is bodybuilding another eating disorder?

[smallmovesal]

ok bear with me... i'm being a bit of a devil's advocate.

it seems that a lot of bodybuilding types had previous eating disorders... and that the control over food for bodybuilding is really not so much of an escape... it's just going to the other extreme.

there are quite a huge number of bodybuilding hopefuls on this board that are severely unhappy with his/her looks regardless of how "big" or "cut" he/she gets...

so i ask... is bodybuilding just an established and accepted eating disorder?

 

[TheYork]

no, smallmovesal, is isn't. bodybuilding isn't an eating disorder.

 

[smallmovesal]

why not?

 

[Frackal]

Absofuckinglutely NOT...I am so sick of these posts.... some people on this board may have other disorders and they deal w/ them by bodybuilding, which is fine, but just because something is against the norm does not mean it is a disorder...in fact, I think general humans who gorge themselves into fat, organ failing blobs all have fucking eating disorders....no offense to you smalls, but I am seriously tired of this bullshit.

 

[TheYork]

why not?

crack smoking is a disorder, if you smoke crack and bodybuild then you have a crack smoking disorder, not a bodybuilding disorder.

just like if you spend 24 hrs a day on ef, and smoke crack, you dont have an ef disorder, you have a crack smoking disorder.

i am a doctor, i know this stuff....glad i was of assistance!!!!

 

[havoc]

Actually, it is in a way.
Look up Orthorexia, this relates more to women. My sister is doing an entire study on this for her Masters, interesting shit. peace

 

[danielson]

no.....not yet

body building on its own isnt......just as simple and sensible dieting isnt nor never will be

there are obviously extremes to either end, people do have a distorted body image of themselves, and its conicievable someone might do something very unsensible to get big quick just as someone might do something unsensible to get small quick

but its just stereotyping to say all BB's are 'bigorexic' just as anyone who diets lower than 15% bf is anorexic

 

[starfish]

Frackal, Tell us how you really feel...

Personally, I think ANYTHING can be taken to the extreme and become unhealthy/disorder. I've seen some guys/girls take AS to the extreme..

 

[Frackal]

I'm just getting tired of anything that is not on the straight and narrow being labeled a fucking disorder...besides, when is the last time someone who was strictly average did anything but end up strictly average... I try to make my own life and be as independent as I can doing what I enjoy rather than attempt to clone myself after whatever various "masters" or what not dictate is correct.... That's a bit of philosophy for those of you who have read the works of Fredriche Nietszhe <sp>

 

[Jimsbbc]

The pro circuit is "half circus act, half self-assisted suicide" in the words of Bill Phillips. I agree. It is addictive to say the least in terms of feeling insecure or narcisistic enough to go through tons of steroids, strict diet, pumping one's self to the point of looking like a monster. It is just another extreme. However, the diet is just means to an end.

 

[Frackal]

The pro circuit is "half circus act, half self-assisted suicide" in the words of Bill Phillips. I agree. It is addictive to say the least in terms of feeling insecure or narcisistic enough to go through tons of steroids, strict diet, pumping one's self to the point of looking like a monster. It is just another extreme. However, the diet is just means to an end.

True, the pro circuit is a mess, but that is more the fault of the judges than the athletes, most of those guys don't wish to look that way and have to go to those extremes IMO.

 

[Pamela]

Personally, I think ANYTHING can be taken to the extreme and become unhealthy/disorder. I've seen some guys/girls take AS to the extreme..

Yes I to do believe anything can be taken to extreme.

Now there doing studys saying it can be genetic. (eating disorders)!

Maybe it's all related in compulsive disorders?

 

[KAYNE]

crack smoking is a disorder

ACTUALLY, THAT WOULD BE AN ADDICTION. A DISORDER IS AN AILMENT. I.E..........ENDOCARDIAL FIBROELASTOSIS, TYPE 2.


KAYNE

 

[KAYNE]

SMALLS.....TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, NO!!! BB IS NOT ANOTHER EATING DISORDER AND TO EVEN THINK IT IS QUITE REDICULOUS.



KAYNE

 

[MrMuscle]

Bodybuilding is about health..if you make it an disorder then you are NOT a bodybuilder..then you some dofus who doesnt know what theh hell he/she is doing.

 

[MommaKin]

If you smoke crack, chances are you're an addict....I would say it becomes more a disease then a disorder...

crack smoking is a disorder, if you smoke crack and bodybuild then you have a crack smoking disorder, not a bodybuilding disorder.

just like if you spend 24 hrs a day on ef, and smoke crack, you dont have an ef disorder, you have a crack smoking disorder.

i am a doctor, i know this stuff....glad i was of assistance!!!!

 

[bigguns7]

crack smoking is a disorder, if you smoke crack and bodybuild then you have a crack smoking disorder, not a bodybuilding disorder.

just like if you spend 24 hrs a day on ef, and smoke crack, you dont have an ef disorder, you have a crack smoking disorder.

i am a doctor, i know this stuff....glad i was of assistance!!!!

Do you graduate from the Medical School of the Lesser Antilles?

If my doctor told me that crack smoking was a disorder, i would run as fast as i could away from his office.

You weren't of any assistance.

 

[visions]

interesting. I think p60 makes a good point...I mean if your pumping 5000 calories into your body a day as an obsessive compulsive means to look a certain way. I think that could be classified as much a sickness as not eating obsessivly compusivly to look a certain way.

I understand the other end of the argument that if its not bad for you than it can not be considered a disorder. But I'm just curious as to how knowledgable we really are as to how safe consuming so much food really is for us??

Just commenting not really making any valid claims to either argument

 

[Bikini Mod]

OK - if I was "the average" hausfrau and lived on chips and fast food while watching Jerry Springer and Sally, raising my children on diet soda, non-fat ice cream and sugar-free Koolaid while sitting in front of Sega (or whatever the fuck the latest video game was) for hours on end - would I have a "disorder"?

Ummmmm, NO, because I would be AVERAGE: ie the norm.

I LOVE the fact that I am NOT AVERAGE. Did I EVER have an eating disorder? Sadly, yes. Suffered with it for MANY YEARS. Got into modeling and now support myself and my children as a dancer. One would think - yea, this broad is TOTALLY FUCKED UP!

Guess what? I have NEVER had a healthier self-image IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! I could give two shits what ANYONE thinks about my external appearance. I do not feel the need to starve or get HYUGE... Whether I am ripped up at 10%bf or living large at 24% - tanned or white as a sheet. IT IS ALL GOOD! Do you know why? It only took me hitting rock bottom and ready to GIVE EVERYTHING THAT I HOLD DEAR AND PRECIOUS for me to realize that what is on the outside doesn't amount to a hill of beans! When we die, our bodies decay and feed the earth...

My children and family and few close friends loved me and didn't give up on me when I was so low that the only direction for me was UP. I learned to ask for and accept help....

I learned that BEAUTY KNOWS NO PAIN - (This has NOTHING to do with uncomfortable shoes or time spent in the gym.)

THE ONLY TRUE BEAUTY IN THIS UNIVERSE IS THE BEAUTY OF YOUR SOUL.... THIS CAN NEVER BE "DIRTIED" OR "SULLIED" BY ANYTHING IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD!

I am a wonderful human being fraught with flaws and complication... I deserve to be loved as much as everyone else.

Are there bodybuilders who do have SERIOUS issues? Of that I am sure.. But I don't think that there are any more bodybuilders with issues than there are NON-bodybuilders...

The pro-circuit like anything else in the entertainment industry or any other pro sport is ENTERTAINMENT and sadly A SHOW. There is a LOT OF MONEY involved, hence the term "occupational hazard".

....just my .02

 

[visions]

Its weird I find interesting that it seems time and time again those who bodybuilded or modeled etc. Seem to find their happiness as a person when they stop all the precuationary measures to appear their best. So is all the dedication and bodyuilding an endless pursuit of happiness with your physical appearance??

 

[Bikini Mod]

To some, it very well may be...

To others who have put it into proper perspective it is more about a healthy pastime and a positive way to channel negative energy and continue self-improvement.

I have only to compete with myself.

 

[visions]

To some, it very well may be...

To others who have put it into proper perspective it is more about a healthy pastime and a positive way to channel negative energy and continue self-improvement.

I have only to compete with myself.

yea its moreso a maintenence of sanity and a pursuit of goals and objectives which keeps me motivated and energetic. Knowing your working hard to improve your self mentally and physically.

 

[Bikini Mod]

You are entitled to your opinion and are also free to express it.

I never EVER said that my personal appearance means NOTHING to me.... hehehheheee What I said was that it was NOT the end all and be all of my existance the way it was when I was LITERALLY KILLING MYESLF OVER IT.... which I did for MANY, MANY years.

Do you bathe? Color your hair perhaps? Make your apparel choices based on what you feel makes you look your best? Do you use deoderant? Do you comb your hair?

Many - MANY women wouldn't even walk to the end of their driveways WITHOUT makeup. I NEVER EVER wear makeup unless it is required - IE FOR WORK. The way I currently support myself and my children REQUIRES me to look a certain way and I am ok w/that. I walk into work the way that I walk out: in loose baggy clothing NO MAKEUP and usually hair pulled back in the warmer weather. See, I don't NEED to impress anyone on MY TIME - work is another story altogether.

I don't see where I brag about ANYTHING. Confidence is ONE THING. I am my own worst critic. But because I do not publicly put myself down that does not mean that I am arrogant. Those who know me even slightly KNOW that I am one the most genuine, sincere and honest and down-to-earth people they know. Am I over the top? Hell yes, and I realize that this a double edged sword... one that I wield gladly.

As I said, you are entitled to your opinion. I am not out to win any popularity contests. But also know that while one may THINK they are in possession of all the facts, they RARELY are....

Have a wonderful day!

 

[EYEPEEE]

ok bear with me... i'm being a bit of a devil's advocate.

it seems that a lot of bodybuilding types had previous eating disorders... and that the control over food for bodybuilding is really not so much of an escape... it's just going to the other extreme.

there are quite a huge number of bodybuilding hopefuls on this board that are severely unhappy with his/her looks regardless of how "big" or "cut" he/she gets...

so i ask... is bodybuilding just an established and accepted eating disorder?

CRAZY RADIES MAKE DISORDERS IN MY HEAD!!!!OUCH!!

 

[aurelius]

I am a wonderful human being fraught with flaws and complication... I deserve to be loved as much as everyone else.

See what type of posts result from reading too many self help books.

 

[Frackal]

THE ONLY TRUE BEAUTY IN THIS UNIVERSE IS THE BEAUTY OF YOUR SOUL.... THIS CAN NEVER BE "DIRTIED" OR "SULLIED" BY ANYTHING IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD!

That is so true...

 

[bigschweeler]

Not an eating disorder no, not a sport either. It's basically a beauty contest. Powerlifting is a sport, strongman competition is a sport, fitness contests and bodybuilding shows are not.

 

[wyst]

I'd say it depends. Just like some thin people have eating disorders and some thin people don't. I guess when it becomes a compulsion it is.

Wyst

 

[BigRugbyMan]

I don't consider it to be an eating disorder... However, I have been told by many of my friends, as well as my doctor that I have a problem.

My life revolves around bodybuilding. My friends all say that i am obsessed with bodybuilding... They say I'm starting to look like freaky. They say i am too big... But when i look at myself, i dont see it that way. I work to be bigger than everyone else, and i will never be satisfied until i am. I know i will never be the biggest, but right now i sit at 235lbs and am just looking to get bigger and bigger.

I get crazy about it. I skip out on alot of things because living the bodybuilder lifestyle is important to me..

 

[Si|vio]

I thought it would make me happy to see bmom go insane, but I feel kinda bad for her

 

[Test boy]

My first cycle was awesome. With the rewards I achieved, I seen several more cycles in the future. Guess what? I never got that big again despite two more cycles. The second one was pills only and really, really sucked. The third one was good for 3 weeks then stalled. I've got shoulder and elbow problems that hold me back a lot.

I dunno...trying to run two businesses makes it impossible to really be a bodybuilder. My schedule is totally whacko for one thing.

I liked what Frackal had to say about average people winding up average. Who wants to be average? I am a big fan of being yourself and doing what you enjoy and is important to you.

I think many people go way overboard with their lifting and diet but that is what they want to do so more power to them.

I have quit cycles because of ineffectiveness and the dedication to the cycle hurts my income. Plus I like being somewhat unintimidating since I work with people so much.

OK...I feel better.

 

[Liberator]

No its not a disorder

I do it because it proves to myself that I am actually real and my life is not just about working and decaying on some sofer.

I also do it because most of the population won't do it because they are incapable of leaving there comfortised easy come easy go lifestyle which ultimately leads to and means.....nothing.

If you treat your body like shit and do not care for your physical appearance, then you are not happy, one way or another and you will deem to find this happiness elsewhere, in eating shit and buying useless items. This is where your life is, in a dvd or a video game. Is this all you are worth?

Some people get smashed on alcohol because it makes them feel powerful, again easy come easy go.

Well, this is my power.

 

[Ir0n PhReAk]

 

[bm2k]

We're bodybuilders and will obviously take a defensive stance against a statement like this. Its hard to be completely objective about it, especially when the topic is so hard to define.

I tend to agree with many of both p60 and Frackals comments.