First off its great to hear that you are physically recovered now and able to live life more :) You can definitely build more stamina and strength and be as energetic as your family. You do need to remember that 6 months is a very short time of being recovered/physically healthy after something as serious as an eating disorder. Starvation affects your body in so many ways bone density can lessen, you can lose muscle, your nutrition absorption can lessen and organs are affected, it can take a long time for your body to reach a balance again. I know many in recovery can feel very tired during recovery even if they are eating at a surplus, just because it takes so much energy for the body to repair itself and those reperations arent always all completed even when you are weight restored.
The first thing i would ask myself in your situation is whether you are eating enough? You might be thinking you are eating enough but maybe you arent? I've personally noticed that sometimes when i begin feeling less energetic, more tired and less physically capable its because ive eaten less. Such as in summer when i crave more salads and fruit and then end up eating less than usual and that usually shows when i exercise and notice that i cant do as much as before. So it might just be that you arent eating enough and your family who have a more balanced and healthy (maybe?) relationship with food are eating enough. But also as i mentioned earlier, dont forget the fact that full physical recovery can take a very long time after an eating disorder.
But also whether you are resting enough in everyday life and what type of exercise you are doing? For example if you are out running 6 days a week and not doing alot of resting then you are more likely just breaking down your body and not building yourself stronger and more capable. Or even if you just strength train 6-7 days a week without enough rest then you will just break down your muscles and without the right amount of rest and food you wont build yourself stronger. So just because you exercise doesnt mean that you will are building up your strength, fitness and stamina if you dont eat enough and rest to build yourself stronger.
I dont know what type of exercise it is that you are doing with your family, but if its something you do alot of and you feel that you arent as capable as your family then maybe train more specifically towards that form of exercise....?
I hope this helps, but try to look at those different things - food, rest, what exercise you do and see if something needs to change. But also ask yourself whether you feel physically and mentally energetic in daily life or whether you feel very tired or imbalanced - then that might be a sign of something that you need to change something in your life or maybe a lack of something in your diet.
If its just a matter of you not having the strength or fitness for the exercise, then give it time and know that with all the right components of food, exercise, rest then you can build your strength and stamina up to a normal level and even more :)
Thanks for answering! Well this question was brought on by being on holiday and spending really long days just walking around. So not like exercising but just after lots more walking than I've done in months. I don't think I overexercise, an average day for me is like 20 Pilates and then later a 40 minute dog walk. In general I know I'm eating enough because my weights stable, but on occasional days when I'm a lot more active even though I try to add in extra sometimes it can be hard to know quite how much I need so maybe. I think I eat pretty balanced, and more healthy than my family if anything because they gain a lot of their energy from just short bursts of sugary processed snacks, whereas I eat more protein and long lasting energy in snacks. I actually feel pretty energetic most of the time and when I do my usual amount of exercise I feel super fit but doing those long days of constant walking round sightseeing made me realise I don't have proper stamina yet. Maybe it just a waiting game idk. Or maybe I've just forgotten what normal feels like? Because when I was overexercising and restricting with an ed I went into this weird mode where I never felt tired or felt out of breath like I found it really easy walking up hills and constantly doing things when others were tired- but I now think this was because I felt tired out of breath 24/7 so didn't notice it anymore!
ReplyDeleteWhat foods would you suggest should be eaten/ or more of to stop feelings of tiredness and weakness? Is there any food group that is most beneficial?
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