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Exercise Fanatic or Exercise Bulimic? | by Dawn Lang
You see Kristen* every day, sometimes twice a day, running on the treadmill, lifting weights or taking fitness classes. She appears very fit and toned, yet discounts compliments about her physique when they are given. You never see her eat or overhear her speak about unhealthy foods, yet she attacks the equipment like someone needing to lose 15 pounds. Some people in the gym have commented about Kristen having an obsession with exercise or even an eating disorder. Suddenly, you realize you have exhibited the same behavior. Nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders, and most of them are women. Now, a relatively new eating disorder, exercise bulimia, is poised to become more threatening than both anorexia and bulimia.
Exercise bulimia is characterized by excessive exercising, usually attached to feelings of guilt about eating. Exercise bulimics workout to “purge” what they have eaten in much the same way bulimics vomit after eating. Part of the problem of exercise compulsion is that others do not recognize the disease. Instead, people may compliment someone’s weight loss or muscle tone, which reinforces negative patterns. Another worrisome characteristic of exercise compulsion is the age of the victims. Many victims of exercise bulimia are young women who come in before work, after work or during their lunch break. Characteristically, they are working harder than anyone else in the gym.
The most dangerous problem with exercise compulsion is that it is virtually impossible to detect. No one knows exactly how many people suffer from this disorder. The main reason it is so difficult to identify is that doctors continually tell us that exercise is good. Working out helps keep people in shape, in addition to managing stress, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and improving cardiovascular endurance. Yet, even too much of a “good thing” can be harmful. The obsession to control one’s weight overrides everything else, including work, relationships and even sleep.
Disordered eating, from compulsive overeating to yo-yo dieting to meal skipping, is a spectrum so wide that most of us fit into is somewhere. The vast majority of new eating disorder patients, however, are girls between the ages of 12 to 25. Girls are socialized to please others. Right now, the world is resisting the overwhelming evidence that people come in naturally different shapes and sizes. Our society tells women especially that to be thin is to be beautiful, powerful and sexually attractive. Pencil-thin, surgically enhanced supermodels have goddess status and fat people are the last socially acceptable target of mockery and prejudice.
Eating disorders are not about food and slimness. They are about self-worth and sense of power or personal effectiveness in the world. Food becomes a metaphor, a substitute for all the things we cannot control. Food actually plays a rather small role in the development of eating disorders. The roots of eating disorders are in the self – not the body; in relationships – not food. The body and food, however, end up being the battleground.
Anorexia Nervosa is the refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height. There is an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they may be underweight. Anorectics generally restrict eating food or starve themselves, although 50% of anorectics binge and purge. Those suffering from Anorexia Nervosa face a 20% death rate and experience physical ramifications of the disease such as starvation-induced heart arrhythmias, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and shrinkage of the brain – which has unknown contributions. For those anorectics continuing into adulthood, there is infertility, osteoporosis, lack of sex drive, exhaustion, frequent illness due to immune suppression, and a list of associated psychiatric disorders from depression to obsessive compulsive disorder.
Bulimia Nervosa is characterized as recurrent episodes of binge and purge habits associated with lack of control over eating during these episodes. Eating may take place in a discrete period of time where large amounts of food are consumed. In order to prevent weight gain, bulimics will demonstrate recurrent behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, diuretics, enemas, and fasting or excessive exercise. Binge-eating and compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months. Those suffering from bulimia (episodes of binging-purging) may experience heart damage from medications used to induce vomiting, gum disease, tooth decay, swollen glands, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorders, and anemia. Excessive exercise is considered a non-purging type of behavior – this is why exercise bulimia is so hard to diagnose. Once an exercise bulimic is diagnosed, the treatment is similar to that of other eating disorders. Victims undergo therapy and counseling to improve their self-image. When women feel better about their bodies, they can approach exercise more sensibly. But before these women can exercise in moderation, they have to understand the feelings they have for their bodies.
What to do if someone you love has an eating disorder:
• Be gentle and supportive, not accusatory. The eating disorder is not their fault. It is an “out of control” coping mechanism that has become overwhelming for them.
• Once they are able to talk about it, help them decide if they need professional help. They will likely deny the seriousness of their illness and resist treatment.
• Negotiate – don’t demand.
• Discuss with them whom to see for treatment. A family doctor or pediatrician is your first resource. You can also call NEDIC, National Eating Disorders Information Centre (416) 340-4156 for a list of resources in your area.
• Don’t comment on their appearance, for which they are already overly focused. Shift the focus to how they feel, their emotions, their physical health and sense of well being.
• Encourage discussion of the underlying issues in their life – decisions, relationships with family and friends, their sense of self and the future. Don’t buy into their belief that changing their appearance will solve all of their problems.
• Be honest with yourself about your own ideas and prejudices about fat, body image and food. Discuss these with your loved one’s therapist if you can see that your beliefs are making it more difficult to manage at home.
Your loved one needs to see a doctor if:
8. They are dizzy or weak or have difficulty concentrating.
9. They have been inducing vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics.
10. If female, they have missed more than three menstrual periods.
11. Their weight has fallen or failed to increase as they grow, if adolescent.
12. They are not satisfied with achieving their weight loss goals, but instead become more self-critical and want to continue to lose weight.
13. They feel they are out of control.
14. They become socially isolated.
*Kristen is not the true name of the individual in this article. Name has been changed to protect identity. •
Dawn Lang is a wellness and lifestyle consultant, exercise therapist, and owner of Prescriptive Fitness. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Health and Wellness Management and over ten years of experience as a Certified Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and CPR Instructor. She consults clients about health cost containment methods, health risk appraisals, claims audit analysis and behavior change/modification. Dawn can be reached at: jlang@in.net
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You see Kristen* every day, sometimes twice a day, running on the treadmill, lifting weights or taking fitness classes. She appears very fit and toned, yet discounts compliments about her physique when they are given. You never see her eat or overhear her speak about unhealthy foods, yet she attacks the equipment like someone needing to lose 15 pounds. Some people in the gym have commented about Kristen having an obsession with exercise or even an eating disorder. Suddenly, you realize you have exhibited the same behavior. Nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders, and most of them are women. Now, a relatively new eating disorder, exercise bulimia, is poised to become more threatening than both anorexia and bulimia.
Exercise bulimia is characterized by excessive exercising, usually attached to feelings of guilt about eating. Exercise bulimics workout to “purge” what they have eaten in much the same way bulimics vomit after eating. Part of the problem of exercise compulsion is that others do not recognize the disease. Instead, people may compliment someone’s weight loss or muscle tone, which reinforces negative patterns. Another worrisome characteristic of exercise compulsion is the age of the victims. Many victims of exercise bulimia are young women who come in before work, after work or during their lunch break. Characteristically, they are working harder than anyone else in the gym.
The most dangerous problem with exercise compulsion is that it is virtually impossible to detect. No one knows exactly how many people suffer from this disorder. The main reason it is so difficult to identify is that doctors continually tell us that exercise is good. Working out helps keep people in shape, in addition to managing stress, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and improving cardiovascular endurance. Yet, even too much of a “good thing” can be harmful. The obsession to control one’s weight overrides everything else, including work, relationships and even sleep.
Disordered eating, from compulsive overeating to yo-yo dieting to meal skipping, is a spectrum so wide that most of us fit into is somewhere. The vast majority of new eating disorder patients, however, are girls between the ages of 12 to 25. Girls are socialized to please others. Right now, the world is resisting the overwhelming evidence that people come in naturally different shapes and sizes. Our society tells women especially that to be thin is to be beautiful, powerful and sexually attractive. Pencil-thin, surgically enhanced supermodels have goddess status and fat people are the last socially acceptable target of mockery and prejudice.
Eating disorders are not about food and slimness. They are about self-worth and sense of power or personal effectiveness in the world. Food becomes a metaphor, a substitute for all the things we cannot control. Food actually plays a rather small role in the development of eating disorders. The roots of eating disorders are in the self – not the body; in relationships – not food. The body and food, however, end up being the battleground.
Anorexia Nervosa is the refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height. There is an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they may be underweight. Anorectics generally restrict eating food or starve themselves, although 50% of anorectics binge and purge. Those suffering from Anorexia Nervosa face a 20% death rate and experience physical ramifications of the disease such as starvation-induced heart arrhythmias, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and shrinkage of the brain – which has unknown contributions. For those anorectics continuing into adulthood, there is infertility, osteoporosis, lack of sex drive, exhaustion, frequent illness due to immune suppression, and a list of associated psychiatric disorders from depression to obsessive compulsive disorder.
Bulimia Nervosa is characterized as recurrent episodes of binge and purge habits associated with lack of control over eating during these episodes. Eating may take place in a discrete period of time where large amounts of food are consumed. In order to prevent weight gain, bulimics will demonstrate recurrent behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, diuretics, enemas, and fasting or excessive exercise. Binge-eating and compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months. Those suffering from bulimia (episodes of binging-purging) may experience heart damage from medications used to induce vomiting, gum disease, tooth decay, swollen glands, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorders, and anemia. Excessive exercise is considered a non-purging type of behavior – this is why exercise bulimia is so hard to diagnose. Once an exercise bulimic is diagnosed, the treatment is similar to that of other eating disorders. Victims undergo therapy and counseling to improve their self-image. When women feel better about their bodies, they can approach exercise more sensibly. But before these women can exercise in moderation, they have to understand the feelings they have for their bodies.
What to do if someone you love has an eating disorder:
• Be gentle and supportive, not accusatory. The eating disorder is not their fault. It is an “out of control” coping mechanism that has become overwhelming for them.
• Once they are able to talk about it, help them decide if they need professional help. They will likely deny the seriousness of their illness and resist treatment.
• Negotiate – don’t demand.
• Discuss with them whom to see for treatment. A family doctor or pediatrician is your first resource. You can also call NEDIC, National Eating Disorders Information Centre (416) 340-4156 for a list of resources in your area.
• Don’t comment on their appearance, for which they are already overly focused. Shift the focus to how they feel, their emotions, their physical health and sense of well being.
• Encourage discussion of the underlying issues in their life – decisions, relationships with family and friends, their sense of self and the future. Don’t buy into their belief that changing their appearance will solve all of their problems.
• Be honest with yourself about your own ideas and prejudices about fat, body image and food. Discuss these with your loved one’s therapist if you can see that your beliefs are making it more difficult to manage at home.
Your loved one needs to see a doctor if:
8. They are dizzy or weak or have difficulty concentrating.
9. They have been inducing vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics.
10. If female, they have missed more than three menstrual periods.
11. Their weight has fallen or failed to increase as they grow, if adolescent.
12. They are not satisfied with achieving their weight loss goals, but instead become more self-critical and want to continue to lose weight.
13. They feel they are out of control.
14. They become socially isolated.
*Kristen is not the true name of the individual in this article. Name has been changed to protect identity. •
Dawn Lang is a wellness and lifestyle consultant, exercise therapist, and owner of Prescriptive Fitness. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Health and Wellness Management and over ten years of experience as a Certified Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and CPR Instructor. She consults clients about health cost containment methods, health risk appraisals, claims audit analysis and behavior change/modification. Dawn can be reached at: jlang@in.net
Join the FREE Fitness Club Now for Weight loss, Strength and Fat Burning Workouts!
BACK TO ARTICLES