is it true?

[Surrended souls]

hey guys, im trying to help a friend out.. and i was just wondering if its true that if you starve yourself for a long period of time/become anorexic and then later on when you eat again do u gain weight really fast?

[mmd]

not sure on that but yes if you do starve yourself long enough or dont eat enough for a long time yes you will get it... I think...

[NKP]

Depends on how long

[survivorFQ]

Coming from a girl who was anorexic...you don't get anorexia by just not eating...there is a whole mind set that goes along with it, dealing with not just body image, but a lot of times just control, and there is typically some type of underlying depression that accompanies it.

 

Now as for gain the weight back really fast. It just depends on how long you go without eating. I was anorexic for approx. 5 years, and I gained the weight back slowly because I reintroduced eating a lot more slowly too...which gave my metabolism time to wake up. If however, you just start eating tons after a period of starvation, your metabolism has slowed down, and your body will tend to grab on to all the nutrients it has been lacking, and will tend to gain weight rather quickly. However, keep in mind that a person who is anorexic is also dehydrated so a rapid gain within 1-2 days will just be water weight which really can be as much as 5-8lbs.

 

Hope this answers your question...and take it from a girl who knows...don't go starving yourself...it is really not worth it.

[southerngirl]

If they are starving theirself yes it can develope into anorexia. This is a serious problem if they keep going on this way.

 

To lose weight the right way, they should be eating 3 meals a day. Its not how much you eat but what you eat. So healthy foods is best , well rounded meals and dont skip the veggies..

 

Also drink lots of water it will help. Working out too, that is important.

 

If they lose weight on a 'crash' diet like this... in the end when they stop yes they are likely to gain weight again because they didnt lose weight the right way.

[rose2summer]

Anorexia nervosa is due to abnormal eating habits, excessive dieting as you mentioned, and body image distortion.

 

It's very dangerous as it leads to severe weight loss, amenorrhea (loss of periods), anemia, and electrolyte imbalances (Na+, Cl-, K+, etc).

 

Anytime you starve yourself, you condition your body that you are in starvation mode, so you actually make it difficult to lose weight because your body assumes you are in a state of famine, and stores everything you eat, so it has an energy source.

 

It is best to follow a healthy diet of you would like to lose weight, eat multi-grain wheat bread, fruits, vegetables, lots of healthy meats, such as chicken (an excellent source of protein), cottage cheese, drink lots of water, and engage in cardiovascular exercise, like the treadmill/stairclimber for a minimum of 30min/day, 6 days/wk.

 

Hugs, Rose

[shes2smart]

Every time you start a reduced-calorie/weight loss diet, your body doesn't know you are doing it on purpose...it thinks there is a famine and will do everything in its power to keep your vital systems functioning.

 

One way it does this is by slowing down your metabolism. When you do start eating normally again, your body becomes more efficient at storing fat---just in case there's another famine. This is why most (90-98%, depending on which study you're looking at) people who diet regain ALL the wieght they lost, plus a few extra pounds when they go off the diet and resume normal eating.

 

I was recently reading a book called link removed by Laura Fraser. In it she quotes an eating disorders specialist who said something along the lines of: Not everyone who diets will develop an eating disorder...but almost everyone who develops an eating disorder starts with a diet.

 

So weight gain after a period of dieting and developing anorexia (or any other eating disorder) are related, but they are two separate things.