Im sorry to hear that you are overtraining and struggling at the moment but its important to listen to your doctor and to rest. Even if its tough, its what your body needs right now.
When you over exercise you stress your body too much... your body can go into shcok and begins to hold onto fat and water... ie. making you gain weight and also fat even though you do alot of exercise. Its the bodies way of protecting itsself. Also your workouts become less effective as 1)your heart rate doesnt rise as much, your heart rate stays alot lower as your body is trying to keep you safe. As well as holding onto fat you burn less during your workouts... a protection method as well.
Your muscles begin to break down instead of fat. You feel tired, you either eat loads or you eat very little.
You can feel depressed, anxious, have trouble sleeping and get insomnia.
Click THIS post for signs that you are over exercising
They are all symptoms of over exercising and the only way to get rid of it is to rest... this will also help your body let go of water. It helps your body to destress, to feel safer.
You wont make things better by exercising i can promise you that. I had a period where i was over exercising where i did 1-2 hours cardio everyday because i didnt know better... and it felt like 1 hour wasnt enough i had to keep doing more and more even though i had no energy for it. I ate very little at the time as well.
I was always bloated, i felt tired and began feeling depressed and getting ED thoughts again. I was completely burnt out and instead of exercise being an enjoyment it began something anxiety filled.
So i rested... i took a week where i did nothing but short walks with Daisy. It was tough but i needed it and it helped me alot to realise that resting a whole week didnt make me fat. I also began eating more and when i rested more and ate more my energy came back and my motivation for exercise as well.
Exercise SHOULDNT be seen as a compromise for eating. You CAN and SHOULD eat whether you exercise or not.
Instead you need to face the guilt and anxiety you get. Rest completly for 1-2 weeks and then slowly begin exercising again. DONT make a workout plan, instead try to listen to your body. Do exercise you enjoy and eat extra before and after.
You can try the Replacement method (post) to help you during this week and to help you find other things you enjoy doing. Not just exercising.
You need to sit down and ask yourself why you exercise, do you enjoy it.. why do you need to do the amount you do. Why cant you just rest? Why do you have to exercise?
Here are some posts that can help anyone struggling with over exercise:
How i stopped over exercising
Is exercise taking over your life?
Post about exercise and anxiety over exercise
Exercising while in recovery
Anorexia Athletica
Signs that you are over exercising
Food should not be seen in the amount of exercise you need to do
Everyone else is exercising so why cant i?
Finding balance with exercise
Exercise addiction - answer
Not wanting to sit down - exercise addiction
Dear Izzy, thank you for responding so quickly. Even though I understand that I am over exercising and I have all the symptoms and the doctor is telling me these things- it makes it easier when someone else who has gone through the same thing gives advice. The physical side of an eating disorder is easy to fix compared to the mental side. I've been physically healthy for 6 months now but it's still a battlefield in my head sometimes! I do actually love exercise but it's also a coping mechanism for my eating but I am determined I am going to come back stronger and fitter but I thank you for helping me to accept that I need to rest and start listening to my body. Thank you xx
ReplyDeleteI completely understand... it can be hard to take a doctors advice on board when he/she hasnt been through the same thing. But i can tell you from experience that rest will help :) And if you enjoy exercise thats a good thing, it means that you are in some ways doing it for the right reason. But now you also have to face those fears of compromising and only being able to eat because you exercise.
DeleteSwitch up your workouts, workout with friends, rest, eat enough and you will see that the bloating will go away and your body will start to feel less stressed and more safe :)