Recovered anorexic getting in shape (toned!!) and needing a bit of advice/support/help please ..??

thereisaseverelackofusernames
thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
edited November 22 in Getting Started
Hey, I'm new(ish) to all this so here goes...
I'm a recovered anorexic deciding to get in shape. Don't panic I'm not slipping into old ways but my problem is that I need this website to track my progress and keep on top of everything but the last time I used it properly was a year and a bit ago when I was ill. I am slightly worried and cautious not to get too involved just in case but at the moment all I want is to be fit and toned not unhealthy and stick thin. I'm 5'4 and 122lbs if that's relevant but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience or feel free to redirect me to someone or some post that can help if necessary. I just want to tone and obviously since recovery I have a bit of VERY NORMAL fat on my belly and hips etc. My BMI is 20.9 and my problem is that I have a small frame but very wide waist and hips (26.5" and 33" respectively). I'd be grateful for any advice as I go on holiday in a week with some very fit and in shape friends so I want to avoid any horrible triggering bikini incidents etc, Thank you :blush:

Oh also my goal weight (if I'm allowed to have one which I don't think I should but it's more of a guild line) is 108lbs roughly so that would be 17lbs to lose, just any feedback on that would be great too thanks :)

Replies

  • jessiefrancine
    jessiefrancine Posts: 271 Member
    There isn't much you can do in a week before your holiday, but if you want to look toned in the long run then resistance training is your friend. There are lots of options - everything from bodyweight exercises (pushups, pull ups, etc. Check out You Are Your Own Gym) to resistance classes (like Body Pump) to plain old weight lifting using hand weights or barbells or machines. I'd suggest doing some reading online to see what they are all about and maybe going to a gym to try them out. Lots of places will give you a trial membership. Good luck!
  • aivinja
    aivinja Posts: 2 Member
    Best if luck. Hope you will get on well. Can't help you with advice but hope there will be someone who can ☺
    thereisaseverelackofusernames wrote: »
    Hey, I'm new(ish) to all this so here goes...
    I'm a recovered anorexic deciding to get in shape. Don't panic I'm not slipping into old ways but my problem is that I need this website to track my progress and keep on top of everything but the last time I used it properly was a year and a bit ago when I was ill. I am slightly worried and cautious not to get too involved just in case but at the moment all I want is to be fit and toned not unhealthy and stick thin. I'm 5'4 and 122lbs if that's relevant but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience or feel free to redirect me to someone or some post that can help if necessary. I just want to tone and obviously since recovery I have a bit of VERY NORMAL fat on my belly and hips etc. My BMI is 20.9 and my problem is that I have a small frame but very wide waist and hips (26.5" and 33" respectively). I'd be grateful for any advice as I go on holiday in a week with some very fit and in shape friends so I want to avoid any horrible triggering bikini incidents etc, Thank you :blush:

    Oh also my goal weight (if I'm allowed to have one which I don't think I should but it's more of a guild line) is 108lbs roughly so that would be 17lbs to lose, just any feedback on that would be great too thanks :)

  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    edited August 2015
    Thank you both, I think exercise is definitely the way to go and I plan to join a gym come September !!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    First off, 26.5 inch waist and 33inch hips are NOT 'very wide', I suggest that is your ED talking. A goal weight of 108lbs is pretty much the lowest you can be without falling into underweight bmi.

    Because of both these things I think you need to speak to your recovery team.
  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    I've tried to research ideal measurements/ healthy weights but probably not very well or thoroughly, there's a whole load of wrong information out there I guess!! I'm not in touch with any kind of recovery team anymore I was officially and fully signed off by both my GP and recovery team in around April so am no longer a part of any treatment programme but I am fully recovered and have been for around 9-12 months now. Thank you for your concern though :) I'm unsure as to normal weight or exercise regimes still because I have completely taken myself out of that circuit due to the ED. Thank you <3
  • greeneyes0809
    greeneyes0809 Posts: 422 Member
    I agree with the above poster about talking to your recovery team. Recovery and calorie counting are a tricky path to go down and I think that your recovery team will be able to help you manage it healthily and safely.

    Also an idea, maybe not even focus on a goal weight or a number. You say you want to be healthy and get in shape, so exercise and eat for this goal. Don't work out for the number, work out because it makes you feel good and you know it will contribute to your over all health. Don't eat certain foods because of their calorie count, eat them because they fill you up and give you energy. The body (size, shape, weight etc.) will follow.

    At least that's what worked with me in regards to the two.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    thereisaseverelackofusernames wrote: »
    I've tried to research ideal measurements/ healthy weights but probably not very well or thoroughly, there's a whole load of wrong information out there I guess!! I'm not in touch with any kind of recovery team anymore I was officially and fully signed off by both my GP and recovery team in around April so am no longer a part of any treatment programme but I am fully recovered and have been for around 9-12 months now. Thank you for your concern though :) I'm unsure as to normal weight or exercise regimes still because I have completely taken myself out of that circuit due to the ED. Thank you <3

    You are a normal weight and have normal measurements.
  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    Yeah I initially completely went down that route but had no way of measuring progress. I've been trying to get fit for about a month and a bit now and although I know that that's not long at all in the grand scheme of things I kind of had expected to see a few more results this far on. I would never consider having a goal weight expect for the fact that this website requires it. And I don't have any access to any kind of doctor or recovery team to talk through getting in shape post ED else I would go to my GP but a) I don't want to worry my parents and this would seriously send them into overdrive and b) it's very hard to get an appointment where I live and so I don't want to waste GP time. The treatment programme I was previously a part of offers no kind of 'get back in touch' option as once you're discharged you have to be re-referred by the GP to even get an initial meeting/ telephone call. I see my past just as an extra factor in the whole getting in shape thing as opposed to the be-all-and-end-all to it. Thank you for reading :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I think you should talk to your recovery team. The fact that you describe your normal measurements as "very wide" and your goal weight being so low makes me concerned for you. You say you don't want to go because you would be wasting your GP's time -- but if you're slipping back in your recovery, this wouldn't be a waste of time.

    Yes, the website requires a goal weight. But you selected a goal weight that puts you officially into "underweight" on the BMI scale and that doesn't seem like the thought process of someone who is solidly recovered.
  • louubelle16
    louubelle16 Posts: 579 Member
    Ok, so this website doesn't require you to set a goal weight that is that low - I am in the same boat as you, and I set my "goal weight" to be my current weight and my aims to be "maintain weight", so that I can make sure I maintain my weight whilst toning up. I would recommend you do the same, as I've found that really works for me. I guess in a way it still feeds that 'control' element of my ED, but rather than needing to lose weight, I have control over my body by keeping it at a healthy weight. As for what this means your goals are, I would suggest setting something fitness-related instead, e.g. running a 10km (just off the top of my head, as that was mine).

    It definitely is possible to use this website to stay fit without relapsing, I'm nearly 3 months in now and I haven't had any problems. Sometimes the voices do come back, for example the ones that watch the calorie counter on the treadmill instead of the milage counter, but I now find I get a bit of a kick out of covering it up with my water bottle/phone and feeling that I'm actually beating it. Feel free to add me and email me if you want to chat :smile:
  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    louubelle16 wrote: »
    Ok, so this website doesn't require you to set a goal weight that is that low - I am in the same boat as you, and I set my "goal weight" to be my current weight and my aims to be "maintain weight", so that I can make sure I maintain my weight whilst toning up. I would recommend you do the same, as I've found that really works for me. I guess in a way it still feeds that 'control' element of my ED, but rather than needing to lose weight, I have control over my body by keeping it at a healthy weight. As for what this means your goals are, I would suggest setting something fitness-related instead, e.g. running a 10km (just off the top of my head, as that was mine).

    It definitely is possible to use this website to stay fit without relapsing, I'm nearly 3 months in now and I haven't had any problems. Sometimes the voices do come back, for example the ones that watch the calorie counter on the treadmill instead of the milage counter, but I now find I get a bit of a kick out of covering it up with my water bottle/phone and feeling that I'm actually beating it. Feel free to add me and email me if you want to chat :smile:



    Thank you so much, it's nice to have someone in the same boat :) I mean fact is I am a pretty average size and weight now and just do want to tone but having researched why all the core stuff isn't working right now I found all this information about how there's no use in toning your abs and obliques if you still have quite a bit of excess fact on them and how it's impossible to spot reduct fat/ weight so that's all the weight related stuff is looking at. Thank you <3
  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I think you should talk to your recovery team. The fact that you describe your normal measurements as "very wide" and your goal weight being so low makes me concerned for you. You say you don't want to go because you would be wasting your GP's time -- but if you're slipping back in your recovery, this wouldn't be a waste of time.

    Yes, the website requires a goal weight. But you selected a goal weight that puts you officially into "underweight" on the BMI scale and that doesn't seem like the thought process of someone who is solidly recovered.


    Hi, I don't really see myself as in recovery but as out the other side and I feel like I have more perspective now. Thank you so much for your concern it's really kind but I just don't want to have anything to do with the whole eating disorder culture anymore as I beat it and I feel like even going back to discussing it with my parents is too much focus. I know that's probably ridiculous and nonsensical, thank you :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    thereisaseverelackofusernames wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I think you should talk to your recovery team. The fact that you describe your normal measurements as "very wide" and your goal weight being so low makes me concerned for you. You say you don't want to go because you would be wasting your GP's time -- but if you're slipping back in your recovery, this wouldn't be a waste of time.

    Yes, the website requires a goal weight. But you selected a goal weight that puts you officially into "underweight" on the BMI scale and that doesn't seem like the thought process of someone who is solidly recovered.


    Hi, I don't really see myself as in recovery but as out the other side and I feel like I have more perspective now. Thank you so much for your concern it's really kind but I just don't want to have anything to do with the whole eating disorder culture anymore as I beat it and I feel like even going back to discussing it with my parents is too much focus. I know that's probably ridiculous and nonsensical, thank you :)

    It sounds kind of like you're hoping that by ignoring it, it will no longer be a factor. And believe me, I can identify. But sometimes we have to acknowledge our problems and address them head-on to truly make progress. Good luck.
  • thereisaseverelackofusernames
    thereisaseverelackofusernames Posts: 8 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    thereisaseverelackofusernames wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I think you should talk to your recovery team. The fact that you describe your normal measurements as "very wide" and your goal weight being so low makes me concerned for you. You say you don't want to go because you would be wasting your GP's time -- but if you're slipping back in your recovery, this wouldn't be a waste of time.

    Yes, the website requires a goal weight. But you selected a goal weight that puts you officially into "underweight" on the BMI scale and that doesn't seem like the thought process of someone who is solidly recovered.


    Hi, I don't really see myself as in recovery but as out the other side and I feel like I have more perspective now. Thank you so much for your concern it's really kind but I just don't want to have anything to do with the whole eating disorder culture anymore as I beat it and I feel like even going back to discussing it with my parents is too much focus. I know that's probably ridiculous and nonsensical, thank you :)

    It sounds kind of like you're hoping that by ignoring it, it will no longer be a factor. And believe me, I can identify. But sometimes we have to acknowledge our problems and address them head-on to truly make progress. Good luck.

    Yeah hopefully getting in shape will make me just generally more together head wise too. Thank you :)
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    First off, 26.5 inch waist and 33inch hips are NOT 'very wide', I suggest that is your ED talking. A goal weight of 108lbs is pretty much the lowest you can be without falling into underweight bmi.

    Because of both these things I think you need to speak to your recovery team.
    <3 This. Very much this.

  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    thereisaseverelackofusernames wrote: »
    Hi, I don't really see myself as in recovery but as out the other side and I feel like I have more perspective now. Thank you so much for your concern it's really kind but I just don't want to have anything to do with the whole eating disorder culture anymore as I beat it and I feel like even going back to discussing it with my parents is too much focus. I know that's probably ridiculous and nonsensical, thank you :)

    You'll always be in recovery. It's a lifelong journey and I wish you well.
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