Rebuilding my body
jess1992uga
Posts: 603 Member
So I lost a lot of weight (down to 85.8 lbs at 5 ft 7 at my lowest..now 90 lbs and uncomfortable) due to anorexia. I have had all eating disorders since I was 6 (Binge eating disorder till 14, then anorexia and exercise bulimia till well...40 days ago now). I am trying to not look at this as gaining weight but as rebuilding my body. I decided to lose weight when I was 14 to look more like someone like Jillian Michaels, but being raised by an anorexic...I thought that was the way. Now I am seeing I am in the perfect place to get that body because i need to gain weight and thus that's conducive to gaining muscle. I am just scared because what I am seeing is more of a poofy stomach and wiggly thighs.
My nutritionist has told me to do exercises I like and I honestly don't like doing barbell stuff in the gym. I do spin 3-4 times a week, 30 day shred two of those days, and extreme abs the other two days. Am I right? Will I not gain muscle doing that. Do I have to do heavy lifting?
My nutritionist has told me to do exercises I like and I honestly don't like doing barbell stuff in the gym. I do spin 3-4 times a week, 30 day shred two of those days, and extreme abs the other two days. Am I right? Will I not gain muscle doing that. Do I have to do heavy lifting?
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Replies
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yes lifting will defenately help you to rebuilding muscle but also make sure your eating enough food in your day to build your muscles and keep your overall . body healthy ...0
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Perhaps try out some yoga - I love it personally, it builds muscle slower but it's still great.0
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yes lifting will defenately help you to rebuilding muscle but also make sure your eating enough food in your day to build your muscles and keep your overall . body healthy ...
But what if I hate lifting..I don't want to lift, but worry because everyone on here makes it seem that is only way.0 -
upper body push ups lower body squats with a bit of ab work . .. cardio might help a bit too also eat protein having foods like eggs , peanutbutter , meats , and greens they can aid you in your muscle build as well . building muscle dont always have to deal with weights but all in all you would still be lifting weight just your body weight.0
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Look into a couple of books.
'You Are Your Own Gym' by Mark Lauren.
And 'Bring It!' by Tony Horton (of P90X).
Both are full of a great and large selection of bodyweight exercises, with explanations and illustrations.0 -
All of the things that you are doing now will help you gain muscle, but the main thing is going to be making sure that you are taking in enough calories: without enough going into your body, you can't rebuild. Another alternative form of exercise that you may like to try that isn't just lifting weights is rock climbing: it is a full body exercise and is really really fun! the bottom line is really making sure that you are eating enough. at this point, really, it doesn't matter what the exercise is, you'll gain lean muscle regardless until you are at a higher weight0
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when you're rebuilding muscle that you lost through starvation/extreme calorie restriction, nearly any exercise will help to rebuild the muscles, so long as you're eating enough protein and calories to give your body the raw materials needed to build the muscle. It's not the same situation as someone who's already got a healthy amount of lean body mass and wants to add to it to look more muscular. For someone in that situation, then heavy lifting/heavy strength training is the only exercise that's going to provide enough stimulus to build even more muscle. But in your situation, your muscles have been weakened so it takes much less load to provide enough stimulus to make them grow, and you also have muscle memory on your side (muscle memory = it's easier to regain lost muscle than it is to build new muscle that you never had).0
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If you are 5'7" and 90lbs then your BMI is only 14 kg/m2 so you shouldn't be lifting or exercising at all yet!!! It's highly unlikely your body has finished with internal repair yet (e.g. organs such as your heart, which is a muscle and a far more important muscle to working on right now than your arms, legs etc.!!), so you need to concentrate on this first.
I find it hard to believe that a nutritionist, or any HCP with an iota of understanding of EDs would suggest somebody with a BMI of 14 do any exercise. I'm in recovery myself (for the gazillionth time :frown: ) and I've never seen any doctor/nutritionist/dietician/psychologist allow a sufferer recommence exercise until their BMI was at least past 17-18 kg/m2 and their menstrual cycle had returned. It's extremely dangerous! A girl I was in treatment with dropped dead from a heart attack carrying her shopping home, and her BMI was higher than yours!
Please, please be careful!0 -
I doubt you are physically able to really lift right now or that it is needed at this stage. Any exercise will help start rebuilding muscles, as long as you eat the calories to go with it. Since you seem to be focusing on cardio however, I would suggest you cut back (the last thing you need is something that burns lots of calories) and maybe look into different types of classes, if you enjoy classes more than working alone: pilates or TRX might be good matches, since both help with "building" your body.0
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Distorted body image. With ED, you can't trust your eyes I'm afraid. It is not possible at your weight. Your tummy may be a bit bloated for the first few weeks of increasing calories, but that will go down.I am just scared because what I am seeing is more of a poofy stomach and wiggly thighs.
With a BMI of 14, you are going to seriously damage your body - or worse - if you continue this :frown: .I do spin 3-4 times a week, 30 day shred two of those days, and extreme abs the other two days. Am I right? Will I not gain muscle doing that. Do I have to do heavy lifting?0 -
Distorted body image. With ED, you can't trust your eyes I'm afraid. It is not possible at your weight. Your tummy may be a bit bloated for the first few weeks of increasing calories, but that will go down.I am just scared because what I am seeing is more of a poofy stomach and wiggly thighs.
With a BMI of 14, you are going to seriously damage your body - or worse - if you continue this :frown: .I do spin 3-4 times a week, 30 day shred two of those days, and extreme abs the other two days. Am I right? Will I not gain muscle doing that. Do I have to do heavy lifting?
Listen to superstarDJ And please just remember that you can't just add muscle you will have to add fat aswell, I know this is an extremely daunting prospect in your situation but it's the only way to have the building blocks to build muscle, and please please keep the exercising to a minimum until you get into a healthier BMI it may be too exhausting on your heart until you're a bit better. Take care hun xxx0 -
yes lifting will defenately help you to rebuilding muscle but also make sure your eating enough food in your day to build your muscles and keep your overall . body healthy ...
But what if I hate lifting..I don't want to lift, but worry because everyone on here makes it seem that is only way.
Lifting isn't the only way to build muscle. To improve muscle strength you need to reach muscle failure. This creates find tears in your muscle fibers that causes your muscles to repair the damage and increase muscle size. It really doesn't matter how you reach muscle failure just that you make it there. The military uses a lot of body weight exercises that does not require any additional equipment. This often means doing more repetitions (doing push ups for example) compared to doing a few heavy reps using a weight set (like a bench press). One isn't any better or worse than the other but there is a noticeable difference in the time required to train with lower weights or body weight exercises. That is why most people support lifting because it tends to be more time effective. But if you have the time and motivation, you can achieve the same results. My only advance is that if you seek to look more muscular, make sure you are doing muscle strength exercises and not just cardio.
Best of luck to you.0 -
To recover, you need to be mindful of protein, fat and carb intake. You need a good mix of all three. a 40/30/30 split is a good macro setting for you 40% carbs, 30% protein and fats. Protein to help you build, fats to help you absorb nutrients, and carbs to help you sustain everything.
It would be ideal if you could do some strength training. If you hate barbell work, is there some other resistance training you could do? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? You don't have to stand under a barbell to have a great figure, but it does wonders if you end up changing your mind.
I was anorexic as a teen and I did bounce back doing normal cardio exercises. However, when I had muscle wasting later in life due to prolonged serious illness, cardio didn't do much to help me get it all back. Strength training did it.0 -
Instead of doing a "workout", can you find a fun activity that will make you feel good about the things your body can DO, rather than what it looks like?
Someone above suggested rock climbing, which you'd want to take slowly, but you could also find a trail to ride your bike and enjoy the spring weather, or hike, or play kickball if you're social, or even just swing on the swings at the local playground. Basically, you could choose any activity that takes the focus off "working out" or "losing weight" or "adding muscle", and allows you to concentrate on how you FEEL when you do it, rather than what you're getting out of it. Because that's really what rebuilding will be--getting back in touch with what your body can do, and increasing that little by little until you feel good. Those little victories along the way--climbing higher, hiking farther, swinging longer--can be pretty sweet!
Then when your stamina is better and you're positive you're mentally and physically healthy enough, you can add more concentrated workouts--hopefully with the goal of improving your fitness so you can enjoy those fun activities more often! (But I agree with others here--"working out" isn't healthy for someone in your position right now, either physically or mentally. Hold off on the intense gym workouts until you're in a better place.)0 -
But what if I hate lifting..I don't want to lift, but worry because everyone on here makes it seem that is only way.
A wise man once said, "The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do the things they don't like to do."
I don't like lifting. I don't like running. I don't like getting out of bed in the morning. I certainly didn't like working full-time while going to grad school.
I the end, the things you don't want to do are the only things that pay off.0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?0 -
^^This.Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
OP, you said your bulimia had an exercise component. Does your nutritionist (who apparently said exercise is okay) know this? I can't imagine your treatment team would recommend any exercise to you at this stage.
I know it feels like you've gained some weight, but you are still dangerously underweight and have a lot of healing left to do. When you are in recovery, you're not just gaining fat or muscle -- you're repairing your bones and your organs. You need to let your body do that right now. Please talk to your doctor and make sure they have the full picture of what you're doing.0 -
If you are 5'7" and 90lbs then your BMI is only 14 kg/m2 so you shouldn't be lifting or exercising at all yet!!! It's highly unlikely your body has finished with internal repair yet (e.g. organs such as your heart, which is a muscle and a far more important muscle to working on right now than your arms, legs etc.!!), so you need to concentrate on this first.
I find it hard to believe that a nutritionist, or any HCP with an iota of understanding of EDs would suggest somebody with a BMI of 14 do any exercise. I'm in recovery myself (for the gazillionth time :frown: ) and I've never seen any doctor/nutritionist/dietician/psychologist allow a sufferer recommence exercise until their BMI was at least past 17-18 kg/m2 and their menstrual cycle had returned. It's extremely dangerous! A girl I was in treatment with dropped dead from a heart attack carrying her shopping home, and her BMI was higher than yours!
Please, please be careful!
Yes, this. Your body desperately needs every calorie to repair your damaged organs right now. Please do not exercise until you are a healthy BMI.0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?
Nevertheless, the PP is correct. MFP can help support recovering anorexics, but common sense needs to prevail. Did you even see her photo?0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?
Firstly, a nutritionist is not a medical professional.
Secondly, as somebody who has suffered from anorexia for 25+ years, I know that sometimes what we hear being said to us, isn't exactly what was said. ED has an amazing ability to twist things, and hear what it wants to hear. Sorry OP if you take offense to this, but I was, and still am, guilty of that.
If you can sleep at night after suggesting to a seriously underweight anorexic to exercise, then by all means go ahead :-/
Like I've said already, a girl I was in treatment with dropped dead from a heart attack, carrying her shopping - not lifting weights - carrying groceries. Her BMI was higher than the OP's.0 -
The OP said that she suffers from "exercise bulimia." You may not fully understand what that means -- a lot of earlier posters probably don't. It's typically when people do excessive amounts of exercise as their "purge" instead of vomiting. Trying to help her "find exercises she likes" is like helping a traditional bulimic find a better way to vomit.Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?
Firstly, a nutritionist is not a medical professional.
Secondly, as somebody who has suffered from anorexia for 25+ years, I know that sometimes what we hear being said to us, isn't exactly what was said. ED has an amazing ability to twist things, and hear what it wants to hear. Sorry OP if you take offense to this, but I was, and still am, guilty of that.
If you can sleep at night after suggesting to a seriously underweight anorexic to exercise, then by all means go ahead :-/
Like I've said already, a girl I was in treatment with dropped dead from a heart attack, carrying her shopping - not lifting weights - carrying groceries. Her BMI was higher than the OP's.
I have no experience of anorexia in any form so there's no way that I would suggest anything at all; hence I haven't;
And I think you mean that a nutritionist is not necessarily a medical professional.0 -
You came to the right place, but be careful. I'd say leave the cardio alone. What I learned here is that you need protein and other specific foods to build muscle.
In fact I'd say if it's only been 30 - 40 days, work on the health. You have to be really careful. You don't want to tax your heart. I wouldn't work out at all if I were you. You can't build from nothing....I'm sure you're heard it all.
You need a foundation. The adding weight will be the foundation. Then you can build on the strong foundation. Which picture of you is the most recent one?0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
I know, I was thinking the same think. Rock climbing???!!! hahaha0 -
I want to thank everyone for your responses, but would like to ask the debate over whether or not I should exercise stop please.
That's the thing about anorexia recovery...something I am going to try and change as I am hoping to become a social worker for people with eating disorders. It's not one size fits all. Some people, exercise during recovery is bad...I was one of those people. But now for me, it is actually an amazing, healing thing.
Yes...if you look at my weight and BMI it might scare you. That's another aggravating thing about recovery...BMI and weight don't tell the whole story. I am actually healthier lab wise and more motivated at this BMI than when I went to residential treatment three years ago at a higher weight.
I have a whole team I have been working with for some time now. They are letting me do exercise for a lot of reasons and all with strict guidelines/stipulations to ensure I don't abuse it or don't use it to try and avoid weight gain. Basically I only have this team till I graduate from university in May...they figure it was better to teach me proper exercise than to release me having never let me experience true, healthy exercise. Going from overexercising to no exercise/only yoga which was what I did for past two years..only set me up for relapses when I would go home for breaks/summer. I never learned proper exercise. Now...I am working with my team to rebuild this relationship. My vitals and labs are closely monitored and the slightest change in them and I am back to rest.
With that aside I thank everyone for letting me know bodyweight training is all good and dandy. That is what I like to do...and resistance bands....it just seemed to be all heavy lifting I was reading about on here. I guess I will stick with what I like. Cycling, jillian, and pilates....thanks everyone
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Instead of doing a "workout", can you find a fun activity that will make you feel good about the things your body can DO, rather than what it looks like?
Someone above suggested rock climbing, which you'd want to take slowly, but you could also find a trail to ride your bike and enjoy the spring weather, or hike, or play kickball if you're social, or even just swing on the swings at the local playground. Basically, you could choose any activity that takes the focus off "working out" or "losing weight" or "adding muscle", and allows you to concentrate on how you FEEL when you do it, rather than what you're getting out of it. Because that's really what rebuilding will be--getting back in touch with what your body can do, and increasing that little by little until you feel good. Those little victories along the way--climbing higher, hiking farther, swinging longer--can be pretty sweet!
Then when your stamina is better and you're positive you're mentally and physically healthy enough, you can add more concentrated workouts--hopefully with the goal of improving your fitness so you can enjoy those fun activities more often! (But I agree with others here--"working out" isn't healthy for someone in your position right now, either physically or mentally. Hold off on the intense gym workouts until you're in a better place.)
Thanks so much. This is why I do cycling actually. To see myself improve. To see what my body is capable of. It's making me realize how amazing and capable my body is. How deserving it is to be taken care of.0 -
Oh dear lord, the 'advice' been given here, to a girl with a BMI of 14 scares me. Rock climbing? Resistance training? Bodyweight exercises? Combat Conditioning? TRX straps? Machines? Are you serious?!?
No wonder the mortality rate in eating disorders is so high.
OP: please step away from this thread and speak to your doctor before you receive any more potentially lethal 'advice'.
The OP is under the guidance of a nutritionist who advised her to do the exercises she likes - and people on here are helping her find exercises she likes.
Should people on here ask to see the credentials of qualified nutritionists before helping or should everyone just assume that her professional expert on nutrition and exercise doesn't know what they are talking about so she should go to see the doctor?
Nevertheless, the PP is correct. MFP can help support recovering anorexics, but common sense needs to prevail. Did you even see her photo?
Just so you know it's very triggering to talk about someone's photo. It makes me feel ashamed.0 -
I want to thank everyone for your responses, but would like to ask the debate over whether or not I should exercise stop please.
That's the thing about anorexia recovery...something I am going to try and change as I am hoping to become a social worker for people with eating disorders. It's not one size fits all. Some people, exercise during recovery is bad...I was one of those people. But now for me, it is actually an amazing, healing thing.
Yes...if you look at my weight and BMI it might scare you. That's another aggravating thing about recovery...BMI and weight don't tell the whole story. I am actually healthier lab wise and more motivated at this BMI than when I went to residential treatment three years ago at a higher weight.
I have a whole team I have been working with for some time now. They are letting me do exercise for a lot of reasons and all with strict guidelines/stipulations to ensure I don't abuse it or don't use it to try and avoid weight gain. Basically I only have this team till I graduate from university in May...they figure it was better to teach me proper exercise than to release me having never let me experience true, healthy exercise. Going from overexercising to no exercise/only yoga which was what I did for past two years..only set me up for relapses when I would go home for breaks/summer. I never learned proper exercise. Now...I am working with my team to rebuild this relationship. My vitals and labs are closely monitored and the slightest change in them and I am back to rest.
With that aside I thank everyone for letting me know bodyweight training is all good and dandy. That is what I like to do...and resistance bands....it just seemed to be all heavy lifting I was reading about on here. I guess I will stick with what I like. Cycling, jillian, and pilates....thanks everyone
Than please consult your team about exercise, not folks on the internet who are not versed eating disorders. I beg you. :flowerforyou:0 -
People are concerned that by giving you advice about exercise, they might harm you. Don't tell them to stop...they're quite right to be concerned. You should be asking this question to your medical team ONLY. And I say this as a recovered anorexic myself. Any medical team with the slightest interest in your wellbeing would not suggest that you do serious exercise until your BMI is no longer indicating that your life is at risk, and that's the only advice anyone on here should give you.I want to thank everyone for your responses, but would like to ask the debate over whether or not I should exercise stop please.0
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