For Athletes Who Struggle with Food and Weight…

author : Nancy Clark

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If you are an athlete who struggles with losing those last few pounds, take note. Weight issues may have little to do with body fat and more to do with “I'm not good enough.”

Too many athletes (males and females alike) struggle with food and weight. Their common belief is “the lighter I am, the better I'll perform.” Not true, if the cost of attaining the perfect body is poorly fueled muscles, overuse injuries, and a dysfunctional relationship with food.

If you are an athlete who struggles with losing those last few pounds, take note. Weight issues may have little to do with body fat and more to do with “I'm not good enough.” Haven't we all, as athletes, had that thought? And certainly, some athletes struggle with the “I'm not good enough” belief far more than others. They are the ones who can easily cross the line into having an eating disorder.

An eating disorder distracts the athlete from the feelings that come with being “not good enough.” After all, if you are always thinking about whether or not to eat, and how much to exercise, you are not thinking about feeling imperfect or inadequate. Unfortunately, using food to distract from those feelings can end up hurting your performance.

The following information, presented at a conference in Boston organized by the Multiservice Eating Disorders Association (MEDA), offers food for thought for athletes who struggle with finding the right balance of food, weight, and exercise. For additional information, check out MEDA’s website, www. MEDAinc.org. It's filled with helpful resources for teammates, friends and family members, as well as athletes with anorexia, bulimia, and food obsessions.

Food for thought

• Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Whether death is from heart arrhythmias or suicide, we need to pay attention when athletes struggle with food.

• Just as athletes with anorexia lose arm and leg muscle that helps them be strong athletes, they simultaneously lose heart muscle. The heart gets smaller and cannot respond to stress. The resulting arrhythmias can be a cause of death.

• The purging associated with bulimia takes its toll in terms of not only electrolyte imbalance associated with vomiting, but also gray teeth (due to erosion of tooth enamel on the inside of the mouth), and dental caries. The person may also suffer from acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, and chronic constipation (if purging includes laxative abuse).

• Thankfully, many medical issues are reversible but two “biggies” can remain problematic:

1) cognitive dysfunction due to the brain shrinking and

2) bone health. The bones (particularly in the spine, hip, and wrist) lose density. This increases the risk of stress fractures today and osteoporosis in later years. A shocking one-fourth of young women (

• Any female athlete with amenorrhea (loss of her menstrual period for more than 3 months) should get her bone density measured for a baseline. Should she also take a birth control pill to force the return of menses? Current research suggests not. The pill offers a false sense of recovery, plus it does not enhance bone density. The better path is to eat enough food to restore the body to an appropriate weight. 

• Beware that eating a very high fiber can interfere with calcium absorption. No need for more than 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day!

• People with eating disorders commonly have high cholesterol levels. The solution is not to limit red meat and eggs; rather, the athletes need to normalize their entire diet.

• Medical symptoms that raise red flags include: heart rate less than 40 beats per minute, body temperature less than 95°F (35°C), blood pressure less than 70/40, and low blood glucose (

• Athletes with anorexia may complain about “feeling full” despite a small food intake, and food that just “sits in the stomach.” The solution is to force themselves to gradually increase their intake. Even though they may not feel hungry, their body is starving and needs fuel.

Do people recover?

Yes, usually with help from a therapist, registered dietitian (RD), and medical team. Some people get tired of the eating disorder and learn to accept their perceived body flaws. Others get scared when they vomit blood. Some find hope in a new personal relationship —Maybe I am good enough to be loved!—or choose to eat better so they can get pregnant. 

One pathway for recovery is to see the eating disorder as being just one part of you. It is the part that tries to protect your other parts that don't like feeling lonely, rejected, or imperfect. For example, perhaps you had traumatic experiences in middle school. Your eating disordered part can distract numb feelings of pain, terror, and fear. It keeps you feeling more in control of life.

Try talking to your eating disorder and ask, “Please tell me why you are here? What are you trying to do for me?” The ED part might answer “I'm trying to distract you and protect you from painful feelings—you know, the shame you felt as a kid in middle school...” Yet, we all know that starving one’s body does not solve any problems. Hence, a probing question is, “How effective on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being 100% effective) is the eating disorder in making you happy in your core?” Most athletes with eating disorders are miserable.

Using a model of recovery such as Internal Family Systems (www.selfleadership.org), athletes can discover their core that is centered, competent, secure, self-assured, relaxed, and able to both listen to and respond to feedback. These core values can displace the eating disordered voices and lead to a happier, healthier life and improved performance. Is it time for you to stop struggling and start living and performing better?

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for new runners, marathoners, and soccer players offer additional information. They are available at www.nancyclarkrd.com and sportsnutritionworkshop.com.

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date: June 16, 2012