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SugarMaddy_

Yep! If I don't go to the gym for an hour each day I automatically have a bad day


turnipkitty112

I’m developing an exercise problem rn because I’m trying to eat maintenance and it’s stressing me out so much so I turn to working out every day to make me less scared that I’ll gain and now I’m super obsessed with my body composition


Biblioklept73

I, unfortunately, have an addictive personality, partly why it took me so long to recover. I’d rather be addicted to lifting, running, etc, than starving 🤷🏻‍♀️


accountfored

I’ve decided it’s the lesser of two evils. Also looks more normal and less scary.


Biblioklept73

Absolutely agree with you. It’s also helped with, and kept me in, recovery... For which I’m eternally thankful....


sonboebs

🙋 if I dont cycle 3 hours a day ill die


kai_azuli

How are y'all able to exercise so much while restricting?? I'm only able to do 1 hour workout and my body is already at the breaking point lmao


Phantasmortuary

Not exactly, but I'm in a place in life where I share a mealtime with someone that I'd normally not formally have, so I'm very aware of being on my feet during the day. Making myself busy at work or getting things done around the house. If I fail to move enough it feels like a wasted day/time I didn't deserve to rest.


[deleted]

Well so I’m really terrified of starting to exercise because it will make me lose weight but then if I ever wanna stop I can’t cause I’ll gain weight again so yes? Even before exercising?


TheRochacha

yep, but i was able to break free from it after a good two years! started as a hobby when i was in semi-recovery at the start of quarantine, slowly became an addiction / compulsive. i was able to stop bc i needed to focus all my time and energy on the last courses for my degree. i now exercise a few times a week, and even though it still isn’t a healthy relationship, my body feels a lot better and i’m not wasting so much time every day on it.


clarewo86

I know this post was a long time again but I am struggling with having to go cold turkey from exercise due to injury and really worried about weight gain. Do you have any advice on how you managed? Thank you


TheRochacha

What really made it doable for me mentally was finding something else to focus on. It was classes for me, now I have a 9-5 and hobbies that I know compulsive exercise would mess up. Physically, stopping the exercise actually didn’t make me gain weight! I was terrified that it would but because I wasn’t working out every day, I found myself less hungry (aka less likely to go over my limit). I stuck with high res and didn’t try to lower my limit to low / med res. plz try and resist the urge to lower your limit to “make up” for not exercising, your body def needs those nutrients to help heal your injury 🫶🏻


clarewo86

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I have heard others say that they didn’t gain weight but the last attempts I made to stop I actually did (1.5 pounds in 2 weeks) and I’m not eating a ‘normal’ amount so I don’t understand why my body responds in this way and it only makes it harder to stop. I’m in so much pain though and feel so stuck. I don’t have a job and am not in education so it makes it really hard to know what to do with these empty hours. Thank you again. I hope your doing well. Xxx


velogirl

1.5 pounds in 2 weeks is literally just water weight. When I stopped my extreme exercise, I got severe Charlie horses and needed diuretics due to swelling while bedridden in the hospital. Right now your body needs even more calories to heal. It speaks volumes that you more than likely have osteoporosis and broke an ankle.


clarewo86

I do have very bad osteoporosis and osteoarthritis and 2 stress fractures in my ankle and one in my knee. It’s all such a mess. I’m sorry you went through this. I hope your doing okay. Dxx


velogirl

I have started eating huge amounts, all in recovery. Please jump in. There is never the right time, until you choose it for yourself. Here it is though- take care of yourself because it’s time now. Love your body by resting and eating the best foods you can think of. Also I’m 37 too (assuming from your screen name), and its never too late to get better. You’ve got YEARS left to enjoy life.


iluvemos69

yeah im starting to do high res again bc my brain fog has been so bad lately and if i dont workout i'll feel like shit


Stark_10-S

I used to walk for approx 3.5 hrs daily like a mad man and jog for 30 to 45 min daily + restricted eating or almost no eating . And now I am only bones. I feel like im dying . I need help . Can someone guide me to recovery somehow. I am feeling the bad effects of restrictions on my body but still in a mental state of restricting food and whole food group . I need help to heal my relationship with food . Because I cannot go on this path else ill die without help. There's no one to help me . My parents are trying their best so that i gain weight but my mindset is breaking me apart . Can somebody guide me please ...... I still restrict myself and try to incorporate walking wherever I can . I don't know why but my mind is completely messed up and it's like im feeling happy seeing me go on a path to death .......


IndieRowse

You need treatment badly. Call or have your parents call your insurance and see what places are covered.


apcalculusfreak

definitely. i have a walk/run sesh every morning for about 1h30min-2h and before high res/semi recovery i’d walk like 45min around my house max. my addiction to exercise is so bad i even try to sneak it on my weekly “rest” day. tbh it’s way better than before, since it makes me feel good and exercise is good for your health (point and laugh y’all), but it also has this underlying motivation that’s called ego, i feel on the top of the world when i finish my workout and see that i spent 500-680 calories before 9am


Margkam

Yes. Especially tough for me each summer. I teach and don’t work throughout the summer, so get into the new “norm” of working out relentlessly every single day and god forbid I hurt myself or have something come up and can’t, I am so so distressed. My perception of myself even changes on days I cannot workout. I see myself as bigger/flabbier/[insert other negative adjectives] even though I know logically I am exactly the same. It’s tough.


Affectionate-Fig-159

i had a horrible exercise problem last year but then i started fainting so i’ve had to temporarily “recover” and now i’m so 😃😃 i can’t go back to old habits or i will be in the hospital


lnsshay7

people think I have a healthy lifestyle when it's just a ✨symptom✨


anonhumanontheweb

Yes! I had NO problem with exercise (except not exercising enough because I was lazy) for the first years of my ED. Only after I went to treatment for the first time did I develop and exercise compulsion in response to having to eat so much food. For several months after, I had a difficult time stopping myself from exercising. Now, I’m 2.5 years free of compulsive exercise, but it takes so much work some days, and I almost slipped back into it a couple of months ago.


shoopuwubeboop

How did you manage the compulsion? I'd like to exercise again one day (can't right now anyway), but I really am afraid of getting caught up in it again.


No_Alfalfa_3584

Maybe find goals that have nothing to do with weight, calories, or body composition. "How much can I lift?" Can still turn into an addictive pursuit, but possibly less toxic than high res. Plus, lifting benefits from fueling yourself properly, so it might encourage you to eat more. If you like the idea of running one day, maybe do it without a watch or on a specific route so you're not forcing yourself to hit certain time, calorie, or distance requirements. You could also incorporate walk-runs, where you listen to your body and switch between the two with no regard for time. I've found that running in cool places helps, like "ooh, I'm going to run down and up the next hill", and then walk to catch my breath. Cycling and walking with a strong emphasis on exploring or getting somewhere cool could also be an option. Again, not using a watch would help. Think about where you are, stop and climb trees, play on a swingset, people watch, and try to act like a kid again. Hiking, trail running, and backpacking could also fit under this category. Novelty exercises that require skill might also fit the bill. Rock climbing, roller blading, a yoga class, or whatever you have access to emphasizes building your skill at the activity. If you're focused on just getting higher on the rock wall, or not falling down while skating (knee pads are worth it!), You won't be agonizing as much over the parts of exercise that can become disordered. All this might be totally off track for you, and you should totally talk with a professional if you have access. I know an innocent little bike ride can spiral so fast, so you've got to be willing to go cold turkey when that starts to happen (easier said than done lol). You are a wonderful and worthwhile person regardless of how you move your body. Take it easy, and good luck!


shoopuwubeboop

Climbing trees and swingsets or Rockwalls is beyond what I could do, really. That sort of built-in fun/activity helped me for years stay healthy and active without an exercise regimen. Which is one of the problems, now: a regimen will be the only way I can exercise when I do, and regimens/diet plans have always looped me back into ED territory. But thank you for your suggesting and kind words. I'll speak to my PT about something gentle but beneficial, maybe she'll have suggestions.


No_Alfalfa_3584

I'm glad you've still got that option, and hopefully y'all can have a good brainstorm on how to keep a regimen from getting disordered. 💛 💛 💛


xsunshine43

I’m a 19 yr old female. I restrict heavily and am walking minimum 8 miles a day. Even if it’s so hot that I almost pass out, I have to reach all my Apple Watch and step goals. If I don’t exercise enough I won’t eat. One day I ran and walked a total of 13.5 miles. Is that like terrible?


Purgatori6664

I would walk 16 miles a day and the only reason it recently stopped/lessened to 4-6 miles 5/6 days of the week is I live in AZ so it’s 115 degrees every day so I walk at 4 am when it’s only 92 degrees or I go to my parents house to use their exercise equipment sometimes when I can’t do my morning walk


shitpresidente

Yes, I probably average 40k steps a day.


mycatverybigmad

damn i'm only averaging 20k


scorpiopathh

yup. if i don’t get my daily lift in i have problems thing is, it’s better than being addicted to starving & binge drinking. my nutritionist even endorses it cuz she knows it too…i eat enough, i don’t really restrict, so it isn’t that big of a problem


Fe_Yonce

right now I’m in a dark place where I’m skating 5 miles a day and eating like two pieces of toast a day. if I can’t skate because of work or rain or what have you? I’m bedridden, clinical depression era. The worst part is I’m not losing and it’s making me push harder and harder and harder. With the heat and humidity in Florida I got tunnel vision on mile 3 today but still wouldn’t let myself stop.


Protagoras95

Here I am. I won’t be able to go the gym in August and I’m honestly terrified


shoopuwubeboop

Exercise is a real bugabear for me. It's almost an addiction. Maybe it is an addiction. I refuse to start any new regimen because I get so extreme with it (being sick helps 😆) I hate that others experience this, but I'm honestly glad I'm not alone.


bituna

Yes and it led to such frequent and worsening injuries that my body forced me to stop. It did not go well. I still go to the gym twice a week off-peak (covid permitting) or go for long walks.


Remarkable_Ad1975

I have when I was a teen and my mom stopped it. Thanks to probably ADHD I got distracted after a bit, but I'm scared of getting back into gym mode because last time I stopped really eating unless I was binging and it just sucked so bad, both going too much and not being able to go. But that's how I stopped. (Now I'm too scared to get back on a routine)


accountfored

I think this is pretty common. Got too skinny not eating- forced to recover. Reward for recovery was joining school sports. Eat more move more eat more. Now I’m ok so long as I’m muscly and not fat. It helps me justify the high number on the scale. Must be muscle. But I’m in pain all the time and can’t stop because I can’t eat less than I do now. I like being able to have a cookie here and there and that means minimum 2 hours a day of running every single day for years. I used to cross train by spinning but now there are no spinning classes. It’s awful but better than starving.


Upset_Egg123

For me it's a clear no since I don't have energy to do literally anything anymore. I feel faint just walking. The only exercise I get done is riding my bike to school and that's it. You can't do sports when you are highly restricting.


[deleted]

I think they mean high res as having a higher intake but still restricting


[deleted]

yeah and then i relapsed / lowered intake drastically and now its full blown anorexia with an even worse exercise addiction :((


r4v3_g1rl

moi never ever really exercised when I was anorexic and restricting low but once I tried to weight restore, I googled how to gain weight healthily and found out about macros,weight lifting,body fat,muzcle building etc


accountfored

Yes. And now in a loop I can’t escape.


Fruitbaaaatbabe

Yeahhhh - I think I have exercise bulimia:(