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Looks like the question “How to become anorexic?” has become the favorite question among people these days. Many people have this idea of a “perfect body” and, therefore, ask, “how to become anorexic?”
Let’s debunk this question and get into how to become anorexic. Just to be clear, we are in no way advocating for you to become anorexic as it is a mental disorder. However, if you still want to learn more about how to become anorexic, then we can share some ways in which you can become anorexic but don’t let yourself become a case of severe anorexia.
Before getting into ways to become anorexic, we will discuss anorexia and learn about its causes and symptoms.
What Is Anorexia?
A person suffering from Anorexia Nervosa starts to find their body shape, weight, and caloric intake revolting where they would even consider starving themselves.
As a result, they tend to relate their self-worth to the ability to lose weight. This leads them to consume very few calories causing them to starve. Even when they are starving and malnourished, they tend to consider themselves fat and want to lose more weight.
In some cases, anorexic people do get hospitalized, and still, they don’t think that they actually have a problem.
Anorexia can be divided into two types.
The first type is Bulimia Nervosa, where the patient overeats but then throws up the food to avoid gaining weight. The second type is Anorexia Nervosa, where a person restricts their diet to such a low level that they become malnourished.
What Do Anorexics Eat?
Well, they try to eat nothing, but if they do eat, then whatever they eat, they will make sure their caloric intake doesn’t go above 600 or 700 calories. So instead of “What do anorexics eat?” we should ask ourselves, “Do anorexics eat something?”
Causes Of Anorexia
Different psychological, biological, and social factors combine together to result in anorexia. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint what can be a single cause of anorexia.
However, Genetics do play a significant factor in developing anorexia. Along with Genetics, there are also other factors like psychological or even mental that can also contribute to developing this condition.
Modern society has laid emphasis on thin people, cultural factors can also influence the mental state of a person leading them to start a very strict diet plan which may, eventually, result in them developing Anorexia Nervosa.
Studies have shown that teenagers and especially females are more likely to develop this condition. They develop anorexia mostly during their Puberty, a time during which many hormones are kicking in which can affect their minds.
Anorexia Side Effects And Complications
Although it is more appropriate to put only complications here some people do want to treat anorexia simply as a way to lose weight then these complications may as well be called ‘anorexia side effects.’
Anorexia may also lead to death in worse cases. If we consider how many calories do anorexics eat, then we may also think about how can an anorexic survive? This outcome is not too common but still possible.
Death can be due to the lower levels of electrolytes in the body, such as calcium and sodium required to keep our body in a healthy state. Abnormal heart rhythm can also lead to death from a cardiac arrest.
Here are some of the other complications one can have from the different anorexia side effects:
- Bone loss
- Anemia
- Long periods without menstruation in Females
- Reduced Testosterone in Males
- Muscle Loss
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Kidney Failure
- Depression and other mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Alcohol drinking and drugs abuse
- Suicidal thoughts, leading to suicide attempts
If you still want to learn about how to become anorexic, then keep on reading.
How To Become Anorexic?
Due to about 20% of children being obese, many teenagers are actively asking, ‘how to become anorexic?’ as they simply want to be skinny and look cool, as often portrayed in the media. Let’s find out how to become anorexic.
First, you need to trick your brain into believing that you have a greater caloric intake than what you actually need. The formula for this is to simply force yourself into a habit of eating very little. Once this habit develops, you won’t have to put in much effort. This habit may eventually have you end up at a hospital, but you need to show some persistence!
Second, you need to figure out a diet plan for yourself. Here you may ask yourself, “what do anorexics eat?” or “how many calories do anorexics eat?” or maybe “What is the secret anorexic diet?” Well, there is no such thing as the secret anorexic diet but simply eating very few calories, you will sooner or later be following the so-called ‘the secret anorexic diet.’
However, if you insist on going ahead with this plan, then do consult a specialist and make sure your diet, although not sufficient, shall still be carrying the essential nutrients to avoid organ damage. It is not too difficult to come up with a diet plan, but the main thing is to follow it.
Here you need an immense amount of willpower. Hopefully, you don’t have that! The last piece of diet advice is to not skip your breakfast and eat your dinner a few hours prior to sleeping
Thirdly, keep yourself hydrated. Whenever you feel hungry, drink two or three glasses of water. Remaining hydrated will also allow your body to cope with the stress.
Lastly, you need to have a ton of motivation to be able to achieve this crazy goal. Hunger is natural to humans, and when you work against your nature, it is very difficult to keep on going without immense willpower.
Can you eat a healthy diet and still become an anorexic? The answer is yes; you can eat a healthy diet in small portions and increase your physical activity significantly. And for the question “how many calories do anorexics eat?” The answer is simply to eat very low and in the range of 500 – 1000 calories depending on your BMI (Body Mass Index).
Tips On How To Become Anorexic Fast
- Following Five bites diet: this dietary plan makes you skip breakfast and eat only at lunch and dinner. You are required to drink black coffee at breakfast and not to eat anything. You have to take only five bites per meal and chew those bites a lot and eat them slowly. As a result, your appetite goes away faster, and you intake fewer calories.
- Follow Boot Camp diet: This involves eliminating all carbohydrates in your diet, excluding fruits and vegetables, for almost two weeks. This will significantly reduce your caloric intake and may even prove to be dangerous. Therefore, we recommend you consult a dietitian before starting this. You may as well eat supplements to compensate for the loss of essential nutrients due to caloric loss. Keep in mind, this diet can reduce your metabolism a lot, and when you are coming out of this diet, you may have to face a lot of problems.
- Eating Baby food: Baby food will reduce your metabolism, and it is also quite low on calories. Therefore, you can replace one or two meals with baby food for fast results. However, you need to be careful that at least one meal is normal food so that your digestive system keeps working. Eating baby food in small portions along with some physical exercise can help you to become anorexic fast.
Hopefully, I have answered the question of how to become anorexic.
Now, what may happen once you become anorexic, and you may need treatment as you may be suffering from anorexic side effects?
So let’s shift from “How to become anorexic?” to “How to cure anorexia?”
Treatment For Anorexia
Treating anorexia nervosa usually involves multiple ways to cure the illness. The patient may require Psychological therapy along with a special weight gain plan for safely gaining weight back. Just at the start, you may have found losing weight too difficult, now you are most likely to find out that gaining weight just became too difficult as well.
You may need to call for a team consisting of specialists of Psychology and Dietitians to plan for you a workable approach by taking into consideration your physical, psychological, and social needs during the whole process. You are most likely to be treated as an outpatient in hospitals. However, most of the time, anorexics do get admitted into the hospital several times before they decide to cure themselves.
It is very important to treat this condition early on because any delay may result in serious organ damage. Patients suffering from anorexia also require significant social care from their families.
How To Help An Anorexic Person?
First and foremost, if someone in your social circle is having thoughts about their body shape, which may lead them to become anorexic then you should surely reach them out for support and let them know that their current body shape is perfect and they do not need to go to such extreme measure to lose weight.
Secondly, you need to understand anorexia meaning, it is a mental illness. If someone comes up with a different meaning, you need to make them understand the meaning of anorexia because they may be having a positive image of this condition. Therefore, it can be helpful for patients to understand the anorexia meaning as they may not treat their condition as a mental illness.
Make sure that you approach an anorexia patient in a non-judgemental way as such patients are also suffering from other psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Recovering from anorexia is a difficult task, and your support may help someone in their journey to recovery, so always think that your effort does count even when the person suffering doesn’t think that way.
Frequently Asked Questions – How To Become Anorexic
1. What causes Anorexia Nervosa?
Most of the time, it involves a collage of different biological, psychological, cultural, personality, and social factors that lead to someone developing Anorexia Nervosa. Therefore, there is no singular factor that can be said to cause anorexia nervosa.
2. What are the side effects and complications of being anorexic?
Complications involving anorexia are several. At extreme, these may lead to death. Death can be due to an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, such as calcium and sodium required to keep our body in a healthy state. Abnormal heart rhythm can also lead to death due to maybe cardiac arrest.
3. How to become anorexic?
- Trick your brain into believing you are fat.
- Create a Diet Plan
- Keep yourself hydrated
- Simply Follow the Plan
4. Is it dangerous to become anorexic?
Yes, it is very much dangerous, and you are directly putting your whole life into jeopardy. We don’t recommend you to become anorexic. Instead, you can simply reduce your diet by a small amount of 200 to 300 calories and increase your physical activity, and you will surely achieve your ideal body shape. This condition will also affect your social life. You won’t be able to go to sleep on time; your brain activity will be significantly reduced due to low energy, and this will, eventually, result in you not being able to work properly at your job or perform well in academics.
If you have read the complete article, then you can surely realize that the cons of being an anorexic surely outweigh the pros. Therefore, we hope that you will never ask “How to become anorexic?” again. And if someone in your social circle asks you, “How to become anorexic?” then simply explain to them the damages that they can incur in the process of becoming an anorexic. Next time, you should better ask “How to lose weight?” instead of asking “How to become anorexic?” because you can surely lose weight and healthily achieve a good body shape, but you cannot become anorexic while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
