Our author has never been very overweight, but has always been one of those who have a little more on their ribs. As a young man, he lost 16 kilograms within a month with a radical diet and excessive sport. Today he deeply regrets it. He wrote down why for FITBOOK.
Note: This post is a personal testimonial about losing weight on a radical diet. It should not be construed as a guide in any way. crash diets can be the beginning of an eating disorder. In the case of a particularly drastic change in diet and sudden heavy physical exertion, a doctor should be consulted. In this text It’s about experiencing, understanding the thoughts and emotions that lead people to want to lose weight radically: Where does the fear of being fat come from? And what can trigger excessive preoccupation with food? FITBOOK also presented this report to a psychotherapist. Read your assessment at the end of the text.
Author Julian Strobel (22) says today: «I’ve learned that I can get recognition even without a slim body.» Losing weight radically is no longer an option for him.Photo:
By Julian Strobel
My alarm clock rings at 5:00 am. 5:05 a.m. jog. 6.05 a.m. Ice-cold shower. 6.30 Porridge for breakfast. Drink at least a liter of water by 7:00 a.m. Every morning for 30 days. My goal: to finally be slim. Finally belong to the beautiful people. That was four years ago – I was 18 and had gone through school as a victim of bullying («fat pig!»).
The reason why I wanted to lose weight
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been one of those people who always had that little something extra. I wasn’t necessarily fat, but I wasn’t slim either: I was 1.68 meters tall and weighed 73 kilograms – about ten kilos over my ideal weight. «It grows out!» was a sentence I often heard. But when I stopped growing, I realized that my belly wasn’t simply that way would disappear.
The trigger that made me want to lose as much weight as possible as quickly as possible was an unrequited crush. I told myself that we could be a couple when I was finally skinny. Suddenly I was motivated.
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My best friends were a lot of exercise and discipline when eating
I put together an absurdly time-consuming diet and exercise plan overnight. Water, a lot of exercise and discipline when eating were my new best friends. Jogging for an hour early in the morning, then strength training, after school again push-ups and the like, then tennis or swimming. It was often two hours. I drank up to 4.5 liters of water and was very careful not to eat more than 1000 calories: porridge for breakfast, fruit and steamed vegetables without spices for lunch and dinner, chicken or fish once a week. I kept getting dizzy and throwing up, but I kept going. Everything for the feeling of recognition. I ignored my parents’ concerns.
The author at 18: At this point he had reached his supposed dream weight Photo: privatePhoto: private
The radical diet made me feel beautiful
My radical diet worked. In just one month I lost 16 kilograms and for the first time in my life I felt Nice to be. I was proud to be able to buy my trousers in the children’s department. My crush still didn’t want to have anything to do with me, so my classmates admired me for it: «Wow, how you’ve lost weight!» unrequited crush.
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Consequences of the radical diet: hair loss, skin rash, headaches
At the same time, my body went on strike: my hair fell out, I got a skin rash that itched badly, plus constant headaches due to malnutrition. My short-term memory deteriorated extremely, sometimes I couldn’t remember what I had just done. I was on the way to slipping into an eating disorder. But fortunately things turned out differently.
I owe it to new friends and last but not least to my parents, who managed to open my eyes in time. That’s the nice part of the story. The other side wasn’t as nice: The radical loss of weight landed me in the yo-yo trap (read here what exactly happens in the body). I think my body wanted revenge for the long period of deprivation.
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Julian Strobel has now learned that he can get recognition even without a slim bodyPhoto:
The last time I weighed myself was three years ago. At that time it was 81.5 kilos, almost ten kilos more than my starting weight before the radical diet. So the hard work didn’t do me any good in the long run. I would even go so far as to say that the crash diet did permanent damage to my body: I got stretch marks on my stomach from rapidly gaining weight and weight, and my asthma got worse. I have scars from the rash.
Today I’m 22 and I’ve learned that I can get recognition without a slim body. I and my environment accept me as I am. I treat myself to a piece of cake when I feel like it, and at the same time I’ve started going to the gym once a week. Very relaxed, without pressure to succeed. It no longer makes me unhappy if the trousers in size L don’t fit.
But I know how people feel who hate their bodies and cry in the locker room.
Expert: Radical diets can be the start of an eating disorder
FITBOOK asked the Berlin psychotherapist Miki Kandale to evaluate the report. She says: “Of course, this crash diet could be an introduction to a corresponding eating disorder, which is often even more drastic in men than in women. Because losing weight, conquering something feels like winning – and winning is (unfortunately) awesome.» However, the behavior described does not have the classic characteristics of an eating disorder – even if the fixation on the body self and the excessive preoccupation with food or .Not eating very conspicuous appear. Kandale: «As a therapist, I would ask myself what deficits (e.g. self-esteem) the client has to compensate for in this way.»