Female Athletic Triad- My Story

I’m going to tell you the story of a young talented female athlete. She desires to be the best; the quickest, fittest, most healthy she can be. A college soccer scholarship is within her grasp and she’s on a mission. She knows it will take hard work, lots of dedication and time, but she is up for the challenge!

Motivated as ever our young woman begins to train for hours. She runs and lifts weights multiple times a day and performs plyometric exercises until she can barely walk. 

Nutritionally she starts eliminating candy, chips, cookies and soda from her diet. Then she shies away from anything with fat. Next it was anything with too many carbohydrates. Soon she was only consuming fat free yogurt, fruit, vegetables, tea and chewing gum. To her this was how to get healthy. Less food, more exercise, right?

We revisit our girl in three months. She’s gone from a muscular 160 pounds down to 120 (at 5’8” tall). Her liver enzymes are elevated, she’s anemic, and her resting heart rate is below 35 beats per minute. She can no longer participate in sports or go to the gym. Doctors feared she may go into cardiac arrest if she continued doing so. Just making it through the school day without a nap is impossible. She’s depressed and anxious. How did she get here? All she wanted was to be fit, healthy and to feel good about herself. Instead the opposite has occurred. 

At the height of her eating/exercise disorder

Fueling her obsession were messages and statements about how "good she looks" and societal cues that “more is better” when it comes to exercise and “less is more” in reference to caloric intake. Simply put, our young woman had taken her passion too far. Her desire to be fit and healthy had backfired. 

She was diagnosed with Female Athletic Triad (a combination eating and exercise disorder affecting young female athletes) and labeled as an "Anorexic" by the medical community (mostly for insurance reimbursement purposes).

The truth is, this can happen to anyone, male or female, young or old. "Overtraining Syndrome" and "Disordered Eating" (unhealthy and abnormal eating habits that do not fit within the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia) are very real and more rampant than we may think. 

Our young woman never wanted to be a size 0. She didn't want to have protruding cheek bones, fear foods she once loved or have her participation in sports, something that defined her, stripped away. She was trying to reach her prime, but due to lack of knowledge and guidance, she overshot the target.

With summer coming up many are embarking on a journey to improve their health, fitness and appearance. We are bombarded with mixed messages about what we should do to achieve these goals. Some of this information is helpful, but some is downright unhealthy and can come with long term health complications.

Today I’m here not to tell you how to get fit (we will get into this in future posts). Instead, I want to show you how to determine if you, a friend or a family member may be "overdoing it". 

Overtraining is much easier to prevent than it is to treat. If caught early enough, recovery is often successful. If the symptoms are ignored and the individual (young or old, female or male) continues to “push through” he or she may be in for a lifetime of health problems.

Common symptoms of Overtraining and/or Disordered Eating include:

• Fatigue and lack of energy
• Lack of motivation for activities once enjoyed
• Frequent injuries or illness
• No longer progressing, or even digressing in fitness endeavors
• Irritability or moodiness
• Low resting heart rate OR elevated heart rate
• Insomnia
• Lack of appetite
• Inability to miss a workout without being anxious
• Cutting out entire food groups
• Amenorrhea (lack of menstrual period in women)
• Thinning hair and nails, dry/scaly skin

This is not an exhaustive list but some of the most commonly seen symptoms. If you can relate to two or more of these you may be suffering from Overtraining Syndrome. 

The good news is that it is often reversible. Take three days off from formal exercise (or up to two weeks if you have been overtraining for months). Make sure you have light intensity and off days worked into your training program. Consider Yoga or walks to replace one to two of your intense workouts. Make sure you are getting seven or more hours of sleep each night. 

If you have been severely restricting your food intake, begin raising your calories by 100-200 each week (add an apple, 3 oz. of chicken and a small handful of almonds for example) until you reach healthy calorie level for your body weight. If you are unsure of how to go about this, seek the guidance of a Registered Dietitian.

What eventually happened to our young lady? She reached rock bottom unsure if she was able to continue on. Thankfully, she chose to live, she made the conscious decision to not let food and exercise control her life. She learned to balance rest and proper nutrition with adequate levels of exercise. She relied on her faith and Jesus Christ to pull her from the dark place she was in.

Today, she is a Registered Dietitian with Masters Degrees in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Science. Through her business, Key Potential Fitness, she helps individuals become fit in the most healthy way possible. She preaches balance and moderation in all things. She hopes that through sharing her story and being available to help those who have lost their way along their fitness journey she can prevent others from falling captive to this all too familiar disease. 

Eight years ago, this woman was me.

I now plead with you to maintain balance between your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Fuel your body properly, exercise in moderation and get enough sleep/rest.

In the words of Hippocrates:

      "If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” 

Remember, I’m here to listen. If you or someone you knows is struggling with an Eating Disorder, Compulsive Exercise, Overtraining Syndrome or Disordered Eating please seek help. You can save a life!

Today, happy and healthier than ever! 
(photo credit Caron Van Orman)