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Starvation
Weight Loss
Being
young has its advantages. When you are young, you are invincible,
beautiful, smart, and the world is your oyster. Just take a look
on television on music videos, fashion magazines, and the latest
movies and they are filled with young beautiful people. Being
overweight is looked upon by society as being negative. Children
as young as 12 are all interested in looking as thin as possible
to fulfill perceived social norms that society has created as
been thin, young, and beautiful are highly desirable. Starvation
weight loss methods have become popular ways to acquire a small
waist and to obtain a physique similar to the male and female
models on the runaway in Paris France.
Support for people using starvation weight loss methods can be
found on the Internet. These sites have been called pro-ana (pro
anorexia) or pro-mia (pro bulimia) sites. Anorexia is an eating
disorder which causes an individual to become underweight by not
eating enough daily food intake to sustain a balanced height-to-weight
ratio. Bulimia is an eating disorder in which an individual eats
unusually large amounts of food and then "purges" or
regurgitates the food in an attempt to rid themselves of the calories
eaten. These disorders can be destructive and at their worst,
can result in death when a solution cannot be found to stop the
habit. Side effects of these diseases include a slow heart rate,
loss of muscle mass, thickened nails, hair loss, loss of menstrual
periods, loss of breast fat, and erosion of the esophagus lining
from stomach acid.
Starvation as a means of weight loss has never been a viable solution.
The body itself lowers its metabolism in order to retain its remaining
fat stores and creates a situation in the body that it seeks to
retain any calories it can to survive. To an anorexic, gaining
weight is a frustrating situation, but with the lowering of the
metabolism by starvation, it is easy for the body to gain weight
quickly even on a lowered calorie diet because the set point of
the body has been disturbed by starvation mode. The body eventually
gives up after long periods of starvation and continues to lose
weight, but at the expense of the dieter with side effects of
lethargy, kidney damage, muscle wasting, and overall deterioration
of the body system.
The best way to lose weight is to use a diet that is rich in fresh
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats such as olive
oil. Using starvation weight loss methods are not a healthy way
to shed the pounds.
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