To read the reasons behind why I'm writing this, please read my article called Thinspiration.

1. You will be FAT if you eat today. Just put it off one more day. - (The following response is written assuming that you will eat tomorrow... since you are only putting off eating "one more day.") Why will you be fat if you eat TODAY rather than tomorrow?  Let's take a look at science.  If you postpone eating for a day, your body will actually go into survival mode... and the next time you eat, your metabolism will be much lower and your body will hold onto the fat and the calories that it would normally burn.  So technically, if you don't eat today, you're going to get fatter when you eat tomorrow.  If you eat around six small meals throughout the day each day, you will actually be causing your metabolism to speed up and you will burn more that way.  Don't believe me?  Here's an article for you to read. 

2. You don't NEED food. - This actually made me laugh out loud, even though I probably shouldn't have.  You don't need food?  Seriously?  Wow, in that case, those 35,000+ people who die every day from malnutrition need someone to tell them this.  Don't believe me?  Here's another article.

3. Fat people can't fit everywhere. - This is very true.  But the only "fat" people who can't fit somewhere are those who are morbidly obese... as in hundreds and hundreds of pounds.  If you go to the doctor and he/she tells you that you are morbidly obese, then yes, I would recommend that you lose some weight.  In a healthy manner.  With a nice diet (not an eating disorder) and exercise, all monitored by a health expert. 

4. Guys will be able to pick you up without struggling. - Do you really want a guy to be able to pick you up without struggling?  Do you realize what this means?  You're walking down a dark, abandoned alley.  A man comes and picks you up and puts you into his car and rapes and kills you... without struggling.  Believe me, sister.  You want a guy to have to struggle a little.

5. You'll be able to run faster without all that extra weight holding you back. - In order to be able to run fast, you need to have muscle.  If you don't eat, you will lose that muscle.  That means that you will not be able to run fast.  Also, lack of nutrition will make you feel dizzy and weak, so you really won't be able to run fast.  And finally, muscle weighs more than fat... so there will be weight on you when you run. 

Okay, that's it for today!  Check back on Saturday for five more reasons why you should eat. 
 

The other day I came across a website that was supposed to be an encouragement for girls who are anorexic... but not an encouragement to help them turn their lives back towards normalcy.  No, this was a website that was pro-ana, or pro-anorexic... meaning that it offered support and encouragement for girls who wished to continue their anorexia.

This kind of thing honestly makes me a little angry.  I've seen kids both in my city and across the world who are malnourished and who do not have enough to eat.  They are starving and dying against their wills.  They want food.  And then I see girls who have food... and they refuse to eat it. 

If you have or have struggled with an eating disorder, please don't think I dislike you or misunderstand you or am angry at you.  I do realize that this is a disorder that stems from issues of emotional and mental health.  I empathize with girls who struggle with eating disorders.  I understand that this is something difficult to control and to overcome, and it is not something that many girls plan or want to have. 

It's not the struggling girl who makes me angry- it's websites like these that hurt girls that upsets me so much. 

I came across a list on this pro-ana website that literally made me feel sick.  It was called 40 Reasons Not to Eat and it gave forty "legitimate" reasons to help encourage anorexic girls to not eat when they're tempted. 

How can this help anything?  It makes me want to cry.  It makes me want to scream. 

It makes me want to write my own solution... called 40 Reasons to Eat.

So every other day for the next few days, I'll be posting five of the reasons not to eat listed in this article... and five reasons of my own to contradict this list. 

If you're anorexic, perhaps this can help to encourage you in the right way.  If you have a loved one who is struggling with an eating disorder, perhaps this can help you see their morphed perspective and be able to encourage them to stay strong and withstand temptations to not eat. 

So keep on the look out.  The first five reasons to eat should be posted on Thursday. :)