When UW-Madison sophomore Jane Doe vomited into her toilet after a long night out, all she saw was red.
\That day I only ate a sandwich around noon,"" Doe said. ""By the time it was 2 a.m., I had nothing in my stomach but wine.""
This was not the first time Doe had gone without dinner before drinking - nor was it unintentional.
""If I know I'm going out that night, I make sure not to eat a lot during the day,"" she said. ""Because really, who doesn't want to get drunk fast, spend hardly any money on drinks and maintain their weight all at the same time?""
This way of thinking is known as ""drinkorexia,"" and it's increasingly spreading across bar-filled college towns and crowded house parties.
Influenced by the lifestyles of celebrities, more students than ever are eating less during the day to compensate for the calories they will consume in alcohol late at night or, as is sometimes the case, binge eating they may partake in. This strategy helps them maintain both their partying schedules and their waistlines.
Although drinkorexia is efficient, cheap and staves off weight gain, it comes with hefty consequences.
There can be serious costs that affect both the body and mind, according to Richard Brown, clinical director of the Madison-based Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles.
Brown says that frequently forgoing meals for the sake of alcohol can lead to malnourishment and exacerbate the harmful effects of alcohol.
""When people are malnourished, lower blood-alcohol levels are more likely to result in poor coordination, loss of balance and falls and injuries,"" he said.
Malnutrition impacts more than just coordination, Brown said.
""It puts a strain on one's liver, which is then more susceptible to injury from alcohol,"" he added.
Alcohol does pack more calories than nutritious food. It contains seven calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and proteins each contain four.
This three-calorie difference is enough to motivate most drinkorexics to make the hazardous choice of choosing alcohol over a nutritious dinner.
Chelsea, a UW-Madison junior and a self-confessed drinkorexic, understands the dangers, but makes her decision depending on what her priorities might be that evening.
""When my top priority that night is to relax and stay at home then, no, I do not sacrifice a meal,"" she said. ""But when my top priority is to go out and get a bit tipsy, then I do. For the sake of my wallet and weight, it just works better.""
Sometimes a ""priority"" is not the primary determinant of whether a student chooses a meal over a drink. A preoccupation with weight that characterizes so many drinkorexics often overlaps with other dangerous disorders.
""Some of the women who engage in this behavior actually have anorexia nervosa,"" Brown said. ""Eating disorders are more common among women with drinking problems and vice versa.""
A study published last year by the Journal of Biological Psychiatry stated that between 25 and 33 percent of bulimics also struggle with drugs and alcohol.
Although drinkorexia has yet to be declared an official psychiatric disorder, its overlap with such severe eating disorders could mean that it is well on its way.
Drinkorexics share the same drinking patterns as another subset of individuals: chronic alcoholics.
According to Dave Mack, director of Madison detox facility Tellurian UCAN, alcoholics are commonly drinkorexics.
""Folks who are alcoholics figure out that if you don't eat much and drink cheap vodka, you can get drunk [very quickly],"" Mack said. ""It's an old drinking trick.""
Unfortunately, these alcoholics face disastrous stomach problems due to the prolonged lifestyle of rarely eating and excessively drinking.
Janet Duberry, director of outpatient services at Tellurian UCAN, has witnessed first-hand the devastating effects.
""I've had clients die of bleeding ulcers because of this lifestyle,"" Duberry said. ""If you don't eat before drinking, all you have is acid in your stomach and no food. Just imagine putting acid on your stomach.
It couldn't be more dangerous.""
Instead of avoiding food before a night out,
Duberry recommends eating a well-rounded meal an hour before drinking.
""Any heavy food with protein is a safe bet,"" Duberry said. ""These foods will help coat the stomach and balance out a lot of the sugar and acid found in alcohol.""
Like eating disorders and alcoholism, drinkorexia can be a difficult cycle to escape once swept in. Duberry points out, however, that the best step drinkorexics can take is to alter their main objective.
""If you don't focus just on getting drunk, you won't drink as much, you won't gain weight and you won't get sick,"" she said. ""Don't celebrate alcohol; celebrate with alcohol.
