By asking if bulimia works, you’re assuming that it provides a desired effect of some sort, most likely weight loss. But bulimia is a serious medical disorder, leading to both physical and psychological problems that can take years of therapy to undo. This is not something that you want to consider as a valid form of weight loss, or wonder or not it will result in a loss of weight.
Overview
Bulimia involves a binging process, whereby an individual eats a normal or large portion of food to get a feeling of being full, and then either vomits it out or takes laxatives in order to process the food through the system quickly.
There are a host of problems that come with bulimia. For starters it eats away your tooth enamel. All of the stomach acid that passes through the teeth during vomiting takes its toll on your teeth. There was a special on the news the other night of a girl recovering from bulimia that couldn’t stop herself from throwing up in her mouth occasionally and involuntarily. She had become so accustomed to puking that her body just did it automatically.
You could also suffer from constipation, which will lead to a bloated feeling in your stomach and midsection. You might also get peptic ulcers or find out later that you can’t have children. There are so many reasons not to try bulimia that they can’t fit on this page.
The Claim
There are no proponents of bulimia, so there aren’t any claims made publicly. The undercurrent of thought is that bulimia makes you skinny. If you puke up your food then you don’t take on the calories associated with it so you get the taste and satisfaction of eating, but without the guilt and aftermath. These claims are understood without being made by any corporation or manufacturer of any product.
The Hype
Usually this is the part of our site that talks about how much hype is surrounded by products and weight loss products that are advertised on TV. There’s no hype surrounding bulimia, because it’s not marketed or promoted in any way, shape, or form.
An occasional celebrity is diagnosed as having an eating disorder and this brings it to the light of mainstream media. Most often the media does a good job of reminding viewers that it’s a serious medical condition, and not a fad to be followed or admired.
The Cost
There is no additional cost to bulimia. It involves eating the foods you currently it, but only regurgitating them Anorexia would be more cost effective, as this involves not eating anything, thereby saving on foods costs.
The Commitment
If you’re thinking about bulimia for weight loss you’d need to throw up
Evaluation
Don’t try bulimia as a way to lose weight. There are far more healthier ways to get to the size and shape that you want that you don’t have to take drastic measures to do it. Perhaps you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked, but don’t treat your body like that, and don’t bring on the laundry list of complications that it can lead to. It won’t make you feel any better about yourself, and your friends and family care about you.
Does Bulimia Really Work?
Bulimia is an eating disorder, so it can’t “work”. It has never and will never be marketed as a weight loss solution, and is a very serious matter. You shouldn’t consider it as a potential way to lose weight. Toying with the idea could get you to try it, and if you try it you could get hooked on it very quickly, causing very serious health problems. These problems are even more drastic than the ones you might experience by being overweight.
Our Recommendation
If you’ve been considering bulimia as a possible weight loss solution, you may want to consider seeking professional help. You may already be on your way to an eating disorder of some sort, and have a skewed perception of your body image.
I do not recommend purging. I have battled this since I was 13. I am now 37. My weight is a constant yo yo. Not to mention my moods and my health. I have had so many issue as a result of this unhealthy choice I made as a young kid. I have been hospitalized, went to therapy, battled it privately. There is no beating it or being over it once you experience it. I call it being in remission when I am not having symptoms. Constipation, highly expensive dental procedures, lack of nutrition effecting your hair, skin, and nails. The negative outweighs the little but of relief you think you will get. You hide from your family and friends. You are vomiting in nasty toilets at work, home, and public places. PLEASE do not start purging if you have not already. It is NOT worth the cost.
I have been bulimic for twelve years. I have lost weight from it but would end up passing out and having seizures. I looked unhealthy and wanted to sleep all day from the lack of nutrition. I looked sickly instead of fit. It was the worst decision i have ever made. I believe it actually started as a way to ease anxiety. It has become an addiction that comes and goes in waves. Some times i can overcome it for long periods of time. Other times i will eat a normal sized meal and have intense anxiety thinking only about the good i just ate not caring about what was around me , until i would purge. This started when i was 13 .im now 25 and have been battling it since. Nothing good has come from it. I can never have a peaceful.Meal i have achne all over my chin. Sometime when i eat i have horrible avid reflux that i otherwise probably would not have. My metabolism is all messed up. I have scars on my hands. Its equivelant to a drug addiction in my eyes and there are no positives what so over. Once you start you might think oh ill never do this again, but, its not that simple.
Does Bulimia really work? Is that seriously on here? I think we have learned a thing or two in the past 50 years at least. I guess Bulimia works in the sense that it can help you lose weight but we can’t even begin to cover the unhealthy side effects of performing such an act. Like Rebecca A. mentions, people have died from bulimia. It’s not something we should take lightly. I had a friend who suffered from the sickness and when she tried to kick the bad act, she struggled because her body was no longer used to functioning properly.
Besides the seemingly mild annoyances of tooth enamel erosion and constipation – there are a whole host of invisible processes that get screwed up with bulimia. Electrolytes go seriously awry pretty easily, which makes your heart beat ineffectively, which leads to a whole cascade of multi-system failure. One of the saddest cases I ever took care of was a woman who decided to come out of her spiral of binging and purging, but it was too late. Her body would not absorb one thing – everything she ate came out completely unchanged. She died in ICU and her children were beyond sad.