We all know that women are willing to do just about anything to lose weight. I’ve heard of some pretty funky things in my day but this one is definitely on the top of my list: the tongue piercing diet. Want to lose a little extra weight? Get your tongue pierced! It will swell and hurt to the point of not being able to eat or drink for several weeks! Drew Barrymore recently got her tongue pierced which resulted in serious swelling, to which she said:
“I couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink for two weeks – great diet in a weird way.”
Maybe I’m being nit-picky here. I’m sure she probably meant the comment in a joking manner. But I think her comment does reveal a mentality that so many women in our society have: pain and physical misery is worth it, if it means you can lose a little (or a lot ) of weight.
The blog Every Woman Has An Eating Disorder had a survey a while back asking the question: “Would you sign up for the stomach bug?” 133 respondents (out of 369) basically said that they would if it meant that they could lose a little weight.
It reminds me of this time when I was at a client’s office. The CEO had recently suffered from a terrible flu for which he was hospitalized. He was telling one of his business partners about the experience and how he dropped ten pounds during his period of sickness. The woman responded “Oh Wow, that’s nice! I wish that would happen to me,” To which he responded, “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy!” (Mind you this woman is middle-aged and probably no bigger than a size 4).
All of this just goes to show how twisted our mentality is about weight, even if it’s only just a few pounds. Thinner is always better; no matter the cost to get there. As harmless as Drew’s comment may seem to some people, I find it extremely problematic because it actually reflects the way many women in the world think about their bodies and their desire to lose weight.
I say forget about the tongue piercing diet (and all other diets for that matter) and let’s strive to live happy and healthy lives, free of the incessant desire to drop pounds, even if it means illness.
similarly, a friend of mine recently posted on a social networking site that she’d broken a tooth and would be eating nothing but soup for a while.
immediately, someone followed up with “At least you’ll lose weight!”
(The original poster is underweight, not that it should matter. But still, “Thin!” is seen as an immediate upside to any woe…)
In a related vein… if you want lips like Angelina Jolie, just get a labret piercing. The swelling lasts for days.
I’ve had women say to me, “I wish I could catch a little anorexia” before. Uhhh… no. You don’t. Trust me.
A woman at my work got her adenoids and tonsils out recently and couldn’t eat or even hardly drink for weeks afterward. She lost something like 15-20 pounds and people at work just wouldn’t stop complimenting her on how “great” she looked even thought she kept saying that she wouldn’t recommend it and that she just wished she could eat.
To anyone who reads this and thinks it might be a good idea: if a tongue piercing hurts for two weeks, someone did something wrong. Maybe the piercer, maybe the person who got the piercing… but it’s not supposed to hurt that long.
An improperly pierced tongue can lead to some really fascinating problems – not just in the tongue, but the mouth, teeth, and other facial bits. I wouldn’t recommend getting a bad piercing job (and risking the complications that might occur) for the sake of a few pounds.
Then again, i also wouldn’t recommend dieting. So what do i know?
I had my tongue pierced, and at the time was looking forward to the ‘diet’ aspect. It hurt for one week, and had very little impact on my eating habits. Oh, and I eventually wound up inadvertantly swallowing the little steel ball that unscrews. I took it to be a sign that a pierced tongue was not for me. Though the mark where it was still shows…
A friend of mine broke her jaw over the summer and had to have it wired shut for a few weeks. She came back on the first day of school 10 lbs lighter but gained it all back after going back on solid food. She said the temporary weight loss was not worth getting hit in the face by a giant rock.
i recently gained eight pounds and am trying to own it. evidently, my body wants it, because i keep gaining it back.
the last time i lost it, i had a lengthy stomach flu. it was repulsive, excruciating (i have an ulcer — puking HURTS), and scarey. well, i lost 8 pounds. i stayed home and watched tv, day and night, including the biggest loser, which i’d never seen before (and never will again. those trainers are sadistic. terrifying show.)
weird juxtaposing 450 pound teenagers and 44 year old me, getting down to an unrealistically low weight. oh yes, i felt svelte and thought i looked hot, but my jawline protruded, i was too tired for intimacy and it’s not that sexy when you’re clump down, is it? is it?
I can’t fathom anyone wanting to catch stomach flu (aka gastroenteritis) on purpose. I still remember vividly when I got it 3 years ago and it was one of the wort time I’ve been sick, unable to even swallow water or juice… Waking up once ah hour that night to throw up even when there was nothing left to throw up… not fun.
Sort of off topic, but I’m a tattoo artist/piercer, for nine years now, and a tongue that painful for more than 4-7 days is seriously problematical. I hope she was exaggerating.
Reading this made me gag. That is all.
Yeah, the whole concept of wanting to be sick to lose weight disgusts me. I’m slowly recovering from a viral GI infection best left undescribed–and after 72 hours without solid food I felt like I wanted to die. I know I lost weight because people are asking about it, but I just want to eat a normal meal with my boyfriend and lift weights again.
Sigh.
Sometimes I miss my tongue piercing…but mostly not. haha!
I have no doubt that heatheninked is experienced in such things, but everyone’s anatomy and pain threshholds are different…so…just because someone has a different experience than you usually see, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have ‘bad work’ or whatev.
My tongue was swollen for a long time, too, it seemed like. I ate ice chips. Popsicles. Jello. Lots of things with ice. I’m sure it lasted a full week.
Poor Drew. Tongue piercings were over in the 90’s, babe. *haha!* O well it’s her body. If she wants a tongue perforation, so be it.
With the similarities in some of these comments, I’m surprised nobody’s selling TAPEWORMS for weight-loss, like in the olden days….eewwww!!
Yeah, it’s nervy how everybody sees “side-effect weight-loss” as some kind of huge gift, benefit or bonus. Sad.
Melissa said:
“it’s not that sexy when you’re clump down, is it? is it?”
Well said!!!
I used to have eating disorders and while sometimes my weight was low and I thought I looked great, I hardly had the energy to THINK MY WAY OUT OF A PAPER BAG. I had such a bad temper, as I was just that malnourished that life became very painful to live.
Happiness is not thinness, no matter what the mags say. Besides, life is more fun when I’m not snarling at everyone and have the energy to actually, ya know, do the dishes.
I remember clearly the look my housemate gave me, upon telling me of an amoeba he got somewhere once, when I said that it sounds like an effective way to lose weight. It seems that he didn’t think that was such a good idea. I don’t either, at this slightly later time in life.
It happened to me… I got my tounge ring and i lost 20 pounds… this is serious… but painful
You know, I’m guilty of these thoughts. My 12 year old cousin was pretty overweight, and had to shop in the adult sections. She was overfed by our grandparents, who doted on her. She would want to wear the skin-tight clothes that most kids wear, but they would just look awful on her, and everyone in her family called her ‘jaadi’, a word which means ‘fattie’ in our language.
She contracted jaundice a couple of years ago, and was on a restricted diet for a couple of months. She lost all the extra weight, became slim, lost the nickname, got the sexy clothes, and has never gained weight even though she’s still eating junk.
I confess, I’m jealous. I have often wished I could contract jaundice as well, and I’m a 25-yr old mature adult woman. I would sacrifice two months of pain and being unwell. I am serious. And warped, I know.
Nothing like a good Tongue Piercing Diet ! yes weemen would do anything