Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Apparently I am Bulimic

I had a strange conversation with a strange employee yesterday who believes that participating in a training for endurance races is a form of Bulimia. First of all he had to have meant Anorexia since I don't know a single endurance athlete that binges and then purges, at least not on purpose, there are of course those days that you eat too much before a long run or take in too many calories during a long ride and your body decides to revolt with a full frontal attack.

So let's take a look at what Anorexia is and how it compares to endurance athletes

  1. Anorexia is defined as a person that is 15% below their ideal weight. For me a 5'-8" 138lb male, I have an ideal weight between 145-161, with over 161 being condidered overweight, so I am 4.8% below my ideal weight. No
  2. Rapid weight loss over several weeks and months - I have fluctuated around the high 130's since I was in high school. No
  3. Having an unusual interest in food, calories, nutrition and cooking - every endurance athlete has an unusual interest in nutrition that sometimes tips into complete obsession about calories and nutrition but for the exact opposite reason than anorexics, we have to make sure that we are getting enough calories during our workouts. Yes
  4. Depression, anxiety and irritability - I've got 10+ hours of workouts scheduled for this week which is only going to increase as the weeks go on, so yes I am depressed and irritable. You got a problem with that? Yes
  5. Wearing loose clothing to hide weight loss - I am in a Speedo and cycling shorts as much as I am in jeans. No
  6. Social withdrawal - After a 3+ hour workout the last thing that I want to do is go out and socialize. Yes
  7. Compulsive exercise - No comment. Yes
So it appears that there is a possibility that I am actually anorexic. I will seek help immediately.

1 comment:

Jill Brown said...

well - recognizing that you have a problem is the first step to recovery :-)