Worried about a friend.

[lightningandsnow]

I have a friend who's actually quite slim, but she wants to lose 20 pounds. And she's telling people to "slap" her (not literally) if they see her eating junk food. Which might be okay if she was actually overweight, but she's NOT! She's really tall (almost 6 feet I think) and weighs about 140 pounds.

This seems really unhealthy. Is it? What should I do?

[ThomCat]

1. There isn't much you can do.

Let her know about your concern, but be fiendly and non-judgemental about it. Be there if she needs someone to talk to.

I hope this isn't the beginning of an eating disorder.

[BlueIris]

2. No offense, Aspie, but while you are right to be concerned for your friend right now,

shouldn't you be, um, you know—more worried about yourself at present? Seems like you're going through a lot of stuff. I don't mean this in a "mind your own beeswax" kinda way, I mean that you're entitled to care most about your own well being at the moment.

[Wcross]

3. What would I do?

+

[applegrove]

4. Tell her she looks great right now. That she is already at a healthy weight.

Be real positive about it.

[huskerlaw]

5. If all she's doing

is not eating junk food, then she's ok. But if she's 6'0" and 140 pounds, I'm sure she doesn't eat much of it anyway, and isn't likely to lose 20 pounds by cutting it out.

The problem is if she's not eating healthy things either. Or if she's killing herself at the gym every night (not just exercising, but pushing herself beyond what is normal or healthy).

At this point, I'd say just keep an eye on her. Be supportive of healthy habits, try to dissuade her from doing anything drastic. And if you think she's harming herself, then it's time to find a trustworthy adult to confide in.