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Tag: Exercise Addiction

Beyond Racing Weight: Separating Anorexia from Running

Beyond Racing Weight: Separating Anorexia from Running

Pesto Posted by Pesto on April 13, 2017

Last I left you, it was January of 2012, and I had just walked off my college track team. By “walked off“, I mean I literally quit running intervals on the indoor track during practice, and I walked out an emergency exit without looking back. I finally accepted the painful truth that I was suffering from anorexia and, at the time, running was a huge contributor to my sickness.

Thank God for that fleeting moment of insight when I realized that I could not carry on the way I was. As time went by I started to reconnect with friends and family from back home in New Zealand, loved ones with whom I’d fallen out of contact because in their attempts to reach out to me in the throes of my illness, I thought they were all crazy. Voluntarily, I found a therapist who specialized in eating disorders, got rid of my running shoes and vowed to get healthy — and to never run again.

Read more >>

Categories: Body Image
Tags: body image, eating disorders, Exercise Addiction
Beyond Racing Weight: A Story of Running, Anorexia, and Redemption

Beyond Racing Weight: A Story of Running, Anorexia, and Redemption

Pesto Posted by Pesto on April 6, 2017

Warning: anyone who is easily triggered by images or discussion of the effects of eating disorders, specifically anorexia, should use caution before continuing to read this post.  

Variety is the spice of life, and for the Salty Running team there is no shortage of variety in our past selves before each of us was taken aside, bitten by the running bug, and now appearing on your screens. A year ago, when I came on board with Salty Running, I vaguely alluded to a period of time where I did not run after college. The time has come for me to explain what happened between the time I quit running and began again a few years later.

The cliff notes:
I have gained 40lbs
I am totally ok with it
I have the best support system in the world (really, I challenge you to find a better one)
I am now strong AF

This is the story of how I suffered from an eating disorder, recovered, and the importance of running then and now. Today, Part 1 of my story.

Read more >>

Categories: Body Image, Running and Mental Health
Tags: body image, eating disorders, Exercise Addiction
Running Addiction: Are We Just Rats on a Wheel?

Running Addiction: Are We Just Rats on a Wheel?

Pimento Posted by Pimento on March 22, 2017


We’ve all made the comparison between running and drugs before, that ubiquitous term “runner’s high” refers to that rush of endorphins our brains release during or after a run. It’s that feeling that keeps us pounding the pavement in search of more.

We need our daily fix, we freak out if we can’t run, and we do all sorts of crazy things to fit the miles in, like getting up in essentially the middle of the night to run, missing out on girls’ night out, or skipping a shower … again.

But is running actually addictive like that? Do we love running or are we hooked on our own feel-good chemicals, chasing an ever-harder-to-reach high as the miles increase our tolerance, so we constantly need to go further, or faster, or on new terrain to obtain that same buzz?

The research is out there, and the answer is yes. That edgy, moody, fidgety feeling you experience if you’ve gone too long without running is called withdrawal. Read more >>

Categories: Running and Mental Health
Tags: burnout, Exercise Addiction, injuries - general, overtraining, running addiction
Running and Eating Disorder Recovery

Running and Eating Disorder Recovery

Olive Posted by Olive on October 11, 2016

Olive stands in a black sports bra and capris with hands on hips“I used to have an eating disorder.” If you’re a woman runner, chances are you’ve heard or even uttered this phrase more than once. In fact, I’ve said it. My story isn’t unique or all that remarkable. It’s a familiar story. Girl wants to lose a few pounds, likes the way she looks so tries to lose a few more, then a few more, then suddenly one day can count her ribs, can’t stay awake past 8:00 p.m., and doesn’t get a period for six years. Luckily, I came out relatively unscathed, save for a few less friends, some fertility treatments, and lots of emotional issues surrounding food.

A few weeks ago, some of the Saltines and I were talking about our backgrounds, and we realized that more than a few of us had a history of eating disorders. Today, I’d like to talk to those of us who have been through one and emerged on the other side, which, statistically speaking, is a lot of us. We address the gamut of running and ED recovery questions: Did running help or hurt our eating disorder recovery? Are there any special considerations we should take as we train? What are some tips and tricks to stay in recovery?  Read more >>

Categories: Body Image, Food & Nutrition, Running and Mental Health
Tags: eating disorders, Exercise Addiction, female athlete triad
Commitment or Compulsion? The Signs of Exercise Addiction

Commitment or Compulsion? The Signs of Exercise Addiction

Ginkgo Posted by Ginkgo on April 25, 2013

Trainers
The perfect drug? img via mattbeighton on flickr

Runners tend to stick to our training plans like rice on a sushi roll. We aren’t known to be flexible in our routines; we have a goal set and we strive to keep on track to reach it, whether that means enduring nasty 20 mile per hour winds to get in our 15-miler before church or skipping out on a happy hour to head to the track for speedwork. All that is fine and dandy and usually characteristic of the average dedicated runner, but to some it might seem like an unhealthy addiction.

Unfortunately, in some cases, that is true.

As a runner who has suffered from unhealthy exercise addiction, I hope to shed a little light on what it is and how to identify it, both within yourself and in other runners you know. Read more >>

Categories: Running and Mental Health
Tags: eating disorders, Exercise Addiction
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