Please Eat!
CoryIda
Posts: 7,870 Member
I just got a friend request from a young lady who already looks like she is skin and bones and wants to lose another 20 pounds.
A peek at her friends list revealed some skeletal bodies and disturbing pro-ana usernames.
This makes me sad.
We all have different goals, and that's great.
When I joined, I weighed close to 300 pounds and I just wanted to be healthy.
Some people want to be very slender
Some want to look good in a bikini (or, for men, look good shirtless).
Some want to be ripped.
Some want to have a bit extra cushion.
All of those things are okay, but, whatever your goals...
Please eat!
You'll hear a million different answers about whether or not you should eat your exercise calories (I am in the "yes" camp, but that's not what this post is about) and what the proper macro ratios are. The point, however, is that you should be fueling your body.
Starving yourself might make you skinny, but at what cost?
A very dear friend of mine on here - she's not a member anymore and I wish her the best, wherever she is now - struggled with so many health problems as a result of anorexia and bulimia (she was fighting hard to recover, but it took its toll).
She had severe heart problems, serious digestive issues, rotting teeth, her hair was falling out, her menstrual cycle was completely messed up, and there were SO MANY ISSUES that a young lady (she was only in her early 20's) should NOT have to deal with or worry about!
Another friend of mine on here lost someone very close to them a few months ago to an eating disorder.
Please, please, please. Eat!
If you have - or think you may have - an eating disorder, please get help!
There are resources out there and your family and friends will thank you for taking care of yourself.
Here's one link, although there are certainly more resources available:
http://www.anad.org
A peek at her friends list revealed some skeletal bodies and disturbing pro-ana usernames.
This makes me sad.
We all have different goals, and that's great.
When I joined, I weighed close to 300 pounds and I just wanted to be healthy.
Some people want to be very slender
Some want to look good in a bikini (or, for men, look good shirtless).
Some want to be ripped.
Some want to have a bit extra cushion.
All of those things are okay, but, whatever your goals...
Please eat!
You'll hear a million different answers about whether or not you should eat your exercise calories (I am in the "yes" camp, but that's not what this post is about) and what the proper macro ratios are. The point, however, is that you should be fueling your body.
Starving yourself might make you skinny, but at what cost?
A very dear friend of mine on here - she's not a member anymore and I wish her the best, wherever she is now - struggled with so many health problems as a result of anorexia and bulimia (she was fighting hard to recover, but it took its toll).
She had severe heart problems, serious digestive issues, rotting teeth, her hair was falling out, her menstrual cycle was completely messed up, and there were SO MANY ISSUES that a young lady (she was only in her early 20's) should NOT have to deal with or worry about!
Another friend of mine on here lost someone very close to them a few months ago to an eating disorder.
Please, please, please. Eat!
If you have - or think you may have - an eating disorder, please get help!
There are resources out there and your family and friends will thank you for taking care of yourself.
Here's one link, although there are certainly more resources available:
http://www.anad.org
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Replies
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Concurred. Eating is vital to health and vitality.0
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EAT!!! 0
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Indeed.0
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:flowerforyou:
Well said.0 -
I'm just really shocked to find groups on here that encourage eating disorders. It's disturbing.0
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http://www.something-fishy.org/ is also a very informative, helpful website. I too have been very saddened and disturbed by the number of ladies on this side afflicted with ED's. Most of them are under 25, and some still even state on their profiles that they are as young as 13.
I am all for those in recovery and try to motivate them as much as possible with support and positivity, but sadly some use this site as a way to encourage each other to stay ill. Just like you said, when you find one extremely skinny girl, you look at her friends list and see dozens more. I found one profile of a girl the other day who described herself as disgusting and fat (x999), who said she wanted "to waste away, to become a perfect skeleton". Profile said 18, but I'm doubtful...
The new MFP guidelines actually state that anyone who posts pro-ana/mia forum posts, OR status updates, or have pro-ana/mia profiles, names, or pictures, is substitute to being banned. It sounds harsh, but there are tons of people in recovery on this site and, for those of us trying to get healthy, this kind of 'waste away' 'never eat' 'no one likes a fat girl' poisonous drivel is the last thing any of us need to hear.
If you see someone posting pro-ana/mia propaganda, I suggest you email the profile of the person to Steven. You can read the guidelines here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines
"3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders"
So terribly sorry about your friend's struggles, and for your friend's friend's passing after succumbing to the ED.
It's so hard when you want so badly to help, but you can't get through to them.
You know what shakes me to my core? This...
http://www.something-fishy.org/memorial/memorial.php
Look. At. All. Those. Candles.
Whoever reads this, If you are suffering with an ED, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU DESERVE BETTER.
Please, go get help. ♥
And yes, I just started to cry a little bit, thinking about all of this and seeing that page again. Jeez....0 -
:flowerforyou:0
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It's really sad that so many people today think that if you are skin and bones that means you are pretty and sexy. What we see on TV, in movies and in magazines unfortunately fuels a lot of this thinking.
FYI.....those magazines are AIRBRUSHED.....those celebrities don't look like that and some of them are starting to fight back and are posting what the pics originally looked like.
FYI.....those runway models are NOT healthy and different companies are now starting not to hire them because they are portraying something that is not good or healthy to themselves of the people watching them.
FYI.....men....it is a rarity to find a woman who is built like Barbie (bigger boobs usually come with a little more all the way around......OP excluded from this!!!) Surgery is not for everyone and women shouldn't feel like they need big boobs to be attractive.
FYI.....children do sometimes cause flabby tummies and extra skin. They are worth it and shouldn't detract from a woman being considered beautiful.
Please, young people.....skinny does not mean beautiful or sexy or always healthy. Focus on being healthy and you will be found as sexy!!!0 -
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i remember very clearly attending the funeral of a 18 year old girl who died in her sleep.. her body failed her after she started starving herself thin...
the open casket funeral still haunts me today.
EAT>0 -
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:flowerforyou:0
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I say eat....but eat healthy. Your heart will be glad you did!0
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:flowerforyou:0
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Fuel the machine!! :drinker:
ETA: I love your posts, and I, as well, encourage those who may be suffering to seek help and support!0 -
Thank you for approaching this topic in a sensitive manner.
Thankfully, MFP will soon be moderating "pro-ana/mia" groups and such on here so it will be a healthier environment. They are working really hard on it which is great news.
Please, visit http://www.somethingfishy.org. It is incredible and has information and resources from everyone to eating disorder sufferers to friends and family.
Also, I made some blog posts last month about this and posted some key information from SomethingFishy. Please, have a look and spread it around! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/sarahkatara?month=201205
I run a recovery-focused blog too. Feel free to follow. tumbleintorecoverywithme.tumblr.com
Recovery is possible. Even for the worst. I'm living proof.0 -
I absolutely love how motivational you are. You always have such insightful things to say.0
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I love eating!0
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A good book about someone who had an eating disorder is "Loud In The House Of Myself". The author talks about days when she felt so unworthy to eat she'd eat on the floor from a dog bowl and would eat nothing but broth. She really goes into detail about her problem and how much it hurt her in the end even if at the time she prided herself on seeing her ribs and looking gaunt.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be thin and pretty, but it's not worth your health or, worse, your life.0 -
VERY well said!!!!!!!0
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Thank you. I hope some of these folks will read this and realize the damage they're doing to their bodies and seek the help that they need.0
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There is this girl at my apartment complex that goes to the pool everyday and I can see every bone in her chest and I just want to hand her a cheeseburger and say EAT IT!0
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Wonderful post!!!0
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I agree.. btw I watched the Dr. Oz show yesterday about this, and about the pro Ana sites, and talkin to a guy that owns one... very disturbing. It makes me so sad for these girls, and guys.. I pray for each, and one of these ppl. 0
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this post !0 -
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Working in health care, i have come across patients with eating disorders as well as a very dear friend who's child was anorexic.
My friend's son, at the age of 11, was very ill. We got him to CHEO, and apparently, just in time... his kidney's and liver were shutting down. Another young lady I attended was so ill that she could not regulate her body temperature, and was shivering uncontrollably... i wish i knew what happened to her.
It is a sad, sad, thing to see... please eat. A skeleton with skin is not healty, nor is it attractive. Please, please, eat.0 -
Cory
I agree this is a serious issue....please eat.
Much love to you Cory!!0 -
I love eating! And now that I'm aiming to eat healthier, I love it even more!0
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