you SHOULD exercize when gaining

...... sure gives me an even bigger appetite

and i'm pretty sure it decreases anxiety, elevates mood, clears head, better focus+ concentration,

and there are so much more benefits than that compared to a sendentary weight gain..... i'd say 30 min a day's perfect........

i think exercize should ONLY be banned if it becomes compulsive..... but other than that, NO

Depends on your gaining goals.

If you're a body builder, (already at a healthy weight, just adding muscle), um YEAH you need to workout to build that muscle. Otherwise you're at a healthy weight.

If you're underweight, and recovering from an illness, you shouldn't exercise without a doctor's consent. It may increase appetite... but, at an underweight level, your organs have been severely malnourished and you could potentially have a heart attack

Also - gaining sedentary when you are recovering from an eating disorder gives you a better gauge as to the calories you will need to maintain.

There is no risk of compulsively exercising if you aren't doing it. People with eating disorders can become very rigid, so that is a huge risk to take. Even if its not "over exercising" - it can still become a compulsive behavior (IE needing to to do it every day no matter what)

Also, when recovering from an eating disorder - your body is in a weakend state. Not only do you risk heart attack as mentioned above, you also risk lung collapse, muscle tears, stress fractures, and bone breakage.

If you are underweight, the risk of intense exercise far outweighs any appetite increase.

You are already at risk of heart attack, stroke, and bone fractures.  Not to mention that exercise increases cortisol, and that hormone is already elevated.  It can also delay the resumption of menses if you have lost it.

Other than walking, yoga, or other non-intense exercise, if you are really underweight you should NOT be doing any formal intense exercise unless cleared by a physician.

i never said walking/ yoga wasnt exercize....

just saying 100% sendentary isnt good.......... no matter what condition... 

i never told anyone extreamly underweight to go run 3 miles a day XD ahah.

That you, helphelpskinny?

I exercised while recovering from my ED. My weight initially stabilized at a healthy number, but once I stopped exercising I began gaining weight unintentionally.

Exercising while recovering from an e/d in the early stages, while you are still underweight is not only stupid, it is DANGEROUS. When you starve yourself for weeks, months, years etc. all of your muscles get smaller and weaker, including your heart. Exercising - which increases heart rate - puts extreme stress on your smaller, weaker heart to deliver enough oxygenated blood to all of your muscles and other organs (like your brain). You risk fainting, arythmias, heart attacks and a whole myriad of other TERRIFYING things.

Your e/d is going to try to justify exercise through any means - including trying to convince you that it is "going to help you with recovery". WRONG.

It is stupid to sit in the same position all day. You body needs to move to SOME extent.

I do not think intense cardio is okay for recovering anorexics with BMI’S less then 18.5, however, it is ESSENTIAL to at least get up every hour to stretch your body, change positions, and a 15 minute slow walk in the fresh air won’t burn enough calories to make a difference…. You can eat back the calories burnt in 15 - 30 minutes of walking by eating like, a few almonds.

Gently walking, and stretching your body, or even just getting up to move around the house each hour is essential to ANY one unless it is physically too strenuous.

Gently walking every day at a low weight is what has landed me with arthritic pains.

Stretching, moving about, not sitting down all day - sure. Maybe even yoga, pilates. But walking, or any cardio therein, no. I strongly advise against it.

cardio is dangerous and can trigger obsessive tendencies, but getting up to stretch your legs at least once an hour is okay.

The idea is to get your blood flowing and stretch our your stiff muscles to prevent them from getting stiff from sitting for too long - you don’t need to burn calories to do that….. You won’t burn any more calories then just sitting down really.

YOGA and Pilates are actually quiet challenging! It is a bit of a misconception that things like Yoga are “ easy” easy hah.

Initially, when your weight is still VERY low, I would definitely not do Yoga or Pilate’s - they are both challenging!

Original Post by personaltrainer87:

Gently walking, and stretching your body, or even just getting up to move around the house each hour is essential to ANY one unless it is physically too strenuous.

 

Actually, unless your laying down, it can be considered "unhealthy" to sit all day long. Most people don't sit with proper posture, and if ALL you do is sit in ONE position, it can lead to back problems.

Lying Down is different, the pressure is more evenly distributed.

Ever hear about sedentary people with desk jobs and back problems? It's 'cause they sit too long in the wrong position.

Point is, don't just sit in one spot forever, every hour or so, take a break to stretch everything out... not even a walk, just some mild stretching.