On Eating Disorders

Here’s a little something about Leigh that you may not have known. It’s in the book.

As a teacher, coach, and mentor, Leigh loved to share lessons that might impact other persons’ lives. Her lessons were all the more impactful because she had personal experience in whatever issue she was talking about. One of those issues she discussed with her athletes and with her Healthful Living classes was the subject of eating disorders. If you weren’t one of her athletes or a student in those classes, or if you have not read Finding Strong, you probably won’t know that Leigh ever suffered from eating disorders.

As a young girl, Leigh loved the fact that she was stronger than her classmates, even most of the boys. She was proud of the fact that she looked strong; she had a very positive self-image. That began to change about the time she started high school. Like most girls of that age, she wanted to look more feminine and “attractive.” She was embarrassed by her strong arms, shoulders, and back. Following a knee operation after her 9th grade year, Leigh naturally had a temporary loss of appetite, resulting in her losing a couple of pounds. She thought that was great and decided to continue that weight loss. It became a challenge for her to see how little food she could get by on while continuing her intense exercise regimen. She began charting calories taken in and burned daily. She did all this in secret, of course, and was emboldened by the notion that she had such “self-control” that she could starve herself and experience significant weight loss. Like the typical person with anorexia, she was obsessed with losing weight.

In Leigh’s case, though, it didn’t take long for that obsession to reverse itself. She did not get the reaction from her friends that she expected and hoped for. No one was impressed with her weight loss and new body image. Some of her closest friends were very critical of the way she looked. She also was losing muscle mass and getting weaker, thus not able to perform athletically to the standard at which she expected to perform. When she began eating again, she totally lost control. She became a binge eater, cramming her body with bread (sometimes a full loaf at a time) and with any kind of junk food she could get her hands on. She clearly suffered from bulimia throughout her last 2 ½ years of high school and her first two years of college. The strange thing (or maybe it’s not so strange for persons with this condition) was that she knew she was hurting herself. She had excellent knowledge of health and nutrition. She also knew that she had the potential to be one of the greatest high school distance runners in the country, and that she was sabotaging that potential. Her weight, which was at 115 pounds before her knee surgery surged to 150 pounds by the time she entered Appalachian State University. That may not sound like much, and she certainly wasn’t obese, but she had reached her maximum height of about 5’3” by the ninth grade, and on that frame it was too much weight for an elite distance runner to carry. Over a three-year period, she suffered nine stress fractures in her legs. I’m not an expert on bulimia, but I do know that it is more a psychological condition than a physical one. Although, as in Leigh’s case, it can lead to physical problems.

I never sat in on Leigh’s Healthful Living class, so I don’t know what she told her students about how to deal with the conditions of anorexia or bulimia. I suspect that she would have said “You’re stronger than you think, and you can take control of your life no matter what obstacles stand in your way.” She would also tell them to seek help – not to try to deal with it alone. I’m certain she would not advise them to go through what she experienced in order to regain control. Leigh experienced the ultimate lack of control when she was abducted at gun point and raped by a man who fully intended to kill her. She understood that her life was literally in the hands of another person. I guess you could say this was a wake up call, a most brutal wake up call. When she began to see a possibility of escape, she vowed that if she lived through that experience, she would never allow anyone or anything to control her life again. Additionally, she vowed to get the most out of her second chance on life by being the strongest person she could be and by helping others find their strength.

If you knew Leigh, you know that she did just that. She reached her potential as an elite distance runner, and she became a tremendous influence on thousands of people, young and old, through her coaching, teaching, mentoring, and victim advocacy.

Again, I’m no expert on eating disorders. But I do know that they are serious issues. If you are suffering from lack of control and obsessed by food, please seek help. If you know of or suspect someone of an eating disorder, understand that it is a serious psychological problem and help them find the help they need to take control of their life.