So Im feeling a strong need to integrate exercise back into my day.Exercise can be good right?It can help maintain weight..it can help you stay fit and shapely.After 5 weeks of treatment..and released I was told by my treatment team to try and stay exercise free for a month after treatment.This week coming up will be a month.Ive had the occassional day where I did exercise ...BUT found it hard to get through just 20 minutes on my ellipitical.My original plan was to stick to 30 min workouts twice a week.
I started exercise last week and once I started to be able to get through 20 min..I started to do it every day right after breakfast before the kids woke up.
It felt good again to be working out again.
Im starting to want to implement yoga.I have never done pillates or yoga...I ordered a yoga video and am very eager to recieve it and give it a try...I have heard yoga is a great way to exercise and tone your body.This video has 10 min workouts which I think is a great way to exercise without overdoing it.
What im trying to do is add exercise back into my day without overworking my body and doing it in a more relaxed manor and still be able to follow ,my meal plan.
Exercise makes me feel good and I don't think I would fall back into my old routine.I have always enjoyed working with hand weights ....Im just putting it out here to share .I want to keep myself safe but I also want to feel that I can add exercise back into my day ..feel good about myself..and try not to focus on weight loss but body toning.
I believe it IS possible to add exercise back into my life after treatment ...Healthy exercise.
What is Healthy exercise to you after treatment?
Mmmm... I'm struggling with this issue, too... Grace, thank you so much for sharing this!! I know it's awful to feel like you can't keep up with the pace you used to keep. I'm so glad that it's not just me!! LOL! ♥
Yoga is a great thing to do... I'm supposed to do some this week, too... Assignment from my nutritionist. :) To exercise for the JOY OF MOVING, rather than in an attempt to burn calories or control my weight. Ugh... Be careful, my friend... Yoga is GOOD. The elliptical... Hmmm... All about torching calories in MY head... ;0)
Love you!
Jen
Grace
I have been practicing yoga now for five years and I love it :) For me the physical benefits are a bonus of course but yoga really helps with present time awareness and acceptance of yourself and your body. Please update us on how it goes!
Grace,
I practiced yoga for a couple of years, but I gave it up as I became sicker. I chose to spend
my time on bigger calorie burning classes. Sad, really... Yoga was my very first group exercise class. And the only one I loved from the very beginning. :) That is really saying something. I have tried ALL the classes! :) Let me know how you like it. :)
Love,
Jen
Yoga, practiced in a meditative way, can offer some valuable aspects to a person's life. I love that it incorporates some spiritual tools as well. I think it's dangerous to jump into anything if you have ANY thoughts that it is helping you to burn calories or maintain a certain weight...IF you are in recovery from an ED. For those of us in this 'special' population, until you know you are fully recovered, any mindset about weight control can be dangerous.
I took some yoga classes, and I found that it also helped me to become more comfortable with my body, and more in touch with it.
Just sayin'....♥
I support you exercising and/or doing yoga if you love it, if it feels good, and if it is beneficial for your physical and mental health. To me, healthy exercise is something that improves you as a whole. It's not something you "have" to do, it doesn't earn you worth or value, it doesn't add to your "good-enough-ness" it is just another tool on the road to health. And if exercise is being used in this manner, I have to support it.
My concern for you is that ED, especially in early recovery when he is beginning to lose his power to the healthy you, will try new tactics to stay in control. My concern is that what you consider to be "relaxed" exercising will still be overdoing it.
I have found that when we post issues on this message board about situations we are in, we do so because we're not quite sure how we feel about it and are looking for emotional validation, agreeing opinions, other opinions, alternate views, or even suggestions. Maybe we need a place to weigh out the pro's and con's. Maybe we are trying to convince ourselves that we are OK or not OK, or maybe there is a voice inside us that knows the potential danger and is reaching out for guidance.
I completely support whatever you need to do to learn to love and appreciate your body. I'm working on that one, too. Just please be careful and maybe consider having an exercise plan as you have a food plan, or an exercise mentor. And always think to yourself, "What would my treatment team choose for me in this moment?" That one has helped me a lot.
Glad to hear you are optimistic and hopeful about your future.
MissHeather
An exercise plan WOULD probably be a good idea...anyway you read me pretty well ..maybe you weren't really doing that but when you said that maybe we post issues here we do so b/c we are not quite sure how we are feeling about it..and yes I guess I am looking for guidance because there is that voice inside that knows the potential DANGERS..I am reaching for guidance ..THANK YOU!
I so want to learn to appreciate my body and accept it ..its REALLY hard.REALLY HARD!!
Im thankful for this place................♥♥♥♥♥
Ive been feeling emotional lately I FEEL so much and ususally in the past those feelings would be buried in exercise..Im TRYING to let myself FEEL them but its HARD!I am FEELING them....trying to...
Grace, I can definitely see how much you want to get better, and I know you are really working hard to get there. I want to acknowledge how much trust you have placed in this process, despite how scary and risky it feels.
I also want to comment that if you have used exercise in the past as a way to bury the feelings, you may want to choose a different activity for learning how to appreciate your body. If you think about it, exercise for you in the past was a way that you shut off your feelings, and now, early in recovery, trying to do the same thing and get a different outcome would be like trying to put a battery in backwards and hope it still works. Using myself as an example, I used to take vicodin in order to numb all my feelings away and distract me from hunger. You can see where the problem would be if I now chose to start taking vicodin again in hopes of appreciating my body and loving it-- doesn’t quite make sense.
If you are serious about wanting to repair the bond between your body and your mind, I would encourage you to choose an activity that is brand new-- something that does not have a link to your eating disorder and has not been used as a coping mechanism before.
I hope this makes sense!
hmmm this is the hardest thing for me--the excercise control..i still abuse this 'right' . i knew i had a excercise addiction a couple weeks ago when i was working out even when tired sick INJURED, half crippled from my arthritis and STILL worked out --full speed. thus --i damaged my joints more. ugh so horrible --jsut sooo---painful....
i could not take more than one day off even if i was in complete and utter pain.
i called some therapsits and am trying desperatley to find one. not working out like i thought, but im trying. getting over this excercise addiction is hard for me--but i do beleive in excercise --healthy excercise --where you DONT abuse your body.
it is jsut so hard for me to get there--it is like i get a rush frok the work outs---an endorphin rush. so it is hard to get over.
but im trying and cut back my workouts a lot last week.
if you feel you want to incorporate excercise --id say talk to the therapist about it beofre hand and ask yourself if you are ready. if so, then go ahead but if you are not ready yet then dont ...it is up to you...
may we all find peace within ourselves.
love
maureen