Overdoing Dieting: Get Thin, But Don’t Disappear!

Getting rid of excess weight is a valid goal. But obsessive dieting can lead to problems. These are neurotic disorders in which people (particularly-but not exclusively-young women) either starve themselves, as in anorexia nervosa, or binge and vomit, as in bulimia.

While these disorders are almost always found among females, there are less publicized cases of males who are victims. Male or female, most are adolescents. They are often high achievers in school but have extremely low self-esteem. They are perfectionists and, for all the starving they do, they obsessed with food. These people have no real image of their actual weight. They can have dieted down to skeletons and still believe they are “fat”.

The media does not help. The models they display for us in so many of those television and fashion magazines are reed thin. Small wonder that some young people grow up trying to imitate them. A model life may seem glamorous, but too many successful models starve themselves to maintain their sleek look.

Once you reach your goal, enjoy it. Don’t overreach. Don’t try to discard those “extra few pounds” that will enable you to eat and not worry about gaining too much weight back.
Overreaching sets unrealistic goals that you won’t be able to maintain. Your body will let you know when you have reached your natural weight. If you find you are starving yourself, not eating one day a week, or skipping meals on a regular basis to maintain your goal weight, you have chose an unrealistic goal.

Not only is it virtually impossible to maintain an artificially low weight, it doesn’t even pay. You’ll become a cranky person, always resisting eating for the twisted pleased of losing those extra pounds that your body may need.