The Early Triumph: A Gambling and Athlete Eating Disorders Trap

One of the strongest predictors of persistent gambling isn't an early loss—it's an early, meaningful win. That first win teaches the brain a powerful lesson: this works. It creates excitement, reinforces the behaviour, and encourages the person to come back for more.

Ironically, that first success is often the beginning of years of losses.

A remarkably similar process can happen in athletes who develop disordered eating.

The Gambling Trap

Psychologists recognise the power of early reinforcement. If someone places a few bets and wins a large amount early on, the brain forms a strong association between gambling and reward.

Dopamine—the brain chemical involved in learning, motivation and reward—is released on a grand

scale. And the brain remembers.

"If I keep doing this, I'll probably get that feeling again."

The problem is that gambling is mathematically designed with the law of large numbers so that, over time, the house wins. Instead of walking away, many people begin chasing the first triumph. Because they want to recreate the feeling. Years later they often find themselves having lost far more than they ever won.

Athletes May Experience Their Own "Early Triumph"

Imagine an athlete. They're told they might perform better if they “lose a little weight”.

Perhaps they restrict their food for a few weeks.

They compete.

They achieve a personal best.

Their coach comments how "lean" they look.

Everyone celebrates.

What lesson has the brain just learned?

"Being leaner gave me triumph."

Whether or not weight was actually responsible almost doesn't matter. The brain then links the restriction with achievement. Just as gambling links betting with reward.

The Dangerous Behavioural Reinforcement

Performance isn't determined by one factor.

Sleep. Training. Fitness. Psychology. Competition level. Weather. Nutrition….All contribute. Yet our human brains always want simple explanations. If restriction happened before success….

"I triumphed because I was leaner."

That belief can then become difficult to challenge. The athlete begins chasing the same feeling again. Maybe they lose another kilogram before the next competition. Then another. Then another….

Chasing the High

The gambler isn't just chasing money. They're chasing the emotional memory of the first win.

Similarly, many athletes aren't chasing leanness for appearance alone. They're chasing the confidence, validation and success they experienced when restriction seemed to "work." Every competition becomes another opportunity to recreate that feeling. But something changes.

The Turning Point

Initially, modest weight loss may reduce unnecessary body mass in some sports or for some athletes. However, prolonged restriction is very different. Eventually the body begins fighting back. Energy availability drops. Recovery slows. Hormones become disrupted. Bone health deteriorates. Mood changes. Illness becomes more common. Training quality falls.

The very behaviour that once appeared to improve performance now starts destroying it.

Losing More Than You Gain

The gambler remembers the £500 win. They forget the thousands gradually lost afterwards.

The athlete remembers the personal best. They overlook the months—or years—of declining health and inconsistent performance that followed.

In both cases the brain remains focused on the original reward. Not the cumulative cost.

Why It's So Hard to Stop

"If restriction is making performance worse, why don't athletes just eat more?"

For the same reason gamblers don't simply stop betting after they've started losing.

Because addiction isn't governed by logic. It's governed by learning. The brain keeps whispering:

"Maybe next time it'll work again."

That hope can be powerful.

A Different Kind of Success

Just as gambling eventually takes back far more than it gives, chronic restriction gradually takes away the things athletes value most:

• Performance

• Health

• Confidence

• Freedom

• Relationships

• Joy in sport

The early "triumph" can become the beginning of years spent chasing something that cannot be recreated in the same way.

The challenge isn't simply helping athletes eat more.

It's helping them rewrite the story that success only comes when they're leaner.

Because the strongest athletes aren't the ones who can tolerate the most restriction.

They're the ones whose health allows them to keep improving for years—not just for one race.

References

• Linnet, J. (2014). Neurobiological underpinnings of reward anticipation and outcome evaluation in gambling disorder. Frontiers in behavioural neuroscience, 8, 100.

• Clark, L. (2010). Decision-making during gambling: an integration of cognitive and psychobiological approaches. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365(1538), 319.

• Mountjoy, M., Sundgot-Borgen, J. K., Burke, L. M., Ackerman, K. E., Blauwet, C., Constantini, N., ... & Budgett, R. (2018). IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update. British journal of sports medicine, 52(11), 687-697.

• Thibodeau, D. E., Sutherland, S., Brown, D. M., Quesnel, D. A., & Sabiston, C. M. (2025). Coaches Say Lighter Is Better, but at What Cost? A Qualitative Exploration of the Lingering Impact of Body Image on Disordered Eating in Retired Elite Women Athletes. Qualitative Health Research, 36(8), 834–848.

  
  
  
  

Overall message…An early, emotionally significant reward can reinforce a behaviour that ultimately produces increasingly negative consequences over time.