Dear X,
I just came across your blog and to be frank, I'm concerned about you.
I read that you were flirting with a weight that really scared you and that you have decided to lose a ton of weight and get healthy and beautiful. If that's what you want, all power to you.
But sweetheart, starvation (850 calories/day) is not the key to unlocking the thin girl in you. Before you know it, you'll be back up far above the weight that scares you so much today. Think twice about the road you're taking.
Best regards,
NM
I'd like to write her that. I'd like her to stop and look at how she's not only starving calorie-wise but nutrient-wise too. I'd like to tell her that if she really wants to cut her calories down that far, she'd better be seriously well-versed in nutrition because otherwise there will be some pretty nasty side-effects to her Biafra-style diet.
I'd like to tell her that a lot of the weight she's losing is in the form of muscle and not fat and that the minute she increases her calorie intake--even up to a meagre 1200 calories--her muscle will breath a sigh of relief and start rebuilding, causing her to regain weight. In the meantime, the fat will have just been biding its time, sticking around and hanging off her muscle-wasted frame.
I'd like to just sit down and talk to her, woman to woman, about why people overeat, about self-hate and the fears that affect women so much more than men. I'd like to tell her that not all of us are made to have a BMI of 18. I'd like to tell her about Meagan McGrath and how pictures can be deceiving.
There's so much I'd love to talk to her about.
But I know it would be just as effective as speaking to her in Swahili.