This is not good and I am not suggesting it for anyone. In fact, I suggest that
you do everything you can to lose any purging habits you may have picked up.
It's dangerous and very damaging. But I understand that some people need to
purge (hell, sometimes I do) and I think that if you're going to do it then you
may as well be as safe as possible.
No syrup of ipecac. I'm not kidding about this one. This shit is terribly
dangerous and for use in medical emergencies only. It causes severe and
permanent heart-damage. People have died from taking this, sometimes the very
first time they've used it. I've tried it, it sucks, don't do it. Trust me here.
Remember that if you die in painful screaming misery, you'll never reach your
weight-loss goals and will probably be found crumpled up in your own assorted
by-products.
No diuretics or water pills. There's no point. They don't make you lose any real
weight, only water, and water loss does not count as weight loss. Dehydration
can kill; you want more water, not less. A water-starved body will be more
hungry as well and will hold onto everything you do put into it. If you're
retaining water, drink more water and a little caffeine. It will go away
eventually on its own.
No laxatives. They're habit-forming in that after a period of time your
digestive system will not function without them. Overdoses of laxatives can
dehydrate you to the point of death, or rupture your intestines. If your
digestive system isn't behaving right, go for fiber supplements like Metamucil
instead, they're good for you instead of bad.
Avoid throwing up whenever possible. Stomach acid is vicious. It eats away teeth
and makes them ugly. It eats away at your esophagus and sphincter valves. Over a
period of time, throwing up will disable your upper digestive system as
thoroughly as laxatives will disable your lower digestive system. It also puts
terrible strain on heart and head, and can cause dangerous electrolyte
imbalances.
Avoid punishing a binge with an immediate fast. If your body expects large
amounts of food, then depriving it cold turkey may cause even more hunger and
binging. It's a cycle... binge, fast, binge, fast. Don't start. Regulate your
food instead and be gradual with changes in how much you eat.
Remember that exercise in itself doesn't really burn off all that many calories
and is pretty useless for burning the results of a binge. However, exercise
raises metabolism and builds muscle, and the added muscle raises your metabolism
even more, so you burn more calories all the time. Design yourself a steady
exercise program and follow it consistently instead of sporadically overworking
and hurting yourself.
Keep a box of baking soda, a cup, some water. Rinse your mouth with baking soda
dissolved in water after purging. This helps neutralize acids and spares your
teeth and mouth somewhat.
If you use laxatives, make very sure to be well-hydrated beforehand. Drink extra
water and take potassium. It really helps against cramping, pain, and dizziness.
Drink a ton of water while binging. Say, a full glass of water between every
couple units of food you're eating. Not only does this fill you up faster with
fewer total calories, while still letting you get the taste of the food you
want, it makes purging a hell of a lot easier and more effective. Be sure to
drink water before a binge, or right at the start of one, and then space the
water throughout so it mixes with all the food instead of just sitting on top of
it.
Eat the healthy stuff first. Fruit or veggies or a salad or something fairly
low-cal that you wouldn't mind digesting as much. Since it's hard to get
everything up, and since food comes up roughly in reverse order to how it went
down, cushion the bad high-cal junk with safer foods.
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