NY Times article: Disruptions Add to Risks for Athletes With Eating Disorders - Madison Keys, Gracie Gold, Anton Olsson and Rachael Flatt

[B.Cooper]

Disruptions Add to Risks for Athletes With Eating Disorders (Published 2020)

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted eating and fitness routines, potentially compounding the stress of those, including athletes, who have eating disorders.

www.nytimes.com

Athletes (Keys, Gold, Olsson) share how the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has altered their training and daily regimens, how eating disorders can be affected by the SIP orders, and perspective from grad student Flatt who is working on her PhD at UNC with a focus on EDs in athletes, with additional information from McCallum Place (prgm for athletes with eating disorders) https://www.mccallumplace.com/programs-athletes/ and UNC/Chapel Hill's Center for Excellence program at the med school https://www.med.unc.edu/psych/eatingdisorders/

Would be good to see an actionable health and wellness plan be put in place for the returning athletes when training can resume, and eventually competitions....across all federations. ;-)

 

[aftershocks]

Thanks for sharing the article. Good luck to all the athletes whose routines and careers have been disrupted. I hope more answers and strategies for returning to some semblance of normalcy will be forthcoming soon. Meanwhile, it's helpful for articles like this to communicate that we are not alone in our struggles.

In regard to the calmness of baking, that was my first love and my first forays in the kitchen! My Mom taught me to bake my favorite desserts. I love baking, cooking in general, finding new recipes, and improvising with ingredients on hand.

I'm not an athlete which involves special attention to eating and exercise regimens. I have noticed that my tendencies during times of emotional distress has been to not eat. I've never had issues with being overweight when I was younger because I had a fast metabolism. Being older now, with my metabolism slowed down, I can put on weight if I overindulge, but it doesn't tend to look bad on me and I've never been overly heavy because I can control my intake. I also have a small frame (i.e. small-boned). Although, being small-boned doesn't mean you can't end up being overweight if you eat too much and have a slow metabolism.

I do understand the connection between emotional yearnng/ emotional distress and food. When you aren't feeling happy, eating your fave foods can be comforting. The key is to try and not overdo, and to focus on maintaining a balanced diet. Easier said than done. Anyway, once under stress from a new job I hated, I ended up eating a lot of key lime pie and the weight went straight to my behind. I was amazed. It didn't look bad, but I couldn't fit many of my pants. I feel more comfortable carrying less weight than I gained at that time. I stayed away from too many sweets and whipped cream, and went back to my normal size.

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Now, here's a ZOOM video between Rachael and Cynthia Bulik, on eating disorders. Rach still as cute as ever, even at 27 ;-) https://www.facebook.com/EDGIstudy/videos/340759980253413/