The Athlete's Advisor Nutrition -Disordered Eating, Food Obsessions Compulsive Exercise

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Copyright May, 2002:  Nancy Clark, MS, RD

Disordered Eating, Food Obsessions & Compulsive Exercise: There's another way to live!
"I made myself run 5 extra miles today because I ate a cookie..."
"I try not to eat bagels and crackers. They are my downfall..."
"I spend too much of my time obsessing about food..."

Although the E in eating should stand for enjoyment, many of my clients act as though the E stands for evil. They try to stay away from food, thinking of it as a fattening enemy. While they may not be outright anorexic or bulimic, they certainly eat abnormally: starving themselves by day, stuffing themselves by night, exercising like crazy to burn off calories.

These food-fearers repeatedly choose the same fat-free diet: bran cereal with skim milk and fruit for breakfast, turkey sandwich and pretzels for lunch, apples for snacks, and chicken with a pile of veggies for dinner. No birthday cake, no pizza, no holiday treats. This repetitive menu becomes quite boring and offers little enjoyment when eaten day after day, month after month, year after year. But it feels safe to the dieters; they know they won't get fat by faithfully honoring this rigid food plan.

Not only do these weight-conscious athletes consume a very limited variety of foods, they also claim they consume fewer calories than might be expected given their high level of exercise. They typically report eating about 500 calories less per day then they "deserve." Yet, they fail to lose weight--a sign they are "hibernating" and conserving energy to protect against this perceived famine. As a result of the chronic hunger that accompanies the skimpy food intake, the dieters end up food obsessed. As one woman acknowledged "I'm embarrassed to admit how much time I spend thinking about food...I think about it all day."

If you are an active person who falls into the disordered eating category, rest assured you are not alone. Rather, you are accompanied by many other compulsive exercisers and eaters. From an outside glance, you may appear to "have your act together" but your hidden insides are haunted by the quest to diet and acquire a perfect physique--the illusive body found abundantly in fashion magazines.

Media's messages. Despite the fact that a rare handful of people naturally have bodies like those of magazine models, media portrays the message you are only beautiful if you are thin. (Make that thin and muscular if you are a man.) Speaking at the annual convention of the Academy of Eating Disorders (Boston, April 2002), Jean Kilbourne (www.jeankilbourne.com) presented her research on the image of women in the media. She pointed out how ads repeatedly offer these damaging messages: women need to be thin to be beautiful; a woman's "outside" assets give her value; women need not be smart, career-oriented or charismatic--just sexually attractive; a woman's main job is to be a sex object. Also, women shouldn't eat if they want to be thin, beautiful, sexually attractive (and brainless due to hunger).

If you take a look at advertisements, you'll notice that women are rarely seen eating; they just look at food. Men, in comparison, are portrayed as having a manly appetite, hence the name, The Man-wich. Think about it: Would The Woman-wich sell? Or Hungry Woman TV Dinners? No way! Lean Cuisine is the desired category.

The result of years of bombardment with these messages is that young girls believe they need to be thin at any cost. The cost: no birthday cake, no chips, no pizza, no breakfast, no lunch. Additional costs: food obsessions; guilt upon eating more than a rice cake; low energy, poor sports performance. Food is considered bad, addictive, or a reward for having survived life's stresses. ("You deserve a break today...") Where are the positive messages that food is life-sustaining, nourishing and essential to our wellness and self-care?

Let's get real. So what can we do to help prevent disordered eating and distorted body images? For one, we can redefine health. Is a woman truly healthy (and praiseworthy) if she eats virtually no fat and exercises constantly? According to Jon Robinson, PhD of the Center for Preventive Medicine in Lansing, Michigan and a speaker at the SCAN conference on Eating Disorders (Orlando, April 2002; www.nutrifit.org), fatness is of far less importance than fitness. That is, fat but fit people can be healthy and live long lives.

Contrary to media's messages, the truth is women (and all humans) come in assorted sizes and shapes. No one size is right, good, perfect. Regardless of size, your body deserves to be loved and nourished, not hated and starved, punished with excessive exercise. Take note: the seemingly "dedicated athlete" who exercises religiously and eats "perfectly" may actually be exhausted and unhappy, an obsessive, compulsive exerciser who is trapped in a vicious cycle. Have the courage to point out what you see: "You seem tired; you've lost that sparkle in your eye. Are you OK?"

If you do feel trapped, remember you have the right to choose the kind of life you believe is most worth living. If you are spending too many hours exercising and fretting about what and when to eat and how to purge calories (vomiting? exercising?), know there is a gentler way to live. Perhaps, instead of being on a relentless diet, you could simply learn to love your body for what it is? After all, your beauty comes from the inside out, not from thinner thighs.

And if the truth be told, who (other than you) really cares what you look like? Do you actually care about how others look? Of all the people in your life who have made an impact on you, did any of them have a "perfect body"? Likely not, but were they were still lovely? Yes!

People who fret about food and weight all the time cut themselves off from family, friends and relationships. They deaden their emotions with hunger. That's why people with anorexia can actually lose weight (as compared to most diet failures). They do not eat due to stress, nor do they find enjoyment in eating. They miss out on one of life's pleasures: enjoyable eating.

Finding a lifeline. If you are among the many weight conscious exercisers who finds yourself more and more confused about how to diet without feeling denied, deprived and obsessed, I encourage you to seek professional nutrition guidance from a registered dietitian (RD) who specializes in sports nutrition. You can find a local RD by using the American Dietetic Association's referral network (800-366-1655; www.eatright.org). Everyone always wins with good nutrition!

* Material re-printed with authors permission.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD , is a nutrition counselor at SportsMedicine Associates in Brookline MA, spends hours counseling people with disordered eating patterns. Her books offer self-help information: Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 2nd Edition ($23) and Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions ($20). Both are available by sending a check payable to Sports Nutrition Materials to 830 Boylston St #205, Brookline MA 02467 or via www.nancyclarkrd.com.