My family is Nutso...

My family is nutso. My mom just called me and wanted to know if I could come to saginaw. My brother in law had a minor surgery there today.

Mom: I'm in Saginaw. J did fine. Yada yada....
Me: That's good
Mom: G (my sister) is trying to send me home with so and so when he comes through
Me: ??
Mom: J was sleeping so we left. they are keeping him overnight.
Me: are you going back to see him.
Mom: G(my sister) has to exercise
Me: Did you have lunch?
Mom: (my sister) has to exercise. She said I snored.
Me: What are you going to do the rest of the day? Shop?
Mom: Can you come to Saginaw?
Me: (shocked). I'm working.
Mom: I don't really think you should drive that far
Me: Uhm no. I"m not coming. For what? I can't drive that far.
Mom: we gotta go.....

What the heck???

My mom obviously wants me to come and 'save' them from something. It;s a 90 minute drive each way. And if you haven't gathered... my sister is an exercise bullimic. Seriously. She has all of these symptoms severely. and it has went on for years.

Wikipedia says this:

Exercise bulimia is a subset of the psychological disorder called bulimia in which a person is compelled to exercise in an effort aimed at burning the calories of food energy and fat reserves to an excessive level that negatively affects their health. The damage normally occurs through not giving the body adequate rest for athletic recovery compared to their exercise levels, leading to increasing levels of disrepair. If the person eats a normally healthy and adequate diet but exercises in levels they know require higher levels of nutrition, this can also be seen as a form of anorexia.

It is often seen as a 'healthy' method of compensation. However, the effects of excessive exercise (both psychologically and physically) should not be underestimated, and excessive exercise should not be seen as a safe alternative to vomiting/fasting in those tackling eating issues. Compulsive exercisers will often schedule their lives around exercise just as those with eating disorders schedule their lives around eating (or not eating). Other indications of compulsive exercise are:

Missing work, parties or other appointments in order to work out
Working out with an injury or while sick
Becoming unusually depressed if unable to exercise
Working out for hours at a time each day
Not taking any rest or recovery days
Striving to achieve and master ever more difficult challenges. Forgets that physical activity can be fun.
Defining self-worth in terms of performance
Justifies excessive behavior by defining self as a "special" elite athlete


Just your public service announcement for today.....