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| There is no pill, powder or product that will turn this.... |
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| But the diet industry will promise you otherwise! Scams-Cons-Rip Offs-Lies! |
| More than half the women in the U.S. wear a size 14 & up. 64% of the population is overweight and recent gov't figures show more than 1/3 of the population is obese. Just like everyone isn't a model or celebrity, not everyone will or can look like one. Expecting to is the first mistake. Wanting to is the second. |
| The diet industry makes over $40 billion per year from Americans alone. Considering that the U.S. average weight & size is growing faster than ever, you'd think it would occur to everyone that none of these things work! |
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| What's wrong with you?? You may want blue eyes or brown, but if the eyes you were born with didn't work, imagine how insignificant color would be. Are you a teenager? Walking into that classroom suddenly taller, thinner or looking like someone else is a fantasy that even I used to have (and my mother probably had and her mother probably had...). I did return to school one year, with longer hair, new make up and down a size or two. But nothing really changed. While a few noticed the new look, no one, absolutely no one, treated me any different than they always did. Turns out the stuff about looks is just as superficial as, well, looks ! Everyone will still treat you like you - because you're still that person. And teenagers, being teenagers, will still be rather cruel. It diverts attention from their own flaws. It seems that the more cruel one is, the more severe their own problems. Hang in there - they'll be working for you someday. |
| Need some help? Support? Teens for Teens ! |
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| Letters - Warnings |
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| Being someone lasts longer than being something No one cares or remembers what size Amelia Earhart was, but everyone knows who she was! |
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| Thank you so much for such an moving, detailed website. I am a bulimic, and have been one for nearly three years; before that, I had spent two years exercising compulsively and continued to do so for a year after I had first become bulimic, only adding to the insanity. I used to be taller, in general, than other girls my age; now I'm one of the shortest, even though I am at a normal body weight (like many bulimics, as you probably know). The gruesome pictures of anorexics certainly caught my attention, and the word "holocaust" fit the pictures perfectly. An anorexic and a victim of Auschwitz, though under nearly opposite circumstances-I have read how many prisoners of the Nazis would become so crazed with hunger they would wrestle their own equally hunger-crazed parents over a crust of bread, while those whom are anorexic become fiery in their determination to starve. Regardless, the pictures of the prisoners of the concentration camps and the prisoners of the living hell of eating disorders look like ghostly skeletons. What saddens me further is the media, including "People" magazine, including all the hypocritical networks like E! Entertainment, which had a special (after the world gasped at the emaciated Calista Flockhart at the 1998 Emmy Awards) called "The Thinning of Hollywood;" one of the correspondants (staff from the network) had the nerve to say, "I don't think the lollipop craze is going to stop until somebody (meaning, a celebrity) drops dead." The same network has done extensive biographical shows on Karen Carpenter, and with that one sentence, they deny that Karen, or her gruesome death, never existed. There is an ad for a designer I can't even remember the name of; all I remember is that it features two girls, one leaning on the shoulder of the other. The one that is being leaned on is bent forward with a hat on her head; her shirt droops so low that you can see where breasts would be, if she had any fat on her body. Instead, you can count her ribs. I remember when E! Entertainment did a special (among many similar insipid specials) on the newest, youngest Victoria's Secret models. Those that were recieving special attention (the newest ones) were younger than the others, and bonier, skeletons prancing and stretching for the camera is their bikinis. Jennifer Aniston weighs 110 pounds at 5'7, and yet the media does not say she is "unhealthy;" that's the frightening thing. Even though the average weight for a woman at 5'7 is about 135 pounds, Jennifer Aniston, with her muscular torso, narrow hips, and perfect body, looks robust and healthy, roughly 20 pounds lower. I can't help but wonder if the media changed-in a sexist media where men (granted, I recognize that men suffer from eating disorders also, but still, in lesser numbers than women)can still succeed, can still sell millions of copies of their CD's, can still win Oscars, etc. etc., even though they may have a bit of a paunch, receding hair, noticeable wrinkles, etc., in a media that sends the message that thinness is associated with satisfying relationships among attractive people, self-control, success, wealth, a life of excitement, and glamour-if the media instead encouraged education or well-roundedness (being able to dance, play music and get good grades at once), would eating disorders be replaced by a different obsession (like that with grades or being multi-talented?) Being obsessed with anything to the point of denying oneself time to rest or socialize is bad, but which is more productive (and probably more useful in the real world, and less forceful as the obsession with a lean body is): being an exhausted anorexic or bulimic (some continue to be obsessed with perfection in all aspects of their life, like academics, but many others do not, and even if they are, the eating disorder only exacerbates their anxiety) or to be obsessed with finding the world's cure for cancer and being one of the most prominent scientists in the world? In our media, the leanner (it seems that it is not necessarily even thinness that is optimum anymore, but the muscular torso, the chiseled arms and legs, etc.) and more physcially attractive a woman is, regardless of her accomplishments the easier it is for her to be successful. Girls know that they are judged more as objects than by their personalities or accomplishments in a sexist world. I'm sorry for babbling on and on and on: the point is, thank you for your website. It's nice to remember that there's a way people with eating disorders can support one another (as opposed to competing with one another in these lonely, self-annihilating diseases). |
I used to be anorexic/borderline anorexic. My daily meals consisted of a vegetable, and a handful of some fat free snack. And is still thought I ate to much. More than 500 calories (per that is) and i flipped out.I looked in the mirror and saw nothing but my insecurities and bad self-concience in the form of a hideously fat human being. I was so tired of walking around with my super-skinny friends and seeing guys look at them instead of me. I was tired of being fat and ugly. When i first started dieting, it seemed ok, and i had it under control i thought. And then it got way out of hand. I didn't do the whole starvation,then binging, then throwing up bit. I just didn't eat, and if I ate a lot, then that meant that i couldn't eat anyhting the next day. But then again, a lot was anything that took me over 500 calories.At first i felt pretty, and happy. But that didn't last long.At first i recieved compliments, and they made me feel really good. I remember my first one. I was at my grandparents, and i stood up, and my aunt looked suprised, and made a comment about how I was looking so thin. I was absolutely elated.I rewarded myself with a day of not eating. Funny isn't it? Aftr a while though, comments didn't have a positive effect, whenever someone said i looked thin, I was happy, but i wished they had said that i looked super-thin. Everything was so twisted and strange. i was like and addict, I was hooked and I just had to have more. Things progressed from there.At first I just told myself that i needed ot loose weight. Then i just kept thinking " you have to loose more weight, you must you must". It got worse all the time. I had rules as to how i ate. I'm not going to put them on here, because I really don't want to give anyone ideas. Later on I got the bright idea that i would become a vegetarian. That was great. It gave me an excuse to eat even less of the fatening things. My parents never expected anything. My mom only seemed to notice one time when we were talking and something came up about food. i let it slip that "sometimes", as i put it, I was scared to eat sometimes, for fear of gaining weight. She seemed suprised and said that maybe we should talk about thhat, but i managed to reasure her it was only because I didn't want to gain any of the weight i had lost back. She knew how much it meant to me to lose weight, and she didn't think i was doing anyhting to hurt myself, because I hid my eating habits so well. The first time i went ot the doctor after i started my so called "diet", I had lost thirty pounds. I was elated at first, but then that voice came up again and told me that it wasn't enough. I didn't eat anyhting else that day.from there it just flew out of control. At one point i just felt like I was falling down this huge black hole that had no bottom, and I had to find a way out, but it seemed so impossibly hard. i didn't know if i was strong enough. But i knew i needed help. the funny part was though, that I didn't get help from anyone but myself. Which amazes me, because I was in such a screwed up state of mind that i don't see how there was enough sanity left to help myself. But my take on it was that I had gotten myself into this mess, and that I had to get myself out, but i didn't want to bring anyone else into it. I didn't want to hurt my parents by letting them know how i had hurt myself. i'm not going ot say that it was easy to break my habits, but I coached myself every day. I eventually go tot the point where I coud eat a sandwich and not feel desperately guilty. There were plenty of times i fell back, but I picked myself back up and kept on. It took a lot of time, but i was finally back to as normal as it could get. To add a little emphasis on how bad everything was, I'm going to tell you the age at which i did all this. I started when i was 12, and I did it until i was past 13.It doesn't seem like a very long time, but for me, everyday was a year. I thank God everyday that I don't have to many lasting effects. When I was anorexic though, I was anemic, my hair feel out, my nails fell off, I had no energy. I lost friends because I rarely did anything. Every time i ate anything, my stomach went into horrible cramps because it was so used to not being fed. I didn't go out to restaurants because I knew that i would be in so much pain after eating. It was embarrasing. On my first real date, we went out to eat. i could have cried, I ate almost nothing as usual, but I was still hurting so bad that couldn't enjoy the movie. I barely talked. It was so awful that i went home and cried. I'm just so happy that i got out of that vicious cycle when i did. theres no telling what could have happened if i didn't. I want you to know that I have never really told this story to anyone before. I have been hearing lately about how all these pro-anna websites are popping up, and I realized that I had to do something about it. I thought that maybe by sharing my story I could help to cope with it myself, and maybe help other girls suffering from it. I doubt this letter will have much impact, but I look at it from the perspective that if I can even help one person think twice about an eating disorder, or help them find a way to get over one they have, then my story is worthwhile. So please, post this so other people can read this. I feel like i have to do something to save people from the living hell i went through. Someone has to tell them that they are getting into something that will screw them up forever.I'm 15 now, and still have not recovered completely emotionally or physically I still am not completely over it. I doubt I will ever eat breakfast again ( that was another thing i denied myself) I have pain in my back, legs, and knees. I haven't grown as tall as i should have. I missed out on a lot of middle school things that were so important. I would truly give anything to have lost weight safely. I just don't want this to happen to anyone else. Now that I am better , I live a very happy life. I'm class president, I am friends with everyone, my blonde hair and blue/green eyes have their sparkle back. I'm getting my permit soon, and a car to go with it. I'm dating an amazing guy who is so caring and understanding. I'm even trying out for cheerleading next year. I'm at a comfortable weight of 135 for my height 5'6'. I'm not saying any of this to brag, I'm just saying it to show you that i couldn't have had any of this when I was anorexic. None of this would be possible. I would still be the lonely little girl who didn't eat anything. Well, i guess I'm going to have to stop talking now. I have to go get ready for my date. Me and Josh are going out to dinner and a movie with some friends. And guess what.. This time I'm going to eat all the pizza I want, and not have to worry about straving myself.I used to be anorexic/borderline anorexic. My daily meals consisted of a vegetable, and a handful of some fat free snack. And is still thought I ate to much. More than 500 calories (per that is) and i flipped out.I looked in the mirror and saw nothing but my insecurities and bad self-concience in the form of a hideously fat human being. I was so tired of walking around with my super-skinny friends and seeing guys look at them instead of me. I was tired of being fat and ugly. When i first started dieting, it seemed ok, and i had it under control i thought. And then it got way out of hand. I didn't do the whole starvation,then binging, then throwing up bit. I just didn't eat, and if I ate a lot, then that meant that i couldn't eat anyhting the next day. But then again, a lot was anything that took me over 500 calories.At first i felt pretty, and happy. But that didn't last long.At first i recieved compliments, and they made me feel really good. I remember my first one. I was at my grandparents, and i stood up, and my aunt looked suprised, and made a comment about how I was looking so thin. I was absolutely elated.I rewarded myself with a day of not eating. Funny isn't it? Aftr a while though, comments didn't have a positive effect, whenever someone said i looked thin, I was happy, but i wished they had said that i looked super-thin. Everything was so twisted and strange. i was like and addict, I was hooked and I just had to have more. Things progressed from there.At first I just told myself that i needed ot loose weight. Then i just kept thinking " you have to loose more weight, you must you must". It got worse all the time. I had rules as to how i ate. I'm not going to put them on here, because I really don't want to give anyone ideas. Later on I got the bright idea that i would become a vegetarian. That was great. It gave me an excuse to eat even less of the fatening things. My parents never expected anything. My mom only seemed to notice one time when we were talking and something came up about food. i let it slip that "sometimes", as i put it, I was scared to eat sometimes, for fear of gaining weight. She seemed suprised and said that maybe we should talk about thhat, but i managed to reasure her it was only because I didn't want to gain any of the weight i had lost back. She knew how much it meant to me to lose weight, and she didn't think i was doing anyhting to hurt myself, because I hid my eating habits so well. The first time i went ot the doctor after i started my so called "diet", I had lost thirty pounds. I was elated at first, but then that voice came up again and told me that it wasn't enough. I didn't eat anyhting else that day.from there it just flew out of control. At one point i just felt like I was falling down this huge black hole that had no bottom, and I had to find a way out, but it seemed so impossibly hard. i didn't know if i was strong enough. But i knew i needed help. the funny part was though, that I didn't get help from anyone but myself. Which amazes me, because I was in such a screwed up state of mind that i don't see how there was enough sanity left to help myself. But my take on it was that I had gotten myself into this mess, and that I had to get myself out, but i didn't want to bring anyone else into it. I didn't want to hurt my parents by letting them know how i had hurt myself. i'm not going ot say that it was easy to break my habits, but I coached myself every day. I eventually go tot the point where I coud eat a sandwich and not feel desperately guilty. There were plenty of times i fell back, but I picked myself back up and kept on. It took a lot of time, but i was finally back to as normal as it could get. To add a little emphasis on how bad everything was, I'm going to tell you the age at which i did all this. I started when i was 12, and I did it until i was past 13.It doesn't seem like a very long time, but for me, everyday was a year. I thank God everyday that I don't have to many lasting effects. When I was anorexic though, I was anemic, my hair feel out, my nails fell off, I had no energy. I lost friends because I rarely did anything. Every time i ate anything, my stomach went into horrible cramps because it was so used to not being fed. I didn't go out to restaurants because I knew that i would be in so much pain after eating. It was embarrasing. On my first real date, we went out to eat. i could have cried, I ate almost nothing as usual, but I was still hurting so bad that couldn't enjoy the movie. I barely talked. It was so awful that i went home and cried. I'm just so happy that i got out of that vicious cycle when i did. theres no telling what could have happened if i didn't. I want you to know that I have never really told this story to anyone before. I have been hearing lately about how all these pro-anna websites are popping up, and I realized that I had to do something about it. I thought that maybe by sharing my story I could help to cope with it myself, and maybe help other girls suffering from it. I doubt this letter will have much impact, but I look at it from the perspective that if I can even help one person think twice about an eating disorder, or help them find a way to get over one they have, then my story is worthwhile. So please, post this so other people can read this. I feel like i have to do something to save people from the living hell i went through. Someone has to tell them that they are getting into something that will screw them up forever.I'm 15 now, and still have not recovered completely emotionally or physically I still am not completely over it. I doubt I will ever eat breakfast again ( that was another thing i denied myself) I have pain in my back, legs, and knees. I haven't grown as tall as i should have. I missed out on a lot of middle school things that were so important. I would truly give anything to have lost weight safely. I just don't want this to happen to anyone else. Now that I am better , I live a very happy life. I'm class president, I am friends with everyone, my blonde hair and blue/green eyes have their sparkle back. I'm getting my permit soon, and a car to go with it. I'm dating an amazing guy who is so caring and understanding. I'm even trying out for cheerleading next year. |
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| As much as we want to believe we're advanced creatures, nature puts us in our place with biological systems that defy any known drugs, herbs or wishes we might have. When we diet by cutting calories drastically (less than 1,200-1,400 for a low-activity female) or by limiting/eliminating any food groups, our ancient biological memory responds to famine. Whether a severe drop in food is the result of weather, illness or some other obstruction to 'hunting & gathering' - or is due to the latest diet - doesn't matter whatsoever to the organism we all are. The metabolism slows down in order to preserve energy (calories are energy). At first, weight loss seems pretty quick, but this is just excess fluids and then it's dehydration. Electrolytes are imbalanced and the heart is effected, sometimes permanently. Sometimes fatally. Meanwhile, the body is now doing whatever necessary to store FAT, even if it means burning muscle and organ tissue for fuel/energy. If you consider the natural reasons for this, it makes sense. Since there's no, or little food to hunt/gather, muscles are not as necessary as layers of fat to support us through the (harsh weather?) difficult times. Like any hibernating animal, we would at least slow down, if not remain completely inactive during such hardship and starvation. This would insure the survival of the fittest - the ones who kept the most fat would live longer and likely see the food supplies improve. No matter how much exercise is done, trying to counteract this reaction, muscle will still be depleted. The more muscle we have, the higher our metabolisms function, even 'at rest'. That's why males tend to have a lower percentage of fat overall (they are more muscle mass by genetics). So, dieting and losing muscle, may slow metabolism for years to come! At the very least, it will contribute to eventual regaining of the weight lost (when normal eating is resumed) and very likely cause the gaining of more weight than ever! Most frequent dieters have already noticed this, but it's not unusual to deny the reality, the cause of it. Being out of control of biological systems like this isn't easy to admit to by such "higher intelligence" beings. Gov't and American Medical Association findings as of October 2002 are that more than 60% of Americans are overweight; more than 1/3 being OBESE . |
| With more knowledge & education about health/diet - With more weight loss products and plans than ever before in history - our weight problems are BIGGER than ever. Isn't it time to Stop ????? |
| We are getting bigger and bigger - Why? |
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| I just wanted to say thank you for your website. I was searching for some of those pro anorexia sites I have heard about as I am feeling very fat at the moment (5'5" and 120 pounds!) and wanted some 'lose weight fast' tips. I have struggled with anorexia and bulimia since my first diet at age 12 and I am now 24. I dealt with this well in the past, never becoming in grave danger (lowest weight being 105 pounds) by changing my eating habits and going to the gym (I love to dance and do aerobics). I have maintained my weight now without struggle for the past 2 years (identifying more with the new diagnosis of BDD) but I have felt this feeling of being fat beginning to overwhelm me for about a month. After looking at your site, I decided not to go to the bathroom and throw up my dinner. I think I'll take my dog for a walk instead. Thank you for helping me to get over today's hurdle. Your commitment to people struggling with anorexia or bulimia is inspiring and I was greatly moved by the support and care you offer people in your question and answer site. That is what I so much wanted through my battle. I am sure you have touched the lives of many others in the world. Kindest Regards, |
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