eating disorders and skating

[ibreakhearts66]

i was just wondering if there are any people here on the board who have struggled with an eating disorder and are comfortable sharing their experience.

i'm a recovering anorexic. things got really bad for me a few years ago and i was hospitalized a few times, but i've been much better lately :) but yeah, i guess i just wanted to see how other people deal with some of the body issues with skating.

my coach is unbelievably supportive. i know there are horror stories with coaches weighing their skaters and everything--nothing like that from her. in fact, everyone is really supportive and kind. well, except for one woman, but i won't get into that right now...

i think for the most part skating helps give me the strength to overcome the eating disorder, but man, sometimes i wish i could skate in giant sweat pants! there are days where the last thing i want to be wearing is skin tight pants or a skating skirt!

again, i'm not quite sure what the point of this post was. it would just be nice to talk to other people who have struggled with an eating disorder while trying to skate. i have a bunch of friends who are in recovery, but no skating friends. sometimes it feels kind of lonely. hope that made sense. blarg.

[blackmanskating]

I may not have been anorexic but I suffered from another eating disorder. . . obesity. And like you, I used skating to deal with it. The only reason I started skating was to lose weight. I never thought that I would be somewhat good at it. I've lost 37 pounds thanks to skating. The adult skating community has been very supportive. Now I will admit that I do feel out of place skating next to some of these thin teenagers but I feel great about the progress I've made. So hats off to you for combating anorexia. I always felt that losing that weight was my first Gold medal. Thanks for helping me remember what's really important.



BlackManSkating

[Helen88]

I also suffered from anorexia, and came very close to being hospitalised. I also self harm, and my coach had obviously seen the scars, and has never made any intrusive comments and I have to thank her for that. I also feel very self-conscious skating, and I'm not sure I could even recover enough to wear a skirt. I've also been involved with drink, but the knowledge that I could permanently damage my skating (possibly selfishly) got me out of that vicious cycle. I'm not sure I'll ever be fully recovered, but it's nice to know that - despite all the hype around skaters and EDs, it can also work the other way. And yes, I know that all sounds terrible at my age. But...yeah. I'm not proud.

[LilJen]

I would encourage you to check out yahoogroups.com. I have found some wonderful support groups there for various medical conditions & lifestyles. Obviously the tone of any group can vary from supportive to super-flamey, but I bet if you type in "anorexia" or "eating disorders" and "sports" or even "skating" you would find a ton of people in the same boat.

I wish you a healthy body image and healthy eating!

[mandypants]

Sorry things got so bad for you but I'm happy you're doing better now! I've had an E.D. since I was about 12 and I'm 18 now.. I'd like to talk privately if that's ok, so message me on here if you want. Also, I want to share with everyone this great site for eating disorders called Somethingfishy.com

http://www.something-fishy.org/sitemap.php