Eating disorder in runners: Water retention

Eating disorder in runners

Eating disorder is a certain type of medical condition which takes some to get fully developed. In case of runners, the same rule still can be applied. Anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa simply cannot happen to a person overnight. It is a very vicious circle in which the person tries to control his or her weight by dieting or eating insufficient amounts of food. This can only lead to overeating which is commonly followed by the purging of the unwanted amounts of calories by exercising compulsively, using laxatives or simply by vomiting. This type of behavior leads to a significant performance fall off, but as is already explained, it does not happen overnight. There are also certain warning signs which occur first as well.

It is very dangerous to lead such a lifestyle, because it saps the precious energy out of a person and it may also lead to numerous different types of chronic overuse injuries and stress fractures. Another bad aspect of the whole thing is that it may affect the athlete’s self esteem and confidence, not to mention the overall quality of life. One should never wait to be diagnosed with an eating disorder to realize that he or she is in trouble and in terrible need of help. Eating disorders can be treated by utilizing a large number of different treatment methods, but actually the best treatment is prevention. Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are very extreme conditions which are associated with very extreme behaviors, attitudes and emotions when food and weight issues are concerned. Professional treatment for these sometimes life threatening medical conditions is very expensive and in some cases it may take years for a person to recover fully. An early intervention is of utmost importance then.

A large number of runners have a pretty much distorted belief about performance, weight and food so the entire community needs to work on stopping the aforementioned harmful practices. Parents and coaches need to work together in order to prevent the children runners from disordered eating. Not all coaches are interested in having such a responsibility. It is a very important to be a good role model with very healthy eating habits, a healthy weight and a generally positive attitude toward food. Learning about the nutritional needs of endurance athletes is of utmost importance. One should only learn from credible sources in order to avoid other medical problems and complications.

Another important thing for every athlete is to create a training and living environment which does not emphasize the body shape and body weight. One should also be extremely realistic when it comes to the relationship of performance and weight loss. If the weight gets lost way too fast, the immune system can easily become compromised and lead to the development of various medical conditions. It is never a wise idea to encourage developing runners or other athletes to weigh their body fat. The shape or the size of the runner’s body should never be commented, because that may affect his or her self esteem. Also the food intake of an athlete should not be commented or controlled. All unrealistic goals should be avoided.

Water retention with eating disorder

Everybody known that water has numerous different types of functions inside the human body. It is very important in the prevention of kidney stones. It also efficiently removes wastes out of the kidneys and the intestines. Water is a very important factor in the regulation of the body temperature. It maintains warmth in the winter and cools off the body when it is hot. Not a lot of people know that water also serves as a shock absorber for the spinal cord and the eyes. Water also serves as a lubricant for the intestines, nasal passages, eyeballs and joints. It is of utmost importance when it comes to carrying the digestive juices as well.

Numerous different sorts of chemical reactions such as the breakdown of fat for energy and the burning of glucose are assisted by water. Water is the agent responsible for the transportation of enzymes, hormones, glucose, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and various other substances throughout the human body. As a matter of fact, water makes up 50 to 60 percent of body weight. The human body has a set point for fluid which gets restored to its usual self. Exceptions to that rule include the menstrual period in which the female body can gain up to 10 pounds of fluid and in cases of prolonged dehydration, vomiting or laxative abuse. Inadequate intake of protein is also an exception to the rule, along with some other contributing factors with a negative effect, such as semi starvation and excessive intake of alcohol. One should also avoid taking excessive amounts of water because that can be dangerous.