When Winning Comes at All Costs: How Eating Disorder Therapy Helps Athletes Recover
Athletes face many pressures to maintain peak performance. Athletes are taught to push their bodies beyond their limits and ignore cues it may be sending us, in order to win and perform at a high level. The connection between eating disorders and the pursuit of success in sports has been shown to be strong. This leads athletes to be at higher risk for an eating disorder than a non-athlete. Beneath the tough exterior and the physical accomplishments, many athletes struggle with an invisible battle with their body; eating disorders.
Therapy helps guide athletes through addressing specific challenges such as perfectionism, performance pressures, and increasing the mind-body connection through skills like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Based Therapy (FBT), and Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RODBT). Don’t worry, if you have never heard of these, don’t worry, we will go through what they are later. We are going to explore how eating disorder therapy helps athletes build a healthier relationship with their body and sport, despite the specific challenges athletes face and how different therapeutic approaches can help the healing process.
The Relationship Between Athletes and Eating Disorders
Whether it is the desire to perform better, fit in socially, or achieve sport-specific standards, there are high levels of pressure when it comes to competitive sports. Whether it is in gymnastics, ballet, wrestling, cross-country, or figure skating, being told you need to maintain a certain body type, weight, or level of fitness can be overwhelming in competitive sports. The emphasis on body type, weight, and performance in combination with perfectionism and focus on success can lead athletes down a dangerous path of disordered eating. Oftentimes the types of pressures depend on the type of sport. For example in sports such as gymnastics or figure skating, being in a smaller body is highly emphasized due to its emphasis on appearance. For sports such as wrestling or rowing, weight is emphasized due to there being specific weight classes to compete.
The Desire for Control and Perfectionism
Emphasizing that performance is intertwined with body composition, leaves athletes at a higher risk for eating disorders. The belief that your body impacts success can evolve into unhealthy behaviors that affect mental and physical health. Eating disorders and disordered eating are methods of control around weight, body image, and perceived performance. This desire to achieve at all costs stems from perfectionism.
Fear of Failure in Sport
Eating disorders are about so much more than food. When we dive into perfectionism, we often find a fear of failure. In sports, there is such a high pressure to succeed, if not from others, athletes tend to put that pressure on themselves. However, an important factor to tie in, is that teams often have a “be tough” mentality. Being perceived as “weak” is incredibly frightening! This makes it more difficult for athletes, especially men, to seek support.
Common Eating Disorders Among Athletes
There are several eating disorders that are commonly found among athletes. Each disorder holds its own challenges.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia is when an athlete restricts food intake, creating heightened anxiety, low body weight, and malnutrition. This may be driven by an intense fear of gaining weight or body dysmorphia, as well as myths about body composition in sports. About 25% of those struggling with anorexia are male.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia is classified as having episodes of eating larger amounts of food in a specific period of time (binge eating) followed by a compensatory behavior. This behavior can include anything from purging, excessive exercise, or laxative use. There are often emotions of guilt and shame around binging episodes and compensatory behaviors leave athletes with a false sense of control.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
BED is episodes of binge eating without compensatory behaviors. There is always some level of anxiety, discomfort, and often disgust and shame. Binge Eating Disorder is the most common eating disorder, even more common than breast cancer!
Orthorexia
This one is not technically considered an eating disorder (yet) but is commonly seen in athletes. It tends to start with an athlete trying to eat “better” which leads to an obsession with “healthy” foods to the point of restriction and disordered eating.
How Eating Disorder Therapy Helps Athletes Recover
Therapy for eating disorders helps athletes gain back control and learn to listen to their body and what it needs. The goal of compassionate therapy is more than just reducing behaviors but also helps teach athletes new perspectives while gaining a better relationship with their body, food, and sport. There is no perfect formula for recovery. However, using a combination of these three techniques can help guide clients toward freedom and healing.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT addresses the negative thought patterns that develop and that we may not even realize we have! These can be around performance, body image, or eating behaviors. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you learn to identify, challenge, and reframe these negative beliefs, in order to rebuild a healthier mindset around your body and performance.
Family Based Therapy (FBT)
FBT is a technique often used with adolescents or young adults. Involving family members in your recovery process can be a scary thing. However, the importance of a support system from loved ones is extremely important and can help create a nurturing environment for healing. Family Based Therapy consists of three phases that walk you through how to support and renourish a loved one. This includes things like taking the decision-making away from the eating disorder, supporting them through meals, and eventually helping them re-integrate decision-making.
Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RODBT)
RODBT is a therapy that focuses on helping those with an over-controlled temperament. What this means is anyone who feels a crippling need to control their emotions, situations, their body, and anything else in their life. This is common among athletes, as we discussed above! Being in control can help us in so many ways! However, when it inhibits our ability to incorporate flexibility into our daily lives, it becomes dangerous for our well-being. Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy helps you learn to incorporate flexibility, get back in touch with your internal body cues, and connect with others in a way that reduces shame and builds support.
The Path to Eating Disorder Recovery
Athletes often identify themselves as, well, athletes. It is difficult when you are so consumed in a passion, to stop and pause to see who you are, outside of your sport. It can feel as though it may even hinder your ability to perform. The great news is, it actually does the opposite! Through my work with athletes (and my own internal work), I have found that seeing who you are outside of your sport, can improve performance. Having other passions and identities outside of your sport is so important! Going through eating disorder recovery as an athlete forces you to stop and pause. However, like I said, this isn’t something that usually happens gratefully or in a linear form. Recovery is tough whether you are an athlete or not. Having your identity of being an athlete taken away is not the goal, I promise!
Long-Term Benefits of Therapy
When going through eating disorder recovery, you are not only healing your relationship with food but also performance. A fueled athlete is a healthier and happier athlete! (in the long term that is) Therapy can help athletes strengthen their mental and emotional health by building a healthier relationship with food, body, and your sport. Recovery ultimately allows you to be able to focus better on the field, recover better from workouts, manage emotions during performance, and reduce the risk of injury (just to name a few). So is it worth it? YES!
Final Reflections from an Eating Disorder Therapist in Cherry Hill, NJ
Ultimately, therapy for eating disorders helps athletes recover and be the healthiest version of themselves, physically and mentally. It can be a long and difficult process due to the obstacles that athletes come across in sport. Seeking professional help from a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and athletes is the first step in healing. Working on your mental and emotional health is important in achieving long-term recovery and success, in and outside of your sport! Hurting your body does not need to be done in order to achieve personal bests, break records, or outperform competitors.
Discover Eating Disorder Therapy in Cherry Hill, NJ
Navigating eating disorder recovery as an athlete comes with unique mental, emotional, and physical demands, but you don’t have to go through it alone. At Serendipity Counseling Services in Cherry Hill, NJ, I offer eating disorder therapy for athletes that honors both your performance goals and your overall well-being. Together, we’ll work to heal your relationship with food, body image, and self-worth—on and off the field. If you’re ready to explore a healthier path forward, here’s how to get started:
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to talk through your goals and questions.
Book your first eating disorder therapy session and find a treatment approach tailored to you.
Take the next step in your recovery with support that truly understands the pressures athletes face.
Additional Therapy Services Available in New Jersey & Surrounding Locations
As an eating disorder therapist, I provide eating disorder therapy for athletes navigating the complex relationship between food, body image, and performance. My approach supports your well-being both in and out of your sport.
Along with individual therapy, I offer specialized support for runners and lead athlete-focused support groups that create space for connection and healing. Through speaking engagements and community outreach, I aim to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around eating disorders in athletics. Support is here when you're ready.
About the Author: An Expert Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes in NJ
Kate Ringwood is a licensed professional counselor with specialties in both eating disorders and athletics. Kate has lived experience being a collegiate athlete while going through eating disorder recovery. She offers support to those going through the same process through her private practice, Serendipity Counseling Services. Kate is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Based Therapy, and Radically Open Behavioral Therapy for eating disorders.
