Beyond the Training Plan: How Eating Disorder Therapy in Cherry Hill, NJ Supports Marathon Runners
Many marathon runners push their bodies to extremes. Yet few talk about the relationship between endurance sports and disordered eating. Intense training can mask, worsen or trigger eating disorder symptoms. Finding an eating disorder specialist that works with eating disorders in athletes can help runners build a healthy, sustainable relationship with food, training and their bodies.
Why Marathon Runners are at Higher Risk for Eating Disorders
Culture of Leanness and Performance
There are certain myths around maintaining a “runner’s body” and the impact it has on performance or that “lighter = faster”. The problem comes in when someone feels pressure to be in a certain body. It can lead to reduced fueling and malnutrition, impacting their performance in a negative way.
High Training Volume
Increased energy demands can accidently lead to under-fueling. This is due to runners not realizing how much fuel their body actually needs. Hunger can get blunted during and post long runs, making it difficult to fuel.
Perfectionism and High Achievement
These two characteristics are very common among marathon runners as well as those experiencing an eating disorder. The competitive mindset often requires dedication and a strive for high achievement. This can then spill over into food, weight and body image in an attempt to try and control all factors in an attempt to improve performance.
How Eating Disorders Show Up in Endurance Athletes
Eating disorders can show up differently for everyone. However, these are a few signs that are often missed or misinterpreted as “discipline” in the running community.
Skipping meals for “GI comfort”
Strict rules around food or “clean eating”
Training through illness or injury
REDs or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport
REDs is the result of low energy availability from not getting enough fuel for the amount of training taking place. This is common among marathon runners. It leads to fatigue, frequent injury, decreased performance, mood changes and difficulty recovering from workouts. This is at least what it looks like from the outside. From the inside, it is shutting down systems in our body that it does not believe are “primary”. This may look like losing your period, GI distress, osteoporosis, and low libido, to name a few.
Emotional and Cognitive Signs
Anxiety starts creeping in as one of the first signs of malnutrition. This can be around anything from fueling, weight or performance. Guilt when taking rest days or eating things outside of “the plan”. Irritability and constant thoughts around food start to take over the mind. You may notice a shift in avoiding social events around food and start to isolate.
Why Standard Therapy Isn’t Enough for Athletes
There is a unique physiology and psychology around endurance sports. It is helpful for a provider to have unique knowledge in both high performance goals and eating disorder recovery. An eating disorder specialist that works with athletes is going to understand the demands of marathon training and common fueling mistakes. Finding a team of dietitian, doctor, and therapist for eating disorders in athletes is important in understanding the nuances of training cycles, fueling and race season.
How Eating Disorder Therapy in Cherry Hill, NJ Supports Marathon Runners
Understanding the local athlete culture in Cherry Hill is important. There is a large running community around Cooper River park, Haddonfield running clubs and Cherry Hill, NJ is very close to the Philadelphia Marathon! Many runners in this area are trying to balance demands of jobs, family life and training. You want to make sure you find a therapist who specialises in athletes and knows the culture around this area and difficulty finding balance. A therapist can be a part of establishing a race schedule, long run fueling and taper week mindset.
Rebuilding Hunger and Fullness Cues
An eating disorder specialist will help guide you towards reconnecting with your body after month or years of ignoring the cues. Learning to eat adequately, even when appetite is low from anxiety or the training load, is an important part of being an athlete. It is also important to learn how to have flexible flueing strategies. Creating sustainable, athlete-specific nutrition routines and challenging rigid food rules are a part of improving performance.
Addressing Body Image in Performance-Oriented Sports
As we discussed earlier, there are many myths around a “runner’s body”. The pressure to fit a certain body type will limit your capabilities. Exploring these pressures to look a certain way and embracing body neutrality will help you thrive on and off the course.
Emotion Regulation and Stress Management
I see underfueling as one of the number one things that increases anxiety around food, weight and race performance. Working with someone that specializes in eating disorders in athletes will help guide you towards solutions that will fit your needs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy are three different techniques that I teach to help you process and manage those difficult emotions.
What Eating Disorder Therapy Sessions Commonly Include
We will explore the thoughts and beliefs around food and training, using this to set weekly exposure goals. Learning to practice distress tolerance for eating more and resting are key factors in working towards improved performance and well-being as a runner. We will also work through identity concerns. For example, “If I run less, who am I?”. Lastly, we will address life stressors that may amplify disordered behaviors.
Is One-on-One Eating Disorder Therapy right for you?
If any of this resonates with you, then you probably would benefit from therapy. You do not need to have an eating disorder. To get your journey started, here are the first steps:
Reach out to schedule a free consultation and see if we are a good fit.
Schedule your first session with an eating disorder therapist!
Get started in your journey to food and body freedom.
If 1:1 therapy is not for you, here are a few things to help you out. Check out our featured eating disorder in athletes podcasts, our blogs about eating disorders in sport, or our support group for “Retired” athletes looking to improve their relationship with movement.
About the Author: An Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes
Kate Ringwood is an eating disorder therapist for athletes, located in Cherry Hill, NJ. She uses CBT, ACT and RODBT to help guide you towards food freedom and improved performance. Kate has been a runner since age 10 and absolutely loves working with fellow runners who are working towards flexibility and freedom from food noise.
