If someone is very overweight could they not eat until they become a healthy weight and then stop or is this seen as anorexic?

Answer 1

I don't know if this would be anorexic. They would have to undergo the diagnosis for anorexia. Whilst it is possible for them to starve and lose weight, it would not be advisable. They would become very unhealthy and starved of essential nutrients and when they resumed eating normally again, their metabolism would be lowered and they may end up even more obese than when they started out. Much better to eat wisely and reduce fat intake. You can lose weight by not eating if you are overweight. Trust me, I did it. As for the idea of "are you anorexic" I can tell you that you have all the physical symptoms such as hair loss, cold intolerance, no concentration, but doctors usually won't diagnos you as anorexic. You don't meet the "15% underweight" statistic. They may realize something is up when you have started to lose too much weight. You can. You can not eat anything at all. You will be fine but you will feel tired, anxious, angry, depressed, irritable, cold, dizzy and maybe worthless. Your heart rate will drop, your head will ache, you will burn ketones instead of glucose and this will give your tongue a thick, nasty-tasting coating and your breath will smell of acetone (this comes from using ketones.) You will not feel hungry or thirsty after a while, although you will still need water. You may also have bouts of euphoria (feeling incredibly good.) You will not be able to do anything active, stand up quickly or take hot baths or showers and life is boring when there are no meals, snacks, coffee breaks, cocktail parties or gatherings in it. You will lose a pound or two a week and when you reach your target weight and begin eating again you may suffer from edema, nausea, cramping, diarrhea or constipation, metabolic problems and other nasties. A true fast is not to be undertaken without commitment, the resources to have lots of downtime and above all medical advice.