Exercise Bulimia, Yikes!

This is a new one that I've never heard of before....exercise bulimia.

"Compulsive exercise is just another tool some people use to purge their body of calories, much like a bulimic who binges and purges. In fact, there's even a name for it: Exercise Bulimia. "

Wow! New one to me. And my husband calls me a health hog because I workout 5 days a week.

Anyone heard of this? I can see how someone could workout too much for sure, but I never knew it had a name besides "health hog".

This post has been edited by coasterqueen on May 11 2006, 12:49 PM

I heared of it , when I was younger I may have had a touch of this.....

kind of like I went out to dinner or ate a cookie....run extra miles or extra time on the stiarmaster!

Yes when I was in highschool I wanted to lose weight so bad I was working out 2 times a day for at least 40 minutes to the point of almost passiong out.. I think some ppl do this everyday and really have a problem! Isn't that scarey.

Oh yeah, it's really common in Hollywood especially.

Yep, I heard of it. It's usually associated with the eating end of the disorder; in other words, bulemics usually purge and over-exercise.

Exercising five days a week doesn't mean you're obsessed though. Much depends on what type of exercise is being done. Is the exercise purely for the purpose of getting rid of any caloric intake? Is the exercise program part of a cardio-muscle toning combination... It's not good for your body to do a hard cardio workout five days a week, but combining cardio workout with muscle toning workouts on alternating days is a healthy five day exercise regimen, so long as the sessions aren't much more than 45 minutes to an hour in duration.

Any more stringent exercise regimens should be monitored by a professional.

I used to work out 5 days a week 45 minutes to an hour of just pure cardio. Now I don't, though. BUT I must admit that I set a target as to how many calories I MUST burn on the treadmill in order to end the session.

Karen, hats off to you for making the time and commitment to exercise. I'm sure it's all within reason. I'm struggling just to get to the gym once or twice a week, and jump at any reason that might arise not to go...

I love the photos in your siggy, BTW! I've been away for a bit and hadn't seen those yet.

Hmmm... Why are daily caloric burning goals so important?

It's so bad on college campuses now that many of them restrict how long certain machines can be used for and if someone has worked out that day they can't come back for another 24 hours.

Hmmm... Why are daily caloric burning goals so important?

That's what I was wondering

My gym actually limits time on all cardio machines to no more than 1 hour at a stretch, 2 hours per day total cardio unless you are under the direction of a personal trainer to prevent this sort of thing.

Hmmm... Why are daily caloric burning goals so important?

Hmmm, not real sure. I guess it's more or less I eat what I eat normally, 3 square meals, but if I eat something out of the "norm" like a reese peanut butter cup (2) or cookies, snacks in general than I make sure I definitely burn at least a 100 calories over my normal burn of calories. My "normal" burn of calories is just what my 45 minute workout comes out too. That wasn't something I set, I just decided I wanted to workout on the treadmill for 45 minutes and when it shows me the calories burned and if I eat excessive that I day I try to burn at least 100 more. No real reason, maybe the anal person inside of me feels better, like it's ok to eat something extra because I'll burn a portion of it off.

Now this is ONLY when I workout on the treadmill. Otherwise I have no real way to track calories burned when doing my workout DVD's. If I snack excessively on those times I will do some extra crunches.

There really is no rhyme or reason to it, I'm just W E I R D. As you can tell from my past weigh-ins, it's not like it helps me lose weight.

Thanks Tracy. Been wondering where you've been. I've missed you and hearing about Daniel.

Oh I know I don't have exercise bulimia, I just came across an article on it at work and was sorta shocked by it. Never heard of it. But Dh does always call me a health hog. I think it's because he's not working out.

Yeah, I've heard about it. Personally, I'm too lazy do have it though. lol But my best friend went though a bit of that mixed with anorexia in High school. Now she's a little overweight...ok alot overweight (and PG). But she wouldn't eat Breakfast, she'd eat the minimum that the school allowed for lunch and no dinner (most of the time), and would run 2 miles a day to burn off anything she'd eaten, or she'd do like buns of steel and aerobics at home "for fun" she said. She went from a size 12 to a 0 in less than a 1 year. It was very scary to see. But now she's fine.

I actually have but I don't remember where.. its scary

Wow... I have never heard of that. Probably because I never really worked out before. I was always thin and never really thought much about my weight... until now. I am really starting to enjoy working out. It's hard to make sure we fit it into our schedule but it's become a priority for DH and I. We're no where near "excercise bulimia", but I can understand how a person could becoem obsessed with working out.

I think it is important to remember that you burn calories while you are resting, too. Not just when you exercise. For instance, my body burns 1600 and something calories a day, while at rest. So I know I need to consume this amount or less everyday to fuel my body. If I go way under that number my body hangs on to calories. If I go way over that number I don't lose weight. That's why it is important to eat all of your calories or 'points'..including your exercise points. This might be why you are showing a bigger loss when you eat more. You may not be eating enough for how often you exercise. It would also be great to find out exactly how many calories your body is burning at rest.

Trust me I eat my points and then some . I tested the theory out for the past 2 weeks that maybe I'm not eating enough for what I do and I gained 3 pounds so I know I was doing it right before. I do know I burn cals all throughout the day, not just when I work out.

Edit to say that at the same time I was testing out my theory I also had to start double pumping (was only single pumping before) so I guess that could have contributed to my weight gain. Oh and I quit taking my meds about the same time, so who knows.

This post has been edited by coasterqueen on May 12 2006, 05:32 AM

I dealt with compulsive excercising when I was younger, for many years...I still have the urge to go running or work myself to death after I eat too much or something unhealthy...it's more serious than just being an excercise fan, it's like an addiction to the high/adrenaline of excercising...KWIM?

Yes! I do know what you mean. Just walking into the gym gives me a high. I really did not feel like exercising this morning b/c I'm feeling awful, but once I got there the adrenaline started rushing. Which is a good thing IMO, unless you abuse it...like all things I assume.

I just read an article about this...I think it was in the latest issue of People or Instyle (read them both during Aliyah's gymnastics so can't remember!). I've heard of this before. It's quite sad. Just goes to show how many different ways extreme dieting can come into play for people.