Continued from How to Get Skinny: The Thin Girl.
There are some classic warning signs that a dieter is spiraling out of control.
When food and dieting take over a personâ¿¿s life, where they are obsessing on certain body parts, have dipped below their goal weight and are afraid to eat normally because theyâ¿¿re phobic about regaining the weight, they could be on the way to developing an eating disorder.
While anorexia nervosa and bulimia are the most serious eating disorders, dieters can also develop disordered eating. A person suffering from disordered eating is obsessed with their caloric consumption.
â¿¿Theyâ¿¿re very weight-focused and always talking and thinking about what theyâ¿¿re eating and what theyâ¿¿re not eating,â¿¿ Woods explains. â¿¿Itâ¿¿s all-consuming in their head. Theyâ¿¿re always thinking about how they need to change their body.â¿¿
Other red flags that a diet is out-of-control are when a person begins to withdraw from activities and people, and becomes very rigid in their routines relating to food and exercise.
Calorie-deprived individuals may find themselves feeling fuzzy and irritable because the brain needs food to operate well, or may feel bloated when they eat because intestinal absorption is slowed as the body tries to hang onto every calorie itâ¿¿s receiving.
â¿¿Dieting is the biggest risk factor to developing a serious eating disorder,â¿¿ says Brandt. He advises that anyone trying to lose weight do so with the support of a doctor or nutritionist.
If you or someone you care about is underweight or on a constant diet, the first step is to have a doctor evaluate nutritional intake, current weight, bone density and family history.
While being slightly underweight doesnâ¿¿t concern physicians as much as being overweight, it is important for a thin person to be sure that theyâ¿¿re eating healthy and not sacrificing their health to meet an idolized version of beauty.