Super Skinny Me: The race to size 0

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Dec 8th 2007 10:59AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation

Ever wondered what goes on inside of the head of someone who is manically dieting to reach the seemingly unattainable size 0? I'll admit, the subject fascinates me. I've never been so worried about my weight that I've had the willpower to stick to an extreme diet, which I suppose is why I'm never less than a size 6 (and happy that way.)

British Journalist Kate Spicer tried to get inside the heads of extreme dieters by doing some dieting of her own, and she's documented it on a British Documentary called Super-Skinny Me: The Race to Size Zero. She recently spoke candidly about her journey to become a size zero, and I think her account is riveting. Here are some highlights:

On her first week of dieting: Already I enjoy the feeling of emptiness in my body and every morning I encourage more emptiness by drinking two pints of salty water to cleanse my bowel. The effect is explosive. Obviously this isn't healthy. I am also smoking a lot more.

On her second week: After the interview I go for dinner and am so debilitated that I eat a small tuna tartare and have two glasses of wine. Then I crack - that's the wine - and order some coconut cake ... The next day I get up and run for an hour and feel really fat. The truth is, the more weight I lose, the fatter I feel and the more I want to lose weight. I lie in bed in the mornings feeling my hipbones and wanting to feel them more. I want them to jut out.
On her third week: The thought that I may have put on weight is stressing me out. Obsessive dieters need routine, or a personal chef with them at all times. I feel bloated and guilty. My mind is warped and I have arrived at planet thin where all that really matters - forget art, literature, intelligence, love, family, career - is getting thinner
On her sixth and final week: Bingeing is distressing to mind, body and soul. And as soon as my eating becomes more normal my human relationships become simpler, and I steadily feel happier and calmer. Nonethe-less I feel a failure and I still think my legs look chubby. I weigh about 9 stone (126 lbs). Most of the thin girls in gossip rags are probably 8 stone or less (112 lbs).

There's a lot more -- check it out for yourself.

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

Source

Comments (63)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

bgs 12-11-2007 @ 8:10PM

Sure, let's give young women yet ANOTHER step-by-step guide to anorexia! This is insane! Riveting?? You certainly CAN take freedom of speech too far!

Angelondisearth 12-11-2007 @ 8:21PM

This is horrible!! It isn't exciting or riveting. Anyone who is "determined" to be a size 0, and willing to drink salt water on a daily basis is mentally ill. She needs to seek professional help from a nutritionist and possible a psychiatrist to address her poor self image issues.

Diana 12-11-2007 @ 8:22PM

its crazy how quickly she became so obsessed over her weight. People should stop dieting. What people really need to do is make lifestyle changes. Eating healthy and exercising is not a short term thing, its a lifetime committment!

Also, if anyone else sees the link to "12 healthy foods that really arent" I wish it was reported on better. Alternatives to the unhealthy foods should have been given. For example, just eat 1 tbsp of regular peanut butter instead of the low-fat kind, and thomas light multigrain english muffins have 8! grams of fiber....I also hate how people try to make pasta out to be so bad. Just dont eat a pound of it! But for pasta with more health benefits I enjoy barilla plus, and barilla whole wheat.

tovha 12-11-2007 @ 8:25PM

why on earth are you giving this sick woman free publicity? Are you going to cover her hospital stay and her comments as they try and force feed her to keep her from dying?

Leana Jo 12-11-2007 @ 8:26PM

This is just another way to get women and young girls to be anorexic...What the f*** is this stupid world coming to??!! SHEEESH!! No freakin' way.

I'm a size 7 and I'm staying there. I like the way I am and I don't need to be a 0 to be attractive.

fran miller 12-11-2007 @ 8:37PM

people are strange...salt water..i get ill if it gets in my mouth at the beach...why 0...what's after 0 ? i could stand to lose a few pds..but at middle age ...food never tasted so good...in my youth...i barely remembered to eat...never cared much about food..i was healthy..so it never mattered...now...i check out a menu before i go to the restaurant....who knew!!!fran

frogkeeper4 12-11-2007 @ 8:37PM

this is so wrong

frogkeeper4 12-11-2007 @ 8:37PM

a size 2-4 is attractive, anything else...oh my gawd!

Jazzykat 12-11-2007 @ 11:10PM

I am 5.10 and a size 8. If I were a size 2-4, I would be a walking skeleton. Why don't you open your ignorant eyes before making an assanine comment.

Sarah 12-12-2007 @ 12:35AM

What the hell are you talking about and what size are you, your kidding me right you are such an a**hole for this sizes two to four are attractive PLEASE, your nuts sure if you like bean poles and girls who look sick but WHERE I AM FROM people like to be healthy and are happy with the way they Look I am a size !10-12 and damn PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And my Husband thinks I'm mighty sexy, so dont judge people on the way they LOOK ok buddy you must have lost your damn mind to say somthin like that, so F*CK YOU A**HOLE and I hope you get what you deserve one day for being such a judgemental person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

frogkeeper4 12-11-2007 @ 8:40PM

perhaps she has like an image problem,

renee 12-11-2007 @ 8:47PM

Balance is key to everything. Balance diet, exercise even water and sleep.

size 0 is a really scary size = emotionally, mentally, and most important physically. your body gets weak, your mind gets blurry. A body needs proper nutrition fruits, veggies, proteins.

the good news is the fashion catalogs are moving away from size 0. more into 4 -6 which I agree 6 is a comfortable size if it fits your body type.

have fun
http://models-fashion-advice.com

chrissytina81686 12-13-2007 @ 9:37PM

First off, i AM a size 0, not by choice i just happen to be SMALL thank you for saying its "gawd!" i am 5'4 and 93-96 lbs and there is nothing i can do about it( ive tried the milkshake and burger diet and also the protein drink plus a meal sorry just small). lets just say: i eat...sometimes forget to, but i dont care much about what i eat or how much, i.e. i am a fast food junkie.

Just because someone is a size 0 doesn't mean they are foggy brained or weak. I am a dancer, i bet i have better stamina then most people. i also and in college studying to become a dietitian (how odd right?) and with that, i would think that maybe i have a little more of an educated opinion so here goes:

While i don't agree with the topic of this article, i think weightloss is superficial, to be obsessed with it anyway.
I will mention the fact that the media sensationalizes the "anorexia epidemic" they are constantly picking on stars, and pixelating them, to "look" super skinny. They comment on how nice kelly clarkson looks now that she has lost weight, but criticizes angelina jolie or kiera knightly if they are thin. When in fact, the majority of teenage girls are ACTUALLY overweight! up until the 90's and you can research this one if you'd like, type 2 diabetes was considered "grandmas" disease, most young people didn't get it. Well nowadays, its common in CHILDREN! in fact, type 2 diabetes is my concentration in school! why? because there are a bunch of jobs for dietitary counseling in schools and with hospitals.

Its amazing how childhood obesity is an epidemic, yet a bunch of people get on here and say how this woman is just giving more ideas to anorexic teenage girls...where are those girls? if they are soooo anorexic i gaurantee you they aren't sitting on their butts in front of a computer screen, they are probably off exercising somewhere! in fact, i bet you can remember the last time you saw an obese person right? probably cant even count on your fingers and toes how many you saw today...ok....how many anorexics did you see? it is SUCH! a problem with theenage girls i'll tell ya (ahem sarcasm ahem)

Does anyone here really know how hard it IS to be a size 0? ever pondered that idea? do you know that walmart doesn't even CARRY a size 0? and that size 0's can only really be found at expensive boutiques in the mall priced at 60 bucks for a pair of jeans that don't look like you have a load in yuour pants??

And moreover, with americas waist lines bulging. ( the most common size for women is a size 12, two more sizes up and thats PLUS SIZED! ) does anyone REALLY know what a size 0'd person looks like? i do. and its not just a bunch of skin and bones.

J Boyd 12-11-2007 @ 8:58PM

See, I don't see this article as a step-by-step program to anorexia. No doubt, there will be some young women out there who will mimic this author, but honestly, I think the article is doing exactly what it should be doing. It's getting us OUTRAGED! I think more people are going to feel sickened by this article rather than inspired by it.

Let's face it, if a young woman (or man) is going to go anorexic, they will do it. It doesn't matter where their ideas come from. If it's not from this woman's article, then it'll be from a friend, or from the internet, whatever.

I know exactly what this woman in going through. And yes, the obsession kicks in REALLY quickly. I went to a diet center once, kind of like Jenny Craig. At the time, I weighed 173. After following their starvation diet (first four weeks was 800 calories a day, yikes) for 3 months, I dropped down to 135 lbs. and a size 5. But I was MISERABLE.

For one thing, I was hungry all the time! This was the early 90s, when fat free diets were the rage. If I was consuming 5 grams of fat a day, I was surprised. And I obsessed about EVERYTHING that went in my mouth. I'd go to bed and listen to my stomach growl. I pulled clumps of hair out of my brush every day because I wasn't taking in enough fat for healthy hair. My menstrual cycles went berserk. When I hit 120 lbs, my top ribs were sticking out.

I wasn't exactly anorexic, but I was very close. Honestly, the thing that saved me was I got pregnant. Pregnancy forced me to eat like a human being, and not live on lettuce and tuna.

Well, today I'm 42, I weigh 175 lbs, wear a size 12, and I DON'T CARE. I eat healthy, I exercise, I lift weights. I just had a physical, and the doctor told me I have the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems of an athlete. I am still blessed with an hour-glass figure. I have beautiful hair and glowing skin. People actually guess me younger than I am. And as far as sex goes...well, I had a guy say to me, "Why the hell would I want to make love to a woman that I could CUT myself on?"

Unless your weight is out of control and affecting your health, don't worry about it!

Weight is just a number. Unless your weight

Jackie 12-11-2007 @ 9:07PM

why are you guys bashing her? She's a journalist thats her job and she committed very well to it. Not that it's necessarily a good thing in this case. And I wouldn't call someone that is so obsessed with losing weight "sick." It's something to pity. And thanks to this article we now know a little more about how these people think. This is also not a step by step guide on how to lose weight. It's a lot more of a warning if you haven't noticed. The journalist expresses that it was unhealthy, she was smoking more, the skinnier she felt the worse she felt, and by getting back to normal, her relationships bettered. Really, read between the lines.

just_curious 12-12-2007 @ 9:52PM

Well said, everyone else merely comments on how unhealthy this experiment (which is all it was) is and crazy as well as how the woman is 'psychotic.' I believe she did a wonderful job on not only committing as a journalist but also in warning others considering the possibility.

Wil 12-11-2007 @ 9:10PM

I'd rather have sex with a woman I cut myself on than one who smothered me...or made me vomit with disgust.

urajudgementalpr*ck 12-12-2007 @ 12:07PM

Somehow Wil I doubt that either is lining up at your door.

Lor 12-11-2007 @ 9:38PM

It depends on your body. I actually wear a size "0". I just have a small waist and small hips. I eat a very healthy diet and excersize daily. Most people don't know what a real portion of food looks like, and they eat too much junk/fast food. We need to stop focusing on the number of the size!