Bite Back with Abbey Sharp Cheat Days, Willpower & #Fitspo Online: The Fitness-to-ED Pipeline with Michelle Carroll
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Jan 20, 2026 Michelle Carroll, a PhD candidate and coach, dives deep into the intersection of fitness culture and disordered eating. She explores how disordered eating often emerges in fitness spaces and discusses the normalization of restriction and obsession. Michelle highlights the dangers of fitness competition prep leading to binge cycles and critiques the idea of cheat days, explaining how they can backfire. She emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation for healthier exercise habits and offers strategies for cultivating a positive relationship with food and movement.
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Research Gap In Fitness Professionals' Eating Issues
- Michelle Carroll found little high-quality research on disordered eating prevalence among fitness professionals despite concern about its impact.
- Fitness professionals' unaddressed disordered eating can model harmful behaviours to clients and the public.
Body Image Often Precedes Disordered Eating
- Body image concerns typically precede disordered eating rather than the reverse, suggesting vulnerability leads to involvement in fitness culture.
- Michelle Carroll describes how fitness interest can shift into chasing leanness and showcasing it as health.
Discipline Language Masks Harmful Isolation
- Fitness spaces normalize 'discipline' through all-or-nothing thinking and isolation that reinforces extreme behaviours.
- Language like "they don't want you to succeed" isolates people and keeps them trapped in restrictive cycles.
