The Student Room Group

race to size double zero!

Did anyone watch this? It was on channel 4 on Sunday.

Its made me feel so fat, even though im not, you see the problem I have is that i am borderlining an eating disorder, meaning if i go on the way i am i will get one. I am 6 stone, 18 and 5, 2. Watching that made me feel slighlty ashamed and I dont know why, because i know im underweight.

Any advice or peoples thoughts on that programme?

Scroll to see replies

Anonymous
Did anyone watch this? It was on channel 4 on Sunday.

Its made me feel so fat


The programmes intentions were clearly to do the opposite. You're underweight and you need to realise that normal people are not a size 00 or even a 0 (unless they are very petite)

Isn't 6stone much too light for an 18year old anyway?
Reply 2
I'm on a diet, and I've been down a slippery road, eating 800 calories a day instead of sticking to 1000 excluding fruit and that program shocked me. It made it clearer in my head that I'm so happy my diet is the way it is and I would NEVER go on a crash diet and ruin my body to be "perfect". Size 00 isn't a nice size,I'd rather lose weight slowly (1-3lbs a week) and be happy than crash diet and be absolutely miserable all my life yo-yo dieting.=]
I have dieted and have found myself obsessing, binging, purging, I wouldn't say I have an ED but I know how thin the line is when you care so much.

To the OP, as I watched it I thought about how damaging it would be to people in a position like you describe. The fact that they showed the girls putting weight on at the end as soon as they ate distressed me for one, making me not want to increase my current intake (approx 1000 a day) for fear of gaining. I thought other girls might feel the same.

xx
Reply 4
To be honest i think that although the programme's intentions were to dissuade people from going down that route, it may actually have the opposite on people who are borderline anorexic/bulimic or who already are, as it shows that if you keep at it, even though the side effects are awful, you will eventually get to size 00 or whatever, even if by the time you get there your life and body is a mess. Did you notice how the one with darker hair actually seemed to get addicted to it? It's so scary, aand sad that people feel they have to do that to themselves. OP maybe you should talk to someone about this so you can properly address the issue?
To be honest I thought the one who managed it looked really good in the size 00 jeans. She looked good as a size 12 but still...
Reply 6
i found it absurd how the journalist - louise? - went from a size 12 to a size 00 after losing about 12lbs i think it was? i'm not saying there's some sort of conspiracy going on lol because when she wore those size 00 jeans, her legs and arse looked mega skinny. it's just weird how at 8.5 stone and 5'5", she was a 00
ph9
i found it absurd how the journalist - louise? - went from a size 12 to a size 00 after losing about 12lbs i think it was? i'm not saying there's some sort of conspiracy going on lol because when she wore those size 00 jeans, her legs and arse looked mega skinny. it's just weird how at 8.5 stone and 5'5", she was a 00


It would depend if some of the weight was muscle, because that could be why she looked skinny if most of the weight was muscle and not fat.
Reply 8
I've just looked at the pictures of after they lost weight, and neither of them look particularly skinny. Slim yes, but not horribly thin. And this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of the very thin look. Unless they're very short, I dont' think they look a UK size 4!
Reply 9
*Joanna*
I've just looked at the pictures of after they lost weight, and neither of them look particularly skinny. Slim yes, but not horribly thin. And this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of the very thin look. Unless they're very short, I dont' think they look a UK size 4!


I thought that, we had a lecture about it today and the picture was shown. I didn't want to get flamed so i said nowt.
Reply 10
Lilian
I'm on a diet, and I've been down a slippery road, eating 800 calories a day instead of sticking to 1000 excluding fruit and that program shocked me.


800 calories a day?! a woman is supposed to eat 2000 calories per day, how is that not going on a crash diet?
Reply 11
Knudsen
a woman is supposed to eat 2000 calories per day


...depending on height and frame size and activity levels. If I ate 2000 calories a day I'd be a whale.
One of the women reminded me of Kathy Burke.

On topic: I loved the programme, it made me appreciate that I am fine as I am. Yes, I would like to lose a few pounds but that I don't need to diet excessively to do so. The Kathy Burke woman annoyed me but I found the other one's journey very moving. She really seemed affected by her experience and whilst she did managed to fit into the size double zero, she was more than happy to scoff the chocolate cake afterwards!

I think it was an excellent programme for those that might not feel happy with their weight but aren't strictly dieting It might've been a bit much for those with or on the borderline of having an eating disorder as they may have been spurred on by the fact that the two women lost weight. I felt the most important message was that they weren't happy, they were constantly exercising or eating minimal amounts of food; their moods and relationships suffered.
Reply 13
ph9
i found it absurd how the journalist - louise? - went from a size 12 to a size 00 after losing about 12lbs i think it was? i'm not saying there's some sort of conspiracy going on lol because when she wore those size 00 jeans, her legs and arse looked mega skinny. it's just weird how at 8.5 stone and 5'5", she was a 00


yeah, i weigh 8.5 stone and i'm 5'8, and i'm a UK size 8-10. theres NO WAY she was a UK size 2... im sorry but that was just bull****. she didnt look anything like a size 2, she looked relatively normal, not even stick thin. that show was really stupid :p:

also way to show how 'unhealty' it is, when both of them still had normal healthy BMIs in the end and seemed to quite like their new looks, haha
Reply 14
irule
yeah, i weigh 8.5 stone and i'm 5'8, and i'm a UK size 8-10. theres NO WAY she was a UK size 2... im sorry but that was just bull****. she didnt look anything like a size 2, she looked relatively normal, not even stick thin. that show was really stupid :p:

Wait, I am 5'2" I weight 8.5 stone and am a size 8-10.. And no I am not muscular at all..
Well they say the camera adds 10 pounds



(stop eating ****ing cameras then!)
Reply 16
These shows are stupid, IMO. If anything, they offer 'thinspiiration' to girls who are already far too thin.
Reply 17
Why have I never met a woman who has actually finished 'dieting' with a sense of accomplishment?
Reply 18
Lib North
Why have I never met a woman who has actually finished 'dieting' with a sense of accomplishment?


I did a couple of years ago- lost a stone and a half, taking me down to 8st 2lbs. Managed to stay that way until I went to uni and quite a bit has gone back on, but I know I've done it before and can do it again, so I was a contented dieter and knew when to stop.
Knudsen
800 calories a day?! a woman is supposed to eat 2000 calories per day, how is that not going on a crash diet?


I agree that 800 calories is very low! but 2000 calories a day for women is simply the average. You can calculate you BMR online, I'm tall and apparently I shouldn't go over 1500 calories unless I want to gain weight. Scary.