During Eating Disorder Recovery and after

recover_healthy_fit

February 7 is my first official day in recovery and this Wednesday is my first meeting with the doctors and the group of girls I'm going to be going through this with. I wanted to know if working out lightly to begin rebuilding lost muscle is safe for me to do or do i have to gain fat first and get my weight to a healthy number in order to start working out again to build muscle? I'm terrified that it's going to be above my pre-ED weight and I'm going to end up being bigger than ever because of the metabolic damage I've done to my body.....and my body holds fat differently now since I've lost SO much muscle...I don't even look like what my weight is now because I know fat takes up more space than muscle does.....

When can I start working out for muscle growth?

louzara5

speak to your doctor about this! we cant give you advice on this as it might be dangerous

casi_ann

Louzara has just given you the best advice in the world.

kmbmaine

Louzara is right--The docs will be your best help. Good luck in your recovery and know that you're not alone :-)

ucabucca

You have to be at a good weight and this should go through your MD.I was restrcted til I got to a certain weight beyound walking slowly for short periods of times. Listen to your treatment team They will help a lot and trust them I am so glad I had an awesome team and they walked me back to an athlete's level again. I worked with them and then after about six months I was allowed back in a gym with a trainer who was then brought onboard and still is working with me. I am at a normal weight now for over 16 months and still I must admit the body is changing as I continue to build muscle but it is worth it. It is hard for me to grasp I was under 500 calories a day and now on workout days that Dylan goes long over 2 hrs I eat about 3,000 calories. I am a lucky one none of the damage from ED was permanent The only issue left is I still cant rely on hunger I have to monitor and make sure I eat what I need but no organs etc were effected I hope never to go back to ED for any reason

recover_healthy_fit

You have to be at a good weight and this should go through your MD.I was restrcted til I got to a certain weight beyound walking slowly for short periods of times. Listen to your treatment team They will help a lot and trust them I am so glad I had an awesome team and they walked me back to an athlete's level again. I worked with them and then after about six months I was allowed back in a gym with a trainer who was then brought onboard and still is working with me. I am at a normal weight now for over 16 months and still I must admit the body is changing as I continue to build muscle but it is worth it. It is hard for me to grasp I was under 500 calories a day and now on workout days that Dylan goes long over 2 hrs I eat about 3,000 calories. I am a lucky one none of the damage from ED was permanent The only issue left is I still cant rely on hunger I have to monitor and make sure I eat what I need but no organs etc were effected I hope never to go back to ED for any reason

Did you gain more weight than your pre-ed? How tall are you? I'm only 5'3" so I doubt i'll need to eat that much. It doesn't take a lot for me to gain weight now...and not long.

Kestrelwings

First off - well done on taking the very scary journey towards recovery. At first any weight gain will terrify you. However there are a few things you need to 'know'.
1) Your doctor and their team know what they are doing, and will not allow you to 'balloon' or put on too much weight or too fast
2) Your weight gain will not be a straight line: when you first increase calories the body grabs on to them in order to try and repair itself as quickly as possible. It will start by restocking the glycogen in your muscles and liver. This will also cause water gain as the muscles 'rehydrate'. This can cause a sudden jump in weight, do not be panicked by this. Next it will start to replenish your protein stores. Initially your metabolism will be so sluggish that you will put on weight, but once you body has adjusted your metabolism will increase and your weight gain will slow or even stop. The calorie intake will then need to go up a notch, and you will have another gain followed by another levelling off. And so on...
3) Your fat mass will increase, but not excessively. Your body needs fat for lots of things, including the essential hormones for fertility and bone strength. It also is involved in producing the hormones that tell your brain when you have eaten enough.
4) As mentioned above, you will not be able to rely on hunger to tell you when to eat and how much. Follow what regimen the doctors set you and you will be safe.
5) It would be unwise to stress your body by exercising before you have been at a stable body weight for some time, and only with the guidance of your medical team. Your body needs time to repair from the ED, and your brain needs time to recover too.
(COI - a Dr)

SoDamnHungry

Two days until you meet with your doctors. Just take it easy until then. You can ask them all these questions.

SoDamnHungry

Did you gain more weight than your pre-ed? How tall are you? I'm only 5'3" so I doubt i'll need to eat that much. It doesn't take a lot for me to gain weight now...and not long.

Good. It's good that you will gain weight quickly. That deserves a happy face!

kristineevans12

Hey, good luck with your journey, I would wait until you have seen the docs until you start exercising, I was allowed to keep exercising but she wasn't that keen, I just refused to give it up, BUT I wasn't underweight just at the lower end. I'm back to a good eating pattern no starving binging or purging and although I am now gaining due to pregnancy my weight actually settled lower than pre ed. It isn't easy seeing the numbers go up but you must have trust in your team, they don't want you to get fat! They want you to be healthy, good luck feel free to add me xx

melybelyc

Congratulations on your steps to recovery - its a tough road - but you can do it. My body is not the same since I became healthy - and I love my curves and the muscle tone I now have. I do weigh more now - but that is because muscle weighs more than fat - and I have a lot of muscles now! :Loving it! With your Doctors help - you will have the beautiful body you have always searched for but could never find with ED.

pebbleslaura1

thats fantastic you have done so well im trying to recover from anorexia and decided this week to try my best. its ssssoooo scary but if i want to have a life it has to be done (im 30 and suffered for 17 years)do you have any advice for me? xx hope you dont mind me asking xx

pebbleslaura1

i suffer also and decided this week to try my best and recover scary after 17 years but if yo want a life it has to be done xxx

geekyjock76

Allowance to exercise (resistance training) also depends on whether or not your team of doctors deem you not to be an obsessive exerciser. If you do not exhibit any risk/history of exercise obsession, it is possible that the team allows you to begin resistance training during refeed since recovery of lean mass is one of the priorities in current programs. There are other criteria to be met but a few studies reveal that resistance training in recovering anorexics improved their body composition, functional strength as well as psychological well-being.

Hospitalized anorexics and resistance training: impact on body composition and psychological well-being. A preliminary study.

Abstract
Ritualised exercise commonly accompanies the clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa (AN) sufferers, but there is a paucity of research on structured exercise as a therapeutic intervention. This study examined the usefulness of resistance training as part of a treatment programme for hospitalized anorexics. The study sample consisted of 21 subjects: seven anorexics participating in the exercise programme, seven non-participating anorexics, and seven subjects unaffected by an eating disorder but who participated in the exercise programme. The results show that resistance training is associated with an improvement in body composition and psychological well-being and, although it does not confer an outcome advantage in this regard, it seems to be a useful adjunct in the treatment of hospitalized anorexics.[quote/]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12588057

Muscular strength changes in hospitalized anorexic patients after an eight week resistance training program.

Abstract
We investigated whether an eight week, light resistance program could increase the muscular strength of the knee and elbow extensors and flexors in a group of hospitalized anorexic patients compared to anorexic controls (AC) who did not participate in the training program, but received the same caloric intake, and non-anorexic exercisers (NAE) who undertook the resistance training program. After the resistance training program, the seven anorexic exercisers (AE) significantly increased the peak torque (PT) of their knee extensors (p < 0.001), flexors (p < 0.0001) and elbow flexors (p < 0.01). In comparison, the seven anorexic non-exercisers (anorexic controls, AC) and seven non-anorexic exercisers (NAE), who performed the same program, showed no significant increase in peak torque after the program (p > 0.05). The study has demonstrated that an eight week, light resistance program increases the knee and elbow strength of the hospitalized anorexic patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16874594

recover_healthy_fit

thats fantastic you have done so well im trying to recover from anorexia and decided this week to try my best. its ssssoooo scary but if i want to have a life it has to be done (im 30 and suffered for 17 years)do you have any advice for me? xx hope you dont mind me asking xx

Hmmm, well..my advice is to find as many people as you can that will lift you up and support you! Try your best to stay away from your triggers. I know that's hard because I know I have silly triggers....and I can't avoid some....so it challenges me. But I guess that's good. I huge trigger for me is seeing old pictures of myself from when I was a healthy weight because I don't want to look like that anymore....I want to stay thin....and I know when I gain weight, I'll be looking back at my old pictures of how I look now and I'll want to restrict bad again...I know I can't, but that's going to be SO hard for me to do....to not restrict. I want to try and build muscle and get lean and curvy, but stay thin/skinny.

what are some of your triggers?

recover_healthy_fit

Congratulations on your steps to recovery - its a tough road - but you can do it. My body is not the same since I became healthy - and I love my curves and the muscle tone I now have. I do weigh more now - but that is because muscle weighs more than fat - and I have a lot of muscles now! :Loving it! With your Doctors help - you will have the beautiful body you have always searched for but could never find with ED.

I love curves, I just want mine to be the thin/skinny version but fit and lean...if that makes sense. Like a thin but curvy fitness model. I hope I can get the proper food, protein powders, ect, that are needed for this....since they can cost a lot...lol

and thank you

recover_healthy_fit

Did you gain more weight than your pre-ed? How tall are you? I'm only 5'3" so I doubt i'll need to eat that much. It doesn't take a lot for me to gain weight now...and not long.

Good. It's good that you will gain weight quickly. That deserves a happy face!

I don't want to gain quickly, though I want it to be gradual and slow...not only for obvious reasons, but it's healthier that way...a lot of doctors prefer a slow gain.

recover_healthy_fit

First off - well done on taking the very scary journey towards recovery. At first any weight gain will terrify you. However there are a few things you need to 'know'.
1) Your doctor and their team know what they are doing, and will not allow you to 'balloon' or put on too much weight or too fast
2) Your weight gain will not be a straight line: when you first increase calories the body grabs on to them in order to try and repair itself as quickly as possible. It will start by restocking the glycogen in your muscles and liver. This will also cause water gain as the muscles 'rehydrate'. This can cause a sudden jump in weight, do not be panicked by this. Next it will start to replenish your protein stores. Initially your metabolism will be so sluggish that you will put on weight, but once you body has adjusted your metabolism will increase and your weight gain will slow or even stop. The calorie intake will then need to go up a notch, and you will have another gain followed by another levelling off. And so on...
3) Your fat mass will increase, but not excessively. Your body needs fat for lots of things, including the essential hormones for fertility and bone strength. It also is involved in producing the hormones that tell your brain when you have eaten enough.
4) As mentioned above, you will not be able to rely on hunger to tell you when to eat and how much. Follow what regimen the doctors set you and you will be safe.
5) It would be unwise to stress your body by exercising before you have been at a stable body weight for some time, and only with the guidance of your medical team. Your body needs time to repair from the ED, and your brain needs time to recover too.
(COI - a Dr)

wow, thank you so much for this.
I know of the water retention and the bloating i'll get from eating more, ect....it's just....seeing me get bigger...I hate it. I know I have to do this, but i hate how broad I am at my healthy weight which is 110 - 105...I prefer 105...if it were muscle weight, I wouldn't care so much since it's the fat that makes you broad looking. If I was taller and had a slimmer build then i think this wouldn't scare me AS much...I found out that I'm not 5'3"....I'm in between 5'1" and 5'2" ..... I'm JUST boarder line of needing inpatient they told me... So if I can't maintain my weight right now by the time I go in to officially start recovery, I can't stay with this outpatient group....I need to be far away from home....and my mom might lose her job because she said she'd stay with me, which I don't want happening...and she just got his job after years of not working! And it's a good job...

soupandcookies

I love curves, I just want mine to be the thin/skinny version but fit and lean...if that makes sense. Like a thin but curvy fitness model. I hope I can get the proper food, protein powders, ect, that are needed for this....since they can cost a lot...lol

and thank you

Honestly, I think this is how most people with EDs feel, at some point. I don't think that most people with anorexia nervosa begin by thinking they want to have a BMI of 17, and have zero curves and look like an adolescent boy. We all started out, wanting to look like a thin and fit model. It just becomes such an obsession, that it ends in unhealthy behaviors. The obsessive desire to look like a "thin but curvy fitness model" begins with earnest goals, but when we get to a low weight, and we still don't look like a fitness model, it's hard to stop the obsessive dieting, restricting, and other unhealthy compulsive behaviors. For me, it was a matter of letting go of unrealistic goals, and focus more on enjoying my life. Obsessing over what I wanted my body to look like, only made me into a crazy person. Even at my thinnest, I was unhappy, because I was never satisfied. I had to be WILLING to accept that I am imperfect, but I am still a beautiful person, inside and out. It's easier said than done, I realize, but willingness to change my thinking, is probably what helped me most.

recover_healthy_fit

I love curves, I just want mine to be the thin/skinny version but fit and lean...if that makes sense. Like a thin but curvy fitness model. I hope I can get the proper food, protein powders, ect, that are needed for this....since they can cost a lot...lol

and thank you

Honestly, I think this is how most people with EDs feel, at some point. I don't think that most people with anorexia nervosa begin by thinking they want to have a BMI of 17, and have zero curves and look like an adolescent boy. We all started out, wanting to look like a thin and fit model. It just becomes such an obsession, that it ends in unhealthy behaviors. The obsessive desire to look like a "thin but curvy fitness model" begins with earnest goals, but when we get to a low weight, and we still don't look like a fitness model, it's hard to stop the obsessive dieting, restricting, and other unhealthy compulsive behaviors. For me, it was a matter of letting go of unrealistic goals, and focus more on enjoying my life. Obsessing over what I wanted my body to look like, only made me into a crazy person. Even at my thinnest, I was unhappy, because I was never satisfied. I had to be WILLING to accept that I am imperfect, but I am still a beautiful person, inside and out. It's easier said than done, I realize, but willingness to change my thinking, is probably what helped me most.

Well, I know I can reach my goals...it's just healing my mind first and to learn how to workout to get stronger and feel better more than looking a certain way....and the looks should follow as a result of the working out and eating right and not depriving myself (moderation). I know I can do it, it's just doing it... And i don't look like a boy right now..lol I know I'm naturally curvy because of my shape which is good. I just like the leaner version and not the average....if that makes sense....I'm horrible at explaining things....

KaraAlste

I am worried that your recovery program does not start until FEB 7. Are you eating enough calories to maintain your current weight? Try to drink ensure plus or boost 2 times a day along w/normal eating until you have a solid program. Your doctor will recommend not exercising because she doesn't want you to burn off all that hard work. Unless you are sitting all day you wiil also regain some muscle don't worry. Watch funny movies, keep smiling!! Whatever you looked like before the eating disorder is exactly how you will look again.