13/08/2023
Today I will tell you a frightening secret that fitness trainers often fear admitting even to themselves and that almost no one tells the audience. In 90% of cases, an athletic figure with a low percentage of body fat (in a trainer or a fitness-addicted athlete) goes hand in hand with eating disorders.
❌A salad for breakfast, boiled chicken breast for lunch, and high-fiber cereal for dinner to fill the stomach and avoid feeling hungry. Amenorrhea and hormonal imbalances are perceived as normal in such a lifestyle.
❌Constant overeating and inducing vomiting. This also includes sporadic use of laxatives and diuretics to alleviate the consequences of overeating.
❌Self-harm and compulsive overeating. When a person manages to maintain a regime through self-intimidation and threats for 6 out of 7 days, but on the 7th day their psyche cannot bear it and something like a "cheat meal" happens. This usually leads to intensifying depressive symptoms and further self-harm.
I belong to the third option :) After two years of personal psychotherapy, I can say that now this is much less of an issue. But I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
In a holistic approach, we learn to listen to our bodies and respond to its needs. Of course, it's not possible to do this effectively without a certain foundational understanding of nutrition basics (such as what proteins, fats, and carbs are, their nutritional value, and the human body's requirements for macro- and micronutrients). That's why knowledge is power. Having knowledge helps us see where we stand and plan our way ahead with a clear mind.
