BMI 17.5 Excercise?
are you allowed to excercise once you are BMI 17.5
cus i am over and im still told not to excercise?!
Have you read Hedgren's post here? She says (bolding is mine):
Original Post by hedgren:
A marker for sufficient leptin in your body will be the resumption of a regular period. An anorexic needs to continue to gain until her periods resume -- she also needs to avoid exercise until that happens.
From there, you can now maintain your weight -- but even then there is a catch. You must have a maintenance intake plus an additional 30% more calories every day for another 6 months beyond hitting your maintenance BMI.
You can resume modest activity through these final 6 months, however (taking care to add that into the maintenance amount so there is never an energy deficit -- always energy plus 30%)
You will not continue to gain weight during that time. The extra energy intake is used to completely normalize the neuroendocrine system. This final phase is critical for quieting the neurotransmitters in the brain that cause all the ED thoughts and behaviors.
Edit: Although, if your period has resumed and your recovery team still tells you not to exercise, listen to the people treating YOU.
Though I know I'm supposed to exercise as little as possible while recovering, I just can't help doing at least some light exercises every day. Currently I have a BMI of 17, and I was told that until I reach a BMI of 18.5, I can only do 30 minutes of walking/light yoga a day. But, I haven't really been following this and even though I've stayed away from intense cardio like how I was told, I usually do more like 40-60 minutes of yoga daily, 10-20 minutes of light strength exercises(this doesn't burn a lot, but ive already gained a lot of muscle mass from this), and I like to take 30 minute walks in the morning every now and then. Now I know this adds up to more than twice the amount of physical activity that I'm technically allowed to do, but I just can't help it! It's so much easier to work up an appetite when you work out, and I always try to make up for any calories that are burned by eating something right after I exercise.
Anyway, its not recommended that you do anything more than some light walking or yoga right now, but if you do decide to become very active during recovery, then you'll have to up your calories even more than what the regular weight gain amount is :)
kittycats, you're ignoring the advice of your own recovery team and encouraging someone else to do so? Don't you think that's slightly irresponsible? You have no idea what partyring's health is like. Her own doctor has told her NO EXERCISE. Do you think there may be a reason for that?
Hi Partyring
Welldone on getting to a bmi of 17.5!!
I am at a Bmi of 19.6 last time i calculated(few days ago) and i am NOT doing any excerise at all. I have a car so i drive every where. I'm Glad that bierorama quoted Hedgren, as soon as i found this sight, last july and read all of her posts and journals i stopped my gym visits just went cold turkey. I want to give my body 110% of a chance of getting my periods back and to fully recover. The way i see it is that excerise is no different to restricting or purging, its another form of getting rid of the calories so to speak!!
Follow the advice of your Dr and team, you are doing really well,( i look in on the weight gainers tread every so often) keep up the Good work!!
Sandy xxx
Do you feel the need to exercise?
I suppose it depends on the motivation behind the excersicing, either you feel you want to loose some belly fat or fat else where that is bothering you oorrr to shape up your muscle tone.
I suppose a person who is recovering from an eating disorder shouldn't overly exercise because it might tip them back to the obession of ED.
I don't know.
I personally think you should be.... What are the reasons that you arent allowed to? xx
no idea, doctor said until half term and thats in 2 weeks so im dead excited. what excercise should i start then, like how often,i used to move all day every day from ED :S even at the start of recovery i was workout out all the time to burn it off so i dunno lol
no idea, doctor said until half term and thats in 2 weeks so im dead excited. what excercise should i start then, like how often,i used to move all day every day from ED :S even at the start of recovery i was workout out all the time to burn it off so i dunno lol
im so confused and frustrated. so im at a good BMI to begin excercise again but my parents tell me to sit still even if i shake my legs or fidget. im stressing BIG TIME :(
Light exercise. Once you actually start trying to exercise you'll be surprised how weak you are! I certainly was. Body balance and yoga/pilates type classes have been good for me.
Remember, it's not about burning anything off any more! It's just for fun.
so it's definitely in half term and you're definitely excited partyring ;)
i don't think you should do any exercise just yet, give it a week or two and add in some light exercise, but make sure you're getting your cals all the time if you want to start exercising!!! xxx
Original Post by partyring:
are you allowed to excercise once you are BMI 17.5
cus i am over and im still told not to excercise?!
First off, your ED team/doctors know you, and we don't, so I'd always listen to them first!!
That said, I was told I could walk (I do 2-3 miles a day as part of what i HAVE to do - shopping, taking kids to school, so I'm afraid I was gonna do that anyway - no car!! Maybe he was just accepting the inevitable letting me do that?) but no cardio or anything else until I get to BMI 18.5. Once I get to BMI 18.5, I am allowed to add 30 minutes of cycling (I have a stationary exercise bike) twice a week - no more than that.
Others have been told higher BMI's before they can start, often 19 or 20, but it seems to depend on what an individuals' overall health is like, and only your own team can determine this.
Great going on passing 17.5, by the way - I just did that too recently, and feel less cold, and have more energy than in a long time. I am the bizarre person saying the weather is suddenly getting warmer, just as everyone else is getting their winter coats out!!
Kittycat, if your team told you to stick to 30 minutes walking a day, then you are only harming yourself by adding 60-80 minutes of exercising on top of that. This is actively engaging in ED behaviour. I would strongly suggest you discuss this with your recovery team, as you are sabotaging your own recovery.
Original Post by dansmum99:Great going on passing 17.5, by the way - I just did that too recently, and feel less cold, and have more energy than in a long time. I am the bizarre person saying the weather is suddenly getting warmer, just as everyone else is getting their winter coats out!!
Ha, I'm in exactly the same situation! I spent this whole summer (the hottest in years, where I live) being cold, wearing sweaters and jackets. Now I've reached a BMI of 17.5, and right around that time I started to feel warmer, have more energy, and generally feel human again.
About exercising - I started doing some very light yoga a few weeks ago. Now that I'm doing better I am planning to start a very easy strength training workout next week. I am making myself wait a week to first prove to myself I can eat as many calories, and as much protein, as I will need once I start exercising.
