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Undereating: Why it’s a bad idea
Losing weight and being skinny are often made out to be two of the best things you can do for yourself, but undereating and being underweight is actually a really bad idea. When we undereat, especially in times of growth and change (like puberty), we run the risk of slowing or stunting our development.
Signs you aren’t eating enough:
- you often delay eating, even though you’re hungry
- you eat as little and as slowly as possible, all the time
- you feel over-full after eating only small amounts
The percentage of body fat us girls are designed to carry increases as we turn into women. Doesn’t mean we should ditch healthy eating and exercise habits, but trying to maintain the body composition of a young girl when your body’s doing all it can to move into womanhood is mentally and physically exhausting and can have devastating effects on your health that are hard to reverse.
Did you know? During puberty girls experience one of the biggest increases in their height and weight.
Even though there’s a lot of pressure out there to lose weight and be skinny, undereating and being underweight can lead to:
*disordered eating and eating disorders
*slowed metabolism (calories are used at a slower rate, can lead to weight gain)
*kidney and heart problems
*constipation and tummy issues
*Amenorrhea (stop getting your period!) and fertility issues
*disturbed sleeping patterns
*immune deficiencies
*loss of bone mass, which can lead to osteoporosis
*risk of hypothermia (cold all the time!) and bad circulation
*thyroid malfunction
*hair loss/increased body hair
*substance abuse (drugs, alcohol etc.) to keep weight down and/or deal with associated psychological issues
Ok that’s a long - and somewhat scary - list! While it’s true a lot of these health issues only develop in extreme cases, more and more girls are going to extremes to keep their weight low than ever before. As someone who’s struggled with anorexia in the past, and had to deal firsthand with a number of the above effects - please trust me when I say this is an addiction you don’t want to flirt with!
For more on the psychological effects of undereating click here. Also, have a read of this article for more info on why dieting can do more harm than good.
Want to talk about it? EDEN are a great service that exist to help girls cope with eating disorders and body image issues. Call EDEN on 09 378 9039 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more info.
Article by Sarah Illingworth. Who is Sarah? Find out here and meet the rest of the 24/7 Girl team too. And don’t forget to check out Sarah’s blog here!
Check out more articles on eating well
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i need to start eating breakfast before school over the holiday i feel alot more healthier have more energy from eating breakfast Posted by iceream "on" 04/25 "at"02:11 PM |
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My eating has been a big problem in my life for at least 6 years. When I was around 13 my first ever boyfriend dumped me and told me it was because I was fat. I started only eating dinner and throwing away my lunches at school. I got really tired all the time and my grades started dropping, I started losing friends because I was just too tired to do things they wanted to do. and then to top it off I started getting bulimia. I was so convinced that I was fat and that it was because I had to eat dinner everyday, I only ate it so my parents would know and so I started throwing it up. It got to the point where my friends got so worried they told their parents who told my parents and it goes on from there. I then put on a shitload of weight because food tasted so good and balloned to 85kg over the course of about 2 years from just 50kg. I am finally down to 70kg, I still want to get down to 60kg but am trying to do it right this time. I still struggle, when I get really sad I stop eating and sometimes I still make myself be sick. It is a very, very hard cycle to break and 6 years on I am still struggling with it. Don’t let this sort of thing ruin your life like it has mine. Posted by suniasunshine "on" 04/21 "at"03:44 PM |
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I used to have a serious eating problem. I wouldn’t eat at all. The most I would eat in a day would be a few bites of a apple and maybe a musli bar if It was a good day. I’m already quite skinny but it causes me to lose even more weight! My clothes became too big for me. I couldn’t concentrate on anything at all. I got to the point where I couldn’t even tell or feel if I was hungry or not. I got lanugo (body hair) and still to this day i still have it. I actually couldn’t eat without feeling like being sick because not eating just became part of my daily life. I used to black out and almost fainted a number of times. My mother made me go to the doctor about my eating habits, then my doctor referred me to an eating counselor to help me get my body back to health. I never meant to stop eating, it was more of a mental and emotional thing that caused it. It’s taken me 7 months to start eating proper meals everyday. It was a hard journey, I still sometimes feel like skipping lunch but I know my body needs it and eating is a part of everyones daily lives, it’s healthy and it’s fuel to keep our bodies functioning. under eating is not worth it. young girls should be confident in their own bodies because everyone is beautiful in their own way and you can’t spend your whole life wishing you were something that you’re never going to be, or going to unhealthy extremes to change yourself. You are who you are, be happy with that. At the end of the day, all you have is who you are.  Posted by Jessicahh "on" 04/01 "at"09:30 PM |
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O and definitely worth setting a timer, to help remember to eat if your not a good eater. Posted by tessak "on" 08/09 "at"01:02 PM |
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Yes the adverts on TV dont lie…skip meals and its fuzzy brain for the rest of the day. Ima shocking eater and definitely need to improve as to when and what I eat. I think studying makes it harder to eat properly tho, as always stuck with head in books. Posted by tessak "on" 08/09 "at"01:01 PM |
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I used to miss breakfast nearly every school day. Now I wake up earlier to set aside time in the morning to eat breakfast. I totally understand now why it is such an important meal, The most important meal of the day!. It keeps me going in the morning and my brain active! Posted by Sugaax! "on" 08/08 "at"01:55 AM |
Best of the rest
