Diary of an Exercise Addict (Hardcover)

by Peach Friedman (Author)
Key Phrases: white apartment, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Diet Coke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Personal trainer Friedman courageously takes on the life-threatening illness of eating disorders and exercise addiction. After a traumatic breakup with her longtime boyfriend, she went into a tailspin, finding control by restricting her caloric intake and exercising compulsively. Assisted by a supportive family and years of therapy, Friedman prevails. This book would be ideal for teenage and young adult women aiming to beat exercise bulimia.—Lynne Maxwell
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Peach Friedman’s chronicle of a life with exercise bulimia is the most detailed and honest example of how this disease can enter and take over your life. She exposes every aspect of the emotional, physical, and mental effects this disorder can have on an individual, and with her candidness, I know she can help so many others out there in the world who suffer from this eating disorder." —Jamie-Lynn Sigler, actress and author of Wise Girl

 

“Whether or not you have ever struggled with an eating disorder, you will relate to Peach Friedman’s Diary of an Exercise Addict. Not only will you find this book accessible and useful but so captivating that you won’t want to put it down. You must read this book!” —Jenni Schaefer, author of Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too

 

"A very candid look into the world of exercise bulimia--both the daily struggle with body image and the joy of finding recovery. Through her courage to share personal and intimate details of her life, Peach Friedman shows readers how eating disorders profoundly affect every aspect of a person's life." —Tony Paulson, Ph.D., Executive Director of Summit Eating Disorders & Outreach Program, author of Why She Feels Fat: Understanding Your Loved One’s Eating Disorder and How You Can Help

 

"Peach Friedman writes with ruthless honesty and a poet's grace about an addiction that is all too common in our fitness-crazed society. Her story will resonate with every woman who has ever confused losing weight with feeling good, and it will give hope to the many whose compulsion to over-exercise prevents them from leading full and healthy lives. —Aimee Liu, author of Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: GPP Life; 1st edition (November 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762748966
• ISBN-13: 978-0762748969
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, Awful, Awful Writing, June 15, 2009

By	WonderWmn (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the only times that I have seriously questioned whether the other reviews were written by family members, friends or publishing house staffers. I think you would have to be related to this author or paid to write a remotely positive review of this book.

I learned the hard way: do not waste your time or money if you want an in-depth look at someone with exercise bulimia - the author reveals nothing about her daily exercise regimen, her feelings when working out or when she was prevented from doing so. Rather, she spends the bulk of the book trying to impress the reader with her pampered lifestyle ("My flesh has become my battleground: a medium for all my upper-class struggles to manifest through the common rich girl practice of calorie counting") - how "Mommy" and "Daddy" supported her as a 23-year-old college graduate who was too good to work at temp jobs so she would lie around her rent-free cottage eating organic food and picking up men for one-night stands in which she conveniently forgets to use protection. ("Why don't men know how easy I am?"). Trust me, it only gets worse when she discusses her work as a poet. ("I'm dressed like a hooker to hide the fact that I'm a violent poet", "My work is so unconventional, I doubt the Virginia poets really want to claim me as their own"). I was rather horrified to see the review from the father who claims that his daughter has the same body issues - the author has no trouble sunbathing topless in front of her father and she publishes her diary entries in which she writes about her dreams of attacking her father.

I could not find an ounce of empathy for someone who was this self-absorbed. ("All these men are looking at me. They are, they are all looking at me and I know it's because I've gained enough weight that my face looks normal and my body looks skinny, which means I look like a supermodel and that's why they're looking.") Her only claim-to-ED fame was that she apparently lost 40+ pounds in a matter of a few months and then, after a massive binge that merits little discussion, she starts eating again. She does not receive any professional help, except for a dietician that she eventually calls her "life coach." She does not hesitate to tell anyone and everyone that she had an eating disorder and that it can take up to 10 years to recover (Seriously, she is having coffee with someone she barely knows and does not want to befriend: "I tell her anyway that I'm in recovery from an exercise compulsion. I tell her because I'm honest, despite not wanting to be her friend or wanting to sit here at all... I'm explaining that I'm learning how to exercise less, to moderate my workouts, to slowly wean off of exercising." When she does not get the response that she wants, she feels "violated, angry, confused.").

This book does not shed any light on exercise bulimia. Anyone who has a history of any type of ED will not find the exercise that is revealed here to be remotely excessive (running 6 miles a day, 50 minutes on a treadmill or a leisurely bike ride), her calorie restrictions to be too restrictive (at one point, she is limiting herself to 1100 calories per day) or her overall eating behavior too disordered (she binges but only talks about trying to purge once or twice; a description of a binge: "I'm depressed so I'm eating from my fridge, standing in the kitchen... shoveling organic chocolate chips in my mouth in spoonfuls with organic peanut butter, washing it down with organic soy milk, light, and going to bed without brushing my teeth, without masturbating.").

I sincerely hope that there are other books that are more enlightening and more engaging.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, honest, beautiful, October 29, 2008

By	Kate - See all my reviews

Peach Friedman tells her inspiring story in a realistic way while avoiding the mistakes that so many others make when recounting the story of their eating disorder. She is not at all self-pitying and does nothing to glorify her eating disorder or tout her "accomplishments." I appreciate this. I appreciate this because in the past this sort of subtle (and often unintentional) tone used by authors of other books about eating disorder recovery has triggered my own unhealthy behaviors.

Peach relates the development of her eating disorder, from anorexia to exercise bulimia, and her recovery from it without trying to hide the enormous physical, mental and emotional pain that she had to push through, yet she never loses a sense of hope. This book is inspiring for those also recovering from eating disorders of any form, for men or for women, and for any age. It is also a must-read for family and friends of sufferers because Peach, with the knowledge she now has in hindsight, having gone back to the "other side," is so clearly able to explain her experience from an outsider's perspective that is honest and sympathetic but that isn't scary. So often family and friends are scared and desperate to help without knowing how to approach the subject. Her appreciation for her own friends and family, especially for her mother and dietician, illustrates a great example for others who want to support someone in recovery.

I applaud her in her mission to bring attention to exercise bulimia and the dangers associated with it. It can be hard to define and recognize and because exercise is so glorified in our culture, it is especially hard to recover from. It is a legitimate disorder that needs to be taken more seriously. We need to remove this culture of thinking that less food and more exercise is always good. Peach sets a new definition for what 'fitness' really is.

In some ways I'll admit I was disappointed when I finished the book. First of all, I think I was looking for answers. While I didn't expect it to be a self-help book, I might have subconsciously been hoping to be able to put the book down and immediately leap forward into recovery without ever looking back because of some new fact or story I might have learned. This is not the case, and Peach is clear: recovery is about taking one step forward, two steps back, but getting there in the end. And that's okay. She reminds us that it's okay -- and, in fact, necessary -- to go at one's own pace (with gentle, and okay, sometimes not-so-gentle nudging from family and friends).

The second reason I was disappointed when I reached the last page is because Peach's story is so clearly not over yet. Yes, she's fully recovered, but she will have so much more to offer. As she continues to grow herself, and as she trains her clients and speaks out about eating disorders, she will have so much more to say. I can't wait for more of her beautiful writing!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The reality of an addiction, November 2, 2008

By	www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I am in recovery from an Eating Disorder and this subject matter is very close to me. I believe there is a need for people who suffer from this disease to speak up about their illness - to educate people, but more importantly, to share with others who are still suffering.

Sometimes, the best teacher is someone who has been there and survived to tell the tale.

Peach Friedman has been there - she suffers from an eating disorder that manifested itself (cross addictions) through her food and her exercise habits, but also through her isolation, irritation and overall inability to deal with life - on life's terms.

There is no cure for eating disorders, once you have it, it is for life - but you can recover from it. However, first you have to actually admit and accept that you suffer from the illness and this is where Peach's book starts off.

The author has just broken off with her long term boyfriend and while she does not appear to be extremely hurt by this, you can immediately sense, by her diary entries that she is denying her feelings and channelling her hurt towards something else - "what can I do to divert my pain?" - I know I can go to the gym and exercise!!!!

For some, this would only be a temporary thing - however, for Peach, it becomes a sacred daily activity that she MUST do. As with any addiction, her desire to go to the gym and work out only increases and increases - until it completely takes over her life. Addicts are, for the most part, incapable of doing things in moderation - and Peach is no exception.

In her diary entries, Peach clearly acknowledges that the only thing that makes her feel a little better about herself is going to the gym and sweating and pushing herself to the maximum. Yet, this too will become "not enough" - and her addiction will start showing itself in her view and attitude towards food. Yes, less food, entertwined with binging sessions and more working out will make her more , more, more!

Interestingtly Peach discusses one of the less-known issues in eating disorders - binging. While anorexia and bulimia are very well documented, there are many, many sufferers who binge - basically eating large quantities of food in one sitting, but who do not purge afterwards, and Peach will alternate between binging sessions and anoxeria tendencies.

Reading this diary was so difficult. From the cover page where you can see how skinny Peach is (and I bet that many of us envy her bony, unhealthy body in some ways) to the last page, I could not stop crying. You can follow her progression into the disease and when she talks about wanting the food and being so hungry, yet denying herself a taste, I just wanted to scream!

The entries in which she details her love/hate relationship with her parents were very touching. It is obvious that there is so much unfinished business there. But, what I identified with the most in this book, is Peach' diary entries in which she talks about her body and how she feels empowered and beautiful now - even as everyone around her can no longer look her in the eye because, in reality, her "beautiful new body" has indeed become unhealthy and skeleton-like. This, to me, is at the root of this disease - our inability to see our own realities and to deal with them.

Through therapy, lots of hard work and a little luck, Peach manages to successfully work on recovering from this disease. However, as every addict in recovery knows (and if they are willing to be honest) - we are only one step away from returning to the disease, which means we must be thankful and vigilant every day of our lives.

I want to thank Peach for her honesty in sharing her experiences. It must have been difficult to bring back to the surface all of these emotions. Yet, it must also have been comforting to get them out there.

This is a great book for anyone suffering from an eating disorder or for anyone who wants to know more about this subject.