Club Blog

San Diego Fitness Psychology – Do You Have Anorexia Athletica?

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Heidi Montag may need a fitness psychologist.  She reportedly spent the last two months  exercising an insane fourteen hours a day in the gym! Let’s say she only really exercised half that, seven hours a day.  Still, it’s a fitness psychology emergency for sure.

Madonna reportedly has also been described in the past as an “exercise addict.”  Sexy title, attention grabbing headlines, and like all addictions, this one leads to life-sapping, health-eroding, social stumbling consequences as well.

The fact that so many compulsive exercisers also have an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, has led to the more official sounding title of this unhealthy behavior, “anorexia athletica.”  Dr. William Glasser first described this exercise addiction in 1976.

How do you know if you or your workout chums have anorexia athletica and are not simply overdoing the gym scene or are just great athletes?  Compulsive exercisers have poor self-image and they compulsively exercise for all the wrong reasons—principal among these is to control their body image.  The exercise addicts among us have stress, anxiety, depression, and are likely to have some form of an eating disorder.  They may be preoccupied with what they eat (or don’t eat), their (inadequate) caloric intake, and especially their (inaccurate) idea of what they think their bodies look like (which only serves to prove my favorite adage: “Don’t believe everything you…think.”).

+ Are you constantly preoccupied with exercise throughout your day?
+ Do you feel anxious or guilty if you miss an exercise session and believe it “must be made up?
+ Do you avoid taking a day off even if you are injured or ill?
+ Do you take time off from work or school to exercise?
+ Lie about the amount of exercise you are doing to family and friends?
+ Are you in conflict with others over the amount you exercise?
+ Does your self-esteem depend on the amount you exercise?
+ Have you lost 5% or greater of normal body weight?
+ Are you ever satisfied with the exercise you did?

Sure athletes exercise a great deal.  Compulsive exercise addicts don’t stop due to injuries while athletes do.  Athletes rest when they’ve reached a goal.  Not so with compulsive exercisers.  Athletes, unlike those with anorexia athletic, focus on the win.  Those with obligatory exercise focus on more exercise and body image control.

It’s an addiction, and like all addiction can be harmful to one’s health.  If you know someone who has these signs and behaviors, draw them out in a collaborative, non-judgmental, non-authoritative, understanding, supportive way—and help them make up their own mind to get professional help.

(ARA) – As families have gotten busier, traditional mealtimes have become more of a novelty than a necessity. While careers and activities keep many away from the family dinner, missing those meals is leaving more of an impact than many suspect.

While many acknowledge that sitting down to eat creates family bonds and opens lines of communication, many don’t realize that missing those meals can contribute to childhood obesity.

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that more than a third of U.S. adults are obese. Perhaps more alarming is that the number of obese children has tripled in the past 30 years, to 17 percent.  Because of all of the associated health risks of obesity, it is possible that the current generation of children may be the first generation whose life expectancy will not be greater than their parents.

“In terms of healthy eating habits, family meals are one of the most powerful tools available. Research has consistently shown that children and adolescents who eat more family meals are less likely to be overweight or obese. In addition, children who eat dinner with their families consume more fruits and vegetables than those who don’t,” says Sherry Rieder, Ph.D., an obesity expert and assistant professor in Argosy University’s College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences online programs. “If children learn about realistic food portions and healthy food options from a young age at family dinnertime, they are more likely to carry these habits with them into adulthood.”

In addition, regular and routine family meals add needed structure to a child’s day. “In my family, we have a designated dinner time,” says Victoria Hooker, assistant director of Culinary Arts at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Dallas, a branch of South University. “There’s no snacking before dinner, which means I know my family will be ready to fill up on a good meal as opposed to eating junk food. Family meal time is something parents can do now to fight childhood obesity. What’s best is that they can do it without any outside advice or help.”

Rieder agrees and adds, “Getting kids involved in preparing food is a great way to teach them about healthy and balanced eating. Children are far more likely to eat food that they helped prepare – so get them to help prepare vegetables. Focus on consuming fruits and vegetables whenever possible and avoid sweetened drinks like sodas and juices.”

For busy families who may not have much time to cook, a little planning can go a long way.  “Even if the whole family cannot sit down at one time, eating home made meals is often a better alternative than eating take out food,” says Rieder. “One trick is to try to stock up on some easy-to-prepare meals at home for those evenings when everyone is running late and feeling the stress of a long day.  Another alternative is to prepare extra portions when cooking meals and freeze half.”

When you simply can’t be home for dinner, Hooker advises families to plan and pack food ahead of time. “With today’s busy lifestyles, it is almost impossible to eat at home seven days a week, but families can make it a priority to eat at home five nights a week. When you do have to eat on the run, make healthy choices. Institute family rules like fried food only once a week,” she says.

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Is it possible that the very substance that leaves you high from running and working out is also getting you fat?  No, I’m not talking about endorphins.  I’m talking about what seems to be a form of the body’s self-created, cannabis.  Read on before you get the wrong idea!

I’m not endorsing drugs, cannabis, a k a marijuana, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, let alone our gym.

One test of what’s healthy and not healthy is simple:  if I do this long-term, will it leave me feeling better or not?  Exercise, eating healthy, thinking rationally, maintaining good relationships, accomplishing positive things, being engaged in life, finding meaning in the world—the more you do these things, the better you feel, right?

So what’s with the cannabis?  Well, without complicating this with a bunch of science, researchers have found that the “body’s home-brewed opiates,” endorphins, are composed of large molecules which, according the one researcher at New York’s Rockefeller University, means endorphins are unable to pass the blood-brain barrier.  Finding endorphins in our blood then, doesn’t mean they have an effect on our brain. Of course, the large molecules may be metabolized into smaller compounds that do cross the blood-brain barrier and there may be more than one mechanism involved. And it’s possible that endorphins can be produced directly in the central nervous system.  We definitely need more science. Or there may be something else.

Enter endocannabinoids, based in an altogether-different neurochemical system in the mind/body connection.  A study done at the Georgia Institute of Technology found endocannabinoid molecules in a group of subjects after they spent 50 minutes running or on a stationary bicycle.  These cannabinoids are made up of lipids that do cross the blood-brain barrier, thus possibly explaining why cannabinoids could affect the brain, unlike what scientists are now positing about endorphins.

When mice, who love to run, were bred with no functioning endocannabinoid receptors, guess what happened to these lovely little creatures?  They didn’t show up at their gym—er, their running wheels.  Well, they used them only half as much as they ordinarily do.

Here’s where the bowl of chips and plate of fries comes into the equation.  While these endocannibinoids may be the responsible for feeling so, well, high after a great cardio session, they also are the culprit in making those foods so darned irresistible—bye, bye carbohydrates as the culprit.  Seems that the fats in chips and fries drives gluttonous eating behavior. UC Irvine scientists, along with researchers at New York’s Yeshiva University (supported by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Disease and the National Institute on Drug Abuse)) found that tasting something fatty leads to cells in the upper part of the intestines producing…you got it…endocannabinoids.

These endocannabinoids act as a signal to eat, eat, eat more and more.  But this finding, in turn,  also drives researchers to better understand the role that obstructing endocannabinoid activity can play in better control of dieting.

It’s a complicated system this endocannabinoid system.  For example, lack of endocannabinoids are implicated in migraines and irritable bowel syndrome.  Scientists are just getting a better understanding of this system and the role it plays in our health and fitness.

So there you have it.  Maybe it’s not your endorphins after all that kick in after a good spin class or run on the treadmill.  And those “munchies” you feel for chips and fries?  It’s possibly the same culprit, the body’s very own endocannabinoids.  Mother nature is a mad scientist, indeed!

Live and learn.

(ARA) – If your arm goes numb and your speech is slurred, you know you need to seek immediate medical attention. When you nick yourself shaving, you know you can deal with it yourself. But for the vast number of maladies in between, it can be difficult to know when to go to the doctor and when to deal with it on your own.

One of the most difficult situations in which you need to make the “home care vs. professional care” decision may be when something affects your joints. The joints do some important work for the human body, and figuring out when things will get better on their own and when you may have a more serious problem is not easy.

When to seek help
William Ungureit, clinical director of the physician assistant training program at South University in Tampa, Fla., says there are some important signs that will tell you when to seek professional care.

“If the joint is warm to the touch and swollen, seek immediate help,” Ungureit says. “Those are signs of a possible infection, something that won’t get better on its own.”

Likewise, if you know that the joint pain is the result of an injury such as a fall, put an ice pack on the injury and seek help right away. This type of injury will usually be accompanied by swelling and the inability to bear weight.

Otherwise, painful joints often can be treated at home with over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. And what about ice and heat?

“Cold therapy (ice) can be used for chronic injuries, such as pain after running,” says Ungureit. “Heat therapy is recommended for injuries that have no inflammation or swelling. Heat is ideal for sore, stiff, nagging muscle or joint pain.”

If you decide to treat the pain at home, you still need to see your primary care physician if the pain lasts more than two weeks. Your physician may offer prescription pain relievers or other treatment.

Chronic joint pain
Treatment for chronic joint pain may be more involved, Ungureit says. “Non-inflammatory joint pain usually signifies osteoarthritis, which is caused by trauma to the joint or degeneration of the joint tissue in weight-bearing joints.” That means the knee, hip and spinal joints.

According to the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative, a movement sanctioned by the World Health Organization, one in five Americans has some form of arthritis. And contrary to the perception that arthritis is a disease of the elderly, more than half of those with arthritis are under the age of 65.

There is no cure for osteoarthritis, but it can be managed with pain killers, physical therapy, steroid injections such as cortisone, or other injections to help lubricate the joint. As a last resort, surgery to realign or completely replace a joint may be an option. Complete joint replacement is now available for the knee, shoulder, hip and ankle.

Motion is lotion
Although you can’t prevent osteoarthritis, you can do things to help lessen its onset and its painful effects. “Losing weight and exercising regularly are great ways to combat osteoarthritis,” says Ungureit. “When it comes to joints, we say that ‘motion is lotion.’ Dropping five or 10 pounds may not seem like much, but five pounds per step adds up fairly quickly on your joints.”

What about herbal supplements and other alternative treatments for joint pain? Ungureit says there’s nothing wrong with trying them, but make sure you tell your doctor which ones you are thinking about taking, since some supplements can interfere with other medications.

So while you may not need to consult your doctor for every ache, there are some serious signs to look for, and some effective steps that both you and your doctor can take to help relieve those painful joints.

(ARA) – Summer is here and the time is right for achieving your personal health and fitness goals. Whether you are looking to tone up for the last bit of bikini season or are looking to increase your overall fitness to enjoy the wealth of outdoor recreation available in the sunny summer months and coming fall, making choices that improve your overall health are key.

“Exercise is by far the overall best thing people can do to enhance their physical and psychological well-being,” says Dr. Kevin Sverduk, associate professor and chair of the Sport-Exercise Psychology program at Argosy University, Southern California. “Regular exercise will boost your mood, sharpen your mind, give you greater self-confidence, reduce your chances of getting sick, and expand your energy.”

“We have a unique opportunity to exercise more in summer,” says Dr. Suzanne Forbes-Vierling, a fitness/cardio instructor and chair of the College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Argosy University, San Diego. “Whether it’s biking, power-walking with friends, trying out a new cardio routine, dance classes such as African dance, Afro-Cuban, Latin, belly-dance – try something different and exciting to shake up an old routine.”

Remember, however, that you should consult your doctor prior to starting any physical activity.

Fitness is about more than what we do physically with our bodies – it’s also about what we put into our bodies. “It’s important to consider a permanent lifestyle shift in how we manage food – and eliminate diets,” says Forbes-Vierling. Niki Wray, registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Phoenix agrees. “For a nutritionist, ‘diet’ is the food and beverages that we consume. For most of the public, however, it’s a loaded word that implies something we do for a short time.”

So how do you find the right eating plan to suit your needs? “The government has new Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” says Wray. Designed to remind Americans to adopt healthier eating habits, “MyPlate” has replaced the food pyramid as the go-to source for nutrition. “As an improved visual of a healthier diet, we’re very excited with the new food plate recently released,” Wray says. For the complete guidelines, visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov.

“The site allows you to plug in your age, weight, height and activity level to determine a customized food plan,” says Wray. “The goals include eating less, drinking more water instead of beverages with many calories, switching to low-fat dairy options and reducing your sodium intake.”

Sverduk also encourages an understanding of the glycemic index when eating. “The glycemic index of foods is a number that correlates to the rate at which food you eat will be digested and converted into sugar. Foods that have higher GI such as breads, rice and sweets, raise the blood sugar level very quickly. When one’s blood sugar level is high, the body is stimulated to store the excess sugar as fat. Foods that have a lower GI such as chicken, beef and nuts, are digested much slower and do not raise the blood sugar level as high and as quickly. When the blood sugar level is normal or slightly low, the body will be stimulated to burn stored fat,” he says.

Blood sugar levels can also be regulated through exercise. Thus eating a reasonable diet with low GI foods and regular bouts of exercise will help burn excess fat. You can learn more about the glycemic index of foods and find the GI for the foods you eat at www.glycemicindex.com.

“Every day is a new day and an opportunity to make healthy choices,” says Sverduk. “If you fall off the program, just get back on. Be realistic, consistency and patience are the keys to successful lifestyle change.”