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Last updated on September 1st, 2024 at 09:07 pm
Can Dieting Make You Anorexic?
Dieting is the number one behavior associated with developing of an eating disorder. Dieting contributes to a drive for thinness, an insatiable pursuit that last a lifetime.
So- does dieting make someone anorexic?
In short the answer is no. Dieting will not cause someone to be anorexic. Not in isolation at least. But it is certainly one of the warning signs of an eating disorder.
Many people will diet at some point in their lives. Most people will not develop anorexia as a result of occasional dieting. However, dieting is a HUGE risk factor for developing anorexia.
Extreme dieting tends to increase risks for anorexia. Extreme dieting might include:
- Extremely low-calorie dieting (think HCG diet)
- Diets that eliminate entire macronutrient groups such as the keto diet
- Intermittent fasting that includes a long duration fast
- Extreme veganism
- Extreme raw diets or clean eating
The more restrictive the diet, the greater likelihood it could trigger symptoms associated with anorexia.
Other risk factors for anorexia include genetics, other psychiatric conditions, a history or trauma or sexual abuse, perfectionist mindset, developmental issues and other social determanants of health.
Dieting might best be described as often that “one last push” to send someone into behaviors or anorexia nervosa.
Dieting Risks
Dieting can be a gateway into behaviors associated with anorexia nervosa.
As we begin to diet we will notice:
- An increase in food rules and fear foods
- Feeling guilty after eating
- Increased awareness of perceived body flaws and body checking
- Increased food or calorie restriction
- Increased binge eating resulting from a binge restrict cycle
- Fixation on exercise to shrink the body
- Increase in eating disorder voice or negative self talk
- Extreme hunger
- Fear of gaining weight
You might be obsessing over food as a way to feel in control in your life. Many of us think if we simply “fix our bodies” by following a certain set of rules, we’ll eliminate problems in many areas of our lives.
You might notice yourself thinking about food 80% or more of your day. This might be a key indicator that dieting and obsessing over food is transitioning into anorexia or another type of eating disorder.
Pro Ana Weight Loss Diets
One particular dangerous and sometimes downright deadly cultural affiliation is identifying with something called pro ana.
Pro ana affiliation allows someone to create an alter ego (think a girl named ana) for their disordered eating patterns to thrive on. The ego is seemingly friendly and inviting. This can be appealing for someone struggling with an eating disorder looking for community.
Pro Ana weight loss diets are harmful at best and potentially deadly at worst.
Pro ana weight loss is designed to:
- Facilitate rapid and extreme weight loss
- Utilize extreme restriction practices
- Excessive food rules
- Potentially advocates for the use of purging through pro ana workouts or other extreme exercises
- Purging through vomiting, or laxative use
- Potentially offers up ways to conceal harmful behaviors from loved ones or friends
- Create a network through social media, websites, chat forums
Pro ana diets can quickly lead to symptoms such as female athlete triad in athletes that are women and disordered eating patterns.
The community that the pro ana movement offers is the greatest danger. We find a space where food shamers and those with disordered eating are encouraged to engage in toxic eating disorder practices.
In pro ana culture, those with eating disorders are reassured that their actions are justified.
These types of diets can have a drastic impact on hunger and fullness cues, and it can be difficult to get your hunger cues back after dieting.
The ABC Diet
The ABC diet is short for the Ana boot camp diet. Its core principles include:
- Extreme restriction for 50 days
- Emphasis on “metabolism shifts”
- Calorie intake of fewer than 800 calories a day (typically less than 500)
- Encourages zero or very low-calorie foods
- Rapid and extreme weight loss
After 50 days, those who participate in the ABC diet are supposed to resume a regular diet. Advocates for the diet claim that it is “healthy” as it kicks starts the metabolism into gear by altering how many calories are consumed each day.
The ABC diet is not healthy. It is an extreme weight loss regimen that actually utilizes many of the behaviors associated with anorexia nervosa to reduce body size.
Practicing behavior and psychological modifications from one day to the next that are correlated with anorexia nervosa will put you at an increased risk for developing anorexia nervosa.
It’s also important to note that adding in food after prolonged nutrition can have harmful if not fatel effects if not done properly.
Any refeeding following extreme restriction should follow a carefully constructed eating disorders meal plan specially created for each persons unique needs by an eating disorder dietitian.
Does Anorexia Include Weight Loss?
Anorexia nervosa can include weight loss. However, there are many cases of atypical anorexia where weight loss does not occur even with extreme restrictions.
Body weight should not be used to determine an anorexia diagnosis on its own. However, rapid weight loss and very low body weight should be examined for an anorexia diagnosis.
How Many Calories Consumed Is Considered Anorexia
There is not one specific number of calories that we see in anorexia. It is the complex relationship between calories, psychological factors, exercise and body image that will determine an anorexia diagnosis.
Calories are low enough to warrant concern for anorexia when:
- Calories fall significantly below the demand needed to carry out daily activities.
- Excessive exercise leads to an extreme calorie deficit
- Someone is actively engaged in binging and restricting
- You lose your period because of low energy intake
Calorie needs will vary greatly based on someone’s gender, exercise level, body weight and height.
Therefore, it would be impossible to determine an exact calorie number associated with anorexia. You can check out my anorexia story to see some of the more appropriate signs and symptoms to look for in anorexia.
What Do Anorexia And Dieting Have In Common
There are several things that anorexia and dieting have in common. This is why it is such as slippery soup when we start to see dieting behaviors shift into more disordered eating or anorexia.
Common behaviors in both anorexia and dieting include:
- Body dissatisfaction or body hatred
- Intense desire to shrink the body
- Fixation on food restriction
- Restriction of calories
- Restricted eating times
- In some cases intense exercise
- Feelings of failure when our diets don’t shrink the body
- Fixation on the scale.
- Fasting
- Binge eating
- Laxative or diuretic use
- Diet pill or diet pill addiction
- Skipping meals
- Self induced vomiting
Many of the warning signs of anorexia ARE glorified dieting behaviors. Many people will strive to attain thinness at all costs because they have a heightened awareness of the thin privilege which exists in western culture.
Again, dieting itself will not cause anorexia. However, it can cause an overall decrease in joy, body satisfaction, relationships, and quality of life.
I encourage everyone to ditch the diet and fill their cup to the fullest by nourishing their body and living the lives they truly desire.
Most diets will result in weight loss rebound including a weight that is higher than the starting weight. This can increase restrictive behavior and lead to potential eating disorders.
Are There Ways To Diet And Not Increase Risk For Anorexia?
In short, no. Dieting sucks and is sometimes downright dangerous. You cannot eliminate the correlation between anorexia and dieting by simply selecting the “right diet.”
Since all diets are fixated on creating energy depletion, restricting foods, and changing the body, we can’t engage in dieting without the potential to trigger an eating disorder.
There are some much better ways to change our relationship with food and our bodies that do not involve dieting. These include:
- Following your own Intuitive eating journey
- Practicing joyful movement rather than exercise to reduce body size
- Examine our own fatphobic beliefs and challenge them
- Detach your self-esteem from beauty compliments
- Stop body checking and build a relationship of trust with our bodies.
- Practice gentle nutrition in place of restrictive diets
I encourage you to really consider your relationship with your body and food before diving into the next dieting craze.
Check out this food freedom quiz to see where your relationship with food is right now.
When you see someone engaging heavily in dieting behaviors, ask them about their relationship with food. If you’re not sure what to say to someone with an eating disorder, ask an expert for support.
- Help, I Feel Like I Don’t Deserve To Eat - September 7, 2024
- 8 Reasons Food is More Than Fuel - September 5, 2024
- Intuitive Eating For Eating Disorders: What You Should Know - September 3, 2024