christian cutie danni said:
I've been skipping a lot of meals lately. And I'm not usually hungry anymore. It's kinda scary, so yeah.
I have found that when I skip meals for a while, I stop getting hungry (I know that sounds backwards, because most people would think if you skip meals you would START getting hungry). Well that might be the case for the first day or two, because your body is used to eating so when you suddenly stop, your body misses it and you do feel hungry for a while at first. But if you keep it up, I've found that the hunger goes away and you really don't want to eat anything. So that is a bad thing and can be very dangerous.
I think it's okay to not eat anything for one day (like some people may FAST on occasion for religious reasons). And so that is okay. Not eating for one day is not going to hurt anybody.
But I think you should make it your goal to never go more than one day without eating. For one thing, as a cheerleader you need as much energy and strength as possible. And you can't get those if you aren't eating.
Not to mention, I don't know if you're familiar with the Terri Shiavo case. Terri was a young woman that had a heart attack due to an eating disorder (lack of potassium, I think), which put her into a vegetative state. She had severe brain damage from lack of oxygen during her heart attack. Anyway, there was this big debate over whether to let her continue to live (be fed through a feeding tube) or to let her die (remove her tube and just let her dehydrate and starve to death). Her fate, earlier this year was a slow and horrible death due to removal of her feeding tube.
My point is, eating disorders, no matter what kind, are extremely dangerous. Many people have died from them. You don't want to head down that path.
If you are concerned about weight but are willing to eat regular meals. I know of a diet that works very well and it's healthy. You can stick with the plan just long enough to lose any weight that you might need to lose to remain a flyer, but don't stay on it any longer than that. You are probably a terrific flyer and the weight is probably nothing for you to obsess about. Think about it, even as much as cheerleading is important to you, it's not worth damaging your health over. Your health is going to be something that affects you the rest of your life (which could be very short if you let an eating disorder take over). Always think about the future, beyond cheerleading and high school. Someday you are going to get married and want to have children. And your husband and children are going to want and need you. So don't do anything to yourself that's going to jeopardize any of that.
Okay... back to talking about how you don't get hungry anymore after not eating for a while... I've found just the opposite is true also. If you eat well for a few days, your appetite will return and you will get hungry. God designed us to get hungry so we will eat. It's the way our bodies work. If we don't eat, our bodies don't work right. It's the same as putting in fuel in our cars, after a while the car runs out of gas and doesn't go anywhere.
So especially if you want to remain a good cheerleader, you've got to eat. It helps give you strength and energy to be the best cheerleader you can be. I think if you are already a flyer, then that's because you are a good weight for that job already. My daughter is 12 and she was a flyer last year. I noticed the way they picked who would be flyers is just by picking the ones who had the lowest weight. But they never said any of the girls had to remain a certain weight or be below a certain weight to be a flyer. I think saying so puts too much pressure on girls to focus on their weight when there is really no problem with their weight in the first place.
Okay, about that diet I said you might want to try. If interested, PM me and I'll PM you back with a website link for the info (it'll cost you $27 to get access to it)....or I can just type up a copy of my own eating plan for you to get an idea of it. It's very simple and consists of normal food (not a bunch of weird ingredients) and is quick and easy to prepare. Some meals are just a little sandwich or bowl of mixed fruit. The reason I mention this diet is because it would be better for you to eat these small meals than to not eat anything at all (you eat 4 times a day for 9 days and then get to take 3 days off where you eat anything you want... yes, anything, even pizza).
Not eating does horrible things to your body even though you may not see it or realize it. So please don't ever go more than one day without eating. It's not safe.
Hope you don't think I'm lecturing you or anything. I'm just trying to help. I've struggled with my own eating disorders when I was a teenager and in my early 20's. In fact, when I was 20 I was diagnosed with anorexia. I quickly got over it with some help and I've been in full recovery from all eating disorders ever since. I'm a a normal, healthy weight now (well, I've had 2 children and with the last one, I've had to go on this diet to help me lose the extra pregnancy weight). I'm glad I was able to escape from a lifetime of eating disorders and possible early death. Since getting married and having children of my own, my weight is no longer and issue, even if I do gain during the holidays or whatever. There is just so much more to life than obsessing over pounds.
Hope this helps. Remember God loves you.
