TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

Exercise Bulimia: When working out becomes an obsession

Posted July 12th, 2007 at 6:30 PM by Katie Drummond

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

For many busy women, it can be a struggle just to fit in that recommended thirty-minute daily dose of physical activity. But for a growing number, an effort to get regular exercise has been replaced by an obsession with burning calories and fulfilling rigid workout quotas - to the point of skipped work, depression, and potentially fatal harms to physical health.

While a fit body needs activity, exercise bulimia – an obsessive illness with serious consequences for the body and the emotional psyche - is becoming increasingly common. Experts estimate that at least 4% of Americans struggle with excessive exercising, but the diagnosis of exercise bulimia is rare in a culture that celebrates trim physiques and a disciplined dedication to workouts. In fact, most sufferers from exercise bulimia aren’t diagnosed with any medical problem until symptoms of more common eating disorders, namely anorexia and bulimia, rear their heads. And unfortunately, they often do, as most of those who struggle with one of the three will battle the others at some point in their lives.

It can be easy for exercise bulimia to go on for years under the radar –

Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

One comment, add yours | Permalink

Exercise Bulimia: When it’s gone too far

Posted December 1st, 2006 at 11:00 AM by Sarah Kaufman

Section: Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Health & Fitness, Exercise

When you’re at the gym, you love running on the treadmill. You pump out five or six miles every time you go; sporadically varying the speed of your mile times to achieve the best possible work-out that your body can handle. You look beside you and see a woman who is also running on the treadmill. She’s running at the same speed; on her way to the same five or six miles.

But whether or not you’re able to realize it, there is something different about the two of you.

You feel amazing after your run. You feel empowered, you feel healthy, you feel unstoppable. But not her. She feels like she didn’t do enough for the day. Maybe she feels like she shouldn’t leave; not until she burns a few hundred extra calories (at least!).

We all know that exercise is good for you. It’s healthy. It allows you to live a longer, happier life. But when does exercise turn into an eating disorder? Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink