please read this if you are a teenager at a healthy weight looking to lose

i've made a post like this before, but i can't seem to find it.

please please PLEASE consult your doctor before restricting your food.dieting can have massive health impacts on teenagers. it can also easily become disordered.

a bit under a year ago, i was in your position. i was 14 and not a fan of my body. i told myself i would be healthier and happier if i lost weight. i did. it wasn't enough.i spiraled into anorexia.

here are some warning signs i should have taken more seriously. all of these things happened before i was underweight and all of them happened before i was eating a dangerously low amount of calories:

1. i was exhausted. all the time. i dreaded any kind of movement. i convinced myself it was because i needed to lose weight when i was clearly undereating.
2. i was obsessed. dieting, weight loss, food, and body image consumed my thoughts. all day, every day.
3. my athletic and academic performance dropped significantly.
4. i was bodychecking every chance i got.
5. i prioritized it over everything else in my life.
6. i ate less and less as time went on, and only felt successful if i was eating less than what i was used to.
7. weight gain, in my mind, was not a mere annoyance, but was scarier than death.

things got bad fast. i was hospitalized within two months of starting to restrict my food.
anorexia was incredibly difficult to go through, not only for me, but also for my family, and was even harder to recover from.

please be careful. i'm more or less recovered now, but this illness has had and continues to have an enormous impact on my life.

again, i urge you to consult a doctor before making any changes to your food or exercise, and especially before restricting your food. and if they tell you that you don't need to lose weight, listen.

submitted by /u/6789throwaway123
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