What is Drunkorexia?
"Drunkorexia" is a new slang term that describes the practice of restricting food intake in order to drink more alcohol.
You won't find this one in any manual for diagnosing health disorders (or mental disorders.) The Morning Show ran a piece on it that looked exclusively at how this practice affects women.
Statistics suggest that 30% of 18-24 year-olds skip food in order to drink more. My guess is A LOT of sorority sisters fit the bill!
In recent years, binge-drinking patterns among young women have grown to match that of men. In order to maintain weight, many young women will go without meals if anticipating a drinking session later on.
It's no laughing matter. Just looking at college students only - over 1,400 18-24 year-olds lose their lives each year due to alcohol-related injuries.
And heavy drinking is already a major problem in this age group. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many young people, especially college students, engage in binge drinking.
Binge drinking is heavy drinking in a short period of time. The CDC defines a binge drinker as men who consume five or more drinks and women who consume four or more drinks within two hours
Also, excessive alcohol consumption is a form of self-medication that is very hard on the body. Sadly many people have decided that they are not able to "have fun" without being intoxicated.
The most interesting people you meet in life are those who are crazy and fun while being stone-cold sober. Never a dull moment.
And booze and diet inspired one beer drinker to create is own diet plan. Founder Bradley Cailor calls it the "Beer Drinker's Diet," aptly named. The gist of his diet is eating smaller portions of the foods you enjoy and leaving plenty of room for beer. He claims he lost over 100 pounds doing this; just call him the crown prince of drunkorexia.
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Created / Updated: October 31, 2011
I don't know if I ever held off eating in order to drink more, but we used to drink 3 beers on an empty stomach in order to get a buzz going before eating. I don't drink anymore though.
ReplyThis is for sure true, Im in college now, and im pretty small. when i saw this article I was really surprised that this is more popular. But its so true, I know friends that wont eat before a night of drinking, and by a night of drinking i mean the entire weekend (thirsty thursday, fucked up friday and shwasted saturday, and the occasional toasted tuesday:wine) and once your drunk you usually don't think to eat. And it isss a weight issue. The next day you feel so skinny and you don't want to eat to feel bloated and you plan on going to drink later anyways. Its an effective way to lose too much weight fast... although super stupid, dangerous and deadly.A friend lost 15 pounds in a month. Thats college..taking risks and doing stupid things.
ReplyWell actually, for me, college was getting ready for medical school! I waited until I became a doctor to start taking risks and doing stupid things :-)
ReplyA couple of friends of mine are, without a doubt, drunkorexics. Usually don't have breakfast or dinner, but are out drinking most lunchtimes and evenings.
I don't think for them it's a matter of weight though - more a matter of being unable and/or unwilling to bother with food.
ReplyThat's the way it is with me...I recently turned 21 but even before that, the last four years since high school have been constant drinking and partying and I have found that I lost my appetite quite frequently. I suppose it's time I stop :/
ReplyThat sounds like one of my friends, though when she chooses whether or not to eat it has nothing to do with weight; she wants to know if she can actually get drunk later, not just drink a ton of vodka.
ReplyI knew a few people like that in college but mostly I hung out with groups that didn't drink like that. I personally hate the feeling of being drunk and then later sick. I could never do that on a regular basis.
ReplyI'm not surpried given the constant call in the media and from health authorities to count calories, count calories, count calories - even those in beverages and that includes alcohol. Something like this phenomenon shows that people do hear and listen to the message, sometimes with negative consequences - like forgoing nutritious food to be able to go out with friends and have a few drinks....these young people are swapping one calorie for another not realizing the negative potential of doing so....and I think much of the reason is that calories are now king and they're being told to count them and watch them and not exceed particular consumption of calories each day.
ReplyYou do have to wonder though, if "restricting food intake" in order to drink more could just be skipping dessert to have a glass of wine. I know this study is probably referring more to college students that starve themselves in order to get buzzed off less alcohol. But wouldn't the study probably be skewed by someone like myself? If I drink a drink with a meal, I will cut something else out. But if somebody did a survey and asked if I restricted food intake in order to drink more, I would probably answer yes, even though that's not really what they mean. I think.
ReplyKyle - I think you've got a point here. I also think that at college age, there's an element of being hip and cool if you cut meals but are a party animal - almost like it's something to aspire to.
I wrote about drunkorexia at http://www.ditch-diets-live-light.com/drunkorexia.html
ReplyI have the opposite view -- skip the alcohol in order to be able to eat dessert.
ReplyUnfortunately, I know a woman (and she is well beyond her college years) who lives this diet program. She must have 12 light beers a day and this adds up to 1200 calories. She spends the rest of the day eating carrot and celery sticks with a small bag of pretzels. She is killing herself inside out. So sad.
She is obviously an alcoholic. It is not uncommon for people with addictive personalities to exhibit other types of destructive behavior such as anorexia.
ReplyIs there physiology different then normal? I can't believe people can be totally disinterested in food, unless they have a hormonal imbalance.
ReplyIts true , my friends range alot but my friends who are 16/17 up to about 22 genrally do forget to eat , cant be arsed or just dont have the time or money.
We'll be out for a day or two , not eat or drink really because we dont have the money or time , and in the end we just forget.
Although if we are at our own homes we do tend to eat..quite a lot haha
But yea , forgetfullness and disintrest happens..alot!
ReplyX
This may help explain the skinny-fat phenomena among young women today. Yuck.
ReplyI know many many drunkorexics that have been this way for years. It's become almost standard place in my circle of friends as we go out drinking maybe 3-4 times a week. I don't think we drink that much, maybe 3-4 drinks a night. But those calories add up and weight conscious girls need to find a way to compensate for this social habit.
ReplyYa I know how that is... Actually, I found this site because I was looking for lower fat/calorie alcoholic options.... We used to go out on walks and walk an extra couple miles just so we could have our mikes hard cranberry.. lol, sounds kind of silly now.... I don't neccisarilly go without eating but I do try and keep my calories under control so I have limited my intake for the day so I could comfortably have a couple drinks.
ReplyHonestly, I don't get the alchololism in this country among young people. America is not dark, dreary Eastern Europe! Why do young people insist on destroying their health?
ReplyIn "dark, dreary Eastern Europe" we always say "don't drink with an empty stomach" :)
Replyafter reading this article I now understand what a friend of mine is doing. I just thought she had good control of her calorie intake. She orders appitizers from every bar she goes into but only eats a small portion and that constitutes her meals. She then drinks all afternoon and evening.
ReplyShe is a drunkaholic!
You must live in the Southwest...
http://www.stellarlink.org/academic/solarpower/cloudydays/image_view_fullscreen
Note that the darkest three shadings on that map experience more than half of their days as cloudy.
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