Warning: this post contains vomiting references!

Aisling Daly pre UFC Dublin PIC: Twitter Jerry McCarthy

Yesterday morning Irish MMA fighter Aisling Daly was interviewed on Newstalk radio as part of a segment on ‘body-shaming’.

They somehow ended up talking about training so hard that you throw up, after one of the interviewees (a model) said:

“It does happen, it’s not that uncommon. If you push your body that hard, it’s basically a release.” ~

I was listening to that rolling my eyes. I come from a fairly tough sports-background: MuayThai gyms in Thailand are not known for taking it easy on students.

So yeah, I’ve felt ill in training (say after someone threw a massive kick or punch that I decided to block with my stomach!!) and dehydrated after long sessions in the sun but thankfully no full-on projectile vomiting.

Then Aisling came on the line. She got straight in there with:

“As far as I’m concerned healthy is the bottom line on everything. Just back to what Lynne was saying there, I’m obviously a high-level athlete. Vomiting while training hard is not normal. I’ve never once thrown up while training. That’s a level too far with your body, that’s not being kind to your body. That’s a little bit of a step too far, I just think it’s a bit backwards.

“I think you should be kind to your body. Exercise, look after it and treat it like the beautiful machine that it is. Healthy should be the main goal.”

Thank you! Let’s move past this idea that pain and suffering is the way to be healthy and successful. It’s especially dangerous for young girls and teens to hear women saying pain and vomiting is normal – because then they will do the same.

Or girls will avoid exercise because it sounds horrendous.

It’s hard enough to get women and girls doing sport as so many studies have shown. Let’s focus on the fun and healthy parts, not frighten people out of the gym with chatter about throwing-up.

What do you think – how much pain is acceptable? Which side of the debate do you fall on?