Soon a vicious cycle is established. Some women become so distressed by their inability to stick to their diet that they may resort to various purging techniques in an effort to compensate. Misuse of laxatives is another purging technique that women may use to relieve the bloated feeling they experience after a binge or after eating anything they feel deviated from their 'diet'. While the laxatives may result in feeling less bloated, they do not in fact spare many calories. Fluids are lost, not calories, defeating the intended purpose.
Compulsive exercise is actually another method of purging.
Certainly not all women who exercise regularly have eating disorders, but many do. Exercise is a healthy, stress reducing activity that is considered part of maintaining a sense of wellness. This changes however, when the goal of exercise is primarily to change ones shape and it is excessive, consuming several hours each day. Sometimes a clue may be the extreme guilt associated with missing one's regular exercise or the need to compensate for excessive calorie consumption by exercising. All methods of purging whether through self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, compulsive exercise, fasting, or diuretics can cause serious physical problems.