Lately, I've had several people asking me about ED and working out. Do eating disorders and obsessive working out go hand-in-hand? How much exercise is too much? Many of you also want to know if this was one of the issues I've had to deal with.
Yes, obsessive exercise can be a substantial part of the life of someone who has an eating disorder. It's another method they may use to gain control--over their weight, over their lives, over whatever other need they may have. Often the term for this is called "exercise bulimia," or "compulsive exercising." Here's the official definition, from
Wikipedia:
"Exercise bulimia is a subset of the psychological disorder called bulimia in which a person is compelled to exercise in an effort aimed at burning the calories of food energy and fat reserves to an excessive level that negatively affects their health. The damage normally occurs through not giving the body adequate rest for athletic recovery compared to their exercise levels, leading to increasing levels of disrepair. If the person eats a normally healthy and adequate diet but exercises in levels they know require higher levels of nutrition, this can also be seen as a form of anorexia."
I was recently contacted by someone who is a recovered anorexic. A few years ago, when her eating disorder was at its worst, she worked out for an average of four hours per day, often not sleeping all night so she could work out. That, obviously, is an extreme example of exercise bulimia. There are many women--and men--out there who exercise compulsively in an unhealthy and unnatural manner, yet don't engage in the extremes of four + hours a day. Even so, they can technically qualify as having "exercise bulimia."
I never considered myself to be one of these people -- I work out for one hour a day, tops. That's all I've ever done; it's all I have time for, for one thing, and I also feel that an hour is the amount my body needs to maintain a healthy structure. Because I never spent obnoxious amounts of time on my regime, I didn't have a problem, right?
Wrong!
I had a problem because I would often let working out interfere with my other activities. I
had to work out, every day, at all costs. I told myself it was just one hour, a minimal amount of time; that was how I made myself feel better about it. Even so, it was my attitude of not letting anything get in the way of that hour, including my spouse and my children, that led me to realize my habits were not healthy.
Exercise bulimia can be defined as not just working out for unhealthy durations of time, but also when your exercise routine interferes with any other aspect of your life. Here are a few questions to ponder:
- Do you feel you have to exercise, and if you don't you'll get manic, angry, upset, etc?
- Do you schedule vacations or fun outings around your exercise, thinking "I can't do this," or "I can't go there," because it will get in the way of your exercise routine?
- Do you schedule appointments, childcare, or other important daily activities around your workouts?
- Do you work out when you're sick or when you're injured, not giving your body the necessary time to heal?
- Do you work out seven days a week, not taking even one day off for necessary rest and recovery?
If you answered
yes to any of these questions, you may have a problem with taking your healthy exercise routine to unhealthy and potentially dangerous levels.
Compulsively exercising is not only dangerous to your health, but also to your personal relationships; if, or a regular basis, working out is more important than spending time with your spouse, your children, your family ... well, that's a problem. A major problem.
I've been there, so I know. Some days I'm still there, but with a firm determination not to let any of these ED issues overshadow my life, I'm definitely on the right path. There's a feeling of freedom knowing that if I don't get to work out
right this second, if instead I play a game of
SpongeBob SquarePants Life or something equally as non-physical, it's okay. Because I'll be playing that game with my kids, and they're more important than anything else in my life. Priorities, for sure!
Obviously, there's a balance. A balance between healthy levels of exercise and ways of thinking, and unhealthy levels of exercise and obsessions. Find that balance, and go with it.
If you're obsessed with exercise, if you use working out as a way to undo bad eating habits or because you feel you simply
have to work out or you'll go loony (all this on a regular basis, of course), most likely it isn't something you can deal with alone. As a matter of fact, a lot of compulsive exercisers discover that therapy helps them deal with their issues. Calling your physician is the first place to go to get started, and there's also quite a few reputable online resources out there. Be warned, though -- there are even more disreputable sites out there. I've run into forums that are pro-ED, and some that are supposed to be supportive of ED and compulsive exercise recovery, but are really just a forum for weighing in, bragging about how much exercise was done on how little food, things like that. You've really got to be careful out there in the Big Bad World of the WWW.
With that said, I want to propose an idea. Many of you have posted questions and concerns about the issue of exercising too much, so I'm thinking about starting a forum on
Advanced Workouts. I'd like this forum to be a fully supportive place where we can hang out with our cyber girlfriends in a healing environment. Ask questions (how much is too much?), provide cyber shoulders to cry on, general support, etc. However, I do NOT want anyone to post anything about their weight, what they ate, or exact details on their workouts. There's too much room for obsession with that stuff going on. So what do you think? Would you join a forum like this? I'm not going to invest the time, space and funds on a project that would interest just a handful of people, I really want this to be a fully supportive and active forum, so please let me know what you think. Good, bad, or indifferent, I want your opinion. You can either leave a comment on my blog, or send me an email. Thanks in advanced to all those who will take the time to provide their feedback.
