Eating Disorders and Running...I'm confused

^^^ as someone who read LRC as a high school girl, this is the worst place to ask questions about this. Watch/listen interviews with Molly Seidel, Allie Ostrander. Reach out to someone like Elise Cranny who also has posted about her ED. Don't go on a message board full of bitter middle-aged white men.

Eat the food, go through the process, recover. It's hard, but necessary. You'll for sure pb again and be lot healthier.

General healthy food isn's synonymous with sports nutrition.

Hi there!

These forums are absolutely the worst place to come for advice as they are male-dominated and I doubt anyone here is a sports nutritionist specializing in teenage female athletes.

The label of anorexia is not something that a qualified professional will slap on you for no reason. Anorexia also does not have a look. A very heavy person can be anorexic and not look like the image you have in your head. Lots of friends that I know who have overcome eating disorders never actually skipped a meal in their lives. They just restricted what they are, obsessed with nutrients etc (which just based on your post it sounds like you are very much there.)

Based on your stats but without looking at you, it does sound like you are in the underweight territory. You are asking for stress fractures and other injuries that will hurt your running longevity. Now is the time to address this issue while the stakes are low. When you are in college and your scholarships depend on it you want to have this mostly behind you.

Amelia Boone is an OCR and ultra athlete who has been very open about her struggles. I highly recommend that you look up her story. Molly Seidel has also struggled with an eating disorder. They’ve done the proper recovery work and have been able to perform again at a high level. Please give your body and mind a chance to heal before you start pushing your limits.

The podcast The Appetite is a great resource as well.

Take care of yourself, listen to your doctors. Maybe have your parents look into doctors who specialize in athletes so you can have guidance that works better for your goals.

I am a 5'5 female and when I weighed 107 lbs, it was because I was restricting my calories. If you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning, you will be consistently losing weight, even if it's very gradual. I was in denial until I reached 102 lbs, at which point I was mentally consumed by my eating disorder and I felt like I was going crazy.

Are you counting your calories? Are you restricting them? My best advice is to follow your hunger by eating until you are satisfied and following cravings. Make sensible choices but don't deprive yourself. If you truly have an eating disorder, this will be very difficult and I suggest you work with a therapist to identify the underlying issues.

Agreed! From the list I've been given, the only one that applies to me is not having my period. that's it! And the doctor doesn't believe I need blood work......................and at the ED program they base progress solely on my weight, not any other vitals. what do you think?????? help :(

You are probably anorexic and I hate to be the bearer of that information. Quick story: My Junior year of college, I thought it'd be a great idea to drop from an already lean 138 racing weight (5 foot 10) down to 130. Then 125. Then 120 and finally 115lbs. My issue? The thinner I got, the faster I ran. I broke 15 in the 5k indoors and ignored my teammates who told me I looked bad. I ignored pissing blood in the shower. I ignored the lack of energy. I ignored doctors and coaches and my parents and girl friend who were concerned. Your results and PRs will not remain consistent. You will get hurt, and you will really hurt those around you.

I am telling you now. You are likely not past your restrictive eating and your parents and doctors are right to put an end to your exercising until you figure this out. Do not mess with this. I was a slave to exercise for well over 2 years and I still struggle with ED even after I finished college running. Please listen to those that give a darn about you.

Best of luck

It’s funny to see posters happily telling OP how LR is the absolute worst place to come for advice on this and then happily doling out advice themselves that is not even that different from what other posters also emphasized.

Dunning-Kruegerism in action. Everyone seems to think everyone else is clueless about how serious a problem anorexia is but, of course, they themselves are the enlightened ones. 😅

Advice on LRC is a mixed bag. Yes, there is good advice to be had, but of course, not advice that would replace that of your doctors.

You sound very much like my daughter. She has anorexia, but is now in remission. As I am sure you have been told, anorexia is a serious and dangerous disorder. Recover is far more important than anything else, and certainly far more important than a missed season or two in hs.

My daughter started as a hs freshman at 5'5" weighing 103 pounds. She ran 19 min 5K in xc and a 5.10 1600 and 11.10 3200. However, this was while she began to restrict her food intake and by the end of spring track she weighed only 93 pounds. It took us this long to clue into what happened. We parents were in denial too for months. We then entered a very arduous 12 months of family therapy with at least 6 months of supervised meals. She was expected to gain at least a pound per week at first. She was not allowed to run because it was felt that the running was a gateway behavior to the ED and also she simply could not handle the calorie expenditure. After about 6 months she was weight restored to about 110 pounds, her periods returned, and she was able to eat adequately without supervision and she was allowed to start to run again. Slowly over time she developed a healthier relationship to food intake and exercise. She returned to training and her team as a junior, and ended senior year at 115 pounds and leading her xc team to its second straight CA state championship and she was consistently under 18:30 for 5K and ran a 5:05 1600. She now runs a very good D3 college team. She is 116-117 pounds and stronger and healthier than ever, but it is a long process. She remains in weekly therapy and this is something she has to handle over time. She is not cured, but in remission.

So the answer is that you can return to running and do well, but it is essential to follow the recommendations of the health professionals and to give it time and follow the process. It was very hard on my daughter and she suffered, especially at the beginning of the process. If you deny what is going on and resist, as she did at first, then the time to recovery is simply prolonged and the chances of recovery diminish. Hang in, it can get better.

I always ran my best times when I was 5-10 pounds heavier than the thinnest I would get while running higher mileage. The extra energy and vigor from eating more is better than the physical and mental toll not eating will take

Doctors need to be trained more on the signs of RED-S. By refusing to do bloodwork, your doctor is ignoring other health issues you may have due to underfueling and/or being underweight. Additionally blood work can give indication to other reasons why you may not by getting your period other than your weight. In your situation, you should see a different doctor and a sports nutritionist who care much more about your health and well-being than that number on a scale. If they can determine you have no underlying health issues as a result of being underweight/ammenohea, I do not see the promblem with continuing to run and train if you are eating eating enough to get your period back and reach a healthy weight.

My advice to you right now is to look online for another doctor that works with athetic populations who would give you bloodwork and one that could refer you to a sports nutritionist. You also could try to strike a compromise while still going to the ED program. Persuade to the staff that you really want to run and train and ask them if they could up your caloric intake so you can do so. Tell them you want to run because of the joy it brings you, not as a way to control your weight. You must prove to them that you can run while still gaining the weight they want you to.

Anonymous15 wrote:

Fast Young Runner wrote:

My daughter went through the same thing. The doctor flipped out at her pre-season physical because she had missed some periods and was thin. I don't think the doctor knew what a healthy person really looks like because nearly everyone is overweight today in the US. She refused to sign the physical until she gained weight. We were furious. It took about one month but even after, the doctor called us constantly to check in. I felt like she was going to contact a Government agency due to our daughter being underfed.

Wow. Is she a good weight now?

Hello there!

I think "Fast Young Runner" it is a GOOD call for the doctor to NOT sign the physical waiver. Losing your period is cause for concern. Please research RED-S, it is a sign to your body that you aren't fueling enough to go through what your body should be going through. "Missing periods" is a huge red flag.

To Anonymous15, you are 15 years old and it appears you are already classifying "good foods" and "bad foods" this is not healthy. It's important to think of food groups as just that. Milk is an amazing source of calcium and while not everyone tolerates it well (lactose-intolerant) it is important to always have a source of this (i.e. almond milk, cashew milk). However, it hurts me that you think having to drink a glass of milk is "unhealthy" while it most certainly is not. A bagel with cream cheese is a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat (good fat! Yes, there is such a thing).

It is important to remember:

1) Anorexia looks different on everyone. Not everyone with the disease will look the same, so using "I look like everyone else" is not a solid argument. Also, runners don't need to look a certain way to perform. Recent performances show that. US runner Emma Bates vs. Sara Hall look different but both do exceedingly well in the marathon.

2) Everyone will have a natural weight that is healthy for their body. Under-fueling or fueling only with "clean foods" doesn't allow your body to reach an equilibrium. Even though you feel as though you don't restrict calories, limiting your diet to "clean foods" only is a natural way of under-fueling even if you are not counting the calories.

Lastly, you are 15 young and able, do not fall into this hyper fixation on these things now. You are so young! Take the time to build a good relationship with food and the running will come through. You have time. You do not have time from the mental duress of under-fueling (which can cause serious harm to your metabolism and body that will have long lasting effects on your adult life--it is very serious stuff please take it seriously) and stressing out on missed running days. So many professional runners take time from the sport to get healthy and work on their mental health (Elise Cranny is one I can think of right now). Also, I recommend not perusing Letsrun :) haha.

Rome wasn't built in a day, it took many diligent days (this reference may be before your time).

Registered Dietitian wrote:

2) Everyone will have a natural weight that is healthy for their body. Under-fueling or fueling only with "clean foods" doesn't allow your body to reach an equilibrium. Even though you feel as though you don't restrict calories, limiting your diet to "clean foods" only is a natural way of under-fueling even if you are not counting the calories.

Althrough a strict eat clean only mentality can cause psychological distress, it's entirely possible to optimially fuel your body while eating a whole foods diet. There are plenty of high calorie, nutrient dense foods such as nuts, avocados, coconut and whole milk yogurt. Smoothies can also be made to help get in the calories and nutrients needed for health and performance. Treating yourself now and then is necessary for maintaining sanity and a healthy mindset but a nutritious diet is essential for allowing to athete to successfully train and recover while maintaining healthy endocrine, immune and cardiovascular function.

Here's a sample of a balanced, nutritious whole foods diet that would allow for necessary calories and nutrients to successfully fuel athetes(provided they are recieving the right portion sizes to meet their caloric needs). Beverages such as protein shakes can also be added in if need of more calories.

Breakfast

Egg sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato and avocado

Stemmed mixed vegetables

Orange

Snack

Carrots and pita chips with hummus

Lunch

Chicken stir-fry with rice, carrots, water chestnuts, broccoli, cabbage and almonds

Apple with peanut butter

Snack

Perfect bar

Dinner

Roast beef

Baked potato with butter and sour cream

Stemmed broccoli

Side salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, and bell pepper with olive oil dressing

Dessert

Mixed berries with yogurt and granola

anonrex wrote:

Your not being “allowed to run or exercise” sounds strange and not believable. Your doctor wouldn’t tell you that and if it’s your parents, tell your doctor to advise them.

None of the foods you listed are unhealthy, rather they are just food. Eating a nutritionally imbalanced diet could be unhealthy. Eating too many calories is not unhealthy until you become obese doing that.

It sounds like you’ve had sort of a brush with an eating disorder after all, and your BMI is underweight in the 17s, so you would likely be healthier with a few more pounds. Try not to think of it as “fat”. Not being underweight will more likely help, not hurt, your running.

Of course they stop them from running. Her BMI is in the 17s.

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. If I remember rightly in certain age groups eating disorders kill more than cancer. It is staggering.

She needs to gain weight. Running or any exercise puts that in the opposite direction. So it seems counterproductive to a treatment programme that will put weight gain and physical health/safety above everything else. It's difficult to gain weight for some people.

Yes but I’d like to see more grains and starches in there for a distance runner. What I’m emphasizing is that an obsession of only ever eating “clean” can be damaging to a young girl or boy. I know plenty of athletes with this obsession that turned dangerous and damaging.