this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2026
21 points (81.8% liked)

Off My Chest

1718 readers
90 users here now

RULES:


I am looking for mods!


1. The "good" part of our community means we are pro-empathy and anti-harassment. However, we don't intend to make this a "safe space" where everyone has to be a saint. Sh*t happens, and life is messy. That's why we get things off our chests.

2. Bigotry is not allowed. That includes racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and religiophobia. (If you want to vent about religion, that's fine; but religion is not inherently evil.)

3. Frustrated, venting, or angry posts are still welcome.

4. Posts and comments that bait, threaten, or incite harassment are not allowed.

5. If anyone offers mental, medical, or professional advice here, please remember to take it with a grain of salt. Seek out real professionals if needed.

6. Please put NSFW behind NSFW tags.


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

my parents already are suspicious, i still gotta tell them why. so, i have a really negative body image and perception of myself and ive been sticking my finger in my mouth down my throat and taking laxatives in hopes itll make me lighter. ive lost about 8 pounds so far i think. one time, i lost 10 pounds but i forgot why, my weight fluctuates a lot tho because im on the younger side.

ive been doing this for 3 months now and my parents are taking me to a doctor. is there a chance im anorexic/bulimic or something?

im like 180 lbs so im really fat and i like food because of how fat i am.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

You would meet the definition for bulimia most likely but also maybe other things like anxiety along with it.

Making yourself vomit is not effective at losing body fat. It is a bad technique with bad side effects and it is not sustainable. Even apart from the harm to your teeth, voice, nasal passages, throat, and so on, it is more likely to cause loss of muscle than loss of fat. This will make you weak and actually increase your body fat percentage.

Managing body fat is actually not that hard but does not match up with managing health. Fat is there for a reason. Dropping your fat too quickly or because of extreme deprivation is harmful and also makes your body look sick. Depending on what is important to you different methods of managing your body will be a better fit, but really nothing can help you lose body fat quickly without cost.

You need to question why you want to lose weight. Is it to be more attractive? To be healthier? To be happier? To get people to stop harassing you about your weight? To be less disgusted with yourself? There are lots of different reasons someone may end up bulimic but you need to find out what applies to you and the internet is full to bursting with bad advice and toxic communities which will not help you. Some communities actually make eating disorders far worse and drive people to death through either consequences of their eating or suicide.

To be clear, having an eating disorder is dangerous to the point of deadly if not managed. Just like cancer it can and will kill you if managed poorly, so you need an expert on your side. Depending on which country you are in your resources will be very different, but psychological help is highly recommended. It may be some talk therapy and some CBT with nothing ongoing. It may be much more. Either way starting earlier is best, so treat it with urgency and get help asap. If left to continue it will get harder to fix and more expensive in time, health, effort, and money than it is right now. This is the literal best time to do something about it and no later time will ever be as easy as now is.