Eating disorders in bodybuilding

[massephase]

And believe it will bring us satisfaction

Satisfaction and "happiness" are temporary states. If you were perfectly satisfied and happy, you would starve to death sitting on your couch. Why get up and eat something if you're not dissatisfied with your current state?

So when someone says "if I finally get X, I will be happy" - you can assume they haven't ever thought through how life works at all.

You can reflect on your life and in the moment of reflection have a feeling of contentment or happiness. I would say this is the maximum we can expect when it comes to "achieving happiness". But the next moment, your dog will bark at you to let him outside or you have to piss and the next stop on the highway is 50km away or your grandmother dies, etc etc.

 

[specter]

Alot of us are forever chasing the Dragon.. we will never be satisfied, we will never feel full, only thing that often makes us change shit, is things pushing for our actual life.. and several times then not, we have seen people go back in and suffering the consequences.. bodybuilding attracts mentally "screwed/extreme people" not all of us, but alot of us.. here we are "allowed" to be extreme, its looked upon as something good, something to strive for.. we reinforce thats its ok to raise the tren dose as long as our bloodwork is ok, the bloodpressure is in range.. yet we know there will be a price to pay..

 

[Flex500]

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 see what you’re saying, and I actually agree with parts of it. I just think there are levels to this. To me, food being social isn’t automatically the issue. Sitting with your wife, kids, friends, etc. and having a meal together is pretty deeply ingrained across cultures and probably always has been. I don’t personally think that part is bad.

Where I think it gets messed up, especially in bodybuilding, is when “enjoying food socially” turns into using that as cover to gorge yourself (which I'm guilty of). There’s a big difference between having pizza and dessert with your family and eating until you’re physically sick.

That’s probably the line I’m trying to figure out better myself. I don’t think the goal has to be “food is never enjoyable or social.” I think the goal is enjoying it without turning it into a binge/shame spiral or becoming that eric the electric guy where you bike 24 hours a day so you can eat 30,000 calories on the weekend.

 

[pietruzzo]

This is a hard one for me . Being Italian and a good cook, I understand and appreciate quality food, and unfortunately that doesn't necessarily play well with a bodybuilder type of diet.

I can't just eat plain chicken and broccolis as many in this industry probably do. I wouldn't last a week. Compromise between taste and numbers is key for me

 

[qbkilla]

I see what you’re saying, and I actually agree with parts of it. I just think there are levels to this. To me, food being social isn’t automatically the issue. Sitting with your wife, kids, friends, etc. and having a meal together is pretty deeply ingrained across cultures and probably always has been. I don’t personally think that part is bad.

Where I think it gets messed up, especially in bodybuilding, is when “enjoying food socially” turns into using that as cover to gorge yourself (which I'm guilty of). There’s a big difference between having pizza and dessert with your family and eating until you’re physically sick.

That’s probably the line I’m trying to figure out better myself. I don’t think the goal has to be “food is never enjoyable or social.” I think the goal is enjoying it without turning it into a binge/shame spiral or becoming that eric the electric guy where you bike 24 hours a day so you can eat 30,000 calories on the weekend.

You bring up good points. As someone with a family i can see how you look forward to enjoying food with them. People like me who prefer to be left alone while they eat are probably in the minority.

I feel like capitalism is part of the reason why basically any social setting involves food. Go to a ballgame? They sold you the ticket now they want more $$ so they have concession stands. Go to the fair to ride rides? They sold you a ticket to get in but can also sell you cotton candy and soft pretzels. Go to the mall to buy clothes? What a great opportunity to open a food court..basically any social activity involves people selling processed food..movies, the zoo, the bar, sporting events...etc. for better or worse food and social activities go hand in hand. I personally don't have a problem with it im all on board for capitalism. And at the end of the day, every person chooses their bodyfat because they get to choose how many calories they put in and they get to choose the calories they burn.

Food being such a big part of society and culture isn't a good or bad thing...its just the way it is lol.

 

[LK3]

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.

hey bud,

i hesitate to use concepts like good and bad especially since those you listed are more questionable as "bad". i can think of many examples of how those may fall into the "good" category.

i might provide as more accurate examples of negative dopamine generators things like physical violence, fear, anxiety, arguing, panic and, general negative thought lops like worrying.

i do agree that there are two side to the dopamine coin.
human history shows us that our species has more tendency towards the bad or negative.
it is much easier to generate fear and violence then it is to generate love.
seems odd as love is something that almost all humans seem to recognize as a valuable state or emotion, yet we spend so much time generating dopamine through violence, fear and discrimination.

just some mental food for thought to help stimulate your dopamine production today.

 

[LK3]

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.

think about how post modern humans got there food.
it may be advantages for an individual in modern society to separate food from social interaction but i dont think its very realistic.

 

[LK3]

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!!

as we get older digestion issues become more prominent.
going on the idea of a sensible diet i incorporated more vegetables and fruit into life.
after some years of this i found my digestion seemed to be worse. horrible gasses from both ends.
elimination is really the only way to figure out what works for you.
i found eliminating fruits and vegetables eliminated most of the gasses and discomfort.
my mother has struggled with digestion/stomach issues for a long time too. she wen the normal route, doctors, specialists medical tests etc.
the only way she was able to see any real difference was elimination. even for a short time.
i can not tell you what a sensible diet is as that process of elimination becomes quite boring and not suited to most people and there daily life and enjoyment of life. just info on gasses and what we think to be common sense.

 

[fisther69]

as we get older digestion issues become more prominent.
going on the idea of a sensible diet i incorporated more vegetables and fruit into life.
after some years of this i found my digestion seemed to be worse. horrible gasses from both ends.
elimination is really the only way to figure out what works for you.
i found eliminating fruits and vegetables eliminated most of the gasses and discomfort.
my mother has struggled with digestion/stomach issues for a long time too. she wen the normal route, doctors, specialists medical tests etc.
the only way she was able to see any real difference was elimination. even for a short time.
i can not tell you what a sensible diet is as that process of elimination becomes quite boring and not suited to most people and there daily life and enjoyment of life. just info on gasses and what we think to be common sense.

Oh no, I have done full elimination diets that were almost 2 years process…only for my body to start rejecting foods good from day 1….its a constant nightmare

 

[LK3]

think about how post modern humans got there food.
it may be advantages for an individual in modern society to separate food from social interaction but i dont think its very realistic.

oops.
that should have said prehistoric.
lol
im sure that was clear though.

 

[LK3]

Oh no, I have done full elimination diets that were almost 2 years process…only for my body to start rejecting foods good from day 1….its a constant nightmare

hey bud,

idk if it needs to be that long.
i also think that if you just eat one or two things for a long time it is more likely to develop intolerance.
my experience is just that if you eat lots of different things its hard to figure out whats doing what.
by picking just a cpl things and eating them for a short time you can get an idea of whats working and whats causing issues.
if i use rice as my main carb source after some time say, several months i notice that first i get sick of it then seem to feel not so good and get some digestion issues. changing rice to potatoes for a few days showed me it was the rice that was bothering me. after some time with little to no rice i was fine to eat it again. probably there isnt one answer or a one size fits all answer. for the most part i dont think keep drug use completely static is the best idea.

 

[Cinder]

I unfortunately have slight agoraphobia that causes emetophobia.

Over the years on this forum, and many doctors/specialists later, I realized food wasn't my issue.

Emetophobia is a fear of throwing up.

Me being in a car, bus,, a gym, a restaurant, a movie theater, or being surrounded by people gave my brain a feeling of being trapped (the agoraphobia) and therefore made me scared to puke in a trapped. This of course made me need to puke. So I have not eaten or puked after/during many situations. Even a car with one other person still has my brain thinking "trapped and gonna puke"

Over the years I thought it was what I was eating, or something bad my body was doing.
Lol imagine being someone that didn't believe in many mental disorders before you get diagnosed with two.

Lol mirtazapine and smelling citrus/mint had been a god send.

 

[dieselbuilder]

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

I’ll try my best

 

[qbkilla]

I’ll try my best

I'm always here if you need me.

 

[Josefein421]

Wow this got more traction than I expected and I am glad. I am also glad but not to see so many acknowledge the struggle. Rarely are we alone in our struggles even when we feel we are.

LOTS of great thoughts. I agree food is dopamine but I dont know if that is entirely bad. Like anything else situation dictates. Nothing wrong with feeling good after a treat. I think the problem is NEEDING the treat to feel good.

I dont know if bigorexia fits as a cause for binge eating. It isnt for me. Yes we are all definitely chasing the dragon which is a great quote. But I dont eat 6 cookies under the premise it will help me in any way at all. I eat 6 cookies because I love cookies, get the munchies, they taste good and combine all that together is the dopamine hit which is great before the crash. Binge eating is similar to alcohol binges. Seems kind of fun while doing it but there is a hangover and regret. That is the unhealthy part.

I think if one can control their eating and not binge there is nothing wrong with junkier refeeds or cheat meals. Aside from the sweets my free meals are always healthy... grass fed burgers, sushi, Greek/Turkish, etc. Gotta live a little. But if a reseed cannot be controlled then it should be cut out or more strictly prescribed IMO. I do crave less when I dont have things and agree that is the best method to control it. Sure you miss it a few weeks but drastically less after that and especially when you FEEL so much better digestion wise and see more rapid progress.

Great discussion