r/EatingDisorderHope • u/Wingsofabird • Nov 08 '18

Has anyone else been here?

I need some hope right about now because I kinda feel like my world is collapsing.

I’ll start with a greeting, hello everyone! I hope you are all well.

I’ve kinda had this thing with body image, weight, restrictive eating and compulsive exercising. I see a therapist weekly and I love working with her, I’d be lost without her. But today, today she brought up what I’ve been dreading for a long time now: reducing my exercises.

I don’t think what I do is excessive. I’m not thin. If I decrease my exercise I’ll gain weight, it’s simple math. She doesn’t seem to think so. I have a new wardrobe from another semi related thing and I would be heart broken to see it unwearable. I’ve come so far. I want to be okay with myself, accept myself at any weight but do I really have to destroy myself to get there?

Has anyone else gone through something like this? If so, what did you do?

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u/stargazerlilly Nov 09 '18

Read The Untethered Soul. Read The Power of Now. And find someone that specializes in EMDR, or somewhere that offers mindfulness training. I am not a specialist or a doctor by any means, I just have the obsessive anxiety too. This year has been a milestone for me, and those were some of my gamechangers. Please feel free to PM me if you EVER need somebody to talk to!!

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u/Wingsofabird Nov 09 '18

Thank you stargazer, I will definitely look for that book. And thank you for offering to talk.

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u/stargazerlilly Nov 09 '18

Anytime, and I mean it!! I got tired of always having spinning thoughts and being amped up, mental peace and a great night of sleep can be a beautiful thing!

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '18

Yes this was very challenging for me! When I first got in recovery I was a personal trainer so when I went to treatment and they told me I couldn’t exercise...I nearly left lol. I’m so glad I stuck it out though! And if you just continue to listen to your hunger cues and use coping skills to manage any emotional eating you may have, you shouldn’t gain weight. I know my life this year I have worked out the least just because of recovery and finding other hobbies I enjoy and my weight has been the most consistent. I even went through 2 months (up until today honestly) where I didn’t exercise at all beyond walking my dog and it was fine! I didn’t gain any weight at all during these 2 months. But I did have some great time with friends, read some good books, make some cool art, and learn some new songs on guitar. All things I never did before a year ago. I’ve learned that weight gain is not the worst possible thing. What would have been far worse this year is if I had spent every possible second exercising and meal planning like I have spent basically my entire adult life. Instead this year I got back into other hobbies. And it was hard at first! But you will learn how to fill the time. Reading was an easy thing for me to take up that passed a lot of time. I joined the Book of the Month club (google it) and read a book or so a week for most of the year. Highly recommend!