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Anorexia And Metabolic Set Point | Slate Star Codex

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[Content warning: fat, anorexia, dieting] [Epistemic status: crazy speculation from someone who isn’t an expert in the field. Please don’t take too seriously.] Some anorexics I talk to describe their condition as falling into two phases. In Phase 1, they’re a model or a ballerina or something where they’re under a lot of pressure to become thin. So they go on a diet, they have trouble just like everyone else, but they stick to it and gradually get thinner. People praise them for their thinness. They win the Ballerina Of The Year award. They’re pretty happy with how things are going, and their dieting is ego syntonic – ie they agree with it and can explain the reasons they think it’s a good decision. In Phase 2, somebody tells them, wait, this is unhealthy. Maybe they end up in the hospital. Maybe some friends stage an intervention. They admit that they have anorexia and decide to get better and gain weight. And then they can’t. The exact way that this presents varies among people. A fe

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