Okay... this is one of the hardest areas of Pro-Ana for me because, my mom encourages me to not eat, to go all day without eating and we never, ever-ever-ever eat meals together. There is no hiding for me, if I fast she is proud of me. She has no idea what the symptoms of an ED are aside from bones (my sister is a recovered Anorexic/Anorectic) so she does not think it is serious until then.
Honestly, no one can answer the question "How can I hide it from my parents" or anything similar, except for tips of course, as no one knows your parents and how strict they are about it but you! So, look at all the tips on hiding it and use them as best you can, use common sense as to what will work and what won't (if you are already underweight and they need to SEE you eat vs. They just need to know you are eating vs. Mandatory meal times et cetera)
TIPS:
- Leave plates in the sink (for some parents this is enough, they'll know if there are more, no need to leave "plates with crumbs", make sure you look through your pantry and find something that you can say you ate and write it down so if they ask what you ate you will know what to say and be more convincing.
- Don't use excuses too much! (such as you are not feeling well) instead use stuff that is more convincing, "This is too much food, I am not hungry enough to eat it all", or half way through your plate, "I am too full to finish, can I wrap this up for tomorrow?" (then in the middle of the night throw it out and say you binged when they ask)
- Sleep! This is a really good one, you can act really tired after college/school and say you are going to take a short nap after you do your coursework and then just stay in your room so when dinner time comes pretend to sleep and when they try to wake you up say something like, "I am not hungry, can you just save some for me for later?", but "later" won't come, they will go to bed and you can scrape HALF into the loo/trash, and leave the plate with some food still on it in the sink.
- My mom did not know anything about fasting until I told her about it, and of course she *insisted* that it was bad even though I had done my research; what I am getting at is you need to research all the benefits of fasting or intermittent fasting (fasting every other day, which is less of a worry for your parents to swallow) and explain it to them or one of them along with the reason you want to do it (clearer skin, the euphoria, the good health, but AVOID weight loss unless you are above 120 lbs)
- Slowly become finicky, *slowly* or they will know, if they serve dinner and there is mashed potatoes but you love mashed potatoes do not try to tell them you hate them, obviously. If there is something like chicken just say you don't really like it anymore "you eat it too much and are just sick of it" (at school, home, and fast food places) or "you hate the texture in your mouth" "makes you feel disgusting and sluggish" ETC.
- If you are 16+ then you are old enough to not have to eat with your parents, if you are allowed to eat in your room just say "May I eat in my room, I have a lot of coursework I need to get done/a test I need to create study cards for" etc. I always said (because my dad would watch TV while we ate) there was a show/movie on that I really enjoy and then they'd let me go to my room and watch it where I would throw my food out.
- If you are 18+ living with your parents and they "force" you to eat or make you feel guilty, then tell them to back off, just say you are a night eater, just say you eat when you are out, just say not to be worried, it is your body and at least you are not obese as that causes more deaths in America than being skinny.
- *IF YOU HAVE PARENTS THAT HAVE THREATENED TO KICK YOU OUT* tell them that you have your period, you are healthy, (create a low-cal meal plan that allows fatty snacks every once in a while like a bite of dark chocolate) and so while they think you are eating "normal" now you will still be eating low-low calorie every day! Find a fruit that is low-calorie and you don't mind binging on, I know a girl who is Anorexic but she goes through grapes like nobodies business and even her mom says to cut back a little, SO get your mom or dad to buy that fruit, eat it around them sometimes and go through it really fast.
