Eating Disorder or a healthy lifestyle?

[TheDarkOne]

Okay, now this is a genuine inquiry and concern. Please don't brush this off as some stupid question from an Otaku girl.

I have been dealing with anorexia for around 6 months now. I really didn't think I actually had the problem, I just thought I was being very healthy. I had begun to find myself addicted to looking at pictures on the internet and wished to look like some of these Japanese teenage models. Particularly the cosplayers. I began at 5' 1.5" weighing 98lbs, I got down to 75lbs. Well, I have recently began putting weight on, I'm not particularly sure why, but I'm now up to 87 and I feel fat again.

Now, enough of me. It has been brought to my attention that those pictures I had been looking at were apparently models and not very many average Japanese teenage girls are actually that thin.

It has also been brought to my attention that many Japanese girls have developed eating disorders such as anorexia. That's is why they are so thin.

But see, I'm not so sure about all of this. Have many Japaneses teenagers developed eating disorders? Or are they naturally that thin? How many of those pictures on the internet are of regular people?

If it is just their lifestyle, about how many calories and what do they consume in a day? I was, and still am, consuming about 700 to 1000 calories a day. Does this even classify as an eating disorder?

[WhoIsDaffy]

Japanese people are thinner.

if you look at Japanese-US dress size charts for example

a USA small is a JPN Medium,

Please remember that it is not about size/wieght that determens atractiveness in the primal parts of the male brain.

It is shape (think coca-cola)

most clothing will look better/sexier if you got some hips.

also if you want to loose weight/get fit

please remember its not about eating less, its about doing more

[TalnSG]

Originally Posted by TheDarkOne

Okay, now this is a genuine inquiry and concern. Please don't brush this off as some stupid question from an Otaku girl.

I have been dealing with anorexia for around 6 months now. I really didn't think I actually had the problem, I just thought I was being very healthy. I had begun to find myself addicted to looking at pictures on the internet and wished to look like some of these Japanese teenage models. Particularly the cosplayers. I began at 5' 1.5" weighing 98lbs, I got down to 75lbs. Well, I have recently began putting weight on, I'm not particularly sure why, but I'm now up to 87 and I feel fat again.

If it is just their lifestyle, about how many calories and what do they consume in a day? I was, and still am, consuming about 700 to 1000 calories a day. Does this even classify as an eating disorder?

It is not a stupid question, but I only left the critical part of your comment that you need to address above and beyond whatever questions you have about Japanese models in the media.

Yes, a diet restricted to less than 1000 calories daily, even if perfectly balanced (which I seriously doubt) is insufficient for someone 5 ft tall or more, unless you are permanently bedridden and have absolutely no mobility. And at 700 you are losing muscle mass that if continued long enough could put you in exactly that condition, along with nasty other complications - none the least of which is hair loss.

I am not a doctor, but I am very familiar with this because until I was about 14 I was put on a high calorie diet because I was not maintaining a healthy weight. Then in high school my best friend's sister was hospitalized with a severe case of anorexia. It was a fairly new field of study back then, without all the research on the psychological aspects of it. But over about 3 years we watched her go through everything from force feeding to shock therapy while wasting away until she died of malnutrition.

So, if you are not already under doctors care, I suggest you see one. If you already are, pay attention to what you are being instructed to do. And personally, I would add that you should replace those picture with ones of real people, not fashion models who are notorius for extreme measures to look as thin as possible in their photos.

[Tenchu]

You should be aiming for something like this:



You cannot see their ribs; that's important. There's some tiny little bit of fat there (it's healthy), but of course still a perfect figure.

If your bones are showing and you've no body fat, you're not healthy.

[TheDarkOne]

But the thing is, I seem to look fine. You can't really see my ribs at all. When I stretch yeah, but that's it.

[darksyndrem]

Well, if you're active, about 2000 calories a day is normal (according to American common sense), so I would guess that if you're not active at all 1000 isn't really a disorder. If you're feeling fat at 87 lbs, it could turn into an eating disorder. Just keep in mind that if you want to not be fat, and be healthy/fit, be active and gradually eat better (more food, but keep making sure it's good food). With that, you should be fine imo.

If you can't see your ribs, you're probably fine. You should post an appropriate picture to try and show how small you are, 87lb at your size might be a lot healthier than it sounds.

[TheDarkOne]

That's a good idea. So, this is me, well, most of me. I'm standing with me feet together.

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Am I too thin?

[IamKira]

there is no line determining "too thin"..
no rational guy wants a thin girl.. eat some meat, build up some muscle..
I want a girl who I know will have a high probability of survival... the skinny ones always die first in the wild

[TheDarkOne]

There are many guys I've encountered who are very critical of the weight of girls.

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by TheDarkOne

There are many guys I've encountered who are very critical of the weight of girls.

Then they aren't worth paying attention to. What's important is that you're healthy and the size you're supposed to be based on your height and body frame (bone structure, like how a big-boned person would probably look too skinny if losing a certain amount of weight). If those guys like girls the size of broomsticks and your body isn't meant to be the size of one, then they aren't worth it. There's a healthy skinny and an unhealthy skinny. There are people who are naturally that small.

That aside, women are supposed to have a bit of fat on them, since we were built (can't think of a better way to say it) to have babies.