Taking Break to Recover from an Eating Disorder

I would recommend, if you love your team, to go to meets with them support them, but talk to your coach about recovering from your disorder.

Your health is infinitely more important than your running career.

Try your best to stay healthy, but most of all do not take medical advice from letsrun.

As cool kid said. Take a break for as long as you need (it might be forever, and that is okay. If anyone treats you differently because you don't run, then you don't need them in your life).

Also, eating disorders can have long term affects on your health. You should seek medical professionals to talk about these things. Doing it on your own is much more difficult, and you are much more likely to never get out of the cycle.

Health >>>>>>>> running.

Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate the emphasis you all are putting on health over running. It's refreshing to hear.

People with eating disorders get this question a lot. When I was in the restrictive phase of my eating disorder, I felt like I was in control, but I really wasn't. I was able to ignore my hunger cues because I was not well--I was mentally ill. It is not a question of will or strength--it is a disease. Currently, I am binging on everything insight because of all of those years of restriction. My body is trying to get in all the calories I restricted myself of.

Please don't fall into the trap of restrictive dieting and eat as much cocoa and pizza you want, in moderation!

You should talk to your parents and get some professional help. If you feel that running is having negative impact on your ED condition, take a break from it w/o hesitation. You have the world ahead of you. You will have plenty of time to run and do other stuff later. Trust me. Running is not the end of the world for anyone.

I think you are wise to take a break from running to focus on your health. You don't have to give up exercise entirely, just choose gentle exercises like walking, yoga, swimming or biking for fun. If possible, create a team of supportive individuals around you that can help guide you. If you can, find a dietitian or nutritionist, start or continue some sort of psychological counseling, and look for support groups in your area.

I hope things get better for you soon. It's great that you are as aware as you are and are willing to take the steps you need to get both mentally and physically healthy.

Keep focusing on your health as your number one priority. Running can come down the road if you decide it's something you still want to pursue. If not, that's absolutely fine too. You just want to be as healthy as possible before you make those kinds of decisions.

how do you do it, if you are making that comment to mess with OP's head by valorizing (and thereby reinforcing) the control that is sometimes at least partly the cause of disordered eating, then you are what is wrong with the internet. The OP's health is, as other commenters mention, of primary importance. Your little games are not.

If you are making that comment with sincerity, it could be indicative of patterns of thought that might make you susceptible to disordered eating. Please be open with your healthcare provider about this. Because your health is also important.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful advice.

I have decided that I will take a break from running (at least for now) to get my eating under control. In the meantime, I will do yoga and bike leisurely to stay active. I will start running again when I feel that the time is right, and will someday be running marathons!:))