Expert: Joanne - 11/28/2006

Question
hi my daughter is on a celery fast and has been for about 3 days and she
exercises heaps! but she doesn't seem to be losing weight which i am worried
abot because all that she eats is celery and seems to me like she is in
starvation mode but surely you can lose weight while in this mode?
she use to weigh less but now she has eaten less but not got skinnier and her
legs have expanded and her arms as well and i really don't get it! can you
please help?

Also how much weight will she lose on this fast that she will be doing as much
to my dismay a 7 day water fast and a 20 day celery fast..? i can't stop her
from doing this and i would like ag guide as to how much she may lose? becaus
this is really worrying me that she hates her self this much to have to result
in this.. she said that she can't look at her flabby arms cos she feels like
vomiting.,.

Answer
How old is your daughter?

There is a chance that she is retaining water just now which is meaning that she isn't losing weight, so it is an idea for her not to weigh herself too often and to limit it to once a week or something similar as your body fluctuates in water content so much that weighing yourself everyday never gives a good estimation of weight loss.

In starvation mode, it is likely that you will lose weight initially, but this will tail off as her metabolism will slow to match what she is eating and making her body survive on the bare minimum.

Her legs and arms expanding could be due to the water retention, or is it maybe muscle beginning to form if she is exercising so much?!

I'm unable to give you any idea of the weight she could expect to lose as everyone is different, and it will depend on how she used to eat, how many calories she used to consume, what her weight was before, exercise levels, etc.  

I think that you maybe need to look at this as maybe being the beginnings of disordered eating patterns!  If she is having body image issues, there is a real chance that this may become something much more serious.  Fasts are ok in the short term - I definitely wouldn't like the thought of someone doing it longer than a couple of weeks, but I have read that it is safe to do up to 4 weeks, which is what your daughter is doing, but in the longer term, will start to cause health complications.  As you can't stop her, it is maybe worth letting her do this fast for the 4 weeks, and then reviewing the situation.  If there are still disordered eating patterns, it is maybe worth contacting your doctor or a health professional to discuss the possiblity if this turning into an eating disorder and getting the body image problems tackled before it gets to that stage.

I'm giving this advice on the assumption that your daughter is an older teenager or young adult.  If she is a younger teenager I would recommend not allowing her to do this fast and acting on the body image issues now as poor eating habits now could stunt her growth and prevent a female's natural development.

I hope that this has been of some help.  Please feel free to come back if you want to ask anything else, or if your daughter wants to ask anything.

Holly