your muscle if you continue this way).

How much weight you lose by not eating for a week really depends on the person, their metabolism, and how much water they do/don't retain.

However, it really is a bad idea. She would be MUCH better off cutting any junk out of her diet, working out more, and drinking a lot of water.

Her idea of "adjusting her stomach to eating less like those who just naturally don't eat a lot" makes sense in the idea that her stomach will shrink by eating a lot less over time, and she will become full a lot faster and have a hard time eating anything more than small portions- anything more will make her digestive system go nuts. This can wreak all kinds of nasty effects on the body that I'm sure you already know about. Training yourself to eat less in that sense will just cause a LOT more harm than good, because she is setting herself up for an eating disorder.

By Taru (Taru) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 07:28 pm: Edit

Hmm, why don't we all listen to our DOCTORS, who follow our weight on a GROWTH CHART, to determine our healthy weight?

Karie, it sounds like your friend is going down a dangerous path. Trying to "adjust" her stomach like that will lead to a weakened stomach which can eventually rupture. Are her parents/guardians aware of her condition, and is she getting any help?

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 07:45 pm: Edit

You need to tell her that skipping meals is not the way to go, unless you are talking about breakfeast, and you wake up at 11:00. She shouldn't lose more than 3 pounds a week, especially at her weight, and the best way is by eating heathly and less.

Something freaky I thought I would add, my mother is 5 2.5 and 125, and she only eats like 1000 calories a day! She walks at least a mile a day, and doesn't ever feel hungry. She can't eat more than 200 calories of anything it seems like, and she loses no weight. That goes to show what eating nothing does for you. She's 47 by the way.

In response to Chamonix, it seemed like every other week that happened. I'd feel like I couldn't lose any more, and on the weekend 2 pounds would vanish. I dont know how, but I won't question it, but I will say that my scales are a little messed up.

On weight fluctuation, I would go from 145 to 153 during the day, during one month. The pounds went on at night, and vanished the next afternoon.

Right now though, I wake up at 149, it goes down to 147 after I get home, and up to 154 at night. Maybe the water just evaporates.

BTW, I drink like 8 or 9 cups a water a day, (That is almost 5 pounds of water), but it leaves my bladder right after though, so I don't think its all the water's fault.

Since she's a girl, I would suggest at least 1400 calories, and at most 2000. But that is only my opinion, I am a male, and females have different needs. I can't tell exactly, she knows her body, and how much nutrition she needs to function. When counting calories, make sure to count everything. For instance, i used to think that liquids didn't have calories. And try to avoid butter and dressing unless you are in dire need of it.

Here are some sites:
http://allrecipes.com/advice/special/mavericks/pyramid.asp


Something I thought i should add. When i was at my lowest weight, 141, I ate 3 mini chocolate donuts by frostettes and water in the morning. 210 calories. Bag of pretzels. 400 calories. Orange soda. 140 or 180?. A banana and jelly beans or licorice or marshmellows. 200 calories. I was starving by dinner. Then potatoes or chili or pasta(straight up) or rice and some vegies and fruit. 600 calories. And a coke at night. 160. Thats about 1800 a day, and how I lost 29 pounds. It goes to show that quantity is more important than quality.

But when I started eating more, I became aware of healthy foods, and started counting calories. Actually until I got to 141 i neve counted calories, I just ate the least amount i could possibly get by on and have energy to exercise.

I would recommend that she uses multivitamins, centrium is what i used. It is tough enough to get everything at a normal calorie rate, but if you're reducing, there is a miniscule percentage she is gettting just the right amount of nutrition. But I feel confident now that i don't need vitamins, and they will over nutrient me.

Two other things I would like to point out:

Males and females need a different number of calories per day. She should check out the internet. Just type in calories for teenage girl, and you'll find a million links.

If her family has a bad history of weight problems, her gentics might cause her problems no matter how hard she works.

Just remember, do the best you can do, don't go to the extreme, but give 100% effort and determination. This is your life, your body is your car, give it the premium fuel, and don't overuse the engine.

In Conclusion:
Eat less
Exercise more
Eat healthier

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 07:54 pm: Edit

Something I would like to add:
I had terrible stomach problems during my sophomore year last year, and my stomach was very funny until the last month or two. I think all of this eating healthy has actually made my stomach feel better. Who would have thought.
Also sugar is bad unless it is from vegies, fruits, or dairy. An idea when looking for foods is to expand your horizon. Don't just eat an apple, a banana, and an orange everyday. I now eat 12 different fruits! And look for nutrient dense foods. This site is pretty cool:
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php?PHPSESSID=25f043a9

By Wishful_Thinker (Wishful_Thinker) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 08:49 pm: Edit

RBC, i have noticed that about my stomach as well. i am TRYING to eat healthy but every now and then, i'll take a sip of soda from my friends, etc. and soon after, i would have stomach aches. i guess it's helped me stay away from bad food because now that i'm eating healthier, i don't get them.

also rbc, what'd you do at school? i'm cutting down on my foods right now and the hardest part is during school. this is because my stomach will start growling during class or during lunch all my friends will have junk food and i got tempted so easily. i found that chewing sugarfree gum has helped me alot because if my mouth is busy, i don't end up eating...but on teh days i forget to bring my gum, i end up eating a candy bar at teh end of the day...horrible i know. was there anyhting you did to help you eat healthier? did you carry around a bottle of water or a bag of celery?

also, i wanted to ask about your exercise routine. did you just do the 2 mile thing with your series of pushups/situps/curls, etc.? or did you do more on some days and not as much on others or rotate? i go to the gym friday/sat/sunday and am trying to find something to do during the week (because i don't really have alot of time) until school ends. once school ends i can dedicate more time to becoming healthier but until then, do you have any advice of a quick but effective routine on weedays?

thank you =)

By Itziar (Itziar) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 09:32 pm: Edit

1400 calories for a teenage girl is not enough. Wow, I would really want to consult a doctor before adapting any regimen suggested to me by someone online. I hope you guys realize how easy it is to screw up your body.

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:09 pm: Edit

Itziar, yea I was thinking about a non active woman who eats 1600 calorie. Around 2000 is probably a goal. I said that only she could decide, and to look up websites, not that I need to defend myself, but why not.

By Geodude666 (Geodude666) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

When i was 15, i had this huge problem with weight, and so i decided to go on one of those starvation diets for 2 weeks. i lost 20 pounds, but then gained back 10 pounds after christmas. but the problem was, i had lost so much muscle during those 2 weeks that i was extremely weak, and didn't even make the baseball team next spring after 4 months, and i used to be the ace the year before. So the bottom line is, it is a short term solution, but it can affect u long term...so don't do it.

By Lifeisgood (Lifeisgood) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:26 pm: Edit

If I'm 5'5 and 135, should I lose weight?

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:46 pm: Edit

Damn, it just lost my post when it refreshed, so i will write it out shorter. I had written for 20 minutes!
In short:
Bad food bad for body
eat bigger breakfast or eat fruit or veges
Think of people in Iraq, a meal would be special
142 days of 1 mile ran
With a walk or another mile most days,so 2 miles
next 30 via walking 3 miles or so a day
172 days of 100 pushups at least, got up to 300
172 days of curls, 100 to 500 now
172 days of mainly crunches 100 to 800 a day, and then 200 real situps a day since
I have taken a 3 week break due to AP exams, and to rest body.
I worked out at my home for an hour everyday at least, since home has everything.
You could just workout for 30 minutes, then go for 2 mile walk and be done in an hour.
Damn, the other post was so good and long, ruined by the computer. Sorry for lack of formality.

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:48 pm: Edit

Life is good, only you can decide. I can't tell just by numbers, it is your life. You know what's best. But I will assume that maybe you do since you asked the question. Just eat right, less, and exercise.

By Foundnemo (Foundnemo) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 11:19 pm: Edit

http://www.dadamo.com/

I know, I know, fad diets, right? It worked for me, probably because I was counting calories anyway, but it wasn't painful or anything.

By Karie (Karie) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 11:32 pm: Edit

RBC thats great advice...the problem is shes not only not skipping meals but also is starting to work out like crazy, esp since schools out and theres more time.

I have talked to her mom about this, but her parents are caught up with her sisters problems at this point.

Note that this has just begun a week ago, but I have talked to her since the beginning. I think she may be caught up in the whole fast weight loss ideal.

By Britbrat8604 (Britbrat8604) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 11:58 pm: Edit

I dont know. I think i have accepted the fact i probably have an eating disorder. I like never stop thinking about food. Recently though, i went from feeling guilty if i ate something bad for me to feeling guilty if i eat anything at all. I honetly feel like being hungry is a sign of success. I lost 14 pounds so far in the past two weeks (dont know how...). First it started with a 1200 calorie diet. Then, i accidentally skipped my run one night because i am sick and only let myself have 1000. I have a weird obsessive-complusive disorder type thing where if i do something one day, i have to meet it or "beat" it the next....for example, if i normally run 5 miles and on a good day run 6, from then on i have to either meet the 6 or run further. i got up to ten miles a day...but then went on vacation and lost it. This time, its with lowering of calories. even if i exercise, i still have to eat the same or less calories than the day before. Like...it has gotten prgressively smaller so now im at roughly 6oo calories a day. Im hungry right now, but i feel great because of it. I dont get too hungry anymore..i guess my stomach shrank. i wish i didnt even think about food. i wish i could eat a meal and not think about the amount of calories in everything and how fat i will get if i finish it. maybe ill get better though. although i have been obsessed with food and body image since i was about 12...okay i know what im doing is probably wrong, but dont be mean to me for it-i cant help it.

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 01:02 am: Edit

Wow, you run 10 miles a day with barely any food! How tall are you, and what weight are you? You sound kind of like my father. He comes home on the weekends and eats basically nothing and Dew, then runs 6 miles or so. I just hope your getting enough nutrients for your body.

Personally, I like to think of eating as a competition to see who can eat the healthiest. Maybe that way of thinking will get you back on track. You really can't go on like this forever. Each day try to eat better and better foods, thats also what i try to do. But i wonder what will happen the day that i can't be any healthier. But don't take my advice, it is your life, do the best possible thing for your body that you can do.

By Liquid_Thought (Liquid_Thought) on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 07:10 am: Edit

Hey everyone,

I'm usually a lurker on this board, but I decided to respond tonight out of concern.

RBC 13, you seem a lot like I was when I was suffering from Anorexia.

It began in the summer before my Junior year when I was naturally losing some weight because of growth spurts, and then began to promote the weight lose, losing twenty pounds in under a month. My parents became concerned that summer, and made me see a psychologist, who eventually became a mentor and a sort of third parent.
I fooled almost everyone, because I would always seem to be eating normally since I would eat every meal. However, I was compulsive about eating every meal because I was afraid that if I didn't, my metabolism would slow down, and I would gain weight. I counted every calorie, and only allowed myself one sweet a week. I had to eat 5 pieces of fruit and 8 servings of vegetables a day. What a coincidence that it corresponds to your diet RBC13, no? I predict it is because you also read on all the diet sites and in the diet books that that is the optimal amount of fruits and veggies to eat for a low weight. My biggest fear was facing a situation where I would have to eat out, and risk eating something for which I had a definite calorie count. I ate the same breakfast and lunch every day, and I was obsessed with watching people, what they ate, how fast they ate it, and most importantly, what their weight was. When you said your mom only ate 1000 calories, I was reminded of my skewed observation that everyone ate sooo much less food than me.
When school started the trouble accelerated. My whole junior year when I was supposed to be gaining weight, I lost it because I was on a slight calorie deficit since I would always overshoot my calorie consumption so that I would be eating only about 1800 when I should have been eating about 2300. I was paranoid with exercise, so much so that no matter how tired or cold or sick I was, I would do my 500-calorie burning workout. On Friday afternoons, by the time I had my snack, went on my jog, did 300 sit ups (100 to the right, 100 to the left, 100 to the middle), my 50 pushups, and drank my four afternoon glasses of water I would be so cold and I would feel so weird that I would lie on my coach until dinner at about 6, then after eating so little at dinner, and after having to face the stress of having to fool my parents into believing I was eating enough, I would collapse on my couch for about an hour waiting for the weird hungry but full feeling to go away. Then I would call my friends, and go out with them, but not have any fun because I would worry about what I ate for dinner, and about getting home before 11:30 so that I could get to sleep and get exactly 8 hours of sleep, and wake up at eight in the morning so that I wouldn't miss breakfast, because if I did, I wouldn't know how much to eat, because my schedule would be all screwed up! That was a Friday afternoon, which was the most laid back of all my days. Other days I would have to go through this while still trying to maintain straight A's and many extra curriculars. I used to tutor a Middle Eastern Boy, and the mother would always give me a glass of lemonade, on which I would never lay my lips, even though she was always offended by that because in her culture it was very rude to deny a gift. I never wasted time however, because I was paranoid that if I were ever idle, I would become a fat slob, so much so that internet surfing, TV and movie viewing, and even just sitting around with friends, all disappeared from my life. Almost all my wonderful experiences were ruined by food worries. When I went on a class trip to Europe for a week, while everyone else enjoyed the food, I packed all my own lunches, ate a separate breakfast, and wasted all my nights with my compulsive rituals instead of going out partying, drinking, and having fun. Beer has too many carbs and calories, and eating midnight gelatos would make me turn into a whale, I thought. I believe the statistics that say that full-blown anorexics spend 90% of their thoughts on food. School was good because I distracted me from hunger, but towards the end I could only tolerate math because I had lost my ability to concentrate, and had lost my overall passion for learning and reading, which to me were much too sedentary activities. The problem worsened when summer began and school ended because I switched from doing schoolwork, to helping my dad build a house, pure manual labor from 8 to 5.

Unfortunately, in May of last year I began to feel the effects. My hair began to slowly fall out, my nails were always blue, my hands always cold. I stopped being able to do as many pushups before I would simply collapse from lack of strength. My butt disappeared completely, and I was so skinny that I couldn't shave my head because I was afraid that people would think I was sick with cancer. I couldn't hold my bladder, and worst of all, by far, was that I stopped being able to laugh, or even speak loudly, or even be able to speak because I was getting pretty spacey and antisocial. As early as February I had begun to seriously lose my sense of balance, so much so that I could not snowboard without falling down, or worrying about having to be forced to drink a warm glass of fattening cocoa, or trying to keep my bluish hands warm

I could sit here and write a thousand pages about all the different effects that anorexia had on my body, mind and soul (sorry to sound like a corny, but it really did leave me feeling empty.) However, there is a happy ending!!! Anorexia rarely lasts, your body gets so hungry that you just can't go on starving yourself. You either are hospitalized, or begin to binge on mountains of food, and if you don't get over the issues, you also barf out all the food you eat. 50% of anorexics become bulimic, and the rest either die, or get better, but not everyone gets 100% better. Some go on having the issues, and stay unhealthily skinny and obsessed by food, but simply are at a level where they are just able to function normally in society. Surprisingly, my case is not even considered very severe, but rather the norm of a full-blown anorexic! However, by the late summer I was paranoid that my heart was starting to weaken, because most anorexics die of heart failure. When you diet, your biceps and hamstrings aren’t the only muscles that disintegrate! I was going to have to go to the doctor, and I knew that if I were 25% under my ideal weight, he would send me to anorexia camp or to the hospital. To worsen matters, I began to have sporadic binges in late summer, and I was becoming too neurotic to function. Therefore, I finally decided that I didn't want Anorexia to hinder me anymore! I went to a nutritionist to figure out a weight gain plan, and began to really listen to myself, which was what my therapist had always suggested would be the answer! Just for the record, in one year I had gone from 5'10'' and 170 pounds, to less than 110 pounds, and I am a male by the way (as a side note, I also lost my sex drive). However, when an anorexic abruptly starts eating again the body gets confused, and there are two extremes, going on a huge binge, or never being hungry, and because of that bodily confusion, the recovery process feels like a roller coaster. I am just now finally getting a genuinely normal sense of true hunger and satisfaction, when before I felt like a bottomless hungry pit. Even with a nutritionist, a plan, and a years worth of true introspection, it still took me until Christmas break to really start eating, and when I ate, I mean I ATE. I scared down an average of 4000 calories daily, and even went as high as 7000 on a few days. Five months later, in May, I am 185 and my metabolism has finally stabilized. The good news is that although it is scary at first, you really stop caring about he excess weight. For, as you gain weight, the issues become easier to deal with, because incidentally, the more you under-eat, the more you get depressed from the chemical imbalances in the brain, which pull you into a starvation spiral. Also, I have no fears of food, because in reality I can eat whatever I want. The body naturally selects what it wants. For example, there was an experiment done where a group of little kids were allowed to eat whatever they wanted for a month. At first they all ate chocolate and ice cream, but by the end of the experiment, they all were eating a balanced diet, including fruit and veggies. Also, the body regulates itself in amazing ways. I am a little overweight at the moment, but I know that my body is just giving me some "baby fat" just in case I starve myself again, and if I don't freak out and go on another diet, the fat will shed off. 99% of people on diets gain the weight back plus 10% more, and this regain rarely takes more than a few years to occur. The other 1% of dieters, the ones who keep weight off, have actually proven to be people obsessed with food, and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. A lot of them are anorexics who don't gain all the weight back, and perpetually live in a state where they have to suppress constant urges to binge, a very miserable existence in my opinion.

Before I finish, I want to refer all of you to these articles

1) http://river-centre.org/StarvSympt.html
This article is about an experiment done by the forefather of nutrition studies, Ansel Keys. In this experiment he took a group of men, all of whom were in the best mental health, and subjected them to a 6 month eating regimen of 1500 calories a day. Surprisingly all of the men showed anorexic symptoms, with one guy even cutting three fingers off from sheer anxiety and depression. When allowed to eat again, all the men binged, with some eating 8000 calorie meals daily, and by five months all of the men had gained their original weight plus 10-15% extra, and all eventually lost it within a year of re-feeding.

2) http://www.omen.com/adipos.html
This website deals with a study called the Guru Walla experiment, wherein scientists had a group of African villagers eat a diet of 7000 calories a day for six months. Surprisingly, they all fattened up by thirty pounds within two months, but didn't gain weight for the next four months or the experiment, eventually losing all the weight when they were once again allowed to eat normally. To get to the part of the article press ctrl and f at the same time, and type “Guru Walla” into the box. Although the entire article is actually really interesting

3) http://www.gastrolab.info/ghe0.htm
This is a full online copy or a book about digestion that was written in the 1800’s, pretty interesting, especially if you like bio

I also read of another experiment performed in Holland that tracked men going through stressful circumstances and their eating habits. A big group of those men gained weight. The researchers found that after the stress was relieved the men who tried to lose the excess weight through special diet regimens actually gained weight, while all the men who went back to eating normally lost the weight fully.

Basically, your body does not want you to be starving, nor does it want you to be a fat, because in nature, overweight people would be the least likely to be able to run or climb a tree to escape vicious lions! . Therefore, you can eat whatever you want, as long as you only eat when you are hungry, really hungry, but not starving, like at that point when you know you have to eat, and also as long as you stop when you feel satisfaction and lose the tension of hunger, even though if you feel the food in your stomach, you've eaten too much. This is not a diet, it is the natural way to eat, and likewise, our bodies adjust to the natural weight at which you are supposed to be. To get a ROUGH estimate or around where your body should be, start with five feet 100 pounds, and add five feet for every pound if you are a girl, and six if you are a guy. I am 5’11’’ so I should be somewhere around 166 pounds. Please don’t take all my advice before asking your doctor or researching it yourself though, because I am only a senior boy, not a certified physician!

However, if diets worked, we wouldn't have such a weight problem in America, where at any time 50% of Americans are on a diet while 60% of us are technically overweight. Notice that all the countries where they love what they eat, and eat what they want, have one the average, thinner people, such as France for example. Also notice that few diets actually stress eating when you are hungry! They just seem to care about what you eat! Keep in mind that the average stomach is somewhere between 2-4 cups, and that fullness comes from both food pushing on your stomach lightly, and also from chemicals the stomach releases to the brain when it sense food in there! Also keep in mind that some nutritionists believe that for every time you deprive yourself of a food you like because of a diet, you end up overeating in the future, taking in more calories than if you had eaten the food you loved!

I recommend a book The 7 Secrets of Slim People by Vikki Hansen, and Shawn Goodman, and the website www.somethingfishy.org because it has a huge eating disorder forum, and lots of facts, info, and support.

I just want to report to you all that I never worry about food now, am the happiest I've been in my life, and eat anything I want, and even though I am far from perfect, I'm liking my life about 100 times better now than when I was Anorexic. Oh, and just for CC's sake, I am happy about the college I am going to!

Also, concerning college applications, a recovery from emotion problems is a risky topic for college essays. It helps at the UCs and some private colleges, but probably didn't help my application for NYU, because they don't want to accept any people who might hurt themselves, especially after all the suicides they've had, and also because of the overwhelming stress of living in New York. I wrote about anorexia in my essay and was denied, but accepted at some traditionally more selective schools. Eh, college admissions are a huge gamble anyway, and that probably was one tiny factor among many.

I wish you all the best, and hope that this post was informative for both those with and without eating disorders!

By Rachelvish (Rachelvish) on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 06:36 pm: Edit

Mazzo- thats what I hear from everyone who's not on the Atkins diet and who don't want to be on it- my dad, however, who was an unhealthy weight before, lost 80 pounds, which improved his health dramatically. And if the diet is followed correctly and in a healthy manner, then it is for almost everybody, especially those with an unhealthy weight! My dad began to lose weight less dramatically when he got in a healthy range of weight; when people "level off" on the Atkins diet, its because they dont follow it correctly or they have achieved a healthy weight. Many people don't follow it correctly because they have little self control, like to blame their weight on diets, or because they are too lazy to understand all the info. Oh and, the Atkins is just a diet if you let it be just a diet- if you go back to eating crap the next day, you will gain it back; I dont know why people surprised about that either. It's a healthier way of life, x-nay-ing sugars and other crap from your diet. This way of life brought my dad from overweight and really unhealthy to a much healthier living, no doubt gaining him many years of his life- I don't understand when people attack it as just a fad- maybe instead of parroting what you want to hear, ask people for whom it has practically saved their lives.

By Lifeisgood (Lifeisgood) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 11:55 pm: Edit

How awesome of you to share your story, Liquid! That's so nice of you to do that... I'm sure that you've helpd a lot of people. Congrats on your victory!

By Dentist86 (Dentist86) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 02:34 am: Edit

I will make it Simple for you..man..
When you want to gain some weights, Eat like crazy, Work out like Rocky, and Sleep like a little baby.(need lots of sleep)
When you want to lose some weights..Just run..Run like hell, and Make sure you drink lots of water..

By Iplayoboe (Iplayoboe) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 10:32 am: Edit

The healthy weight range for 5'2" young women varies, depending on who reports it. Some sources say as little as 100 pounds and others as much as 130 is healthy for that height. Your friend is at the perfect weight, right in the middle. If she is as worried about her appearance as she is of the weight, i would reccommend rbc's diet (that was a really great post btw) with regular exercize. Jogging/running works not only to tone muscles but also on the heart and lungs, which is never a bad thing. Looking better after running is just as nice to ones confidence as losing a few lbs, people are more likely to notice muscles appearing than 5 lbs disappearing, esp at her weight.
I think tho, if your friend is that worried about her wieght, that there are some other issues she is trying to deal with. I had a problem like that once. I was 5'2" at the time and weighed 101 lbs naturally. I am really athletic and I ate constantly. For Health class we had to do a daily caloric count and on most days i was eating 3000 + calories. But people were always asking me "if i was ok" or "did i want something to eat?" turns out, they were all worried that i was anorexic. When people kept asking me, i got worried that i was and for a short time, almost without realizing it, i became anorexic simply because i was upset by people telling me i was when i was not. I went down to 94 lbs before a friend kidnapped me, literally smacked me in the face and said "STOP!! U R BEING SO STUPID!" Then I realized that i had let people convince me i was not ok when i was fine. So the point is that maybe your friend is worried about her weight for more reasons than just "i think i weigh too much" Maybe people tell her things and they mean more to her than people realize. I dont reccommend that you smack her, but perhaps talking to her and trying to sneak her secrets out of her will work. once you find out if something else is bothering her, as her friend, you will know her well enough to know what to do next.
good luck to both of u

By Xenowang (Xenowang) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 03:20 pm: Edit

This might be too much for people, but here's an article on how to lose weight effectively. This is truly only for the dedicated though.

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine/13weekstohardcorefatburningdiet.htm

This is geared towards those who also workout regularly...

By Wishful_Thinker (Wishful_Thinker) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 06:50 pm: Edit

thanx xenowang! =)

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 07:16 pm: Edit

You guys are young, your metabolism will burn everything off easily. All you have to do is not exceed 2500 calories a day, and stay fairly active. It's not that complicated. Tell your friend that guys do not like bony girls.

By Karie (Karie) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 07:39 pm: Edit

thanks for the responses, shes on vacation but before she left we had a "conversation". Apparantly her new role model is mary kate olsen who it seems recently lost a ton of weight and looks like a skeleton. but i stayed with her the whole day and she ate pretty well (or so i think): breakfast- skim milk w/ a cereal bar, lunch- carrots & 1/2 cup yogurt, dinner- small bowl of brown rice w/ a little veggies & egg white. after dinner- bag of grapes.
I thought it was pretty good, but when I told my mom she said it wasn't enough.

By Karie (Karie) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 07:40 pm: Edit

I wish it were true Aim! Actually funny you mention that b/c her last bf commented on her stomach fat one day in jest and I think she took it way tooo seriously.

By Wishful_Thinker (Wishful_Thinker) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 07:55 pm: Edit

ugh guys can be As sometimes. i think you should tell ALOT of her friends what's going on and make sure she knows that her friends are behind her. knowing that people support you is crucial in anything. talk to her alot. and make that ex-bf feel like crap =)

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 08:13 pm: Edit

Karie by my calulations i get at most 800 calories! Milk is 120, bar is 100-200, carrots 60, yogurt 60, rice 200, veggies 80, egg white 16, grapes 70. She needs to eat, she is only human! Damn, my mom does the same thing, I can't talk her out of it. She has no metabolism at all now I think after eating so little.

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 08:19 pm: Edit

Rule of thumb: When you're hungry, eat until you're full. There's no better feeling than being full and sated. The body just burns that stuff up. Carrots and skim milk are nothing. Try adding bananas to give your body something to work with.

By Rbc13 (Rbc13) on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 08:53 pm: Edit

I have updated my list, I know you all are really intrigued:

Qty. Item Specification Qty. Item Specification
__ White Corn Ears __ Green Peas w/out salt
__ Fresh Broccoli __ Flaxseed oil
__ Fresh Green Beans __ Dry Curd Cottage cheese
__ Sweet Potatoes __ Spinach
__ Mushrooms __ White Corn Kernels
__ Carrots __ Alaskan Cod
__ Leafy Lettuce __ 18 Pack of Eggs
__ Squash/Zucchini __ Basa Fillet
__ Tomatoes __ 99% Lean Chicken
__ Red Bell Peppers __ 96% Lean Hamburger
__ Bananas __ Pork Chops
__ Oranges __ 98% Lean Ham
__ Cantaloupe __ 99% Lean Turkey
__ Honeydew __ Nonfat Milk
__ Watermelon __ Orange Juice
__ Grapes __ Soybeans
__ Strawberries __ Plain Nonfat yogurt
__ Apples __
__ Blueberries __
__ Fresh Pineapples __
__ Lemons __
__ Olives __
__
__ Premium Brown Rice __
__ Walnuts __
__ Whole Wheat Flour(King Arthur’s) __
__ Gigantic Oats __
__ Peanuts w/out salt __
__ Roasted Almonds __ __
__ Yeast __