Eating disorders in bodybuilding

[Josefein421]

I touched on this in my log but thought I would make a post. I admit I have had times with unhealthy relationships with food. Beyond the cravings during a diet. I am a "If I dont have it I dont want it but once I have some I cant stop" typing binge eater. Not all the time. I wouldnt say it is common but I have eaten to the point beyond satiety or even being full and thrown up. That is my admission. I am a foodie at heart and love to cook very much enjoy the social aspect eating out (I know now necessary for socializing). I only eat 1 free meal a week but sometimes I get reckless more with the volume than the food choices. Gourmet grass fed burgers/fries, sushi, brunch. Good food just high volume when I binge

So why post this... I think many guys look at food as fuel and legitimately have no need for cheat/free meals and they are content. I believe them because I am finding less desire to come off plan because it messes with digestion and how I feel the next day too much. However I know a few guys personally that have some even worse food issues... eating 6 jars of pb or a dozen muffins in a pop during prep, etc. I think eating disorders (let's call a spade a spade) are more common than we talk about in bodybuilding and it is the one facet that is still shame and guilt riddled. Guys (and girls) binging then doing extra cardio or upping fat burners and hiding it from their coach out of shame.

Yes disciples and will power are needed to overcome it. Remembering goals and side effects of a binge helps. Yes while GLPs can help they are not a solution for lack of will power. But there is definitely an addiction/mental health component to it.


I think I just want to post this to say it is something I have occasionally dealt with and think many do and dont share it. So if you do, dont feel shame or guilt but let's find a way to overcome or at least greatly reduce the severity of. It is nothing to feel shame about because you arent a machine like the next guy. I am sure he struggles with something in life that you do not.

 

[massephase]

I've had issues with this in the past and I have found that the more boring my food selection and the fewer off plan meals I eat, with time, the cravings for anything outside my regular diet become virtually non-existant.

 

[naps_for_gains]

I've had issues with this in the past and I have found that the more boring my food selection and the fewer off plan meals I eat, with time, the cravings for anything outside my regular diet become virtually non-existant.

Same here - I've struggled with binge eating for close to 20 years and clung to the idea that I could still indulge in "cheat" foods once a week and make progress. For someone who can practice moderation with those things, it's probably fine, but to my brain some of those foods have an effect that feels like a drug and my cheat "meals" would always end up being 4 or 5k calories with way too much sugar.

The best progress and the best mental state, for me, are when I stick to a meal plan and if a refeed is needed, just eat more of the same foods. Eventually the allure of those off-plan foods fades significantly and the cravings go from feeling like an alarm clock is going off to more like the noise of the A/C kicking on. The thoughts still happen occasionally but now they're easily ignored.

 

[traininsane11]

I believe bodybuilding attracts people who are in various ways mentally unstable then once you add in constant usually negatively critical self analysis, an identity formed around this endeavour, drugs and extreme dieting practices it often only makes the situation worse .

I agree with what you say at the root it’s all some form of mental health issue which when coupled with extremes only gets worse

 

[ThatGripGuy]

Almost certainly a higher number than most hobbies

 

[Josefein421]

I've had issues with this in the past and I have found that the more boring my food selection and the fewer off plan meals I eat, with time, the cravings for anything outside my regular diet become virtually non-existant.

I am at this point. I love the food but not enough to warrant how I feel physically or mentally after.

And youre right.. .the less I go off plan the less I want to. That always blew my mind when older guys would say that and I am learning why.

 

[w4rr10r]

I've been in a fat loss phase for 20+ weeks now and have only had one free meal which was for my birthday, and really only because my wife and I have birthdays that are a day apart. I've found ways to make my daily diet enjoyable enough that I don't really feel the need to go off plan unless it's for a special occasion with my wife and kids.

Having said this, I've dealt with binge eating in the past. A year or two ago, a cheat meal for me would've been an extra large pizza and a couple of pints of ice cream, and possibly some uncontrollable snacking after. The only thing that's changed is I don't want to feel overstuffed, have shitty digestion the next day, etc. The taste of food also doesn't outweigh my desire to achieve my goal.

While I know a lot of coaches like to say to have the free meal as your last meal, one thing that's helped me is to do it as my second last meal so I have to save enough room to eat (and ideally enjoy) my last meal. I also heard Calum Raistrick talking about emphasizing the social aspect, not the food, and that he doesn't allow people to take cheat meals alone, which I thought was a great idea. I think this was on TeaMan's latest podcast.

 

[qbkilla]

I believe bodybuilding attracts people who are in various ways mentally unstable then once you add in constant usually negatively critical self analysis, an identity formed around this endeavour, drugs and extreme dieting practices it often only makes the situation worse .

I agree with what you say at the root it’s all some form of mental health issue which when coupled with extremes only gets worse

I definitely agree with this. I feel like the underlying issue is mental instability, which leads to bigorexia, which causes the eating disorders.

I think a discussion on these things should probably start with bigorexia. Look back at frank zane, how did we get to a point where nick walker is considered a "better " look?

 

[traininsane11]

I definitely agree with this. I feel like the underlying issue is mental instability, which leads to bigorexia, which causes the eating disorders.

I think a discussion on these things should probably start with bigorexia. Look back at frank zane, how did we get to a point where nick walker is considered a "better " look?

I think it was a given

Most of us are extremists and never satisfied

We want more
Size
Condition
Strength
Food
Drugs


And believe it will bring us satisfaction, happiness etc etc but in reality just chasing smoke because it’s all in our head and no matter what we achieve it’s never enough

For a vast majority we won’t ever be satisfied so we keep doing more and coupled with the right genetics and dedication you get mass monsters like Nick

I believe the only difference between anyone at the top and competitive amateurs is genetics

We’re never really addressing the route cause of any of it because let’s face it if we did we would probably stop bodybuilding certainly enhanced extreme bodybuilding because it serves us no real benefit other than trying to fix our mental issues to then realise it probably causes far more than it fixes

People will find anything to argue this but if you believe a truly healthy happy mind would take the risks we do on a daily basis and lead the life we do then I dunno what to tell you other than you can lie to anyone in life but don’t lie to yourself

 

[Flex500]

I touched on this in my log but thought I would make a post. I admit I have had times with unhealthy relationships with food. Beyond the cravings during a diet. I am a "If I dont have it I dont want it but once I have some I cant stop" typing binge eater. Not all the time. I wouldnt say it is common but I have eaten to the point beyond satiety or even being full and thrown up. That is my admission. I am a foodie at heart and love to cook very much enjoy the social aspect eating out (I know now necessary for socializing). I only eat 1 free meal a week but sometimes I get reckless more with the volume than the food choices. Gourmet grass fed burgers/fries, sushi, brunch. Good food just high volume when I binge

So why post this... I think many guys look at food as fuel and legitimately have no need for cheat/free meals and they are content. I believe them because I am finding less desire to come off plan because it messes with digestion and how I feel the next day too much. However I know a few guys personally that have some even worse food issues... eating 6 jars of pb or a dozen muffins in a pop during prep, etc. I think eating disorders (let's call a spade a spade) are more common than we talk about in bodybuilding and it is the one facet that is still shame and guilt riddled. Guys (and girls) binging then doing extra cardio or upping fat burners and hiding it from their coach out of shame.

Yes disciples and will power are needed to overcome it. Remembering goals and side effects of a binge helps. Yes while GLPs can help they are not a solution for lack of will power. But there is definitely an addiction/mental health component to it.


I think I just want to post this to say it is something I have occasionally dealt with and think many do and dont share it. So if you do, dont feel shame or guilt but let's find a way to overcome or at least greatly reduce the severity of. It is nothing to feel shame about because you arent a machine like the next guy. I am sure he struggles with something in life that you do not.

EDIT: I just totally vented and rambled. The part in bold is probably most pertinent.

Man, I feel this post a lot! I’ve had periods where my appetite was ridiculous. Not just “I’m hungry on a diet” hungry I mean the kind of hunger that feels irrational. I remember being about 6 weeks into a contest prep and staying up all night picking hairs out of my face because I was so hungry and wired. That’s a different animal than just “have more willpower.”

I do think discipline matters. Structure matters. Willpower matters. But I also think people underestimate how different appetites are from person to person. Some people can eat off plan and move on. Some people genuinely don’t even want to eat off plan. And I respect the hell out of that.

But there’s also another side to it. Food is social. Food is family. Food is sitting with your wife on a Saturday night having pizza, or burgers and fries, or a piece of cheesecake and actually enjoying life a little. I’m not saying everyone needs that, and I’m definitely not defending going completely off the rails, but I do think there’s a difference between enjoying food as part of life and having it turn into a binge/shame cycle.

That’s the part I think a lot of us struggle with. Not “do I want to be disciplined?” Of course we do. It’s more like, how do you keep some normal enjoyment of food without that switch flipping into “I can’t stop”?

So yeah, I agree. It’s not something to be proud of, but it also shouldn’t be this hidden shame thing. Some people really are fighting an appetite/food battle that’s way more intense than others understand. The goal is to be honest about it, build better structure around it, and not let one meal turn into a spiral.

 

[LK3]

i think the idea of being proud about what you eat or whatever your relationship is with whatever drug you are talking about is a big part of the issue.

learning to be humble takes a lot of mental work and honesty with yourself. its hard to except let alone love what you really are. certainly for me, but im sure that applies to all sorts of people with all sorts of "disorders".

most of our modern society has a delusional relationship with food. food in its modern form is a drug. long gone are times of eating for pure necessity. our modern world has made what was once a scarce and complicated commodity into an all out free for all of abuse. really paying attention to the psychology of the human animal explains this and makes it basically easy to understand.

all aspects of changing how you look with food is learning to use this drug and your relationship with it.

its all about honesty. then self acceptance. try to become honest with yourself and stop judging yourself. i write that but certainly havent figured out how to do it.

ive had unhealthy relationships with all sorts of things, everything basically, humans, food, actions, drugs everything. the more i work at it the better i get probably that process will never stop.

just like you guys recognize i have found the better i eat the easier it becomes. one or two times eating bad makes going back much easier and more atractive then the fuck its begin.

for the past couple years due to some health things i only used pure trt and worked on my head. for a few other health reasons i played with a tiny bit of other aas. that made the head games worse. i think just like those with food.

going back to it i think i am just trying to focus on self acceptance with the goal being self love. honestly i have strong doubts ill ever get to self love but i think that seems like a good goal.

with food that becomes even more complicated. that can apply to us at any age. think about a mother giving a cookie or sugar to her baby for the first time. if you have ever seen it, its sort of an amazing drug experience to witness. there is no one answer in the world we live it. sometimes you show love by giving the cookie or eating the cookie and sometimes love is not eating the cookie. it seems that what love is changes all the time.

try to enjoy the struggle brotha's!

thats the best i can say for now.

good luck!

 

[Sectør]

i think the idea of being proud about what you eat or whatever your relationship is with whatever drug you are talking about is a big part of the issue.

learning to be humble takes a lot of mental work and honesty with yourself. its hard to except let alone love what you really are. certainly for me, but im sure that applies to all sorts of people with all sorts of "disorders".

most of our modern society has a delusional relationship with food. food in its modern form is a drug. long gone are times of eating for pure necessity. our modern world has made what was once a scarce and complicated commodity into an all out free for all of abuse. really paying attention to the psychology of the human animal explains this and makes it basically easy to understand.

all aspects of changing how you look with food is learning to use this drug and your relationship with it.

its all about honesty. then self acceptance. try to become honest with yourself and stop judging yourself. i write that but certainly havent figured out how to do it.

ive had unhealthy relationships with all sorts of things, everything basically, humans, food, actions, drugs everything. the more i work at it the better i get probably that process will never stop.

just like you guys recognize i have found the better i eat the easier it becomes. one or two times eating bad makes going back much easier and more atractive then the fuck its begin.

for the past couple years due to some health things i only used pure trt and worked on my head. for a few other health reasons i played with a tiny bit of other aas. that made the head games worse. i think just like those with food.

going back to it i think i am just trying to focus on self acceptance with the goal being self love. honestly i have strong doubts ill ever get to self love but i think that seems like a good goal.

with food that becomes even more complicated. that can apply to us at any age. think about a mother giving a cookie or sugar to her baby for the first time. if you have ever seen it, its sort of an amazing drug experience to witness. there is no one answer in the world we live it. sometimes you show love by giving the cookie or eating the cookie and sometimes love is not eating the cookie. it seems that what love is changes all the time.

try to enjoy the struggle brotha's!

thats the best i can say for now.

good luck!

Totally agree with all of this.

Food is really just a dopamine hit for most. In that sense it really is very similar to a drug

Everyone chases dopamine. There’s good dopamine loops (excersise, sunlight, maybe traveling somewhere all gives people dopamine releases), and there’s bad dopamine loops (binge eating, alcohol, social media, rec drugs, etc). How someone chooses to get their dopamine usually says a lot about that person



Back on topic though—food very much is a dopamine loop for most, and abusing it can lead to negative outcomes. like others said the best way to address it it to just try to stay in your routine/diet as much as possible. Eventually your body just begins to crave it less and less (not initially, or maybe during periods of extreme depletion, but generally speaking the longer you stay in your routine, the more it becomes ingrained in you). Habit is an extremely powerful thing, but once it’s created it’s a lot easier to maintain.

 

[qbkilla]

I think it was a given

Most of us are extremists and never satisfied

We want more
Size
Condition
Strength
Food
Drugs


And believe it will bring us satisfaction, happiness etc etc but in reality just chasing smoke because it’s all in our head and no matter what we achieve it’s never enough

For a vast majority we won’t ever be satisfied so we keep doing more and coupled with the right genetics and dedication you get mass monsters like Nick

I believe the only difference between anyone at the top and competitive amateurs is genetics

We’re never really addressing the route cause of any of it because let’s face it if we did we would probably stop bodybuilding certainly enhanced extreme bodybuilding because it serves us no real benefit other than trying to fix our mental issues to then realise it probably causes far more than it fixes

People will find anything to argue this but if you believe a truly healthy happy mind would take the risks we do on a daily basis and lead the life we do then I dunno what to tell you other than you can lie to anyone in life but don’t lie to yourself

Don't disagree with any of that, solid points. I often wonder the mindset between natural bodybuilder and enhanced. It seems like the common school of thought

EDIT: I just totally vented and rambled. The part in bold is probably most pertinent.

Man, I feel this post a lot! I’ve had periods where my appetite was ridiculous. Not just “I’m hungry on a diet” hungry I mean the kind of hunger that feels irrational. I remember being about 6 weeks into a contest prep and staying up all night picking hairs out of my face because I was so hungry and wired. That’s a different animal than just “have more willpower.”

I do think discipline matters. Structure matters. Willpower matters. But I also think people underestimate how different appetites are from person to person. Some people can eat off plan and move on. Some people genuinely don’t even want to eat off plan. And I respect the hell out of that.

But there’s also another side to it. Food is social. Food is family. Food is sitting with your wife on a Saturday night having pizza, or burgers and fries, or a piece of cheesecake and actually enjoying life a little. I’m not saying everyone needs that, and I’m definitely not defending going completely off the rails, but I do think there’s a difference between enjoying food as part of life and having it turn into a binge/shame cycle.

That’s the part I think a lot of us struggle with. Not “do I want to be disciplined?” Of course we do. It’s more like, how do you keep some normal enjoyment of food without that switch flipping into “I can’t stop”?

So yeah, I agree. It’s not something to be proud of, but it also shouldn’t be this hidden shame thing. Some people really are fighting an appetite/food battle that’s way more intense than others understand. The goal is to be honest about it, build better structure around it, and not let one meal turn into a spiral.

I think you bring up good points. This may trigger some...but my opinion...the fact that society considers food social...is a problem.

I am not disagreeing...I 100% think our society associates food with being social. I personally think it is an idiotic aspect of culture but realize I'm in the 1% minority. Also that food being a social thing will always be...the toothpaste can't be put back in the tube.

A common first date is ",grabbing food." People go to a get together and "what food will be there." People want to eat food while watching the supebowl.

Imagine if we were taught to eat alone, actually enjoy our food. That it was rude to speak to someone while they are eating a meal.

I wonder if there are any cultures where it is considered proper or normal to sit down and enjoy a meal alone, in silence, without distraction. Vs gorging ourselves and blabbing in meaningless conversation at the same time, trying to "enjoy " both at once.

 

[artie farkalarty]

I appreciate conversations like this. In years gone by I feel like this wasn’t discussed really and I know personally, coming from a wrestling/combat sports background, there was a certain toxic self-destructive binge eating merit badge that just became part of the mindset. Early on BB was an extension of that and I developed a terrible relationship with food. Being older and wiser, I’m viewing everything with a more wide lense/ long game approach and it’s been easier to view it as a true lifestyle. I know it was always supposed to be viewed that way but I feel
Like the old school collective awareness coming from the 90’s was prep or dirty bulk with no in between. People sharing their experiences is helpful and it seems like this mental side of things is acknowledged by people in coaching roles as well.

 

[fisther69]

Holy shit I am glad we are acknowledging this!

Bodybuilding/powerlifting/performance based diets have destroyed my ass! I was just talking about this with my wife earlier today!

I turned 40 this year and have a ton of digestive issues and I know they would all be fixed with just a sensible diet with extra protein but I have no idea how to do it! I know the concept of it, I just can’t physically do it!!

 

[dieselbuilder]

Don't disagree with any of that, solid points. I often wonder the mindset between natural bodybuilder and enhanced. It seems like the common school of thought

I think you bring up good points. This may trigger some...but my opinion...the fact that society considers food social...is a problem.

I am not disagreeing...I 100% think our society associates food with being social. I personally think it is an idiotic aspect of culture but realize I'm in the 1% minority. Also that food being a social thing will always be...the toothpaste can't be put back in the tube.

A common first date is ",grabbing food." People go to a get together and "what food will be there." People want to eat food while watching the supebowl.

Imagine if we were taught to eat alone, actually enjoy our food. That it was rude to speak to someone while they are eating a meal.

I wonder if there are any cultures where it is considered proper or normal to sit down and enjoy a meal alone, in silence, without distraction. Vs gorging ourselves and blabbing in meaningless conversation at the same time, trying to "enjoy " both at once.

I am wondering when you suffered serious brain damage.

 

[qbkilla]

I am wondering when you suffered serious brain damage.

Hard to remember. As someone who has had two life changing tragedies... hopefully you can sympathize

 

[lookslikesausage]

Binge eater here. On one hand, I think it comes with the territory if you're entrenched in hardcore bodybuilding and there might not any getting around it. On the other hand, you're still a human being and we must acknowledge that we don't simply eat for fueling our bodies 100% of the time. Medication and changing my relationship (and identity) to food saved me. I'm no longer a "bodybuilder" but the whole cheat meal deal only encourages binging behaviors in my opinion. Scott Abel (once a nationally ranked bodybuilder in Canada) wrote some great books about this. I highly recommend them.

 

[hawkmoon]

Totally agree with all of this.

Food is really just a dopamine hit for most. In that sense it really is very similar to a drug

Everyone chases dopamine. There’s good dopamine loops (excersise, sunlight, maybe traveling somewhere all gives people dopamine releases), and there’s bad dopamine loops (binge eating, alcohol, social media, rec drugs, etc). How someone chooses to get their dopamine usually says a lot about that person



Back on topic though—food very much is a dopamine loop for most, and abusing it can lead to negative outcomes. like others said the best way to address it it to just try to stay in your routine/diet as much as possible. Eventually your body just begins to crave it less and less (not initially, or maybe during periods of extreme depletion, but generally speaking the longer you stay in your routine, the more it becomes ingrained in you). Habit is an extremely powerful thing, but once it’s created it’s a lot easier to maintain.

I get zero dopamine spike from food and I am thankful for it.
It can be a bit troublesome at times, my wife being a great cook, but my being disinterested in food for the most part.
When I was very young, like most kids I liked my cookies and ice cream, but no more.

I think training like I have for decades it has become the only dopamine feedback loop in my life of any significance, and even that is quite mild and steady.

 

[hawkmoon]

FWIW - I also do not beleive in the idea of cheat meal, especially if it is junk or unlimited.

Anyone who comes to me for coaching will be dissapointed if they think I am going to encourage them to go out and eat garbage.
Never mind the fact that most of the people doing these "cheat meals" aren't even deep in a difficult diet

Maybe I am biased, having come from a time when cheat meals were unheard of, but they never made much sense to me.
You are encouraging bad behaviour and wrapping it in a "plan" so it can be normalized. That's not good IMHO.
I do think there is benefit in scheduled loading up some clean carbs when doing lower carb plans (like Dan Duchaine's diets), but not calorie-dense processed crap.

In contrast the occasional off-plan meal with the family, a birthday party or anniversary in the off season or for a lifestyle cliient is normal and encouraged.
We don't need to wreck people's lives to shave 0.5% BF.