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eating disorders and endurance athletes
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A recent article in one of the triathlon magazines (i forget which one, maybe Triathlete) covered eating disorders and related problems concerning body image in endurance athletes. In a sport in which so many people are in amazing shape and have extremely low body fat percentages, there is a pressure to have that perfect body, and many people have a distorted view of their own bodies. This seems to be compounded by the fact that most triathletes are obsessive about their sport and hence, their body. I myself watch my own nutritional intake very closely, and seem to monitor my body fat even closer. When does being a dedicated triathlete and just eating healthy cross over into a disorder? I was wondering if anyone else had read the article, and what they thought
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Re: eating disorders and endurance athletes [apolack1] [ In reply to ]
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It's usually a variant of anorexia. http://www.edauk.com/sub_young_athletes2.htm



But if you think some triathletes might have a distorted body image, you should try hanging out with some of the body builders.
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Re: eating disorders and endurance athletes [apolack1] [ In reply to ]
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"When does being a dedicated triathlete and just eating healthy cross over into a disorder? "

When you can use your ribs as an instrument...
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Re: eating disorders and endurance athletes [apolack1] [ In reply to ]
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Just remember that your goal is to get fast, not look fast. Bodybuilders have to deal with a totally different type of competition. They have to get crazy lean and sometimes they do so by extreme measures. They are not powerlifters. I think you can see the difference when you look at olympic powerlifters. BBers look pretty, but are not necessarily stronger than their powerlifting colleagues.

I have actually been more lean when I wasn't a triathlete. It was when I was fitness/physique focused. I don't think I could get that lean again and train the way I do.

So maybe a good rule of thumb would be, if you are sacrificing your recovery and/or quality traning sessions because of an attempt to look better, then maybe you have a problem.

Justin D
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