Anorexia Athletica???? Over exercising

Is anyone familar with anorexia athletic. Or in other words working out compulsively and excessively just to eat alittle????

My doctor was probbing me in how i lost weight and how much exercise i do and thinks that I should cut back on my cardio because I am a "compulsive exerciser" or now coined the term "anorexia athletic". He said that I basically exercise compulsively, restrict my calories, have a great fear of gaining weight, and my healing and body's recovery is very low. Currently I burn about 800- 1100 calories a day just in cardio and usually after exercise I am around 400 + calories for the day. Meaning I consume the calories I burned plus an additional 400 or so. I am extremely worried, and am wondering if anyone has gone through this or is going through this.

How to recover? any tips? any personal stories? I am looking for any tips to slowly reduce exercise and up calories without gaining!!!!! My fear is gaining after my body comes out of this "stressed" starvation mode.

yes, I've been there... Its good that he caught it before you started to develope other issues.  I became severly anemic and then couldn't excercise for MONTHS... horrible I gained 10 lbs... BUT atleast now I have a fresh start, my 10 are coming off easy now and i am much more healthy.

For me what helped the most was starting to take an Anti-depressent/Anti-Anxiety... I have alot of anxiety and depression in my family and was using the excersize in a healthy way to cope but then it took a turn and became the focus... I still feel guilty as heck if I miss a workout... Right now I have tonsillitis and have missed 2 sessions... pretty hard even at my "recovered" state. 

I would come out of this slowly... gradually reduce your workout as you gradually increase your intake... I think a sudden change would be too difficult physicaly and emotionaly.  I would set a goal of increasing your intake by 200 calories each week as you back off your work out by 200 calories a day.  that will give you an nice 400 calorie a day boost... which will help keep you from getting ill.

Thanks!!! I appreciate your info.

I started to cut back on cardio and I am slowly increasing my calories currently I am now up to about 800 calories after all the exercise. I guess for me it is more mental ( gaining weight) than anything else...in regards to increasing my calories

I don't have any advice or anything, sorry =(

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone, it looked like you were writing about me up there!!! =P

I suffer from this as well, I cannot go a day without some kind of physical activity. That being said I am road on the road to recovery. I have been in counselling, and I was also seeing a nutritionist not to long ago. I am still able to workout, however I had to limit the amount of cardio I was doing. I am still able to lift weights and go for walks. I think the hardest part was getting over the fear of not working out, I realize now that you can still eat right and be at a healthy weight while still staying fit. The difficult part is learning that one day of rest will not make you gain weight!

Like other people have said you must up your calories so that when you do burn them off there is still calories left over for your body to function. I think the thing that really scared me into recovery was when my doctor told me that it was either gain weight or one day I could have a heart attack while running, and I would ultimately die. Scary reality, but a true wake up call.

Its sometimes known as 'exercise bulimia' too, but that is normally an obsession with burning everything you ate through exercise.  I suffered from this - I would eat 800 calories, normally less, and then burn over 1000 calories than that - an hour long run and 60 minutes aerobics does that pretty well...

I still burn a bit too much, but I eat more to compensate now - my burn meter says I burn around 2600-3000 on an average day (in truth its less - I have an underactive thyroid) and I eat 1800 calories. At the moment I seem to be either gaining or maintaining, but I would still like to lose a bit more weight.  

 

alicandra- you sound exactly like me! I will bust myself on cardio burning 800- to 1000 calories just to allow myself to eat. Throughout the day I am mainly in the negatives. I basically eat what I burn and allow myself at the close of the day to be at most +700 calories or so. I am trying really hard to cut down the cardio at least. Maybe not at the point of eating more, but at least cutting down on the cardio. We shall see, ...but I am starting to feel run-down and weak from time to time. So I know I have to make changes.

How did you start to recover/ or cut back? Was there a turning point??

enia- how did you overcome the "guilt" of not working out. I mean I haven't gone one day in the last 6 months without doing some form of cardio for an extended period. Any tips would be helpful!!! :)

To be completely honest, I was overtraining so much, and my body was so tired, that I ended up doing in my ankle.  I could do no exercise for 2 weeks, and at the same time joined a new school, and met a load of new people, most of whom weren't as exercise-obsessed as my other old friends are. They helped to put a lot into perspective for me.  

After that, I increased my food intake while I couldn't exercise, until it was at a level where I could reintroduce exercise.  Now, I exercise less than I used to, with a general maximum of 2 hours a day, but I try and keep eating enough.I must admit, I do sometimes go over the 2 hours - on monday I did 4 hours of cardio alone - but as long as I eat enough calories, I try not to worry about it. 

I have the same problem as you guys! Over the summer and this past semester I would literally start having panic attacks if I couldn't work out. I would pass up dates and going out just to excercise, and plan my entire day around gym time. It got to the point where my social life would suffer, and the only time anyone ever saw me was at the gym or classes. I can't believe I let myself waste an entire summer and a semester of college (supposedly some of the best years of your life, HA!) doing that! I just moved in with family and am now longer living on campus, so the gym is much further away. We have a treadmill in the basement, but since the elliptical is my machine of choice, I'm much less likely to freak out and work out on the 'mill. I still do, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't consume me so much anymore. Plus, I've gotten a lot busier lately, so working out is not even an option some days. It's hard to overcome, and I can't say with any degree of certainty that I have, but I'm working on it. Who knew that something so good (excercise) could turn into an ED? 

Just so you know

 

This was me to a tee. I ended up getting a viral illness because my body was so run down (i didn't know it was, I felt great) and my body could not fend off the illness. I couldn't work out for EIGHT weeks. Even after, I couldn't reguarly work out. I have been a hardcore cardio machine for the last 4-5 years - plus weight training - so this was a severe blow to my routine - comfort zone etc. While I was not allowed to work out, i had to drastically cut my calories to compensate - I ended up developing bulimic tendencies and feeling horrible. The binge purge cycle still haunts me. bottom line. Your body will get used to the cardio and you will have to do more and more every time to reach the same effect. I reccomend every one takes at least ONE rest day and limits cardio to 45 minutes at the most...or 60 if you are taking more than one rest day. Also, supplement with weight training. This is hard for me to tell others because I have such a strong attraction to working out myself :( such a pickle i am in! 

chemistrygirl76, 

It took me a while to get over the guilt, but I realized that one day is not going to make me overweight. You burn calories with everything you do, reading, eating, walking, typing, etc (which im sure you know). But on the days where I didnt work out I would go outside, shovel snow, clean the house a bit, vaccum, read, I would do anything to keep myself busy. Also when I went to the doctors he told me that it is better to rest even one or two days a week, this gives your body time to recover and rebuild muscle tissue. Over doing it will sometimes only lead to more problems and a weaken body. It is hard, and it wasnt easy but eventually you will find those days you rest the next workout you have you have more energy and alot more strength!! goodluck!

i go to the gym everyday. and usually twice a day.

i go in the morning and do 30 mins of elliptical or 45 mins of walking or 15 mins of running and 30 mins of walking. plus 3 times a week i do weights. thats just in the morning.. after first class or right when i wake up.

at night i go back for fitness groups. i always do my best to sign up for spinning, so tahts 4 times a week. the other times i do yoga or lower body blast.

i fear that it is alot, but im scared of gaining weight even though i eat TONS throughout the days especially in my room when im trying to study or read. i end up eating way to much cereal and stuff.

so yeah im scared to gain weight. thats the main thing

sophie- i hear you 100 percent. I too work out a lot i am now down to about 80 minutes a day of cardio and 45 mins of weights 5 times a week. It doesn't help that I have a ful gym, and precore elliptical at home ( easy access). But I am trying to eat more and get out of this cardio rut...my body is starting to break dow.

with all the cardio you do....do you feel weak or tired? I know my body is worn out, thus i am trying hard to cut back...but i am soo scared to gain too

somtimes i feel weak and tired. my legs are sore or my knees are hurting, but i have energy to do it.. or the power, or will. or obsessiveness.. i dont know.

and i love the feeling after the gym too.

then i come home, wait a little and then im like i probably should eat something.. but when i do.. i eat alot. like i had a nice sandwich that turned into 2 bowls of cherrios and a kashi bar and probably something else too.

See I am like you...i find the willpower to do the cardio ...and i agree i feel great afterwards...just not at the start...he..he..he..he

anyhow, i see you re-fuel that is something i have to do. re-feed my body after such an extreme workout......time will tell.....i am getting better everyday though

Hey!

I'm a recovering ana-athletic and have dealt with EDs for years...And first I gotta say that there is VERY little information available on this illness... It's wrong and that should change.

I'm definitely on the road to recovery, and haven't felt this good about myself in YEARS...I am still working on reducing my workout with a therapist/doctor on a weekly basis taking it down by 10-15 mins each week, but I'm definitely not starving anymore. I was in starvation mode, battling myself, because I wasn't eating and was working off 1200 cals/day and barely eating 300 cals/day...Yet I was simply maintaining. If I changed a thing about that regimen, I would GAIN. It's HELL, and I totally empathize with your fear.....But I realized something that CHANGED EVERYTHING. Really and truly, my road to recovery began when I realized that I wouldn't gain while reducing my workouts if I simply started eating differently and eating MORE. I know, it sounds scary & crazy. But it really works!!!!

Please, keep at it and don't give-up hope!!!!!

Check-out my journal entry, I wrote all about it in there...And if you ever need any tips or advice, don't hesitate to send me a message :)

Take care!

~Jaya

 

Jaya- Thank you so much for your post. That was really  inspirational, and something that I needed to know. It is truly good to see that you overcame this beast of over-exercising.

I am trying really hard to overcome my fear of "eat more workout less" and the idea that I will not balloon up...as I have so vividly pictured in my mind.

Thank you so much, ...i am increasing my calories slowly and cutting back on cardio slowly. I am down to about 70 mins a day cardio and weights 5 times a week.

Janelle  :)

Hey Janelle! I'm so glad that I could be of some help to you!!! And you surely will get through this, girl! Sounds like you're making some good progress!!!!

Recovery can be scary & daunting, but I can honestly now look at myself and say...This is the way I'm supposed to look & feel. Hydrated. Energetic. Full of LIFE.

Yes, I was outside my comfort zone for awhile... And it sucked. And the doctor tells you, "Start eating more. Eat x-amount of calories and you'll be better", and I would do it and I'd bloat and gain weight. I think this is the problem with many girls that have EDs. They panic and go back to their old ways... But the thing is, if you eat the right foods in recovery, you won't gain a whole lot of weight!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll just feel + look BETTER! No doctors ever took the time to explain that to me...I had to do research.

Don't listen to the weight-gain horror stories, because it doesn't have to be all that bad. So many girls are told in recovery to eat a certain amount of calories, and let's face it, once you're eating again you want to have all those "forbidden" foods that you couldn't have - It's only natural. Your brain is also in starvation-mode and triggers cravings. And you feel free to listen to them because your doctor said you should fulfill a calorie requirement. What they SHOULD be telling you is: You need to eat the right foods in order to recover properly, as well as restore your nutrients and HEAL from the inside out. It's simple: Give your body what it needs, and it won't get confused in recovery!!!!!!

And my personal formula for good recovery was to embrace GOOD FATS. Nuts, seeds, avocados, whole eggs - These things fill your calorie requirements, are full of nutritious vitamins and omega fatty acids...And they satisfy your hunger and keep your blood-sugar level, so for binge-eaters, these foods won't give that urge to binge from having starved for so long. And if your capacity for food is too small and you can't handle too much food, nuts/seeds/avocados/eggs,etc. don't make you feel like you're gonna puke, because they're so small. You just need a small handful of each, each day. And if you're too scared, go ahead and check the scale after eating these foods - They don't stuff you up and you'd have to have a LOT to make your weight go up at all. And if you need more supporting evidence, so many studies show that ALA and CLA(fatty acids) help you LOSE weight and are found in all kinds of weightloss pill formulas.

But yeah, in conclusion after my big nutrition-talk(lol): Eating good fats, and eating CLEAN as well as steering clear from things like too much milk or refined sugar helped me lose the bloat-weight and I didn't really gain a lot of weight in recovery, and let's face it - recovery feels a lot better when you're not gaining 5 pounds a day.

But besides the effect it had on my body, the amazing thing was the effect it had on my mind... Yes I was and still am exercising too much, but once I began to eat the right way, each day my mind felt like it was healing, my mood was lifting, I was able to LAUGH again, and had the ability to CARE for myself the right way again, because I was thinking straight again... B/c my brain wasn't being starved! And my real healing began there, and it was then that I had the strength to tackle my problem exercise-addiction.

Question: Do you not think that there isn't enough research/books/general literature available on anorexia-athletica???? I'm very very bothered by this and I'm trying to take action on the whole thing...Because I mean...It obviously effects people in a massive, life-changing way...

But yeah, girl, don't fear recovery...You're strong and you CAN do this. Just keep on with what you're doing :) And again, I'm here if you ever need support! Take care!!

~Jaya