Exercise in recovery?

tumsbums

Hello! before I put out my question, I would like to apologize if this is not the place to ask such a question! And sorry if it is offensive in any way!

Well i am recovering from Anorexia, (luckily with some medical help) but something I can never get advise on is the idea of physical activity.

I am not incredibly weak or underweight, and feel like I would love to do a little more activity! Currently each and every day I end up eating lots of food, but do hardly ANY movement. All day I am mostly sitting, or moving to a different room to then sit in.

I am really uncomfortable with this. I don't necessarily wish to go to the gym and work up a sweat! (I realise this would not help my condition) but I really want to walk and be able to walk around shops etc.

Is the amount of sitting and slobbing I'm doing possibly doing any long term damage to me? Is the fact I am inside and being a couch potato so much going to cause me problems?

Thankyou for any advise anyone has!

alexkirkp

I would say that no, it is not likely to hurt you, as long as it is a temporary state. Many people spend the majority of their lives being sedentary for no reason at all. Spending a few months being sedentary for a good reason is not likely to have any long term health consequences. Once you get up to a good weight then you can worry about fitness.

That said, if doing some very light exercises makes you happier then just be careful. Just make sure you err on the side of caution, set a limit for your self. It is hard for me to say what would be reasonable for you, perhaps your medical advice could help you out with that, but something like 10 body weight squats per day might be good.

ES110791

You are definitely not doing yourself damage. When you're in recovery and your body and mind are healing the healthiest thing is actually not to exercise. Your body has lots of mending to do and that's done best when you are sedentary! Especially if you have had trouble with it in the past.

Plenty of therapists actually recommend that you never do the same exercise you did in your eating disorder again.

Have you tried yoga? It's moving your body in a way that is calming and relaxing but feels good. Gentle walks are good, depending on your medical stability, but if you're stable that should be fine. Maybe go with someone else to help control the intensity. Getting outside can help your mood too.

Just make sure you discuss this with the people who are treating you.