FA and Exercise Bulimia

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The free 12-Step program of Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) addresses Exercise Bulimia and Exercise Addiction

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) address symptoms of Exercise Bulimia including:

• Eating large quantities of food (bingeing)
• "Getting rid of" food by exercising excessively (purging)
• Obsession with weight or body image
• Injuries due to over-exercise

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"Three-hour-a-day workouts didn't bring me relief."

My body was exhausted from three-hour-a-day workouts. I had long since given up on college due to my lack of focus and long hours spent bingeing in the food court. That stuff takes time! I wanted out, out of life. I couldn’t stop this cycle.

I went to a FA meeting and had a sense of wonderment at the simple release of my menu to my sponsor. I had never been able to make any sound judgment on my own, but I could follow a direction. 

Today I no longer run aimlessly. I have a sense of direction. I weigh and measure my meals and I am grateful for the structure in my day. Life is beautiful and I am excited to live every minute of it.

"Eating and exercise were all-consuming."

I had been over-exercising, trying to burn some of the calories I was consuming, and was experiencing chronic pain as a result. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have an injury that would prevent me from exercising. I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop eating when I wasn’t able to work out…and a small voice acknowledged that my eating would probably escalate in response to the weight I would gain.

I was on an endless cycle of eating or thinking about food. My mind was on a hamster wheel. I had chronic insomnia as a result of my overactive brain.

I came into FA feeling hopeless. But FA worked for other people and I believed it could work for me. I started to feel relief and release. Over two years, those moments got longer and more frequent.

I don't get upset as easily as I once did, and I don't need to eat or exercise to bring me back to center.

"I couldn't stop the crazy cycle."

I had a beautiful baby and an amazing husband, and all I wanted was to be alone. I couldn’t stop the crazy cycle of bingeing and exercise abuse. I would lay in bed at night, hating myself for not being able to control myself when it came to food. I lived a lie. On the outside I had a thin body. In public I ate normal portions, but behind closed doors I consumed massive volumes of food. I was miserable.

I came to FA after finding a flyer at the local public library. I worried that I wouldn’t be accepted, or that I wouldn’t be able to relate to the people there. I'm amazed by how much I learned, and how much I related.

I am reminded that my disease of addiction will kill me and rob me of the amazing life FA gives me. Today I live in true freedom.

Find out more about how FA works and learn what steps to take to get started.

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