Having done a search through the forum archives, I’ve noticed the subject of muscle dysmorphia, bigorexia or reverse anorexia has not been discussed often.
So guys, how many of you are suffering from this or believe you are?
If you’re unfamiliar with the disorder here are some of the main symptoms:
Do you check out your physique in the mirror more than twice a day?
Do you avoid going out to restaurants with friends because you’re scared you’ll cheat on your diet or because you might lose definition?
Are you below average in body fat and think you could still be more defined?
Are you obsessed with building mass?
Do you experience mood swings and anxiety attacks when your diet is not optimal?
Do you dress in baggy clothes (at the gym or in public) because you’re ashamed of your body and scared people will think you’re too small?
Does training and diet take precedence over everything else in your life?
I do a few of the above. I don’t skip dinner with friends because of a diet, but I do watch what I eat when I go out. I do look in the mirror, but briefly each morning and night. I definitely dress in baggy clothes because I don’t like my body the way it is, but I know I’m not fat or ugly. Diet and training definitely are a big part of my life, but if I need to skip a session, it shall be done. Heck, I skipped MMA training on Thursday because I strained my abs and it hurt to laugh.
LOL! I saw that retarded article too. I think the link from msn’s home page was something like, “Are you too buff?” What the hell is “too buff”?!! Is that even possible? Is this one more attack on men trying to retain some sense of thier masculinity? I guess we all need to be skinny mens health models right? If you follow the links and keep reading, it discusses how it’s “ok” to be health concious but just don’t overdo it. Oh and don’t take too much protien because it can damage your kidneys, but one or two of those yummy protien shakes mixed with juice or icecream is ok. AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!
Yup, the article was right there asking me to read it too…
Think it’s a joke, maybe some subliminal attack on guys too.
Probably written by a guy who is obviously not buff and hasn’t learned yet that doing the wrong thing won’t get him there…
Anyway, I agree that some people become obsessive, but the things they wrote in there weren’t cause for alarm. I mean who cares if someone looks in a mirror a few times a day. And actually wants to improve their body? Oh how could they?!?!
Honestly have you ever known anyone who was truly big yet acted anorexic about it? Not me, haven’t met a guy like that yet. Yeah modesty will hold some guys to admitting just how big they are, and also reality since there is always someone bigger.
“Bigorexia” is a fad psychological scam, just one more term invented by some otherwise totally average psychologist who thinks that he can make a buck or gain a little notoriety by hyping this “condition”. It’s like saying that people who are really into chess have “chessomania” or teenage girls have “mall-in-itis” or some such.
I can’t believe that anyone actually posted this on this board.
Bigorexia could be defined as and addiction to exercise, which is essentially the same as an addiction to drugs or gambling. Muscular dysmorphia or reverse anorexia is something a bit different though in pratical terms the results can be similar.
Bryan Haycock has wrinten a very interesting article about this and he gave one curious example there, in the last decades the arm of typical male toys, like action man and GI joe, went from the equivalent of 16 inch arm to a whooping 21 inch, something that for most people is not reachable naturally. Like there was some pressure imposed to females to conform to the society ideal female body there is also some pressure on males to look more masculine, etc, etc…
Personaly I don’t think this means much, just a curiousity.
Exercise addiction is actually something very serious and should be dealt with like any other addiction.
Some people do have a problem with this, but to apply the label to everyone who doesn’t each crap at a restaurant or turns down the donuts at work is overdoing it.
Im new around here, but I thought I’d throw in my 2 cents.
The person who wrote this article probably slacked off all week, and had to throw something quick together at 3am for a 5am deadline on friday morning. This is like saying “Anyone who skips a meal, and says they’re to busy or not huntery is anorexic”… Last time i checked ~ its human nature to look in the mirror alot, people want to know what is up with their bodies(chimps constantly check themselves out in a mirror, does this mean they may suffer from some weird sort of primate dysmorphia!). Yes I know we’re so vain(as a species)… Surprise!.. People who really hate their body image(this would apply normally to those who have a reason to) tend to avoid mirrors. Im not speaking for everyone, but you get what im saying.
Anorexia, as far as i thought was not refusing to eat exactly, but the loss of hunger from refusing to eat? Anorexics also have a morphed body image of what they are & what they want to be. This guy shouldve went more into detail, that people with different types of body dysmorphia see themselves in a mirror completely different than how others see them. Instead, he kept the possibility open that anyone who enters a gym on a regular basis, or is really serious about taking care & building their body might have a body dismorhpic disease.
As with any dismorphic problem, it starts small (like the list of ‘symptoms’ he reported… but this could just be an average joe/jane who wants a good body, or to maintain his/her already good body. Its the extremes that people with dysmorphia go to that draws the line of seperation.
I personally dont believe that refusing to go out to dinner with some buddies cause you might mess up your way of eating is unreasonable or extreme.(hey, we all know resturants are hard, and yes you could find something to eat there, but the temptations can be to great for some people).
On the other hand, this is a very serious disease, along with all dysmorphic diseases. Watch for the signs, but if your friends start freaking out based on whats in this article, they should be smacked around a bit for not gathering more information(and approaching it the wrong way).
A couple quotes from the article, followed by my own commentary:
“Don’t compare your physique with that of buff guys at the gym. They’re probably on steroids.”
Yeah, because anyone with a chest bigger than 40 inches must be sticking needles in his ass!
“You should also get rid of your scale and avoid scrutinizing yourself in the mirror too much.”
That’s healthy! While you’re at it, why not toss those food measuring cups and the eating log? Anyone who actually keeps track of what they consume must be obsessed, and bigorexic.
“Finally, just remember that many women don’t necessarily prefer bigger guys, but guys with athletic bodies instead.”
OK, this suggestion is going too far. We’re supposed to all have the physiques of Backstreet (backdoor?) Boys so women find us cute and non-threatening? I’m not going to compromise my goals of getting huge, or start showering on a regular basis, just to impress some chick!
“Bigorexia” is not the same as being addicted to drugs. It’s a term used by people who make excuses for their shortcomings in order to make themselves feel better. This trend doesn’t surprise me at all. I look around and there are overweight people who are not happy with themselves everywhere (probably because Columbus is one of the fattest cities in the US). So being out of shape is becoming the norm. People that are dedicated to eating right and working out to the point where it becomes a big part of their life must have some kind of personality disorder then, right? Wrong.
I don’t care how many moronic articles like this are written. We all know the truth. Anything worth having takes hard work, whether it be your ideal physique/strength level, career success, relationships, etc. There are always going to be people who try to take away from the efforts of those who succeed. In my experience, when someone betters themself, there are going to be detractors. Why? Because they want it for themselves but don’t have what it takes inside to follow through. Instead they’d rather take the easy way out by labeling the very people whom they’d like to be. Yeah, let’s even make up some bogus condition.
Since I’ve been accused of this before, let me say that I don’t judge people simply for being overweight. It happens. I judge the people who make excuses and bitch about it constantly but have no intention of doing anything about it. There was a thread about this, I think by JAnderstein.
There’s nothing wrong with being driven. In all honesty, it’s not like this article is going to discourage people from realizing their goals. If you buy into this crap you probably don’t have what it takes anyway.
Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys have personal experience with other eating disorders?
My sister suffered from anorexia nervosa, and after seeing what it did to her, I have no trouble believing that some guys are train obsessively because of a severely distorted body image.
We’re not talking about guys who look in the mirror and think “Hey, I wish my chest was a little bigger”, or “If only I had some definition on my lower abs”. We’re talking about huge, ripped guys who look in the mirror and cringe because of the small, fat, weak person they see there. They’ll never be even close to the body they think they need to have for people to like them.
The article on MSN is crap, but what do you expect? MSN’s part of the lay press. They don’t know shit about nutrition or exercise.
i have all of those symptoms, so i guess i have bigorexia. the thing is i dont see the problem with that, unless you are using physique enhancing drugs irresponsibly.
the difference between big and anorexia is anorexia is dangerous and can kill you. getting hyooooooge and ripped is perfectly healthy relatively speaking.
I am not sure if this is the same thing, but a few years back, 20/20 or 60 minutes did a piece on a Jon Basedow type guy who had some kind of weird pychological thing like this. He would wear huge clothes and stuff, and when the interviewer made him show his ripped 6 pack the guy almost started to cry cause he was so embarassed at how fat he thought he was. I think the piece at something to do with the Adonis book that was comign out at the time…
I agree, there are many people out there who are huge and see themselves as being puny. Just like anorexia, this is a body image disorder and is a problem. I’m sure this has something to do with the fact that top bodybuilders are on enormous amounts of drugs. We look at them and say, what a freak.
That is an extreme example. The points in that article could apply to anyone who lifts a weight. Who the hell doesn’t look in the mirror? What’s wrong with being below the average bodyfat when the average is now obese? What’s wrong with not wanting to go out to eat at certain restaurants because they serve nothing but garbage? And maybe people wear baggy clothes to a gym because they ARE small at the time. I’m less inclined to wear a wife beater right now because I look like crap compared to 6 months ago when I was bigger and stronger. Doesn’t mean I have a body dysmorphic disorder…I know I still look better than the average joe.
The bottom line is, nobody knows me better than me. The longer you’re in the game, the more in tune with your body you are. Body dysmorphic disorders are rare, but this article would have us believe that virtually everyone who sets foot in a gym has it.
This was one of those articles that try to take stupid little piece of shit info and turn it into important information. Like the articles that let you know if your teen is on drugs.
Is the teen moody? Rebellious? Does he or she argue with you a lot? Won’t talk about his or her day at school?
This defines every teen that has ever lived, and I have seen each one of these in various articles.
There are men with dysmorphic problems, but trying to act as if anyone who wants to improve their physique has a major mental disorder is bullshit. I did see a story about a person who really had such a problem. He would do literally thousands of reps a day, every day. This person was not building his muscles and in fact had heavily damaged them.
Anorexics can learn how to ignore the hunger signal. I actually know how this is accomplished, and am very happy I didn’t know how to do it in high school myself.
Too often people try to take a problem that exists with some and start pointing out everyone as having that problem. A few kids have trouble learning to focus in school and suddenly there is an epidemic of ADD in the world and 50% of the kids need to be medicated. (Interestingly enough 50% of the kids on Ritalin who used the drug without therapy ended up in prison at least once in their life. Glad it helped improve lives so well.)
Some tests would have said I had the warning signs of alcoholism, and yet I became bored with drinking and usually go months to over a year at a time between drinks.
As far as dolls and action figures go, this is just fantasy. Who here really wants the arms you saw on the Hulk? The problem is that people just want to look good, but they don’t know where to go to get good information. How many of you would like to get your dietary information from a high school? If they ever do teach about food and dieting they probably give the food pyramid a once over. I would be more worried about the slim fast commercial then any toy or picture. Seriously who here wants Valentino’s arms?
If I have any problem it is that I am addicted to this damn website. Any other T-mag addicts out there?