Eating Disorders and Running...I'm confused

Anonymous15 wrote:

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I don't look or feel anorexic, although I had a short period of time restricting food months ago, but I'm totally past that. I'm really frustrated by this diagnosis, and now I'm not allowed to run or exercise, and not only that, but I have to eat unhealthy foods multiple times a day.

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my runner's heart is broken help ;(

(More states: 5'5.5'', 107 lbs, 15.5 yrs, female, been running for abt 1.5 yrs, mile time is abt 5:55, I love xc)

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.

Just gain the weight, you'll be faster and happier at 115-120. Speaking from experience

Wait do you mean I should be allowed to exercise?

(replying to anonrex)

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.

If I am allowed to read between the lines, your parents prompted the inquiry for the doctor to confirm with his diagnosis?

If you feel comfortable with your body weight, it should not be an issue. Parents, by default, are invested in the health of their children. Unfortunately, they think the "correct" version is a western one where it all about that bass. Same for the ones that post here.

Do you have these symptoms:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615

Sorry, meant to post this:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591

Anonymous15 wrote:

Wait do you mean I should be allowed to exercise?

If you build trust with your doctor and parents by showing a commitment to working towards the higher weight they recommend, I’m sure they will let you run provided you increase your caloric intake even more to compensate for what you burn.

There isn’t a medical reason to blanket-disallow exercise assuming anorexia is your only problem.

rexanon = anonrex (coz this site doesn’t seem to allow handle reuse across devices)

So if it's not an issue do you mean there's a way I could start running again in the upcoming days? or treatment first :( lol sry for all the questions thx for writing on my post

rexanon wrote:

Anonymous15 wrote:

Wait do you mean I should be allowed to exercise?

If you build trust with your doctor and parents by showing a commitment to working towards the higher weight they recommend, I’m sure they will let you run provided you increase your caloric intake even more to compensate for what you burn.

There isn’t a medical reason to blanket-disallow exercise assuming anorexia is your only problem.

Yeah I've been tryna convince them but they said no running for 2 weeks then we take it from there :(. What do you think? How will this impact my running?

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?

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.

"She missed some periods and was thin" ??? Do you not know the definition of female athlete triad/RED-S? Jesus, no wonder the doctor was calling you constantly to check in.

I hope you're trolling.

Two weeks is nothing. Your running will hardly be affected and you might even have a recovery boost especially if you were training hard previously.

Also parents hearts are easily melted. If they see that you are truly committed, they might release you early on good behavior. :)

I think what you describe here is a slightly unhealthy relationship with food.

You being so concerned with how drinking a protein shake and pound cake will affect your running is concerning. Please keep working on yourself. You truly have a lifetime of running ahead.

If I were you, I would find another doctor and get a second opinion. It sounds that the doctor you went to is basing your health, diagnosis and course of treatment primarily off of your weight and prevoius eating restrictions but nothing else! Yes you are slightly underweight at 5'5.5" and 107lbs but are you experiencing relative-energy deficiency syndrome(RED-S)? Do you have a regular period and healthy bloodwork? On the contrary, are you frequency getting sick and injured? These variables are a much stronger indicator of your health then your weight. If the doctor can reasonably determine that you would be significantly healthier at a higher weight, a better alternative would to meet with a sports dietitian to set up a meal plan to help you reach your target weight while still running. Not being allowed to exercise and attending a program for those with eating disorders is overkill in your situation.

I can't speak to your diagnosis without knowing you, but it sounds like you are underweight and have some restrictive ideas about food - I think it's best that you fully engage with the recovery process. It is normal to not be allowed to exercise in eating disorder recovery - difficult and frustrating, but very normal. Same with the kinds of foods you have to eat in recovery - it's not fun, but it's very normal and it will be so worth it to be able to incorporate those foods into your everyday life comfortably.

With your current PRs, you will be able to gain a lot of weight and continue to PR. As long as you ease back into running slowly (so you don't get injured) you have nothing to worry about. Respectfully, I could probably find dozens of women who are heavier than you and faster than you in my contact list. It's best that you recover now, when you can have a long healthy running career ahead of you, rather than push it off until college when it will really interrupt your life and running.

I would caution you to be careful where you turn for advice - A lot of well-meaning people don't know anything about eating disorder recovery and aren't qualified to negate your doctor's recommendations.

queen_bee 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.

"She missed some periods and was thin" ??? Do you not know the definition of female athlete triad/RED-S? Jesus, no wonder the doctor was calling you constantly to check in.

I hope you're trolling.

Agreed. I hope that post isn't real. To shrug off the fact that "she missed some periods" is bothersome.

This is my opinion when it comes to running. EAT MORE. Seriously. The more I eat the faster I recover. If I am undereating, I feel slow and sluggish and it 100% affects my workouts and recovery. When I am eating enough I bounce back so much faster from workouts, and I am able to train at a much higher level.

Eat nutritious foods. Guess what, sugar is a nutrient. Fat is a nutrient. Eat lots of carbs, eat plenty of fat, get plenty of animal proteins.