Diary of an Exercise Addict

by Peach Friedman

In 2000, Peach Friedman, a college senior freshly broken up from her boyfriend, set out to beat the blues by beating herself into shape. Running ten miles a day and taking in as little as 800 calories, she fell from 146 pounds to 100 in three months and was at serious risk of cardiac arrest. What Friedman suffered from was exercise bulimia―a newly diagnosed and rapidly spreading eating disorder that affects some 400,000 American women, and which gyms and colleges across America are beginning to take seriously. In Diary of an Exercise Addict Friedman recounts her descent into a life-threatening illness, her remarkable recovery, and the setbacks along the way. With refreshing candor she lays bare her relationships with family, friends, and lovers and the repressed desire that finally surfaced as she found her own way back to health.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Mental Illness, Psychology, Mental Health, Health, Self Help

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is what it felt like to read this book:
"I was stressed. I started exercising. Then I lost weight. I kept exercising. Then my mom got worried. I ate."

Compare that to how it feels to read this excerpt from Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia:
"It does not hit you until later. The fact that you were essentially dead does not register until you begin to come alive. Frostbite does not hurt until it starts to thaw. First it is numb. Then the shock of pain rips through the body. And then, every winter after, it aches."

Needless to say, I thought this book was too surface, there was barely any reflection. It was "boohoo, I was sad", but without the why and how the sad came about, or was dealt with after the eating came back.

This book was barely worth the calories it took to turn the pages.

[adrienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty weak. I think the author may have tried so hard not to be a trigger that she lost all authenticity. And, as another reviewer mentioned, the constant comments about her perfect blonde hair got really old.

[Cari · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should really be two and a half stars, but I round down.

Diary of an Exercise Addict was good, an easy and relatively quick read that for the most part held my attention. Unfortunately she wandered away from the point quite often--I wasn't particularly concerned about her relationships or sex life, mainly because that wasn't what I was reading this for. More about her interaction with her family would and less about various romantic interests have been great; don't tell me that a woman has to be an individual and find herself outside of romantic attachments, all the while using those same intimate relationships to mark the milestones of recovery. Also? Didn't give a damn about her sex life.

If Friedman had focused more on her disorder, even if all she did was cut out the extraneous bits, an additional star would have been given for the massive improvement.

At times this felt like a public service announcement, a giveaway that Friedman has done some public speaking on the matter, and for a subject so rooted in emotions, that so overwhelms the senses, this work has a strange lack of emotion. A little too whitewashed to stand up in the genre, at least for my tastes.

[Anastacia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this book, it was so bad.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star.

This was pretty bad. After over 10 years of wanting to read this, I am utterly disappointed.

This girl was so annoying. So stuck up and has no idea of money and just spends it like crazy thinking it's fine to do because her mother will pay for stuff she needs. *Rolls eyes* yeah it was bad. Plus the scary thing is that she actually now works with others suffering from Eating Disorders. It's like she gloats about having anorexia. She gets disappointed when people don't show concern about her weight (which in all honesty is probably a very secret truth that alot of ED patients think, though not everyone.) This book was also boring and at least 1/4 of it was about her having/wanting sex. It just made it worse! I should have not just listened to the other reviews on here but I should have fully believed in them and never paid for this book. I want a refund!

So no. Just, No. I do not recommend this.

[David Of · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those interested in recovery tools, look elsewhere. This book is a diary of the self-involvement of eating disorder. Consequently, due to the irrational nature of eating disorders, the recollection is frankly crazy and at times nearly obsessive. That Ms. Friedman was able to so well compose her experience is laudable, and a testament to her character as a recovered individual. This book is excellently communicates what it means to be disordered by its writing style and the author's recurrent hectic, obsessive, achievement driven thoughts.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not compelling, there was no thread of self-reflection to help the reader make sense of this retrospective: she seemingly was well, then worse again, then well again for no cause (which I realize may have been the exact truth... but you're writing a memoir! Tell the reader what's going on from your present perspective and at least help us make sense or get something out of this book...) and it was disorienting and confusing. And not in a compelling, day-in-the-life-of-a-disorder kind of way.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed the last 50 pages or so because I was so bored with the author by then. Her story of recovery was interesting, but I could have done without the f-words and descriptions of her sex life. She comes across as a bit of a spoiled brat. She certainly was lucky to have a wealthy family who was willing to support her while she went into a treatment program, had loads of counseling and worked very, very part time while she found herself.

[kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of times I wanted to put the book down because the author sounded too self-absorbed. But then what kept me going was my constant self-reminder that it was a DIARY I was reading, and when we write about ourselves, of course it's going to sound self-absorbed. As soon as I accepted that, I learned to like it, and realized that her journey is something that is not only relatable, but also relevant.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was refreshing to see a book that spoke of an atypical eating disorder rather then the stereotypical purging through vomiting.

She points out the health concerns that are common with exercise bulimia.

IMO she is truthful about the courage it takes to get the help and that its not an easy fix.

I did get a little bored around the end with the redundancy of recovery/relapse but that could have been because of where my head was at the time.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic (exercise anorexia) but not very well written. The book tends to self-pity and suffers from a lack of depth. I have no doubt the author felt her suffering very deeply, but she somehow couldn't convey that depth in her writing. Kind of disappointed.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning had potential and it did hook me in. I didn't like the delivery. As a previous review stated it simply went "I was sad, I exercised, I got thin, mom got worried." Nothing built up to that.

[Shiloh Wall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I learned more about the author's somewhat promiscuous sex life than I did about her eating disorder.

[Erika Nerdypants · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll give it two stars because it was a quick read. This is another one of several self-absorbed memoirs by over-privileged young women I have read this year.

Peach Freedman has an eating disorder. This is supposed to be the story of her recovery. It's not any kind of recovery I've ever heard of though. There is no real self-reflection that leads to self-awareness that could lead to change. Instead there is a childlike insistence on being taken care of. There are temper tantrums and switching from one impulsive, high-risk behaviour to another. In the last few pages of the book, just before her recovery is supposedly complete, this is what Peach has to say about her mother, who she acknowledges has steadfastly been there for her:

"I recently got a new job. I had to. The thought had entered my head again-it happens every couple of months. Mom hates whenever I get like this. She doesn't want me to take crap work to make money. She is so not all about settling, and I love her for it, because it means she'll give me money unless I'm doing work I love."

Most of the folks I know who have recovered from anything, have learned how to live responsible and self-sufficient lives. Peach Freedman considers herself recovered because she finally got what she always wanted, "climbing Mt Shasta, eating eggs with my fiance."

I can't honestly recommend this book, especially not to people seeking help from eating disorders.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accurate description of the madness of exercise addiction and the frequency of relapse. However, the writing is a bit jumpy and I would have preferred more in depth discussion regarding the factors leading to her ultimate recovery.

[Diane Fogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen lots of negative reviews with this book and maybe my prospective comes from having an eating disorder with binging and not purging or exercise. I picked this book up because I wanted to know what makes a person become an exercise addict. And to be honest what I could do to become one! :( but after reading I soon realized that was not my goal at all.
I could have become an anorexic in my teens, I had a very stormy relationship with my mother and did not live at home. When I went home for Holidays and came back to school my friends would berate me for losing weight over the holidays. I didn't do it intentionally or at least not consciously. Now I'm in my late 50's and 40 pounds overweight. I want to lose it and feel healthier, believe it or not this book has enlightened me in ways others might not see. No I don't want to lose all 40 pounds, I don't think it would look healthy on my body but at least 25 to 30 would be nice to lose and keep off.

Here's my take on what I read in this book:
Take it one day at a time.
Look at your friends and make a list of what you love about them, more than likely its not their size or weight. (If it is you are not friends for the right reasons)
Find balance in exercise and healthy eating and it will lead to balance in your life and self love.
Its okay to skip days of exercise, and forgive yourself if you overeat. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start again.
This may take years to overcome! Don't give up, take it a day at a time.
It can get ugly sometimes, don't punish yourself for it. Forgive yourself
Focus on learning to be energized, strong, and capable to develop a relationship with exercise that's about celebration and nourishment rather than punishment.
Only through love, care and nurturing can my body function well and can I feel good about myself.
For me this book is a story about the long journey to healing and it was what I needed at the moment.

I don't have a personal trainer or dietitian, but I do have the desire to change one day at a time and to forgive myself when I mess up.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give credit to anyone who is able to overcome an eating disorder and write about it. However, I agree with many of the reviews here. There's not a lot of self reflection in this book and she comes across as a rich spoiled white woman who is upset because she broke up with her boyfriend and her parents got divorced.

She mentions shopping for expensive clothes, eating expensive meals, her parents' huge house, and how sexy and cute she looks so many times throughout this book you want to slap her. Her writing style, rife with fragments and run-ons, is difficult to decipher.

I realize this is a "diary" but if you're going to publish it at least try to fix the sentence structure. For someone who supposedly is a poet and has an MFA, her writing style leaves much to be desired.

In her epilogue, she cops to her white privilege and says she now recognizes that all people deserve to be happy no matter what their size, but I get the sense that she's just saying this so she'll get more personal training clients. Very disappointing.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

As eating/ exercise disorder autobios go, this one was not very good. It was more like a jumble of rambling thoughts about her relationships (boyfriends, siblings and parents) than anything to do with a disorder of any kind. (Also, MFA in Creative Writing? *finishes book* Oh, poetry. Riiight.) No depth. Nothing resembling the truth I would expect to find that comes from these experiences. Just... incessant talk about how she's beautiful, where she's staying, who she's spending time with, etc. There isn't even good documentation about what her weight is (with very rare exception), so it's hard to even understand (visualize) where she is in the process (illness/ downward spiral). Surprisingly little talk about food, exercise, depression, etc. Just, really, not a great book. One of those "don't judge a book by its cover" scenarios... because I admit, I do like the cover. 2*

[Love Jonson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was hard to get through. If books like this and Susan Burton's Empty can make a person like me feel alienated by the sheer volume of wealth and (white) privilege discussed at length (yet also virtually unacknowledged), there's a problem.

This was written in 2008, so I'm sure everyone has grown since then. But I’m disappointed in what these books do for the broader eating disorder narrative—reinforce that they happen only to rich white women/girls, when actually they happen disproportionately to people in bigger bodies and people of color because of systemic anti-fat bias and racism.

I believe that people with privilege can suffer deeply—and that they/we have an obligation to offer some racial, class, and political analysis of their/our suffering.

Go read Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon instead.

[Funkhauser · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just not very good. The only reason I could get through it was because I was bored reading it at work. What mainly makes this a chore to read is that the author is just this privileged girl who wanted attention and wanted to believe that she had a struggle to write about. Mommy and Daddy paid for everything. She could buy anything she ever wanted as well as travel, vacation, and move anywhere she wanted. Didn’t feel like working? No worries, she’ll go shopping and buy a $500 shirt to cope with her pain. Spare yourself the boredom and go eat some chicken breasts and lemon squares instead of reading this. Unless you really have nothing better to do at work.
P.S. This lady will give you the full rundown of her crotch action whether you want it or not.

[Monika Kasińska · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic treated quite superficially. Not enough reflection on how the addiction started, not enough data on how it progressed. Very few details on the actual course of the disorder - just scarce information saying that the author "run extra mile" and "started losing weight". I think it’s not enough to call it the "diary of an exercise addict". The majority of the book focused on the recovery process, but still without any specific details. The plot mainly focused on the author’s relationships with men and friends, work, etc., but there wasn't enough about her overexercising. Quite disappointing.

[Noelani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed her frankness in the epilogue-- and the first bit of the book. Having experienced my own eating disorder in different circumstances I found that our stories of recovery are very different but would highly recommend reading if you suspect that you or someone you know may have exercise bulimia or any similar eating disorder. It's good to have these stories out there because we are definitely not alone!! Recovery is possible!!

[Ashley Rae Rae Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This girl sure finds a way to brag about every single luxury car, “big house” 🙄, expensive blouse, apartment, food, etc at every opportunity. We get it home girl…mom and daddy are rich and you basically lived off them until your mid-twenties.Your brother also has the coolest brownstone ever and you’re super sexy with your straightened hair and long legs. 😂😂

This was not a good book and I don’t think I’ve rolled my eyes so much reading…like…ever.

[Kelli Dunagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Memoirs can be tricky. The overpersonal details weren’t my favorite and I had to keep reminding myself that this was the diary of a early-20s woman with privilege. But the material itself was good. Her mindset was relatable in the worst way. I read this memoir from a professional standpoint with a desire to understand disordered eating/activity more. I leave this book with a better understanding of triggers, signs and symptoms, and tools for recovery.

[Hali Davidson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to finish this. I really did. But it's just hard to sympathize with someone with such privilege and so little self-reflection. I suppose you could say she was really honest about how self-involved she is/was, and consider the connection between that and eating disorders, but it still doesn't make this book worth the effort of reading it.

[Erin Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ok. I think many parts were repeated over and over. Even as time passes the same things are being said. The best thing about this book is showing that there is an addiction to exercise and the problems it causes to your health.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I related myself totally to this book and finally have found a name to what was happening to me. Very therapeutic

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Fairly interesting. B+

[Izlinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style was quite different from Marya's Wasted. Not quite as florid, but it did still get poetic at some parts. I don't know if this is her looking back completely or if she had journals from these years to "reference" and be a little more exact. Some of the time-jumping around (it's separated by dates, either exact days or month, year) confused me, or the references to the future where she'd write "but I didn't know that I'd be donating these clothes to my teenager sister" or something like that.

Peach didn't go a lot in exacts of her anorexia (for example, no mention of her exact weight at all, as far as I remember) or her exercise bulimia (she'd sometimes say how far she ran, and she would say how often, but her workout in the gym was never specific). I don't know if this is a reaction to some critics who say fictional books or memoirs/autobiographies about recovering from eating disorders can sometimes give tips to those who have eating disorders, and have no interest in recovery.

I actually wavered between a 3 and a 4 for this star. The style wasn't really one I preferred but the focus on her emotions and admitting she relapsed several times was good. It was interesting that she became a personal trainer, and for her, that didn't cause her to fall back, but helped her improve. It sounds a little too happy-happy at the end, but considering that years had passed, maybe I'm being cynical.

Peach mentioned her anorexia was a way to numb and deaden her feelings and when she was recovering, that's when she got really depressed. She had to deal with all the problems that led to her anorexic and compulsive exercising behaviors, it all came to the forefront. Mmm, that was interesting to consider. Also she struck home the point that getting to the point of full recovery takes years, I believe she said 6-10yrs on average? And that for a majority of them, they don't fully recover...

I do wish more had been said about her younger sister, though. I understand the author may be concerned about privacy, but I am really curious about what Tor told her about how seeing Peach affected her. I'm not going to believe the brief statements she mentioned were all there was, and it was more gut-wrenching than that... She mentions her older brother a lot, since she visited/lived with him more often, but I think seeing how a younger sister would react to an older sister's eating disorder is also relevant.

"An anorexic or bulimic often identifies a large percentage of her identity in her eating disorder or her body size. Usually, the younger the girl develops the eating disorder, the more difficult it is to recover, because she hasn't lived enough years to have an identity outside of that. I consider myself fortunate that I developed my eating disorder later, as a young adult. I had already lived through high school as a wild, spirited girl with an identity that had nothing to do with restriction, self-hatred or thinness. In my recovery, this meant that I had previous experience to show me that there really is life outside of an eating disorder. I encourage my clients now to learn to identify outside their eating disorders and outside their bodies. It can help to look at your friends and family and learn to see their identities as separate from their sizes. If you make a list of what you love about your best friend or mother, it probably wouldn't include her size or weight. Learning to see this same value in myself has helped me accept my natural body size. I am many things, and I'm house in a body. It's useful." pages 190-191

[Megan Ruskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don’t connect with this book, congrats! it wasn’t written with you in mind. I on the other hand, read it twice. 🤷🏽‍♀️