Anorexia symptoms are hard to see because the afflicted try to hide them as much as they possibly can. When they are caught they will try to explain their way out of it. Often they will do a good job of it, too. Eventually the signs will be too hard to hide. Their condition, at this point, will be so unmanageable that their bodies will exhibit clear evidence of their condition.
The most common anorexia symptoms can be seen in behavior and eating habits. One particular telltale habit is when a person goes on a restrictive diet even when the person is already thin. Such a diet would often ban fat and carbohydrates.
Another sign is when the person carries around a food diary or is obsessed with keeping track of their food intake. Patients will keep on counting their calories obsessively. It would even go to the point of weighing the portions that he or she eats.
Another thing to watch out for is when a person has strange rituals when it comes to his or her eating. They would be eating in ritualistic ways like obsessing about the cuts of the meat portions. In most cases the person would be very secretive about these rituals. They would even refuse to eat in public places or usually eat alone.
Another anorexia symptom is when a person lies or pretends that they have already eaten. They would even throw away food just to avoid eating. They will often have excuses like "I'm not feeling too good" or "I've had a big breakfast".
Sometimes an anorexic would hide their behavior too well that the disease will just be evident in the person's body and her body image. Often you would hear the person complain about how fat he or she is.
In some cases, an anorexic would obsess over their body. Tiny fluctuations of their weight bother them a great deal. They are overly critical of their appearance. They would constantly be looking in mirrors and pointing at flaws.
The rapid weight loss would be evident in their body. There would be no medical cause but the drop in their weight would be drastic. They would try to deny being too thin and try to hide it by wearing baggy clothes and try to hide their weight in physicals by drinking a lot of water.
In some cases, anorexics use purging to reduce their body weight and limit their calorie intake. Take notice of their use of water pills and herbal appetite pills to suppress heir hunger. They would also use laxatives to pass food a lot faster. They will also use ipecac syrup to induce vomiting.
Exercise can also be an anorexia symptom where they exhibit and follow a strict exercise regimen. They would often work hard after eating something bad like fat or hi-calorie foods. Nothing can interrupt this strict regimen. They would even workout despite injuries or bad weather.