Or is the competitive under eating on mumsnet harmful?

[foreverlobsters]

Full disclaimer- I have a history of eating disorders myself so am possibly over sensitive to this.

Have been reading through another currently active thread as well as what we eat in a day etc (which I occasionally post on and do find interesting). Why do people feel the need to post about their extremely low calorie days on here, or give potentially harmful advice? What's the incentive exactly- and are these people lying about how much they really eat or is most of the mumsnet population in an extreme calorie deficit? Do these people not see how selfish and damaging these posts can be?

@DoubleShotEspresso

Don't know who you are or why you're being goady, but I reread my and Bluntness's posts & neither are argumentative, just contributing to the discussion.

"Yes, also the one portion of fish and chips between FOUR. I've never got over reading that!"

Fish and chips portions are way too big and saying that does NOT make me a competitive undereater.

It's easy to avoid these threads if you want to.
How come I never spots these threads? Only gardening ones.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Yes, also the one portion of fish and chips between FOUR. I've never got over reading that!"

Fish and chips portions are way too big and saying that does NOT make me a competitive undereater.

Too big for what?

Some medically approved diets recommend 500-800 calories twice a week. Like the 5-2 diet.

It seems to no those that have had EDs in the past that have the issue? Or those who overeat and are in denial?

@grasstreeleaf

But if you hang out in leafy well-heeled areas you don’t see that many obese people. Or maybe I just don’t notice them? I don’t think so because I do notice when I leave London and suddenly there striking numbers of obese people.

Stealth boast?

I know. Totally cringeworthy Well heeled☑️ leafy☑️ Good to know that in leafy smugburbia one doesn’t have to see any fatties. The ankles are slim, the residents are well heeled, it’s leafy. A reassuring fug of jo malone hangs in the air

"Although calories are a load of outdated bollocks anyway! I can’t believe so many people live by them."

Oh, do they not exist any more?

Can't bear Jo Malone but even that is less grim than eau de malice.

@Kiwiinparis

100% agree! I’ve read some threads where people only eat one proper meal a day plus 2 coffees and a piece of fruit…that is NOT healthy and can trigger people with EDs so easily.

Maybe they're doing the 5:2 or whatever. Maybe their one meal is big enough. Maybe they can eat what they want and people EDs can stay away from the threads.

" The problem with the undereating posts in my view isn't that people say they eat very little, it's that so many of them say everyone should be eating very little, insist they feel revulsion and disgust at the idea of eating more, and that it's presented as a moral issue, with eating more being some sort of character failing. I've never seen that with a post about overeating."

Give an example of such a post.
I read a lot of the food and dieting threads and never see anything like this.

How many calories can dragon burn when they create and breath fire🤔 Daily workout of 3 sets of 10 push ups and 3 sets of 10 seconds of fire breathing. 😂

@Gwenhwyfar

" The problem with the undereating posts in my view isn't that people say they eat very little, it's that so many of them say everyone should be eating very little, insist they feel revulsion and disgust at the idea of eating more, and that it's presented as a moral issue, with eating more being some sort of character failing. I've never seen that with a post about overeating."

Give an example of such a post.
I read a lot of the food and dieting threads and never see anything like this.

There were always plenty...

"The two are in no way equivalent, though. Society prizes thinness, so even someone who is insulted for her thin body has the ingrained knowledge that her body type is generally approved of and sought after. A fat person knows the opposite — that her body type is viewed as evidence of greed, poor impulse control, poor diet, lack of exercise, poverty etc."

Society prizes thinnes and slimmnes, but not skininess so people can be skinny shamed the same as fat shamed. There are plenty of negative stereotypes about those society considers 'too' thin.

"There were always plenty..."

Yet, you can't give an example...

Don't know @Annoyedanddissapointed but it would be fascinating finding out!

@Comedycook

There was thread ages ago about the Duchess of Cambridge and her figure and loads of posters saying how she's not that thin and they have exactly the same body shape as her, and we've all lost sight of a healthy weight blah blah. Other posters who had seen her irl had commented that she was one of the thinnest people they'd ever seen. It was quite interesting.

And everyone is entitled to their opinion aren't they? Unless it's known that she is underweight, people can consider her the right size or too thin according to their own preferences.

@Gwenhwyfar

"There were always plenty..."

Yet, you can't give an example...

I am not going to search mumsnet to give you examples of "omg 1 takeaway chinese main course and 4 spring rolls do 4 of us for dinner" type of posts.

I haven't really seen it on here, but I've definitely met in people in r/l who see over-indulgence as a character failing.

Perhaps the same with exercise. Some people do lots and think it's really important, and others really cba.

I do think some exercise fanatics judge the couch potatoes in a similar way.

@grasstreeleaf

Don't know *@Annoyedanddissapointed* but it would be fascinating finding out!

I have no idea how it crossed my mind. 😂 MyfirePal where the dragon painstakingly logs all villagers and sheep he/she consumed for lunch

@Comedycook

Yes in Chelsea and Kensington I'm always struck by how few overweight people you see and the pavements are packed with joggers. Head over to Lewisham or other less affluent areas of London and I can assure you it's a different story

It made me laugh to see all the very thin people running.

The thread on restaurant portion sizes was full of posters judging anyone who could eat a whole meal at one of those with bigger portion sizes.

"I am not going to search mumsnet to give you examples of "omg 1 takeaway chinese main course and 4 spring rolls do 4 of us for dinner" type of posts."

Having seen the portions of the Chinese place near my parents, I wouldn't be able to tell that's undereating without seeing a photo. Some takeaway places really do have massive portions, as do fish and chips.

Anyway, you still haven't been able to give me a real example.

@PurpleDaisies

The thread on restaurant portion sizes was full of posters judging anyone who could eat a whole meal at one of those with bigger portion sizes.

Well if the portions are too big, sharing a portion is not undereating is it? You'd need a photo of the portion, to know the people's sizes and what else they've eaten that day to be able to judge.

People lie on the Internet & spout nonsense?!
Who knew?

Fatness by geography can be looked up... no need to speculate on where the fattest kids are.
I'm in London right now. The very striking thing is how young people are. Way younger median age than what I'm used to in the provinces. And weird. I adore all the weirdness. I have found my (weird) people.

I had a brief chat with a very young beggar yesterday. He looked no more than 19. I hope he's ok given the awful weather this morning.

72% in South Yorkshire.

It's a good thing we don't need an army.