just got out of inpatient need some advice about muscle building

i just spent 60 days at an inpatient treatment center. at my lowest i was 88 and am now 106. i was there for 8 weeks and the last four weeks they had me eating 2,500 calories (and a bowl of ice cream!). as a result i put on a lot of fat. now im am looking to tone up. i lost a lot of weight throughout this ED. i am 5'2 started at 122 got down to 88. lost a lot of muscle along the way because near the end i started getting impatient. i'd say i probably lost about 10 pounds of muscle. my goal now is to get into a healthy routine, eat properly, and get my muscle back while shedding some of this body fat. and i am definitely prepared to do this the HEALTHY way. no longer am i going to starve my body and run for hours on end. i really want to become healthier and get my body back to where it was. i was thinking of maybe doing cardio every day. maybe an hour of swimming and lifting 4 days a week? what do you guys think? or should i do HIIT instead of swimming or maybe change it up a bit? during my ED I would just run and run for hours but I know this will just waste away my muscles as it already has. Also, is there such a thing as "muscle memory" for example will it be easier for me to gain my muscle back since i had a lot before or am i going to have to start fresh like a beginner whos never really worked out before....I used to be an avid soccer player and had a very muscular butt, calves, and thighs. I would love to get this back! Any suggestions?

First of all, well done! You are on the right road to health!

Did your therapist tell you what is good for you? And if not, have you asked for it? Please ask for advice from your treatment center first. Now that you got home it is important to not change a lot in your life because having to do it on your own is difficult enough.

Having said that, if you want to build muscle you need a program focused on lifting weight and only a little bit of cardio. I also think you need good help from a knowledgeable trainer with whom you are going to be honest. I am doing 3x a week and that is more than enough when you eat healthy. I don't believe you should work out more, since that costs a lot of energy. As and ED'er in recovery you probably also need to work on getting your workouts in balance (as you have to with your food).

Maybe you've lost your muscle fast, but you don't want to build it up fast (well maybe you want to, but you shouldn't ). So why don't you first ask for advice from your therapist and then (if you get the green light) go to a good gym, ask for help there and explain why you lost so much muscle. Be honest. I am a bulimic in recovery and I recently did the same thing. They are happy to help you. And if you feel you are not getting the right advice go to another gym until you've found a good trainer. Don't try to figure it out on your own, but opt for a muscle program specially for you with lots of evaluation. I think you need lots of that to keep it in balance.

Hope this helps.

Jo

hey thanks for replying. yeah i've been out for a week and things have been tough. i've been binging a lot. i used to restrict and binge in the past but run for hours and restrict. i binged again today and haven't exercised. actually i haven't exercised in about four months and i am dying to. i know i will have to keep myself in check because i always like to push myself more and tell myself 20 more minutes or just this and then i keep going and going. its hard to stop. but yeah i will get in contact with someone at a gym.

as for what the therapists said...they had me still eating 2,500 calories a day and the nutritionist said she didn't think i should do any exercise besides light lifting or things such as taking a walk or gardening. to me that sounds insane. i was already there eating all that food doing no exercise i know i can't just NOT do something every day at least. and i know i should overdo it at the gym thats why i think im going to stop running and go to swimming instead. i figured the water resistance probably helps strengthen and build back some muscle.

i just need to get my life balanced again. tomorrow is a big day and i'm feeling anxious. i'm leaving the united states and leaving to go live in turkey with my family so i'm pretty excited.

Original Post by 2loveandbeloved:

 

as for what the therapists said...they had me still eating 2,500 calories a day and the nutritionist said she didn't think i should do any exercise besides light lifting or things such as taking a walk or gardening. to me that sounds insane.

Then do that. You ended up IN THE HOSPITAL. I would trust their advice over your instincts at this point. Not trying to be harsh here, but you need some reality

it sounds insane because you think it is insane. For your height it is very nice program. But I guess you don't want to believe that

I suggest that you do what the nutritionist tells you because if you start to work out like you want to, you would have to eat even more and I guess that eating more is hard enough.

Your calorie plan right now is probably based on walking, gardening and light lifting. You could do swimming but no racing (I guess), just recreational swimming. Ask advice before you leave and find a new nutritionist as soon as you arrive in Turkey.

About the frequency I would do something every other day on low intensity swimming. If you don't go then you can't overdo it either... You have to learn to take it easy and enjoy simple swimming. It's so hard to enjoy just simple workouts.

Good luck

i know i should listen to the nutritionist but i just think its crazy that someone who is 5'2 (im so short!) should be eating 2,500 calories. i think she had told me at one point that maybe 2200 would be to maintain. i mean i can see that when im running around and being active like i was in the past or if i was like '6 or something. i mean ill admit  before i started this diet i used to eat whatever the heck i wanted and it would be hard to gain any weight. then i stopped playing soccer and took up drinking and eating out so that packed on the pounds immediately....

oh i forgot to mention i got my period back! i got it a back a couple weeks ago so i'm not sure if thats wrong but i see it as my body saying that its healthy again and it trusts me. i just think my perception of things are now back to normal...i don't know i mean i know i should listen to the nutritionist but i have already been waiting for months of NO exercise and eating so many calories!

my mistake before was id exercise and not eat enough. now i know to EAT back what i burn and im prepared to do this the right way. i want to lose weight but i want it to be done healthy because i know this extreme weight loss just messes you up in the end. i dont want my metabolism to slow down more. 

you have an eating disorder, a mental disease, ofcourse it doesnt make sense to you now.

listen to your doctor.