Health & Support

Ok, some backround? My best friend lives in Cali, the other side of the country from me... No way to get to her and smack her in the head. She's only 23, and not overweight at ALL - she just carries what she has in her stomach, and wants to change that. At first, she tried calorie counting, but only for about five days, none of which included working out - then, she just gave up. After seeing no results on the scale from that, her MOTHER recommended an eating plan that a bunch of people she knew had lost weight with - in a week, 4 days don't go over 1200 cals, and the other 3 don't go over 800. When I try to talk her out of it, she says that "nothing else I try works!" Ever since she started, she's been saying "Oh, my back hurts, my stomach hurts, I feel ill, I wonder why? Oh, it must be the smoke, from the fires!" I'm really worried that if she loses even one pound like this, it'll be the plan she sticks with. What should I do?

Are you sure she's got an eating disorder?  Sounds like she's just doing what a lot of young women do in desperation.... a fad crash diet.  (Her mother's not helping but you can be a silly cow at any age.... )  Chances are if your friend's got an ounce of commonsense she'll not put up with the stomach-ache and nausea for much longer and she'll go back to eating normally.  Self-preservation is a powerful thing.  If she does stick with it there's not a lot you can practically do.  People we love can do a lot of horrible things to themselves whether we approve or not. 

Keep telling your friend that she's lovely just the way she is and keep asking how she's feeling.  I think that's about as good as it gets.

I'm thinking its leading to that. And I know her... if she loses even one tiny pound, she'll take that as confirmation that she's doing everything right. I can only hope that starvation mode kicks in before she can weigh herself? Then, I know she'll give it up. I guess I'm just frustrated... thanks.

It's very likely she'll lose some weight by eating nothing for a week....   But it takes more than a few week of crash dieting to develop into an eating disorder.  You can't live friends' lives for them, however much you may want to.