A former marathon runner has revealed how her toxic relationship with food and her body has led to her not having her period for seven years.
Amy Giannotti, 29, is a sports dietitian and personal trainer from Melbourne whose food choices were greatly influenced by how they would best support her figure.
Even well-known energy and nutrient dense foods such as oils, nuts and avocado would be consciously limited so that she wouldn't gain weight.
The lowest weight she reached was 48 kilos when she was a teenager, then 52 kilos in her 20s and now that she's recovered she weighs 63 kilos.
'I look back now and recognise that I had put too much emphasis on weight and my appearance,' Amy told FEMAIL.
Amy Giannotti, 29, is a sports dietitian and personal trainer from Melbourne whose toxic relationship with food and her body has led to her not having her period for seven years (left at 63 kilos and right at 52 kilos)
'In the constant need to control food and exercise my physical, mental and social health was significantly impacted,' the athlete added.
For most of Ms Giannotti's life, food and her body had been a huge priority in terms of her health, her performance and aesthetics and it was in high school where this relationship developed.
'Ranging hormones, body shape changes, and trying to keep on top of social status and school work left me feeling overwhelmed, confused and with no control,' she said.
The lowest weight she reached was 48 kilos when she was a teenager, then 52 kilos in her 20s and now that she's recovered she weighs 63 kilos
'I look back now and recognise that I had put too much emphasis on weight and my appearance,' she told FEMAIL
'Discovering an ability to "control" food gave me an initial sense of stability.'
For most of Ms Giannotti's life her body had been a huge priority (pictured at 48 kilos)
Ms Giannotti said that growing up showing an interest in health, nutrition, cooking, increasing exercise and losing weight was praised and encouraged but it quickly became an obsession.
Moments where she found restricting food a challenge resulted in feelings of guilt, regret and made her feel like she had no control.
Although food was a tool that provided her with energy and support while competing in competitive sport it also provided her with a sense of control and stability in her life.
'It was a way to mask problems that needed to be worked through rather than ignoring or trying to resist,' she said.
Her relationship with her body has always coincided with her overly controlled exercise and eating behaviours and the more emphasis she had on her appearance and weight, the more controlled she became.
When Ms Giannotti was in high school she had a wakeup call after falling to a very low weight and having a close friend have an honest chat to her about her appearance.
'Ranging hormones, body shape changes, and trying to keep on top of social status and school work left me feeling overwhelmed, confused and with no control,' she said (pictured at the height of her marathon running)
With their support she made some changes and stopped her dangerously restrictive and compensatory behaviours.
'I gained back some weight over time and with that my mental state significantly improved,' she said.
'Somehow, years later when I got back into competitive running and triathlons, my obsessive, restrictive and competitive behaviour slowly arose again and I fell back into the trap and lost weight.'
Since she was an athlete and had made the Australia team for her age group in sprint, Olympic and the half ironman distance triathlon, the 29-year-old said the lines surrounding what was considered healthy behaviour were 'blurred'.
'Ranging hormones, body shape changes and trying to keep on top of social status and school work left me feeling overwhelmed, confused and with no control,' she said
Moments where she found restricting food a challenge resulted in feelings of guilt, regret and made her feel like she had no control
Ms Giannotti explained her behaviours and her very lean physique seemed to 'fit in' with other athletes.
'Any endurance athlete will resonate with pushing past the boundaries, ignoring body signals of appetite, pain, lack of energy and even menstrual disturbances as just a consequence of extreme fitness and dedication,' she explained.
'I strived off of this drive and loved pushing my mind and body but outside of this, life was not as bright as I showed it to be on Instagram.
'My career, relationships with friends and family, my marriage and health suffered.'
Her relationship with her body has always coincided with her overly controlled exercise and eating behaviours and the more emphasis she had on her appearance and weight, the more controlled she became
Again she felt trapped because if she let go of training hard, missed a session or ate food she felt didn't support her training she would feel immense guilt and anxiety.
She felt the same way if she missed an important celebration with family and friends.
'I felt like I just couldn't win and I hated myself for being so selfish but I felt I just couldn't escape!' Ms Giannotti explained.
Due to the damage Ms Giannotti was inflicting on her health she hasn't had her period for seven years and she said it was both surprising and worrying how easily she lost track of how long it's been.
Ms Giannotti explained her behaviours and her very lean physique seemed to 'fit in' with other athletes
'Any endurance athlete will resonate with pushing past the boundaries, ignoring body signals of appetite, pain, lack of energy and even menstrual disturbances as just a consequence of extreme fitness and dedication,' she explained
This is known as Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, which is the absence of menstrual cycle for greater than three months due to the body's perception of stress.
'I realise now that it has been about seven years, before I was married six years ago, which means Amy "Giannotti" has never had a menstrual cycle,' she revealed.
She assumed her large amount of exercise could be a factor and without any understating of the negative effects she became proud of this.
Further down the track she recognised the negative impacts of fertility and bone health.
It was a dream she had about the downward spiral she was heading towards that saw her change her ways.
From then on she couldn't see triathlons the same and weeks later she resigned from the team.
This proved to be a tricky adjustment as she was used to training over 20 hours a week and easily fitting into a size six.
'In recent years I started to become very familiar with the issues of not having a regular cycle and in many ways felt ashamed as a health professional,' she said.
'With a previous history of disordered eating and thinking I had "recovered" I just wanted my cycle to return as almost a confirmation that I am "healthy".'
If she let go of training hard, missed a session or ate food she felt didn't support her training she would feel immense guilt and anxiety
It was a dream she had about the downward spiral she was heading towards that saw her change her ways
Ms Giannotti and her husband want to have a family one day and it was after a plan was put in place for ovulation injections that she realised she had not given recovery her all.
The 29-year-old also recognised other restrictive behaviours and limitations this had of her health, happiness and quality of life.
'I knew that to give it 100 per cent meant completely cutting back intense exercise and gaining weight, things that I had tight control of for over a decade,' she said.
'My whole identity and who I believed I was wrapped around these behaviours and letting them go was the scariest thing I could imagine.'
The dietitian said she later learnt that growing up she had the belief that she wasn't 'special enough'.
Now Ms Giannotti is 10 kilos heavier than when she was in her 20s and she hasn't felt more comfortable in her body and relaxed around food.
'I am currently taking a break from exercise and just enjoying yoga and walking to give my body a rest to recover my menstrual cycle but also a psychological rest and time for self-discovery,' she said.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/22/marathon-runner-reveals-the-toll-her-unhealthy-relationship-with-food-had-on-her-body/
Main photo article A former marathon runner has revealed how her toxic relationship with food and her body has led to her not having her period for seven years.
Amy Giannotti, 29, is a sports dietitian and personal trainer from Melbourne whose food choices were greatly influenced by how they would best support her...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/22/00/6497338-6416005-image-a-1_1542847402184.jpg
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