Understanding Eating Disorders, Binge Eating & Night Eating Syndrome

Eating disorders have existed in one form or another since the beginning of civilization; however it is without question that its presence has increased significantly over the past thirty years. It’s hard to pin point one central causative reason for the increase, but it goes without saying that the social and societal pressures to be thin and in great shape while living in a developed nation where over a third of the population is overweight has been consistently implicated as a cause for the growing number of mostly women with eating disorders. The unstoppable deluge of advertising and marketing cues for women to be supermodel slim and trim doesn’t only affect us here in the United States and Europe but creates an environment ripe for eating disorders even in third world countries where food supplies are scare. In India where it is estimated that almost 60% of the female population is malnourished and where a well rounded body has traditionally been upheld as a nationally accepted ideal, the influx of Western television has brought with it an explosion in the number of young girls with anorexia nervosa- often with fatal consequences.[1]

Here in the United States over eight million people suffer from an eating disorder of some kind with a huge gender bias of seven million women versus one million men.[2] One in 200 American women suffer from anorexia nervosa- the so called slimming disease that can cause suffers to starve themselves to death. A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders found that 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years of contracting the disorder and that approximately one fifth of them will die within twenty years. Sadly the mortality rate for anorexia is 12 times higher than the death rates of all causes of death for young females within the ages of 15-24 years old[2], a sobering statistic, but one that does nothing to stop the presentation of being ultra thin to a fault as an ideal.

Bulimia  & Binge Eating- Signs & Symptoms

While one in every 200 American women suffers from anorexia, two to three in 100 women suffers from bulimia

Binge related eating disorders are even more widespread throughout the American female population- while one in every 200 American women suffers from anorexia, two to three in 100 women suffers from bulimia. Bulimia is an insidious and often silent illness in which a person binges on food or has regular episodes of overeating while feeling a very tangible loss of self control over their eating. The affected person then uses various methods such as vomiting, diet pills or laxative abuse to prevent weight gain.[3] Similar to but not exactly the same as bulimia, binge eating disorder is even more common as people with binge eating disorder often consume large amounts of food while feeling a real loss of control over their eating, but without the recourse to purging methods.[4]While almost everyone overeats at one point or another (usually over the holiday season), some overeat with a regularity that qualifies it as a disorder. While not categorized as a psychiatric condition per se, as with all eating disorders, binge eating comes with the classic cycle of compulsive urges followed by extreme feelings of guilt and powerlessness to stop a reoccurrence. As it is largely undiagnosed, millions are affected but no one can give a precise number as the practice is often shrouded in secrecy and the shame and embarrassment over having so little control over your actions isolate many from ever revealing that they have a problem and getting help.

While bulimia nervosa appears to be of relatively recent origin, binge eating has been a problem for humankind for centuries. Simply eating large amounts of food or being over one’s ideal weight does not mean that someone has a binge eating disorder. Research over the past three decades has conclusively shown that most obese individuals eat relatively normally, (read my post on calories to understand a bit more of how easy it is for us to gain weight) and that the subgroup of obese people with episodic periods of extreme food consumption is relatively small with some sufferers being of normal weight.[5] My experience over the years has been that most people regarded as ideals within the fitness industry do have serious problems with their attitudes towards food, sadly to the point where is can indeed be classed as a disorder.

The criteria for binge eating disorder are:

· Frequent episodes of eating what others would consider an abnormally large amount of food.

· Frequent feelings of being unable to control what or how much is being eaten.

Several or all of these behaviors or feelings:

• Eating much more rapidly than usual.
• Eating until uncomfortably full.
• Eating large amounts of food, even when not physically hungry.
• Eating in isolation out of embarrassment at the quantity of food being eaten.
• Feelings of disgust, depression, or guilt after overeating.[6]

Bulimia & Binge Eating In The Fitness Industry

The extreme dietary habits of many bodybuilders, fitness and figure competitors could be seriously categorized as an eating disorder.

Both binge eating and bulimia nervosa affects many bodybuilders and fitness models in numbers higher than most would expect. Persons with bulimia regularly purge, fast, or engage in an unhealthy pattern of prolonged strenuous exercise after episodes of binge eating which is a textbook description of the cycle for most competitive physique athletes. The purging process within bulima is usually understood as vomiting but it can also include the use of diuretics (water pills) or laxatives doses to avoid gaining weight after eating- practices that many in the health and fitness circles regularly engage in to maintain ‘the look’.

Fasting is defined as not eating for at least twenty-four hours and many use it as a way of making up for what they see as over the top food consumption (see my article on fasting as a form of weight loss here). Strenuous exercise, in this case, is defined as exercising for more than an hour, but not as a means to better health or self improvement, but as a reactive practice to avoid gaining weight after a period of binging. Purging, fasting, and prolonged strenuous exercise are dangerous ways to attempt weight control and the excessive shape and weight concerns of most competitors in the physique arena are also characteristics of bulimia and or eating disorder of some kind. Issues that may appear benign in someone with rippling abdominals and an ultra tight body, but one that is inevitability self destructive and unsustainable.

The only difference between a physique competitor and someone diagnosed with an eating disorder per se is that the cycle of weight gain, weight loss, extreme dieting, nutrient deprivation and dehydration combined with thousands of hours of daily prolonged strenuous exercise has become almost socially acceptable. Unfortunately the extreme practices of those following this particular lifestyle are seen as ideals for many who aspire to have well muscled and toned bodies just like those of the individuals they see in the pages of the magazines. Unless there is a sense of balance where your overall health is prioritized over the attainment of a transient cosmetic ideal such as being big and muscular or having extremely low body fat levels, the practice falls squarely in the realm of an eating disorder and has no relation to health and fitness whatsoever even though it is portrayed as such in the media.

Night Eating Syndrome- The Other Eating Disorder

Almost uncontrollable eating at night is a serious problem for many.

There are other eating disorders that can also often go unrecognized as 1.1-1.5% of the U.S. population suffers from another as yet undiagnosed eating disorder called Night Eating Syndrome. Seen as a delay in the daily rhythm of food intake, Night Eating Syndrome is defined by two important points:

The first is hyperphagia- which is an ingestion of over 25% of daily calories after dinner and or waking up to eat at least three times a week.[7]

Usually triggered by feelings of stress, Night Eating Syndrome is a disorder that that many can relate to, albeit in a less extreme form. Characterized by a lack of appetite for breakfast and the consumption of considerable amounts of high calorie, and usually high-carbohydrate snacks and insomnia, the foods eaten during the night time binge are almost always unhealthy.[4,6] After the night binge, the person is usually not hungry in the morning, and breakfast, the most important meal of the day for both optimal performance and appetite regulation is skipped. (Read more about the importance of breakfast for weight loss and appetite regulation here)

The excessive food intake at night also creates a decrease in melatonin, a critical sleep related hormone. The decrease in melatonin contributes to the increased sleep disturbances and insomnia associated with night eating syndrome.[8] Evidence suggests that night eating may be a pathway to obesity as in three studies it preceded the onset of obesity and was a major factor in predicting continued weight gain in female night eaters who were already obese.[9] Not only is night eating a contributor to increased weight gain, but it is also a serious cause of distress for those who feel overpowered by food at night.

Again, it should be kept in mind that most may not have the characteristics of this particular syndrome to the extent that it becomes pathological, but the pattern of almost uncontrollable late night snacking on high carbohydrate and unhealthy foods is a very common issue for many individuals today. While the general population may not be diagnosed as having an eating disorder, most still find the task of controlling their eating habits to be a Sisyphean task. However there are practical and systematic approaches that make the likelihood of success much greater and none of them involve quick fixes. Nothing worth achieving comes quickly, and having control over your eating habits is no exception. It takes practice and patience as lasting achievements stem from a lifetime of dedication. Exercise can go a long way in helping relieve some of the symptoms of depression that eating disorders can bring about, but again balance is the key. That being said, if you have an eating disorder it is always recommended that you first seek professional help.

Related Articles:

Changing Your Diet Forever- Why Change Is So Hard

Exercise and Depression

Fasting Is Not An Effective Form of  Weight Loss

References:

1. McGivering J. Anorexia takes hold in India. BBC News- 2003

2. Eating Disorder Statistics- South Carolina Dept. of Mental Health

3. Bulimia nervosa; Binge-purge behavior; Eating disorder – bulimia. A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.

4.Marcus MD. “Binge Eating in Obesity.” In: Fairburn CG, Wilson GT (eds). Binge eating: nature, assessment, and treatment

5. Gordon, Richard A. 2000. Eating Disorders: Anatomy of a Social Epidemic. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.

6. Stunkard AJ. “Eating Patterns and Obesity.” Psychiatric Quarterly, 1959, Vol. 33, pp. 284-295.

7. Stunkard A, Allison K., Lundgren J. Issues for DSM-V: Night Eating Syndrome- Am J Psychiatry 165:424, April 2008

8. Lundgren JD, Newberg A, Allison KC, Wintering N, Ploessl K, Stunkard AJ: 123I-ADAM SPECT imaging of serotonin transporter binding in patients with night eating syndrome: a pilot study. Psychiatry Res

 9. Andersen GS, Stunkard AJ, Sørensen TI, Petersen L, Heitmann BL: Night eating and weight change in middle-aged men and women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28:1338–1343

Kevin Richardson is an award winning fitness writer, one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training^TM. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here. If you live in the New York City metropolitan area and need help losing weight or getting into cover model shape, give Kevin and his team a call at 1-800-798-8420.

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Feeling Guilty For Cheating On Your Diet Makes Matters Worse

“The door to good healthy is always wide open- it is only our perspective that creates the illusion that it is closed.”

So you blew it. You went off your diet completely and ate something that you shouldn’t have. What should be your next course of action? Should it be an extra hour of cardio to burn off the offending calories? A resolution to eat less tomorrow to make up for today’s overindulgences? Or should you just sit and contemplate how much of a miserable failure you must be for not having the willpower to stay on your diet? The correct answer to this oft-asked question is none of the above! Crime and punishment, guilt and penance may have some bearing in other parts of your life but it has no bearing whatsoever as far as food is concerned. In fact the more you beat yourself up over eating the wrong foods- the more likely you are to keep on eating it!

Guilt \ˈgilt\: noun
1 : the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty; broadly : guilty conduct
2 a : the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously b : feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses, sin or from a sense of inadequacy : self-reproach
3 : a feeling of culpability for offenses

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In many ways, food has become the new sin. Once upon a time we ate with little thought to waistlines and Body Mass Index but today the act of eating is often thought of as an immoral action. One that so many use to justify self flagellation and lower self esteem. Like so many iniquities, it always seems to start innocently enough with the best of intentions but you slip anyway. Be it the extra slice of chocolate cake, the glass of wine at the company party, the apple-pie at the family holiday dinner or the bag of chips while you’re watching television at home unwinding after a long day. Yet, as much as you hate yourself in the moment, like most transgressions there’s no mistake that you do enjoy it. Whether we like it or not, rich, fatty, salty and sugary food appeal to us on a biological level and they indeed feel sinful for lack of a better word. Nevertheless, after blowing your diet, you feel absolutely guilt ridden afterwards.  For many, this feeling of guilt can be overwhelming. But as legitimate as this guilt may feel, is it really helpful? -or does it do more harm than good? Thankfully the answer is resoundingly negative. In fact, from what we know of behavioral psychology, the more you beat yourself up about eating something the more likely you are to keep eating it. It’s a vicious circle and one that traps many in a pattern of indulgence followed by self loathing.

Why Do We Feel Guilty After Eating The Wrong Foods

The first step to understanding the harm that guilt inflicts upon us when we associate it with food is to objectively understand our behavior with regard to food consumption. It is said that if you know your enemy and know yourself, in a thousand battles you will never be in peril. These words written by a Chinese sage thousands of years ago apply to the strategies of war just as well as it does to the inner battles we fight to eat better. Behavior modification can only happen if we have an intimate and nonjudgmental understanding of ourselves and what we are up against. Most simply make the resolution to eat healthy with little thought to the subconscious mechanisms that keep us from achieving our goals. As valiant as it may seem to draw a line in the sand one day and declare that you’re not going to eat junk food anymore, this approach is almost always unsuccessful in the long term. If it were that easy, then weight management wouldn’t be an issue and we all know that this most certainly isn’t the case.

Punishing Yourself After Cheating On Your Diet Only Makes Things Worse.

To change the way we eat requires far more than a resolution. There must be instead an unrelenting commitment to a very real change in lifestyle- one that includes the possibility that we will from time to time slip and fall while on the path. To change the way we eat we have to first divorce ourselves from the destructive perspective that we must in some way atone for any failures on the path of change. It is human nature to believe that when a ‘wrong’ is committed that some form of guilt is required. In most cases, we feel that this guilt needs to be paired with some form of penance to make things better. As natural as this may seem to us in a predominantly Judeo-Christian society, it doesn’t make things any better with regards to our eating habits. The association of  ‘wrongdoing’ with our foods has no positive outcomes. It can be the starting point for lifelong eating disorders because one of our most fundamental acts as human beings is defiled by what we perceive as a lack of willpower. Over the course of my career as a personal trainer, I‘ve seen so many men and women suffer needlessly and tremendously from this way of thinking. Sadly, our society as a whole plays a large role in reinforcing feelings of guilt and failure in those who struggle to control their weight. We commonly associate not being able to control your weight with some sense of moral failure. When people yield to the temptation of eating the wrong foods, they tend to fall into a downward spiral of self hatred and disgust. This self inflicted form of  flagellation is followed by a resolve to either exercise more, diet harder or employ some extreme method to compensate for the ‘damage’ done by their indulgence. Sadly, this is an all too familiar refrain for most people today.

A Healthy Mind and a Healthy Body Has No Place For Food Related Guilt

Physiologically speaking, there isn’t anything you can do to make up for a slip in your diet. No amount of cardio or starving yourself after the fact can change the reality of what has already been done. Any thoughts to the contrary fall neatly into the realms of magical thinking as the universe doesn’t have a rewind button. What is done is done so you just have to move on. And so we must simply move on. Wallowing in guilt and trying to make up for our bad choices with hours of exercise doesn’t bring you any closer to the body of your dreams. If anything, it only pushes you further away from your intended goal of a healthier lifestyle. Instead, we must learn to see our slips for what they are: learning experiences that teach us more about ourselves. Every slip holds the information we  need to help us avoid a re-occurrence. Far from being a time to reflect on how much of a loser you are, it’s an opportunity to see what triggers make you stray from your intended path. Is it people? Is it places? Or is it a reaction to stress? Each time brings the opportunity to figure out just what you need to look out for in the future.

Guilt Makes You More Likely To Keep Eating The Wrong Foods

It’s a bit of a Catch 22 situation when you resolve to no longer eat unhealthy foods. While you might believe that this affirmation will change your behavior, on a subconscious level it can actually work against you to reinforce your original habits of eating unhealthy foods. It sounds counterintuitive but behavioral psychology confirms what many of us learn the hard way: that the very habits that we seek to change resurface because our trying hard to forget them keeps them from being  forgotten. When we want to change a behavior, both the new and old ways of thinking will co-exist within us as opposing impulses. Impulses that will always be in competition unless we understand what is going on and take active steps to disarm our undesirable attitudes. Consequently, the more you beat yourself over the head for eating that piece of cheesecake, the more you are helping yourself recall the image of you eating the cheesecake. Which then makes it much harder to forget about eating cheesecake… which ultimately is what you need to do.

So, how do you forget the wonderfully decadent foods that you shouldn’t eat? As impossible as it may sound, it can be done and be reassured by the fact that people do it all the time. But it doesn’t happen overnight and it does require some patience on your part. What needs to happen is a gradual shift in your eating patterns over time where new healthy foods replace the old unhealthy ones foods. As time goes by, the  new healthy foods will stay at our primary level of consciousness and the once almost uncontrollable  desires for the old unhealthy ones simply fade away. It’s a very subtle shift- one that often goes unnoticed until one day you realize that you just don’t feel like eating junk food anymore. You can’t get this from fad diets, pills and powders as it is a very private process that you have to personally work towards. It’s a journey that leads to a true definition of health; one where you really want to eat the foods that are good for you as opposed to avoiding the bad foods because you know you shouldn’t eat them. Such a state requires fundamental change in perspective, as it is only when you are able to enjoy the foods that are good for you that you will be able to break the cycle. In the meantime, do your best not to eat the wrong foods, but if you do -just keep going. Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up if you slip here and there.

For more useful tips on how to stay on track with your diet check out these articles:

Food & Self Control- How We Stop Cravings?

Changing Your Diet Forever- Why Is It So Hard?

What Is It Like To Not Cheat On Your Diet?

Why We Regain Weight- The Leptin Connection

Weight Loss Isn’t Always Logical

Kevin Richardson is an award winning health and fitness writer and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here. If you live in the New York City area and need help losing weight or getting into shape give Kevin and his team a call at 1-800-798-8420. Check out Kevin’s personal training services here.

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Leg Day- A Personal Look At High Intensity Training

“No man has ever crossed the border of human suffering”- K. Wotija

I wrote ‘Leg Day’ several years ago after filming my workout DVD and it has since been published in print and praised online as one of  the most inspiring training accounts of all time. I am not sure I deserve that much praise for it, but I wanted to give the public some tangible insight into what my training is like as well as what drives me to take myself above and beyond my limits. I wrote it lying on the floor of the gym immediately after my training session so that I could capture as much as possible in terms of not only what I did, but what I was thinking and I hope it motivates you to higher levels of accomplishment as well.

Author's legs

Leg Day: 10 am

For me, my leg day starts the day before. I always train legs on Sunday but the mental preparation begins on Saturday night. By Sunday morning I have a clear vision of what is ahead and what I need to do to make it a reality. When I finally step into the gym, it is an act that I have rehearsed in my mind over and over again. There is always a certain queasiness in my stomach. A twinge of apprehension that I am not ashamed to admit. My workouts are brutal testaments to the upper limits of human strength and endurance, and just conjuring up images of what is to come, fills me with a sense of dread. But that is what makes it worthwhile. It isn’t ever a walk in the park, but still I do it, and with no one but my inner voice as a guide.

I look up at the clock after a long sip of water from the water cooler. It is exactly 10 am. My lips are pursed in a silent prayer as I make my way over to the leg section of the gym. I never pray for strength or anything so outwardly superficial, I pray instead that the work that I do today will be meaningful in some way. Today I start with stiff legged deadlifts, 135lbs, twenty times, 225lbs 15 times and 315 lbs 12 times, all in rapid, non stop succession, pausing only for as long as it takes to slap on another plate. I am alone today, so I am training fast. Already my breathing is labored and my hamstrings are on fire. But I have more in me and so I do one more set with four 45lb plates on each side.

I set myself over the bar, grab it as hard as I can and use the muscles in the back of my legs to lift it up. I pull, with every sinew straining with the enormous weight until reluctantly, it rises from the chalk dusted gym floor. It comes all the way up and then back down. Up and then down again for a total of six agonizing repetitions. I drop the bar on rep number six after barely getting the weight up and I feel my legs begin to buckle underneath me.

Leg Day- 10:05 am

“Not yet,” I say to myself, there is so much more to do. A quick trip to the water cooler and I am back. It is now 10:05 am. I go straight to the standing leg curl machine and rep out 12 reps with half the stack. With no rest, I do the same with the next leg and then the briefest of pauses to change the weight. Three quarters of the stack now, 12 more reps on each side, hamstrings feeling as if they are ready to snap, and again a weight increase to the entire stack.

Bodybuilding isn’t about lifting weights; it is about making lifting weights harder. An idea that is almost counter intuitive. The goal is to really dig in and squeeze the muscle against the resistance and forcing it to fail. I could easily add more weight to the full stack, but there is no need to, instead I just train faster and make every repetition harder than the last.

Leg Day-  10:09 am

I set myself on the machine and I go into myself to really feel the burn. At rep number 7 the pain is unbearable. My right leg biceps muscles cramping under the weight, but I will not stop. At rep number 10, the weight is barely moving, but I do not yield. Will supersedes the natural instinct to stop as the muscles begin to completely give out. But I want more and somehow, against all logic I get two more repetitions, and with no stop whatsoever, I inflict the same torture upon my left leg. I am back at the water cooler. It is 10:09 am and already the room is beginning to spin. With the hamstring muscles annihilated, it is time for the most painful part, the quadriceps.

Those beautiful muscles that surround the knee and extend all the way up to the hips. As beautiful as they are, there is a price to be paid for them. They are silent monuments to the countless moments of agony.

It starts with leg extensions- first set at 200 lbs for fifty repetitions. I don’t plan the numbers, I just figure out what will be hard and I do it. By number twenty the fire starts. A white, all consuming flame that starts at the teardrop over my knee and spreads throughout my body, searing my very soul. My teeth are clenched and tears begin to well in the corner of my eyes, but I will not stop. There is no one to shout encouragement, today is a lonely endeavor. There is only that inner voice, the one that seems almost older than I am, that gets louder and louder as the lactic acid builds in my legs. That voice that started as a whisper on Saturday night has now grown into an animalistic cry. A cry louder than the pain, with the voice claiming me. Embracing the pain and somehow  finding the strength not only to keep the weight moving, but to find ever fiber in my legs and force them against all that is rational, to contract even harder. At rep 49 I know that 50 is a near impossibility, but that voice just laughs and finds the strength somewhere within me to complete four more.

This is now the point of no return, the place where in order to carry on I have to live completely in the moment, forsaking all thoughts of success or failure or even what is to come next. Every repetition must become a world and a lifetime unto itself, if not I will not endure.  I place the pin at the bottom of the stack after a timed rest of exactly sixty seconds and I go again for my final set, still reeling from the last one.

With the full 250lb weight stack loaded I am a bit more controlled with my cadence. Not out of concern for myself, but for the machine. I have snapped the cable several times before after overloading it with additional dumbbells and losing myself in the intensity of my sets. And so I am a bit cautious. With a deep breath, I begin anew. Staying in the moment, flexing my quads with each painful rep as if it were my last. Somewhere along the way, I lose myself again and thirty-three excruciating reps go by. With a giant slam the weight stack falls to the floor and I heave myself off of the machine and begin falling to the floor, where at least for the briefest of minutes, I can catch my breath.

But I do not let myself fall. Instead I walk drunkenly, on legs made of rubber over to the relief of the water cooler. It is the only comfort I allow myself, as I drink deeply, holding on to the sides of the cooler to support myself, as my legs right now seem to be of little use. Enough water, and I lumber back to the leg press machine and load three 100lb plates and two 45lb plates on each side for my first set.

Without thinking I blast through twenty repetitions before racking the weight and adding four 45lb plates to each side. Loading the weight in it self is a Herculean task at this point. I can barely walk straight and my chest is heaving, my lungs struggling for air, and I have to load all the plates myself. It is all part of the process though, as it helps me focus on what needs to be done, and it keeps me moving, for at this point, if I stop, I shall not be able to continue. Another set of fifteen reps and I feel that my knees are warm enough for the real working set. To the weights already loaded I add another four 45lb plates on each side for a total of somewhere in the vicinity of 1,500lbs. The machine cannot hold any more plates, but to be honest, I don’t care at his point. I have a job to do.

I sit in the machine, set my feet against it and push with all that I have.  The strain of the weight is indescribable. For a second a pulse of fear grips me as I have a realization that there is the equivalent weight of half of a car over me. Any mishap would most likely result in my immediate demise, but I welcome the realization. It keeps me centered on the need for absolute clarity in focus, and the fear is only a passing pulse. Fear has no place where I am now. I lower the weight ever so slowly, knees coming down to almost meet my shoulders, with every muscle screaming as the burden becomes greater and greater. The weight stops for a second and then I explode it upwards. Once, twice, establishing an insane cadence as once again I am overtaken by the fire.

At rep eighteen the sled starts slowing down, as gravity and the laws of physics find their way back into my reality. Pain is all I feel, and yet I carry on. Eighteen is not a good enough number, so I must get to twenty. Holding the weight for a moment of relative calm, I steel myself and eek out two last punishing reps. I rack the weight and the whole machine sways. I pull myself up with my hands, my legs are not up to the task at this point, and I feel the beginnings of a cold sweat.

Out of the corner of my consciousness I see the other members of the gym staring over at me, perhaps wondering what demons drive me to do what it is that I do, but it is only a flicker, as I go back into myself and struggle for control so as not to pass out from the growing nausea and dizziness. I take the weights off- and it seems an age has passed before all the plates are removed. While I am putting them away I am concentrating on my breathing, regularizing it and consciously slowing the pounding in my chest. It is remarkable that no matter how many times I do this, it is always so much harder. Weights racked, I allow myself a minute to sit down before a much needed trip to the cooler, which is now several miles away. I decide against the water break and instead opt to grab the 100 lb plate and start doing vertical jumps. Going down slowly into a full squat position and then exploding upwards, leaving the ground with a terrifying force before falling back into the full squat position. The hundred pound weight helps me to not hit any of the lights overhead, as it has happened before in the past. It also makes it harder, much harder. I barely get twelve jumps before I freeze in the squat position for a count of ten then do a total of ten more jumps. Another full stop in the bottom position for a count of ten before doing eight more jumps.

Leg Day- 10:15 am

My legs are now beyond pain- there is only a numbing ache. I can hardly catch my breath, though and on the eighth jump I drop the hundred pound plate, which has now etched a groove into my upper arms and lower forearms. I try to stand and for a split second everything goes dark. I fight the darkness, not letting it hold me in its grasp, and instead make my way over to the water cooler, swaying as I walk. I make it and drink once again the coldest and most satisfying drink of my life. I stay there for a while, breathing in between sips, until my eyes can focus once again and the ringing in my ears begins to subside. I glance at the clock. It is 10:15 am, but for me an eternity has come and gone several times over.

I limp over to the donkey calf machine and groan as I bend to place the pin at the bottom of the stack. I set myself on the machine and without pause begin my first set of one hundred reps. The counting in my head is somewhere far away as the searing pain in my calves seem to almost fill my ears. Around number seventy I let out a growling scream that is long overdue (although I am told afterwards that I screamed quite more times than I realized). At one hundred there is the blissful relief of putting down the weight, but the bliss is short lived as I load four 45 lb plates on top of the machine for my next set which will be all the weight the machine can hold, plus 180 extra pounds. The second set of one hundred reps is almost unconscious and I do not recall much save the sweet sound of the weight slamming down as I finish the set. I add another two 45 lb plates and begin what looks to be my last set.

I never plan my last sets- they just happen when my body insists that it has had more than enough. This set is harder than all the others, and at my twenty-fifth rep I start to feel as though I am not going to make it. I am truly at the limit of my powers of endurance, and my legs begin to tremble with the strain, but I do not stop. Instead I think about why it really is that I do this to myself. I think of my family, and how very much what I do here serves to provide them with a better life. I think of my training partners, every one that has been here over the years shouting encouragement and believing in my ability to do what seems to be the impossible. I think of that wide eyed boy that I once was and how far I have come on my road. I think of my clients, my fans, well wishers and all those who I have inspired and who, one day I will inspire. I think of you, and in doing so, I find it. The will.

The nerve to keep on going through my own self inflicted hell. Almost magically the count reaches to one hundred and the weight slams to the floor. Gratitude flows over me, overwhelming even the unmentionable pain. Gratitude for being able to have survived yet another day of the impossible, and gratitude for all of you that are not here, but who helped me along the way. Through blurry eyes I look up at the clock from where I am, as I cannot possibly move for at least another five minutes or so and I note the time. It is 10:20 am.

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training. Get a copy of his natural bodybuilding DVD here.

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Kevin Richardson is a champion natural bodybuilder, one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™

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Weight Loss Isn’t Always Logical

Weight loss isn’t rocket science- it’s a process that can be intentionally set in motion by creating a negative energy balance. That’s simply where your body burns more calories than it takes in from your food sources. As long as you don’t drop your calories quickly and for extended periods of time, the caloric deficit will prompt your body to use stored reserves of fat (and in some cases muscle) as an energy source to make up for the missing calories needed to keep you going. Over time, it leads to a reduction in overall body mass. Pretty simple if you look at it that way.

Even easier to understand are the benefits. If you are overweight and lose weight, you decrease the likelihood of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and  osteoarthritis.[1] Weight loss also increases the survival rates of those already suffering from obesity related diseases.[2] It’s logical thus, that to combat the increasing rates of obesity here in developed countries, everyone should understand the simple formulas for weight loss. But it isn’t about logic, and as long as weight loss is seen as a problem that can be solved by applications of what some might see as simple science, it won’t work. In today’s world, just about everyone with a weight problem is acutely aware that weight loss comes from a combination of diet and exercise. It is everywhere- television, books, internet, you name it. Yet over the past 20 years here in the United States, in spite of the increased access to weight loss information, there has been an steadily increasing rate of obesity.[3] Losing weight shouldn’t be that hard- but it most certainly is!

Cold Facts As An Obstacle To Weight Loss

Aside from the noise created by fad diets, fad exercise trends and weight loss supplements that do little or nothing at all to help people lose weight, and media bombardment from profit driven pharmaceutical as well as fitness related industries that benefit from an overweight population, there are very real barriers to weight loss that are seldom addressed. A conscientious man or woman who does their homework and asks the right questions of the right people, can learn what is real and what isn’t. It’s hard, given the background noise, but not impossible and there are some great, proven sources out there. However, even those armed with the best information possible, in most cases still don’t achieve the weight loss results they are looking for. The problem stems not always from the cold, hard facts of thermodynamics, but from the very shifting and complex aspects of our emotions.

In Western societies, the way we acquire knowledge, think and solve problems can be broken down into two basic approaches- Apollonian or Dionysian. The Apollonian approach, named after the Greek god Apollo, who represented, among other things, truth and a sense of order- is one where we employ a very pragmatic and logical thought process. The Dionysian approach, named after the Greek god Dionysius- the god of wine, ecstasy and intoxification, focuses however on our emotions. Our feelings and how we relate to the world on a very personal level. In today’s world, we tend to give more validity to Apollonian ways of solving problems. Science and facts are seen as truth and a superior way of problem solving, relegating more emotional and subjective based methods to a more subordinate role, since feelings can’t be easily quantified as factual information can. But it wasn’t always like this.

Weight Loss Comes From An Understanding Of Our Emotions

From the beginning of our existence as human beings, we have needed to employ both approaches to solving our problems, and neither was considered to be superior to the other. The logic based   Apollonian process, has always been crucial to our survival. It allows us to function effectively in the world by controlling our environment, creating tools, organizing society and planning for the future. As important as this forward looking and logical approach may be, it does not answer or address all the conditions we experience as human beings. An Apollonian thought processes and ismeant for interaction with an external reality. It can’t help us cope with loss, express our love or find meaning in life itself. For these issues, we turned to the Dionysian approach. Myth, religion, philosophy and tradition, all spring from this way of looking at the world. Practices that help us find our way in an often overwhelmingly confusing world.

There will, therefore, always be problems unsolved by approaches completely reliant on hard scientific facts, especially those that are of a personal and intimate nature to begin with. Our global problem of obesity is a prime example. Seen by many administrators, governing officials and experts in the field, as a problem remedied by the logical application of diet and exercise, this way has obviously failed. And continues to fail.  If anything, this plan of attack has had the opposite effect, as obesity rates keep climbing over the years. It isn’t surprising if you consider what we eat and what we do, (diet and exercise), falls squarely into the realm of our emotions- not our analytical thought processes. In twenty years of working with people to help them lose weight, what I learned is that weight loss is all about self control. One of the hardest and most difficult mountains for any of us to climb. To accomplish this Herculean task, people don’t need facts- they need patience, inspiration, understanding and support. Weight loss is about intimately changing our lives and leaving behind the person that we once were to become someone new. Like any new life coming into the world, this rebirth is a delicate and very often painful process where you have to deal with many complex and emotional issues.

The Change Required To Lose Weight Is A Major Emotional Undertaking

As difficult as it sounds, this is still an oversimplification of the challenges each of us face with our own inner demons and obstacles to changing our lives. When I started as a personal trainer, I learned everything I could about the human body, diet and nutrition, and I firmly believed I had all the knowledge that I needed to help people lose weight and keep it off. I had no idea whatsoever, how much more it entailed! Helping my clients lose weight meant having a nonjudgmental and always listening ear. It meant being a constant source of support and it meant always doing your best to inspire and helping them go forward one day at a time. Early on, I thought one diet, with some slight modifications, would fit everyone and boy, was I wrong! I had no inkling that I would spend hours, days and months going back and forth with my clients to create new eating plans that not only would help them lose weight, but also that would fit into their lives.

I learned that food forms a narrative in our lives, establishes order, influences our emotions, creates and sealing bonds and can’t just be changed to fit a one-size-fits-all mold. It calls for small steps, and a deep respect for the way people look at their foods, if there is any hope of helping them change. Meeting people where they are, walking with them along paths of self discovery has little to do with science, but without objective facts, we wouldn’t have all the tools we need to make weight loss a reality. One of the consequences of living in a logic dominated environment is the illusion that we, ourselves, are primarily logical beings. An overweight personal is a choice examples of how paradoxical our behavior can be. But even closer to home, each of us, at some point in our lives, has left logic far behind when we get involved in questionable relationships. Leaving us asking ourselves what in the world we were thinking in the first place! We are indeed emotional beings. So in the end, we need balanced approaches if we strive to do such difficult tasks like as losing weight and changing our lives. Apollonian roads have their uses, but what we also need today are sources of inspiration, compassion and understanding.

Get a copy of Kevin’s free weight loss ebook here

References

1. Pi-Sunyer, FX. Short-Term Medical Benefits and Adverse Effects of Weight Loss- American College Of Physicians

2. American Gastroenterological Association (2002). AGA technical review on obesity. Gastroenterology, 123(3): 882-932. [Erratum in Gastroenterology, 123(5): 1752.

3. US Obesity Trends 1985-2009. Center For Disease Control

Kevin Richardson- celebrity NYC Personal Trainer is the creator of Naturally Intense™ High Intensity Training, a lifetime natural bodybuilder and arguably one of the most sought out personal trainer in New York City. Custom online diet plans available.

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Is Exercise As Effective For Relieving Depression As Therapy and Medication?

Depression affects over 340 million people across the globe and here in the United States it is estimated that about 16% percent of the population will suffer from a major depressive disorder (MDD) during the course of their lives,  with women being almost twice as likely than their male counterparts to develop a disorder. ^1,2 With all the emphasis with regards to health care on obesity related illnesses it is often overlooked that depression is on track to become the second largest contributor to the global burden of disease by the year 2020.³ We know that physical inactivity increases the likelihood and duration of depression and that physical activity, whether it be work related, exercise or recreation significantly reduces the risk of developing a depressive disorder. This holds true across the board for people of all races and socio-ecomomic levels, but for those adverse to conventional therapeutic interventions, the question remains, can exercise be as effective as conventional therapy and medication in relieving depression?

Studies Find That Exercise Is A Strong Preventative Against Depression

In 2001 the British Medical Journal did a review of the antidepressant effects of exercise treatments. After looking at a total of fourteen randomized controlled trials they found that the positive effects of exercise treatment for depression when compared to no treatment at all was statistically significant. There were major reductions in depression ratings among those engaged in exercise programs as opposed to those who were inactive. There was some debate over the validity of this review as some of the participants in the studies may have had subclinical mood problems rather than fully diagnosed major depressive disorders. That being said the idea that exercise treatment is more effective than no treatment at all is supported by at least two other systematic reviews^{4, 5,6} and most of the systematic reviews find as well that ‘the antidepressant effect size of exercise can be comparable to that of psychotherapy and to that of pharmacotherapy.’ ^{7, 6, 8, 9}

The Anti-Depressant Effects Of Exercise May Be Comparable To Drug & Therapy Interventions

Does this mean that you should focus solely on exercise as a way to relieving depressive symptoms? Not at all, as there is a saying that in a battle one should always go down fighting with all swords drawn from their scabbards and the same applies to clinical depression. Given the effects of exercise on mood elevation, the combined use of therapy and drug interventions might result in faster onset of antidepressant action, so drug and therapy should not be instantly ruled out.10 More trials are needed before exercise can be recommended clinically as a prescription for dealing with depression, but if exercise could act as an immediate salve to the symptoms of depression given that antidepressant medications and therapy all take weeks to months before clinical improvements can be seen whereas the positive effects of exercise occur much faster. Most importantly, the use of exercise protocols are safe and do not interact negatively in any way with other drugs or therapeutic treatments.

Some experts argue that adherence to a standardized exercise program is the number one reason for failure among the general population and that it would be far more difficult for a severely depressed individual to find the motivation to exercise on a regular basis, but given the promising fairly recent results of brief high intensity weight training programs on relieving depressive symptoms¹¹ it might indeed be viable if the duration is considerably short especially as adherence to regularly taking anti-depressant drugs is equally a problem among individuals with depression. At the end of the day what these findings really highlight is that exercise and physical activity have a major role to play in our overall mental health and that more research should be done into its potential use as a clinical anti-depression prescription. In coming articles we will explore the relevance of short high intensity training on depression and how it might make getting the anti-depressive benefits of exercise far more attainable to those that find it hard to stick with an exercise program to being with.

References:

1. Greden JF. The burden of recurrent depression: causes, consequences and future prospects
2. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demier O, et al. The epidemiology of major depressive disorder; results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication- JAMA 2003
3. Lopez AD, Murray CC. The global burden of disease, 1990-2020. Nat Med 1988
4. Craft LL, Landers DM. The effect of exercise on clinical depression and depression resulting from mental illness: a meta analysis. J Sport Exerc Psychol 1998.
5. Stathopoulou G, Powers MB, Berry AC, et al. Exercise interventions for mental health; a quantitative and qualitative review. Clin Psychol Sci Pract 2006.
6. North TC, McCullagh P, Tran ZV. Effect of exercise on depression. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 1990.
7. Lawlor DA, Hopker SW. The effectiveness of exercise as an intervention in the management of depression; systematic review and meta-regression analysis of randomized controlled trials. Br Med J 2001.
8. Martinsen EW. Physical activity and depression: clinical experience. ACTA Psychiatr Scand Suppl 1994.
9. Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Moore KA, et al. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Arch Intern Med 1999
10. Marije R, Collins K, Fitterling H. Physical exercise and depression. Mount Sinai School Of Medicine NY
11. Singh, N, Stavrinos, TM, Scarbek Y, et al. A randomized controlled trial of high versus low intensity weight training versus general practitioner care for clinical depression in older adults. Journal of Gerontology 2005

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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