Should I exercise more?

Okay

so basically I'm in recovery from bulimia. When I started recovery I gained 15 pounds, which is all I want to lose. I'm at the top end of my BMI and not too happy with that, I much prefered my body shape 15 pounds less which is still a healthy bmi for me.

But because of this, I'm not counting calories as I get obsessive, so I'm just concentrating on eating 3 healthy meals a day.

But I feel as though I should do more exercise - now I'm not sure if its me getting obsessive, I'm not asking this for attention seeking I'm being serious. Because I want to only weigh myself once a month (again to stop me obsessing as this is a lifetime thing now, the 3 meals a day is to get me into a habit I can stick to as my eating has no structure anymore)

I've got 2 horses so I ride between half an hour - about 2 hours a day, sometimes more, rarely none. They're out in the field all the time at the moment so I don't muck out or anything at the moment.

Then I cycle for about an hour once a week with a friend, and about to start going swimming for an hour once a week with another friend. I /feel/ as though I should start running as well or something but I'm not sure if I'm getting obsessive?

If you add one more hour-long workout, that should be enough to remain reasonably fit.  That hour could be cardio, HIIT, or weights (probably the latter would be best, to get all-around fitness, plus the extra muscle mass will increase your BMR, letting you relax a bit more about your intake, plus you'll look awesome, though you may find that you weigh the same or slightly more than you do now, even though the tape measure says you're smaller in all of the usual places).

Whats HIIT?

Thanks :) An hour of weights does sound pretty good though..I also thought maybe get back in the habit of walking the dog for at least half an hour a day? (my mum walks her as well and she runs around with the horses so she does get enough exercise, but hey a collie dog won't say no)

Hey!  I don't have much advice, but coming up with a good solid exercise plan then sticking with it is NOT obsessive :-)  K?  If you start working out twice a day seven days a week, we'll start to worry about you.  Find some things you like to do, horseback riding being one, and do them, and stick with it!!

Good luck!

Run! Yes - it does great things for your mind and body. Its not obsessive to run every day or every other day if that is part of your exercise routine. It's a great workout and makes you feel accomplished when you see improvements in your stamina/speed. Good luck !

hey i dont think its obsessive at all to have a regular workout plan. Just as long as you dont over do it youll be fine. and im sure you look great just the way you are...... i do have a question for you though. When and how di you and other people start to notice you were bulimic?

Just make sure that you're eating enough to support your exercise and that you do switch up the types of exercise and take rest days to prevent injuries.

To give you an idea...I've never had an eating disorder and depending on the week and my energy level some days I'll do up to 4 hours of martial arts and dancing...other days I do nothing.  But I do eat enough, more than enough many times and I do try to listen to my body for when it needs some rest.

The same amount of exercise can be healthy for one person and unhealthy for another. Your mindset towards exercise is what's important; if you are enjoying it and have enough energy, fine. But if you are doing it because you feel like you have to or to compensate for eating, it's not healthy. I would suggest that you focus on maintaining until you feel fully recovered; dieting can set off the restrict-binge cycle in bulimia sufferers.

I have recovered from both anorexia and bulimia - feel free to pm me if you like :)

Original Post by ahrena_angel:

Whats HIIT?

Thanks :) An hour of weights does sound pretty good though..I also thought maybe get back in the habit of walking the dog for at least half an hour a day? (my mum walks her as well and she runs around with the horses so she does get enough exercise, but hey a collie dog won't say no)

 what kind of collie do you have? I have a border collie who is currently freaking out because we're having a thunderstorm.

good work on recovering and trying to be healthy. weight training is an excellent idea. HIIT is as well. It stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Basically you pick a cardio type activity, warm up for a bit (I think the reccomended amount is five minutes), then push yourself as hard as you possibly can (i.e. sprint as quickly as possible) for 30 seconds, and then switch to a leasurley "recovery" pace for 60 seconds. You repeat this process for 15-20 minutes. I personally can only keep this up for ten minutes. There are quite a few threads about it in this forum so it shouldn't be too hard to research.

Thanks everyone

She's a border collie but doesn't look like a normal one as she's lightbrown and white, I think she's gorgeous though.

Musiclover222 - About 8 months after it got really bad I just sort of woke up one morning and realised what I was doing just wasn't normal. So I researched it on the internet, realised how scarily I fighted the criteria, managed to pluck up the courage to tell 1 of my best friends, and another 6 months later I finally went to the doctor. No one guessed without me telling them, though I think my mum had an idea as she used to make sly suggestive comments about me throwing up.