Ana Coaches

It seems the internet has created a new reason for people to hate Pro Ana. The Ana Coach. 

He is a mystical being that magically gives you all the control you've ever wanted, you've finally found the real secret to skinny. Just send him nudes daily and he'll make all your fat disappear. 

Fat chance.

It's an issue which has come to my attention through my kik groups. Girls searching for a 'coach' to keep them in check and tell them how to not eat and not be forced to eat. I know this fad began with Starving in Suburbia, but it's getting worse all the time. There are a few big flaws in the idea of having someone to coach you.

In "mutual coaching" where both participants want to be coached by the other, it often becomes a sync'd cycle of bingeing and starving. Neither person has the control to keep the other in check. This is your normal buddy situation and is relatively harmless. 

The dangerous situation is, more often than not, men. I'm not a man hater, but they pose the biggest risk in terms of being a coach. Body checks are very close to provocative. One step further, they may ask for nude photos. Most of the girls who are looking for a coach are minors, making it child pornography. On the other side, even if they are trying to help you lose weight, the coaches I've met have little respect for health. There is a rare gem in the dirt, but it's mostly dirt. 

My advice to those who are looking for a coach is to start by being honest with yourself. No one can control you through the internet. No one can make you lose weight other than yourself. Don't put yourself at risk to predators because you think they can make you skinny or give you an eating disorder. It will never be worth it. If you can't do it on your own, why are you trying?

Hello 2017

Every New Year, pro ana sites have an insane influx of resolutioners looking for quick tips to lose weight. It's not your fault, everyone has goals and everyone takes a hit to the self esteem when they realize its a new year and they're stuck in the same old body. That being said, developing an eating disorder should not be on anyone's list of resolutions. Before you hope onto myproana.com and start asking around for an Ana Couch, learn a little about what you want and how to get there.

Most people want to be the type of "thin" that they see plastered across instagram's fitness or fitspo blogs; aka nice ass, tiny waist, perky little boobs and a thigh gap. I'm not going to declare this as the vision of beauty, but it is for many teens and young adults who find their way to pro ana blogs. This goal is a good one, but not an easily achievable one. This is not the body which is acheived by starvation diets. If you wish for such a body, here are my tips:
1) Get a book on nutrition, preferably one written by a doctor or someone with a degree in health sciences. Educate yourself on portions, macros, the process of digestion and what food really does to your body.
2) Begin an exercise regime. You don't need to buy a gym membership or exercise equipment or train for a marathon, but exercise is what shapes the body with weight loss. Exercise gives you the right kind of curves, as well as improving your physical and mental health.
3) Leave this blog once you've learned what you could. This, and other pro ana or ED related sites are not a healthy mind space. They will bring your self-esteem down, give you bad ideas, and there is always the risk of setting off disordered eating. You won't become anorexic by looking at them, and that should not be your goal.
4) Start developing happy, healthy habits. Walking instead of driving when you can, choosing more nutritious foods over what you like, and being positive about your body and mind are good ways to start. If you aren't happy now, losing weight alone WILL NOT MAKE YOU HAPPY. Happiness is a skill. Happiness is a full time responsibility. Thin ≠ Happy. Healthy=Happy.


If you are not part of this fad of New Years resolutions and lazy people who don't want to work for their body, you've probably been experiencing some major annoyances. Sweaty people on your gym equipment, longer lines at health food stores, a short stock of diet pills, etc. You're probably about half way done shedding your holiday pounds though, because you've really only gained a quarter of what everyone else does. Or you're attempting to quit purging or laxatives. Or you have some sort of "No More Bullshit" resolution because this isn't your first rodeo, but it won't be your last.

So Hello 2017. Scream it to the world. Yell it to your scale, your notebooks, your pill bottles, your binge foods. It's a new year! It won't be new for long. Every 7 years the body has completely rebuilt itself, replaced every live cell. If you're still in the same habits of 2010, you've got a long ways to go. Everything can change. Everyone can change themselves, their routines, their bodies. It starts with a single decision.

How much weight can you expect to lose from a diet?

I see it quite often, people start a diet expecting it will make them lose a lot of weight, they don't see the results they want, and they give up or end up binge eating.
Learning how to be realistic about how much you can lose and whether or not you'll be able to stay on track for a diet is very important.
First off, you should never try to reduce to less than 50% of your average intake overnight. It takes time to adjust, and this is the most common cause of bingeing. If you've been overeating recently, don't restrict to less than 1000 calories. Once you can manage that limit, you can try reducing it again.
Next, expect to lose water weight over the first days of a diet, but don't expect that rate of weight loss to continue during the whole diet. After the first 5 days or so, weight loss will likely slow to 0.5lbs-0.75lbs. This is normal, and may fluctuate through out a diet, don't give up or try to reduce your intake just because your weight loss had slowed.
Exercise. It's not always necessary to exercise, and often times diets are too low to have enough energy to work out. If you choose to start working out when you start your diet, it will make the weight loss slower at the beginning. Your body has to build muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. After you've built up enough that you can exercise continuously without your legs/arms giving out, it will remain around the same level until you increase the intensity. You may experience weight gain because your body stores water to repair your muscles. If you're sore and you've gained weight, its safe to assume your holding water weight. It will go away as the soreness does. 

Exercise isn't about burning calories. Your own Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) burns over 1000 calories everyday, just by staying alive. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is close to 2000 if you leave your house everyday. This is where the bulk of weight loss is from. The purpose of exercise is to shape your body as you lose weight. Toning is what makes models look the way they do. It's up to you whether you exercise and it depends on what your goal is. 

If you decide to start an exercise regime, I recommend finding 5-10 Youtube videos which are within your ability range and alternating them. Make sure you have a variety, doing the same workout everyday will only help what it works on. There's no shortage of variety on the internet and all it takes is a few google searches. Calisthenics (sit ups, push ups, squats, etc) are minimal in effect and benefit. Look for things that get your whole body involved. Be creative and make up your own exercises. Find things that challenge you, but not so difficult that it's intimidating. Cardio burns the most calories and builds endurance, so it's a good thing to do, but don't get caught up in trying to burn off your whole intake. 

Learn about the body and how it works. Digestion and nutrition, but also how foods affect your emotionally and mentally. Knowledge is power. Knowledge about your body gives you the power to change it. 

Finally... stay calm! Stress is the number one trigger for overeating. Even if you don't do as well as you hoped for a day or two, it's not the end of the world, and it won't undo all of your progress. You will not store calories as fat unless it's above what you've expended. Also, remember that calories are not stored as fat until at least 12 hours after they were consumed. Food waste which is still in your body is what causes weight to spike the day after a binge. Bingeing because of weight gain is the most counterproductive thing to do. Just take it day by day and you'll get where you want to go.

Tumbling Through the Years

This month makes the 6 year anniversary of creating this blog. That also makes 9 years of disordered behavior. I've had my eating disorder for half of my life. I'm not sure how that makes me feel but saying it like this is a shocker. It's been my personal drama, my secret, my other half for so long. When something has grown with your personality, been the core of your life, been the only thing that you can hold on to for comfort during the years where you must learn to cope as an adult, how can someone expect me to tear it out of my life? This is why everyone has "given up" at trying to make me eat or recover. I can't separate myself from my so-called illness. It's my life, it always has been.

Summer Madness => Exercise!

This summer, like every summer, I know I'm going to gain weight. We all always do. Being at home with nothing to do, or going on vacations where there's tons of food all around all the time, most people end up adding a few extra pounds before going back to school. We always want to get skinny for summer swimsuits or to show up to the new school year looking better than the last time people saw you, but it's harder to lose weight during the summer than during the school year unless you get the jump on losing weight before vacation even begins.

Knowing that I'm likely to gain weight, I am going to try to make it muscle mass. Summer is the easiest time to exercise, I have no excuse of school work and I'm gonna be sweating regardless so why not make it count.

I am not an active person so I have rather little muscle to start with, so I am breaking it down into three parts. I am currently in the first phase, which is building up the major muscle groups to make more challenging exercises do able when I get there.
Phase One: basics
My current routine is 30 leg lifts (each side), 50 or 100 sit ups, and 15 squats. I plan to do this every day in May though I've already begun. I am going to add in punching the air vigorously for 30 seconds, that's my arms work out, and maybe start doing push ups when I am physically capable.
Phase Two: routines
Starting in June, I will begin doing YouTube videos of various types, probably blogilates and other simple work out videos. I would like to do one every day but I'll start with the minimum of three 15-minute videos every week. I might start sharing the videos I like here in a new post when I get there. They will all be beginner videos so the list I accumulate will likely be helpful to you.
Phase Three: training
For July, I will start running (yes, moving my feet quickly off the ground). I can't run. I just can't. My heart is weak, my lungs whine, I feel like I'm dying after about 15 steps. By July, I would like to have my stamina up that I'll be able to actually run, outside, and not feel like an idiot. I live on a hill, four times around the block I live on is one mile. My plan is to be able to begin running one mile without stopping in the first week of July, and build up from there.

I hope you'd like to gain some fitness over the summer also. Even if you still end up eating too much or gaining weight, you can always exercise. I know we all feel discouraged when we 'mess up' our eating for the day, but you can never mess up exercise, you just have to do it!

Different Methods of Restricting

There is no one common strategy to restricting, which varies within when you eat, how much you eat, how often you eat and what you count. There are also different patterns that work better for some people, and I will simply discuss the pros and cons of many of these.

Eating one big meal/once a day (intermittent fasting): This schedule is often used by those with a busy schedule which allows them to avoid being confronted by many food related decisions.
+ easy to stay within a low limit, allows you to fall asleep feeling somewhat full, 'normal' sized meals can be had with family or significant others
- requires 18-22 hours between meals, night binges

3-4 Mini meals/day: For those who are surrounded by food through the day, controlled meals to keep from binges.
+ variety, normal eating timing can continue, 'always eating' just small amounts
- one big meal could lead to disaster, constant temptation

Repeated fasting: Fasting 1-2 days, with 'break' days (limited or free calories). This system takes a lot of control but often leads to the binge-fast-binge cycle.
+ rapid weight loss, temporarily relieves binge stress
- requires a lot of control, easy to fail

Each of these systems can be used with different levels of intensity. Personally, I'd recommend the first two over the last, but all are effective.

Middle Ground

Something many people may not realize when they decide to pursue these choices, is that there is a middle ground. You do not have to restrict to 500 calories to see extreme weight loss, in fact there is little difference between 0 and 200, or 500 and 800, or 1000 and 1200. Your body is so variant, and it is always trying it's hardest to keep you alive, so much so that you are more prone to losing weight than you think, but that's only if you are being 100% honest with yourself at all times.
A large portion of people who diet 'forget' or 'let things slide' when they total their foods for the day, and this is the most common reason along side bingeing, that people don't reach their goals. It is helpful to keep a log with you at all times and note each food before you eat it. This can aid portion control.
Most of the people I know who reach a BMI under 15 do so on 1000-1600 calories per day. It's surprising, I know, but it just goes to show that metabolism and activity level play a much larger role in weight loss than your calorie limit. You don't need crazy restriction to achieve crazy weight loss. The most important elements are time, patience and consistency. Sure you can drop 20lbs in two months at 500 calories, but the next 5lbs won't budge.
Focus on planning your weight loss on a marker system instead of a time limit. While you may think that you've gotta get the weight off in time for some upcoming event, you have to live in your body for the rest of your life. The idea of maintaining a ridiculously low body weight for long periods of time is unrealistic. Consider planning to be in a weight range for a few months, then taking a break to let your body replenish it's self. Or even better, find a way to be happy at a safe, livable weight; one where you are comfortable with how you look, but also where you can live your life without being limited.
While you may think that being thin is the most important thing and you have to achieve it now, you shouldn't miss out on everything else going on in your life. You can be working towards losing weight as a background goal, but it should not take center stage.