Exercise bulimia is one of many disordered behaviors that have been normalized by diet culture. While regular movement can support overall health goals, both mental and physical, when that movement becomes connected to guilt and shame—the feeling of “I must do this”—is when movement is no longer helpful.
Exercise bulimia can take a serious toll on both physical and mental health. It can be exhausting and stressful, and lead to other disordered eating or eating disorder behaviors. If you’re struggling, or know someone who is, here’s what you need to know about exercise bulimia. Plus, I’ll share some strategies to start healing from the compulsive tendencies that cause it to persist.
Exercise Bulimia: An Overview
While similar to exercise addiction or Anorexia Athletica, this condition presents a little differently. Exercise bulimia is a relentless (even pathologic) adherence to a fitness routine as a way to “purge,” with exercise being the tool for purging.
Those suffering experience a perceived inability to stop this behavior because they need to “make up” for caloric intake, control their weight and avoid weight gain. An estimated 16.7 to 85.3% of adolescents with eating disorders and 31.9 to 80.0% of adults with eating disorders suffer from exercise bulimia.
Even more concerning is that children as young as 10 are responding to television or social media content that urges them to control their bodies with exercise. While a balanced fitness program can offer many health benefits, these cultural messages normalize exercise as a tool to maintain a certain physical aesthetic—often to the detriment of your own wellness.
The challenge is that this condition is hard to spot and not even recognized by most medical professionals.
- Unlike bulimia nervosa—in which a purge usually means vomiting—compulsive exercisers will use fitness as the main compensatory behavior to eliminate food from their system. But because exercise bulimia does not reflect a conventional definition of purge-like habits, it can be overlooked, according to the Journal of Eating Disorders.
- Fitness is viewed as health-promoting, many medical professionals do not even consider compulsive exercise an “unhealthy weight-control behavior.”
- It can also be hard for those with exercise bulimia to realize they have a problem due to sociocultural influences and diet culture, which encourage their tendencies in the first place.
Signs and Symptoms of Exercise Bulimia
There are many signs and symptoms to look out for if you’re worried you or someone you love may be struggling with exercise bulimia. Here are some signs that can help you differentiate between a neutral relationship to exercise and one that’s unhealthy:
- A rigid approach to exercise or refusal to deviate from a fitness routine
- The use of excessive exercise to numb painful or uncomfortable emotions
- Withdrawal from social activities or other commitments to exercise
- Continuing to exercise despite an injury, sickness, fatigue, or physical soreness
- Feeling anxious, ashamed, restless, or irritable if you are unable to exercise
- Difficulty concentrating on other tasks until your exercise regimen is complete
- Prioritizing exercise above your sleep, career, relationships, and self-care
- Noticeable weight loss or chronic pain from joint and muscle overtraining
- Loss of regular menstrual cycle (amenorrhea) in pre-menopausal women
- Perceived inability to miss a workout, lower the intensity, or take an exercise hiatus
- The use of exercise solely to burn calories or to achieve a certain beauty ideal
- Frequently exercising without the right nutrients or hydration before and after
- Devoting unusual amounts of time to planning and executing your workouts
- An immediate urge to exercise after eating to “compensate” for that meal
- Loss of interest in other recreational activities that are not fitness-related
- Obsession with exercise metrics such as steps, miles, duration, or repetitions
The Dangers of This Behavior
There’s a clear correlation between compulsive exercise and high anxiety levels, poor body image, and a lower sense of well-being. Some study volunteers even reported feeling as if their lives would become “unbearable” without exercise.
This mental exhaustion and anxiety aren’t the only risks associated with exercise bulimia. There are many physical dangers that can occur, according to Bulimia.org, including:
- Overuse injuries (stress fractures, sprains, and strains)
- Tendinitis, arthritis or chronic joint pain
- Exercise amenorrhea (loss of periods, which can also cause irreversible bone loss and Osteoporosis)
- Infertility or other reproductive dysfunction
- Fatigue and reduced performance while exercising
- Dehydration
- Weakened immune system and heightened sensitivity to respiratory infections
- Heart problems, like arrhythmia
- Electrolyte imbalance
Bottom line: exercise bulimia can interfere with all aspects of your life and cause serious harm to both mental and physical wellness. It can also lay a foundation for more symptoms such as restrictive eating and other weight-control behaviors to take root.
In fact, compulsive exercise is almost four times as likely to co-occur in those with eating disorders, another study points out. So, how do you unravel this compulsion and start the healing process?
How to Start Healing from Exercise Bulimia
We want you to know that, without a doubt, recovery is possible. What’s more, you do not have to embark on this journey alone. At Kindful Body, we’re on a mission to connect you with resources and mental health professionals so you can heal from this and other harmful weight-control behaviors.
The strategies below can help you cultivate a healthier relationship with exercise—one that feels balanced, restorative, and enjoyable rather than compulsive, inflexible, and punishing.
Pay attention to your motives for exercising
Reflect on what drives the urge to exercise. Is it to promote health and have fun? Or is it to purge food intake, numb out from emotions, or achieve a certain body shape? Check in with yourself before each workout and be honest about your motivations.
If the main goal is to use exercise as a compensatory behavior, it may be time to work with a professional to address why you’re using exercise in this way. You may be surprised by what you discover when you have a safe space to explore.
Practice techniques that nurture self-compassion
Mindfulness tools such as yoga, meditation, journaling, and breathwork can reduce anxiety, stress, and other heightened emotions, while also reinforcing self-compassion. This matters because exercise bulimia often thrives on emotional intensity and negative self-talk.
When your mood is calm, your focus is on the present, you’re better able to reframe anxious thoughts with compassionate ones. With greater self-compassion, it’s harder for the critical voice to dictate your actions.
Question your fitness-related rules
Make a list of the rigid parameters you’ve created around exercise. For instance: “I need to burn X calories, run X miles, or work out for X hours.” It’s easy to overlook these rules when you’re in the depths of the disorder. When you zoom out, however, you can see how disordered your intentions are. When you do this, you might also shift the focus of your exercise to include:
- More fun and flexibility, whether that means taking a new fitness class, reducing the duration and intensity levels, or enlisting an accountability partner to exercise with you.
- Listening to the needs of your own body. Focus on mindful movement and incorporate rest days to lower the risks of overtraining.
Prioritize treatment for exercise bulimia
Even the most useful coping mechanisms are not always enough to heal from compulsive exercise. There’s no shame in needing clinical help to find the root cause of your condition and create a customized plan for recovery.
For example: treatment interventions like Dialectical Behavioral Therapy’s opposite action to challenge the compulsive urges and intrusive, irrational beliefs that often drive exercise bulimia.
Heal From Exercise Bulimia With Kindful Body
Exercise bulimia does not have to control your life—and healthy exercise is possible. If you want to discover healing and embrace a more balanced relationship with fitness overall, schedule a free 15-minute consultation with our team at Kindful Body to explore eating disorder recovery. We’ll match you with the ideal clinician and other therapeutic resources to help you navigate this road to recovery.
Interested in learning more about Kindful Body? Visit our website, read our blog or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
