The poster child for self-starvation was beautiful Karen Carpenter, one of the most successful singers of her time. Lose weight safely by ... eating.

1. Dangerous Ways To Lose Weight
It's true that we have a national obsession with
'being thin' so chances are you, too, have wanted
to lose a few pounds - or maybe a lot of pounds?
There are almost as many diets as there are
dieters (OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration :-)
but the bottom line is that it's not that easy to lose
weight. If it were, we would ALL be thin!
So, it's not a surprise to hear that desperate
people resort to very unsafe ways of losing
weight. Women, especially, are more likely to try
dangerous methods because there is a constant
pressure in our society to be thin, thin, thin. Yes, generally you are
healthier when you're thin but using drastic measure can cause illness
- perhaps serious illness.
Semi-starvation is a common tactic and foolishness like the Hollywood
Diet, which promises mega weight loss in a couple of days,
encourages the belief that there is a Magic Answer that will solve all
weight problems. There isn't. Skipping breakfast or lunch, or maybe
both, might seem smart but the gnawing pain in your stomach is a
strong message that you need to eat. Your body is forcefully telling
you that you're hungry and need food no matter how much you tell
yourself mentally that you're not hungry and you're not going to eat.
The terrible part is that you might end up gaining weight!
Why? Because no matter how strong your will power, you will
eventually start eating again. In the meantime, your adaptable body
has adjusted to its new reality. The less you eat, the more your body
worries that it won't have enough food so it adjusts your metabolism,
slowing it down to the point that you are burning almost no fat during
the day. When you do decide to eat normally once again, your
metabolism will still be slower than before so you will store calories
more easily. Guess what? It's now easier to gain fat! All that
suffering for nothing.

2. Instead, choose a program like the Fat Burning Furnace which
doesn't concentrate on "weight loss" but instead focuses on coaxing
your metabolism to burn higher, in effect causing your biological
furnace to increase its flame. The irony is that you will lose weight
faster and be a lot happier because you can eat like a normal person.
Only masochists enjoy starvation.
Anorexia, the disease of teenage girls, can occur if you don't eat
regularly. No anorexic plans to become skin and bones but
sometimes a dieter develops a fear of food and of being fat which
results in eating almost nothing. Anorexics become exceedingly thin
yet they still believe they are fat. They usually lose their hair, become
very weak and can even die.
Karen Carpenter, a one-time famous singer with 23 famous hits to
her credit, is the poster child for anorexia as she dropped to 61
pounds and eventually starved to death. What a tragedy for a vibrant,
successful young woman.
Bulimia is another dangerous weight loss method. Again, these are
usually young women, but anyone can develop this dangerous
disease. Anorexics starve themselves but bulimics do not. Instead,
they eat huge quantities of food - but then run in the bathroom and
throw it all up so that they don't gain weight.
You won't be surprised to hear that regurgitating your food is not a
wise health habit. Your esophagus may be destroyed by stomach acid,
your teeth may lose their enamel and there can be disastrous
consequences to your heart, liver and kidneys. You can develop
stomach ulcers and your pharynx (the tube that connects your mouth
to your esophagus) may suffer acid burns.
The safest approach is to eat reasonable amounts of healthy foods.
Ingest smaller servings and avoid junk food. You can lose weight
safely without resorting to drastic and unsafe measures. It's more
comfortable, safer and, in the long run, quicker than starvation. You
can be a living positive affirmation for the truth that weight loss
doesn't have to mean deprivation and suffering.