Pro-ana Diet Plan Risks and Uncertainties

Pro-Ana: a community formed on good intentions that can lead to dangerous habits

The beginnings of Pro-ana diet plan

Those who have suffered anorexic or bulimic behavioral addictions in the past have congregated online to offer support and tips for others who are working on recovering through various stages. Unfortunately, some of these forums and communities that were initially intended to create a culture of support have devolved into a pro-anorexia or pro-ana culture and endorsement of a pro-ana diet plan.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which those who suffer from it take drastic measures to cut calories and lose weight. Additional symptoms can include exercising excessively or vomiting and using laxatives to reduce their caloric intake as much as possible. To be anorexic, you don’t have to be extremely thin. In fact, many people who struggle with anorexia and unhealthy methods of weight loss might not be skinny at all.

An empty plate representing low-calorie unhealthy diets such as a Pro-ana diet plan

Why Pro-ana diet plan can be a dangerous road

Those who follow the pro-ana philosophy are buying into a dangerous methodology that anorexia is psychologically rewarding or that the torture that they’re allowing their bodies to endure will be worth it in the end after their drastic weight loss. However, anorexia will deprive the body of essential nutrients that the body needs to function, and this can have drastic effects. Anorexia has been known to lead to electrolyte imbalances or cardiovascular issues, both which can be immediately fatal. Thus, those who might believe that they’re putting themselves through some temporary pain to achieve and end goal are in actuality walking a very dangerous line between life and death.

Perhaps the most sickening part of the pro-ana movement is the slogans, marketing, and encouragement that is offered to members of the community to continue their unhealthy road to thinness. One common goal for those in the pro-ana movement is achieving a “thigh gap,” or increasing the amount of daylight that is visible between their upper thighs. The issue with the thigh gap obsession is that everyone has different fat distributions for their body, and some might have more fat stored in their thighs than others.

In fact, many women, who make up the majority of the pro-ana movement, have a fat distribution that places their fat in their hips, upper arms, behind, and thighs. So, lowering the fat content in these areas to extremely low levels can not only be incredibly difficult, but incredibly unhealthy and can go against how the body is supposed to function. Those who have a thigh gap while maintaining a healthy diet do so due to genetics, they have a different fat distribution that allows them to have a thigh gap while also ensuring that their body gets the nutrients and caloric intake that it needs to function properly.

Those who can’t get a thigh gap through healthy methods, and most people fall into that category, should not only seek to understand that their bodies are beautiful without some silly diamond of daylight between their legs, but furthermore they should seek help from eating disorder professionals if they find that they are obsessing over their size.

Woman with thigh gap which is a common goal in Pro-ana community

When you starve yourself, you’re starving your entire body. It isn’t simply a matter of having less fuel or feeling a little more tired, it affects every function within your body.

According to Dr. Kimberly Dennis, medical director of Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, in an article with hercampus.com, “In states of starvation, the heart shrinks, the brain shrinks, the liver can get inflamed, the immune system is diminished.” And beyond the physical effects lies many other psychological effects, such as an addiction to starving yourself, which compounds the physical effects as the addiction grows and continues.

Pro-ana “motivational” quotes

So, even those who think they might take a chance at pro-ana diet plan for a brief period of time and then maintain their goal weight through healthy eating might find themselves addicted to the unhealthy weight loss methods and the mentality that one more pound of weight loss will get them to where they want to be, even if they’re already ten pounds lighter than their goal weight.

And breaking this addictive cycle doesn’t become any easier in the midst of the encouragement and marketing done by the pro-ana community that say things such as “What nourishes me destroys me”, as quoted directly from theproanatips.com. If you do a simple Google search of pro-ana diet tips, you’ll find a host of similar sayings that are enough to make you heartbroken for those who buy into this damaging community.

Another, also taken from theproanatips.com is a quote from Brian Flatt which states “If you have to eat, eat in front of the mirror.” These are supposed to be motivational quotes that are perpetuating a healthy lifestyle, when in reality those who are promoting these behaviors are either preying on those who have existing struggles with eating disorders, or who have eating disorders themselves and are sharing their suffering with others unknowingly.

700 calories for a week

Pro-ana sites will also recommend diets that offer less than 700 calories for a week. You don’t need to be a nutritionist to understand the damage that such a void nutritional offering could bring. And of course, in traditional cult style, many pro-ana sites will continue to pull the wool over the eyes of their followers by acknowledging the resistance to the movement and to prepare themselves for those who might question the health impacts of their dietary choices and assure their followers that those who don’t follow pro-ana diet plan simply “don’t understand” the need to continually lose weight.

Since we’ve been pointing out examples of the tragic encouragement offered by many of these sites, we should add that number five on theproanatips.com’s list of tips is to purge via vomiting or taking laxatives. They also encourage to stand in front of a mirror often as motivation and to eat alone to hide their lifestyle from those who are close to them.

Additionally, in their “about me” section, they mention that they do not intend to promote anorexia or eating disorders in any way and simply want to offer a quick way to lose weight fast, but it’s difficult to identify a separation between their suggestions and encouragement and the true form of eating disorders. In fact, if you look up symptoms of anorexia and bulimia and subsequently look up tips for the pro-ana diet plan, you won’t find any distinguishable differences, except that one source will paint the symptoms in a positive light as “progress.”

Of course, as with any fitness or dietary plan, different pro-ana sources offer varying degrees and extremes of their lifestyle. Throughout this article, we’ve been bringing light to some of the red flags on the site theproanatips.com. Even sites that might not necessarily perpetuate the encouragement of anorexia to that extreme can in the end be guilty by association, perhaps innocently, by leading people to the more dangerous pro-ana resources in their own research.

Those who want to help people lose weight in a healthy manner should distance themselves from the pro-ana movement and should reach out to those who might be blindly following pro-ana methods and offer them some guidance and support.

How to get help

Pro-ana did begin as a way to offer support for each other and to create a strong community, unfortunately the support portion of that has morphed into an extreme form of dieting that doesn’t align with anything healthy or nutritional. Those who are seeking help with eating disorders of any sort should seek help. Some pro-ana followers are a part of pro-ana solely because they enjoy the sense of community that pro-ana has offered them. For those who might feel tied to this community and are realizing the negative effects that it can be having on their mental and physical health, they should look into other sources of community such as We Bite Back.

We Bite Back can offer the same source of community that pro-ana has built, but through with a much greater degree of safety and support and reinforcement of positive eating patterns. NEDA also offers multiple resources on their website for anyone who is experiencing difficulties or needs help of any sort with any level of an eating disorder, big or small.

It’s important to take charge and get help quickly in the beginnings of an eating disorder since it can frequently spiral deeper and have greater health impacts if not assessed immediately.

Anorexia is not a stigmatized condition that is overplayed by medical professionals. It’s a serious mental illness that can have drastic and tragic physical implications. Even if those in pro-ana have good intentions or are themselves in need of professional support, it can be a dangerous road to embark on.

PCOS Diet Plan for Weight Loss

Introduction to PCOS and its diet plan

A syndrome which causes ill effects on women’s body and results in obesity and menstrual problems, PCOS is an unknown problem for many women and the main reason behind it is the lack of awareness. Today, with the help of this article, we’ll discuss the reasons and ill effects of this PCOS also we’ll talk about the PCOS diet plan for weight loss which can be useful if one is struggling with this problem.

PCOS diet plan for weight loss

What is PCOS?

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, is a hormonal issue in women which is results in enlarged ovaries with tiny cysts on the outer edges. It generally occurs when a women reach around a childbearing age and cause adverse effects on her health and appearance.

Caused by the hormonal and metabolic misbalance, this problem is quite common and most unaware one. As per the latest facts, everyone woman among the ten suffers from this problem.

This problem is listed along with the medical problems which are quite common but does not have proper information. This lack of information and awareness causes a woman suffering from excessive obesity, acne or pigmentation problem or irregular menstruations.

pcos cysts

What causes PCOS?

Doctors are still finding a rigid answer to this question, however, common reasons which strike PCOS in a female are genetic issues or environmental issue or sometimes both.

Due to lack of awareness, many women’s face negative consequences. If severe, this PCOS can be led to infertility in women, there are people and social groups who are working in the field of causing awareness for this problem.

In recent years, with the progress of genetic testing, it has been suggested that PCOS may be affected by a group of genes, among others, responsible for the secretion of insulin, insulin receptors, and some others. Simply put, PCOS could be a form of diabetes.

As stated above, one of the factors behind this issue is metabolism and by following a prescribed diet, its ill effects can be minimized.

PCOS Diet Plan for weight loss

PCOS diet is purely based on one’s body type and should be designed in such a way that it includes a very low volume of glycemic index.

There should be fibers, proteins and lots of vegetables in a diet plan of a PCOS suffering women. One of the key symptoms of this problem in growing weight and if it does not get down after enormous ways that it’s time to change the gears according to PCOS diet plan.

A woman should eat at least 3 times a day, which means a proper breakfast, an ideal lunch, and light and normal dinner. Let’s discuss what one should and should not eat it if is under the effects of PCOS.

What to eat if you have PCOS

Foods to avoid with PCOS

  • Dairy: Dairy products are not to be consumed if a woman has PCOS. The reason behind this is most the dairy products carries a protein in them. This protein is called IGF-1 and is suggested for newborn babies as it stimulates growth in them. Well, if consumed by a woman with PCOS, this IGF-1 will force the ovaries to release more testosterone which ultimately triggers the PCOS symptoms like Facial hair or acne. It is better to avoid them till your dietician allows.
  • Gluten: Gluten foods are a big no-no for a PCOS fighting female, this gluten if consumed causes inflammation in the body. If a woman is suffering from PCOS, her body will already be having inflammation and gluten when consumed will increase the frequency of it and will create a resistant for insulin in the body. As a result, more insulin will be required in the body and our ovaries will release more testosterone hormone. It is generally found in wheat and barley and other carbohydrate powered grains.
  • Soy: It is good to avoid soy when under PCOS effect, as it delays the ovulation in females. Many females face this problem in their childbearing age and having so based products and food will delay their ovulation and period and will severe the effect, hence it’s better to avoid it. Soy-based products are Tofu, Soya milk etc. anything which triggers the testosterone level in the body or makes an effect on ovaries to release more hormone should be avoided, when PCOS is there.

A preferred PCOS diet plan for weight loss

Most of the dieticians suggest taking a dietary approach to fighting the ill effects of PCOS. They advise their patients to go for Dash Diet, this diet includes the fish, chicken, whole grains along with vegetables and fruits.

Dash Diet restricts one to have sugary and fatty foods. A healthy lifestyle can also help in fighting PCOS and stat’s says that if a woman follows the Dash diet for 3-4 weeks, her body gets habitual of that and finally lowers the PCOS causing effects.

It is important for a woman to know certain things before starting the diet plan, the very important thing is to understand the need for this diet plan.

Secondly, stop eating all the junk and fried food at once as it is the best friend of PCOS. These fat rising foods are not good. Compliment your diet with the help of exercise or yoga as it will help you get into the regime.

Related: Keto diet plan

A plate of a woman who is on a PCOS diet should include:

  • High fiber foods.
  • Proteins, fish and poultry products.
  • Lots of veggies and fresh fruits, cauliflower, and broccoli are important.
  • Turmeric and cinnamon based vegetable soup.
  • Herbs that regulate the level of sugar in the blood.
  • Unprocessed food with nuts like pine nuts, almond, and coconut.
  • Olive oil is suggested on the lace of regular cooking oil.

Conclusion

For PCOS, the most meaningful goal is to calm insulin, reduce insulin resistance and eliminate glucose tolerance disorders. All these effects can be achieved without medication, but only by a radical change in eating habits.

The optimal solution for PCOS patients is the same as for Type 2 diabetes patients: ketogenic diet, regular physical activity and natural supplements that regulate blood sugar levels.

Fit Tea Diet Plan vs. Red Tea Detox Program

Why is Red Teatox better than Fit tea

A healthy lifestyle is mainly based on the right choice of food. The issue that arises is an overproduction of all kinds of food and drink products for weight loss. That’s why the most important thing is to invest your time, energy and money in something that is worth it. In this article, we’re going to compare the effectiveness of the Fit Tea Diet plan with the Red Tea Detox program.

Fit tea diet plan vs. Red tea detox

“Healthy” detox teas for weight loss at the market

In the case of fitness and health, the industry has become supersaturated. Among all the supplementation, tea has been discovered and confirmed as one of the most amazing things that you can do for your body. However, since people knew about it, it made the product creators lower the quality and the prices in order to attract customers, therefore it is important that we know which tea we should get.

Teas have always been used in medicine as a treatment or as a cure, but only with modern technology have we been able to mass-produce it to make it more versatile to the public.

The scientific research teams have also been able to enhance the powerful ingredients tea and the active agents that accelerate the anti-inflammatory factors and the fat loss accelerators in the body.

teatox

Red Tea Detox by Liz Swann Miller

Tea has also forced people to go on expeditions, which led to the discovery of some of the finest teas that you can have. This is the story of the Red Teatox – the story of Liz who has discovered the tea can tell you a lot of the tea itself; it was found in African tribes as the heritage and the secret of an entire culture.

She was able to shed pounds of unhealthy and unwanted fat in a miraculous time as well as suppressing her hunger. The tea also helped her with her marriage and it also increased her energy level.

After Liz has brought the Red tea to the public, it became highly recommended by doctors after they made their research; it was also tried and tested by thousands of people who have seen tremendous improvement in not only their body fat, energy level or hunger levels, but it also helped her clients improve their health, feel more energized throughout the day and even avoid some of the deadliest diseases we have today.

==> Read about Red Tea discovery

Fit Tea Diet plan

Another product that has gained a lot of fame thanks to the internet is the Fit Tea Diet plan. It is considered as some of the most known brands of teas that are supposed to help you improve health.

  • Fit tea is known for the marketing campaign that is very successful over Facebook and Instagram as the tea hires fitness models to promote their brand by posting pictures with the product.
  • Fit Tea is also a brand that uses many ingredients in the tea, such as pomegranates, green tea, ginger, and stevia. By drinking it, the tea is supposed to help you lose weight and do many fantastic things. The issue with this is the fact that the tea’s portion size is not enough for the individual, it is not an actual tea, and it is merely a collage of many ingredients that are good for you.
  • What they claim is that the tea will help you slim down, but the fact of the matter is that the actual tea is NOT going to help you lose weight. You can lose weight just by creating a caloric deficit and this tea does not make you lose weight or suppress hunger. Fit tea diet plan just tells you to stop eating and burn more calories, which is common knowledge for everyone.

Unlike The Red Tea Detox which is an African tribe secret that does wonders inside your body: detoxifying your body and actually increasing the enzymes that trigger fat loss and help you break down fat.

Fit tea diet plan Instagram screenshot
~The questionable marketing of the Instagram – Promoted Fit Tea

The Fit Tea diet plan is merely a money waste

  • EATING LESS: If you take all the facts into consideration, it is definitely not needed and it does not even matter if you take it or not. The fact is that for the sake of the tea you will not lose weight. But you can do it by following the recommendations such as eating less and skipping meals.

  • CAFFEINE CONTENT: Moreover, another reason you definitely should not get the green tea is that you cannot avoid the side effects that will come with consuming caffeine. In the product, there is a considerable amount of caffeine which is not necessarily the best option. Many studies have concluded that consistent caffeine consumption leads to unhealthy results. Furthermore, even after taking in the Fit Tea diet plan from the first load that you order, you will be hooked due to the caffeine. Caffeine is also not a good idea for many individuals; it may lead to bad health states, unsettling stomach, high blood pressure and jitteriness.

  • TOO GENERALIZED DIET: This type of detox advises healthy foods with high water content and low calories (for example, fruits, vegetables and soups). However, for this type of diet, a complete program is needed, as it can lead to health problems and regained weight once the diet is over.
    In this one-sided diet, the body does not get enough essential fatty acids and proteins, which leads to a weakened immune system, circulatory disorders and headaches.

So Red Tea Detox is definitely the way to go in this case

As Red tea is completely free of caffeine it will not affect your health and it contains antioxidants and ingredients that are backed up by research.

Fit Tea diet plan does include the tea properties, but it is not as good as the Red Tea Detox. The Red Tea has been through the lab. It is a tried and tested method – with sample studies, it has been proven that the concoction works.

red tea detox

Red Teatox turns out that it works amazingly, it helped people stop the craving and:

  • Cleanse the body of toxins that have been gathered over the years.
  • Feel more relaxed and peaceful throughout the day.
  • Shrink the fat cells – scientifically proven!
  • Use fat as fuel in order to burn it off even faster.
  • Increased energy throughout the day.
  • Decreased appetite.
  • Ancient African tribe secret herbal medicine.
  • A complete program that provides healthy and permanent weight loss.

While the Fit Tea Diet plan has:

  • Not a lot of benefits from the tea.
  • Substantial caffeine dosage.
  • Decreased efficiency.
  • Increased anxiety due to caffeine content.
  • Lack of nutrients due to reduced food intake.

Red Tea Detox creator is a nutritionist, fitness and weight loss expert and naturopath

Another great thing about the Red Tea Detox is the fact that it was created by one of the most capable people in the fitness industry. Liz is not only someone who just stumbled upon the Red Tea secret, she is a known fitness persona who is a best seller, she also has many clients who have seen a lot of improvement from her fitness advice, which is why you should be even more enthusiastic about the Red tea.

It will include some of Liz’s top-secret workouts and the best diet to combine with the Red Tea for maximum efficiency.  In the Red Tea guide program, she will include her advice on training and the best superfoods that you can eat while being on the Red Tea Detox program.

==> Red Tea Detox Creator

It’s all about drinking water

Another reason why the Fit Tea diet plan does not come close to the Red Tea Detox is the fact that Fit Tea recommends drinking a lot of water during the day. Yes, drinking water is healthy and important for detoxification, but this is not enough.

Fit tea diet suggests drinking water

This is just a trick used by the company in order to make the clients fool themselves by drinking a lot of water so that they would feel more satiated and they assume that it is thanks to the Fit tea, while in fact, the feeling of being satisfied is due to the fact that the water bloats the body and it makes you think that you do not feel like eating at all.

Fit Tea diet plan also promises that one would lose weight, this is true because people who use the fit tea do not lose fat, and they mostly lose the water weight. When the people who are on the Fit tea go to the gym, they always feel like they sweat more. Again, this is not because of the Fit tea, it is because they have been drinking a lot of water.

Another reason why people claim that they have lost a lot of weight is that when they weigh themselves in the morning, their bodies are at the leanest and driest, which is why they say they lose weight, but the fat just mostly stays there.

So drinking a lot of water produces two results, the first is that people feel satiated and the second is that they feel leaner.

Bottom line: Fit Tea Diet Plan vs. Red Tea Detox Program

The Red tea will help you do tremendous things to your body, you will feel so much more satisfied because of the actual tea (one of the ingredients effectively suppress hunger pangs), and you will lose weight because of the actual tea (scientifically proven effects on fat cell shrinking). Moreover, you will also be getting a tea that will help you with your health; you will feel better in your mind and body.

The Fit tea seems to be just like any other marketing tea, it is not the tea that is great and effective. It’s all about the marketing that has been done with the Kardashians, the fitness models shooting photos with the tea and making it beautiful is what makes people attracted to it. It is just a marketing tool and trick to play on the psychology of the consumers to make a profit.

The Fit tea is just hype, but the Red tea is for people who actually want to see real tangible results since it includes the whole detox and weight loss program.