s-olatium:

As quite a good few of you have seen, I had a general outline of common misconceptions and tips that are out there that other pro-ana blogs are trying preach when they’re not even legit. Since more has been brought to my attention and I do need to expand on a few of them, I figured why not come up with a secondary post? I’ll do my best in this to link references that are easy for everyone to understand since we’re all different ages, different levels of education, and different walks of life. Let’s be honest, an 8th grade student (generally age 14) will not have the same level of competence. 

1. Ice baths do not burn an insane amount of calories. Being cold actually SLOWS metabolism, you burn more calories in room or hotter temperatures. Ice baths can also be dangerous because it does lower your body’s natural core temperature. This can lead to blood clots, heart problems, and various other complications. 

2. Get comfortable with BMR and TDEE. If you eat under the calorie amounts listed once you calculate with your own numbers, you cannot physically gain weight. If you do, it’s water weight, food weight, or you have been restricting long enough that your metabolism has naturally slowed down. 

3. Ignore the 100 calories workouts. Why? Because you do not burn 100 calories. There are no universal workouts that burn the exact amount of calories for everyone. Someone who is 300 pounds burns twice the amount someone who’s 150 pounds. And honestly, the only person who burns 100 calories on those plans are people who are over 300 pounds. Even then it’s iffy. Just don’t fall for it. 

4. Hydration. Is. Key. Just upping your water intake to the levels your body needs will be enough to help jump start weightloss. It regulates the water your body needs, help’s you get rid of excess water weight, plus it helps your body maintain a majority of it’s natural processes. It can take only 3 days to die without consuming water, don’t risk it. 

5. Don’t bother with lax or diet pills. Lax will dehydrate you and only force you to lose extra water and waste weight. Diet pills have insane amounts of caffeine. Your best bet is to use cayenne pepper extract  and vitamin b complex which naturally do what diet pills are marketed to do. Not to mention, just google diet pill side effects. 

6. After the release of To The Bone, people started spreading chew/spit like WILDFIRE. It’s not a good alternative. The moment you smell food your body starts the digestive process. Now most of the time this isn’t a big deal. However, once you chew food, your stomach is producing stomach acid. Without food for your stomach to digest, you will have acid build up cause acid reflux, stomach ulcers, nausea, and various other problems. 

7. In terms of eating disorders, fasting is never a good option. While fasting can be healthy for someone who is healthy, chances are if you’re restricting your body is already battling to maintain it’s life. Our bodies are not designed to have low intakes all the time. Consult a physician before you fast. 

8. In every health case, avoid fast food. Not only is the food insanely unhealthy for you (there are healthier options at most chains if you ever need to eat out at one) but the FDA actually allows a lot of these chains to lie about their calorie count by 20%. Most food companies can do it anyways, but fast food is the most guilty.  Supersize Me actually did expand on this so watching that will give you a bit more information. 

9. Do not fast when you need to operate a vehicle or any other machine. End your fast if you feel a burning sensation in your stomach or develop acid reflux. 

10. A good 90% of the pro-ana tips being spread are complete BS. While some people may find them helpful, the reality is most don’t. You will find what works for you naturally. 

11. The more you restrict or fast the smaller your stomach/intestines shrink. It may sound good but the moment you eat more than your body can naturally handle, you are at risk for stomach/intestinal ruptures since your body is no longer used to eating regular amounts. 

12. Diet Soda doesn’t make you gain weight automatically. There is some studies that suggest that artifical sweeteners can increase appetite, but it’s been pretty inconclusive. While the article I linked is from 2010, a vast majority of it is accurate to this day. Needless to say, the sweetener used in most diet sodas is linked to cancer. 

13. Do not eat cotton balls for the love of God. Cotton balls can easily cause intestinal blockages that can kill you, cause massive infection, and could end up needing to be surgically removed. I’ve also seen a few people suggest tying candy to a string then pulling it back up to induce purging? You’re going to choke to death at some point with that, or tear a hole in your esophagus which, best of luck surviving that one. Seriously, don’t follow these stupid sounds pro-ana tips. 

14. Negative calorie foods don’t exist. Enjoy your water from it at least. 

15. Take a multivitamin. If you restrict you lose nutrients, losing nutrients lands you in a hospital. That should be all I need to say. 

Just use some reason guys. If something doesn’t sound right, research it.