Expert: Meg - 8/3/2006

Question
"Hi how are you?
i am 17 years old and i am 170cm tall and weigh approx 48-49kg depending!! i don't have my period and lost it years ago! i exercise 4 hours minimum a day to try and lose weight i havn't been eating anything for a while apart from chewie and water and am absolutly terrified of gaining weight or even hoping on the scales!!!! i have recently started chewing and spitting but i wouldn't say i chew and spit a lot mainly just on sultanas 1 tiny kids box at the most! and 1 pce of bread with butter and honey... which i do probably 4 times a week and the rest of the time i just don't eat anything!!! i was wondering if i went on a fast of only chewie and water for 2 weeks would i lose weight by doing this and how much could i expect to lose? do laxatives help with weight loss and also how can i get out of the chewing and spitting trap? i don't want to recover as i have anorexia and just want to keep losing losing losing i also want to know how come when i was eating 2 tiny meals a day and only exercising around 2 hours a day was i skinnier?"
everytime i look in the mirror i look sooo fat and disgusting and feel dirty with all the fat i have around me! why would my legs have expanded and my stomach gone all blosted like constantly and i eat nothing!!!!

Answer
Hi Jenna,

Thanks for your question and I'm sorry that you are dealing with this.  Everything you've written (being underweight but still feeling fat, overexercising, chewing and spitting, fasting, laxative abuse) suggest that you are in the midst of a serious case of anorexia.  Unfortunately, no matter what I tell you, you will probably still "feel" fat and be able to justify your behaviors to yourself.  I can tell you that they are all extremely dangerous and that I highly recommend you put a stop to them and get some sort of help very soon as eating disorders can be deadly.  

Here is a site that is always a bit sobering in reminding people of this:
http://www.something-fishy.org/memorial/memorial.php

Laxatives will not help you to lose weight and will only make you sick and the same can be said for fasting.  It sounds like your metabolism is already slowed down from your excessive exercise coupled with your fasting.  These behaviors are extremely serious and dangerous and I can not state enough how important it is that you find a way to put a stop to them now.  


As for feeling heavier now than when you exercised less and ate more, there are numerous reasons why you could be experiencing this.  First off, as anorexia progresses, the thinner you get, the bigger you feel.  It is very sad that not only are you destroying your body but you still feel digusting and huge even when you are not.  Also, as your metabolism slows down you can maintain weight or something even gain from not eating much.  This is remedied by getting healthier and another reason to work on beating this.  Finally, the distended stomach that you mention most likely is due to malnutrition.  If you've ever seen photos of starving children from Third World Countries, you will observe the same phenomenum.  

Please reach out to someone in your life and get help while you still can.  Your life is worth so much more than this disease can give you.

Take care,
Meg