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Stripped to its essentials, eating is the process by which we bring life-supporting chemicals into our bodies, an act that occurs at reasonably predictable intervals over the course of a day. Once the food is ingested, acids and enzymes in the stomach break it down, after which it passes into the intestine.

The nutrients, such as glucose, fatty acids, and proteins, pass into the bloodstream and float along until they reach their various destinations: the liver, the muscles, and so on. The body uses some of the nutrients immediately. Others pass into reservoirs, such as the fat cells, where they bide their time, waiting for the metabolic call to duty. That call comes from hormones-insulin, for example-and other chemicals. These chemicals escort the nutrients into the cells and tissues, where, broken down to their component parts, they help fuel the engines of life.

Eating involves not just internal processes but external ones as well. When we eat, we literally absorb part of the outside environment and incorporate it into ourselves. Eventually we return part of the meal to the environment and the process repeats itself. No wonder then that food, serving as a direct link to the “outside world,” can have such power over us! It’s not surprising that some people begin to use food and eating in abnormal ways, as weapons in the battle to gain control over their environment.

Eating behavior is partly biological, governed by the physical needs of the individual. It’s also partly social, determined by our interactions with other people. The way we think about food also affects the way we eat. For example, knowing that eating a candy bar at five o’clock could spoil her appetite for a big meal at six might affect a person’s choice whether to snack or not. Emotional factors also come into play; the sheer pleasure of tasting or smelling food can determine the content, timing, or size of our meals. Even though our bodies may not be sending hunger signals, the very presence of a scrumptious chocolate cake may make us want to eat.

Eating behavior, then, may occur in response to forces that have nothing to do with our bodies’ current nutritional needs. In treating the eating-disordered individual, there are two relevant questions to ask: “What biological abnormalities may be present?” and “Why have the non-biological factors that affect eating behavior come to dominate the biological factors?”

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At the tender age of 21, Dan Collins was so overweight and out of shape that his doctor feared he was killing himself.

“I was 5 foot 10′/2 and weighed 239 pounds,” he says. “I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and my doctor was concerned enough to put me on medication.”

That was in 1984. Rather than sit back and let medications take control of his life, the young newspaper reporter from Towson, Maryland, embarked on a complete body makeover. He cut the salt in his diet way down, put the brakes on his runaway eating habits, and began walking and stationary cycling regularly.

Two years later, Dan had his blood pressure under control and was down to a lean 182 pounds. He felt and looked great but was afraid that he was entering an exercise slump. “I didn’t mind the walking and other exercises, but I really wanted a different kind of sport that I could really get into,” he says. “I knew that was important if I was going to keep the weight off for good.”

For Dan, that sport was fencing. While not as chic as aerobics a la Jane Fonda was in 1986, fencing really piqued his interest because it is both physically and mentally demanding. Working up a sweat was fun and exciting each time he picked up his foil and donned his mask and protective vest. “People don’t realize that a good fencer needs both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning as well as a sense of strategy and emotional control,” says Dan, who’s the co-founder of the Chesapeake Fencing Club of Baltimore.

While many others have piled up old, trendy sports gear in basements and attics over the years, Dan still fences every week, just like he’s been doing for the last 14 years. He also works out at home using a stationary bike and free weights to enhance his fencing performance. After all these years, it’s safe to say that this lean, mean fencing machine has found the perfect activity to help him keep the weight off.

WINNING ACTION

Go for the unusual and exotic. Learning how to move your body—and enjoy it—is personal. If you are having a hard time sticking with a workout regimen, try something uncommon or unconventional, like African dance, tai chi, or scuba-diving. Part of the journey of weight loss is discovering and uncovering the real you. Let your workouts be an expression of your inner self. If not now, when? Enjoy today!

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