3 Ways to Know you Shouldn't do your Workout with an E.D.

The temptation is always there. Restriction and harsh "food rules" are common themes of any eating disorder. No matter how far along you are in your recovery, triggers exist. The best way to overcome such triggers is to have set rules to follow that help keep your workouts safe.

1. You are prioritizing your workout plan over your meal plan. By meal plan, I mean have a concrete plan of what and when you are going to eat. This will look different depending on what stage of recovery you are currently in. Having a plan takes the guesswork and stress out of the equation. I used to always tell myself I would eat after my workout. Then, regardless of what my intentions were I always ended up working out later then I expected. Next thing I knew I hadn't eaten all day because I was prioritizing working out over nutrition. Prioritizing your workout first is fundamentally wrong. Imagine your body as a car. Working out is like the gas that we put in a car, making the car go faster to wherever we want to go. However nutrition is the wheels of the car. Cars literally cannot move without wheels. But, a car can be pushed without gas. Working out without the proper nutrition will not lead to the desired results. This will inevidevitably cause one to get frustrated; thus, being even more tempted to turn to E.D. for comfort.

1. Your body is not responding to endorphins. We've all heard it. Working out gives you endorphins. But often if you aren't taking proper care of your body (Eating enough) endorphins aren't a result of working out. When your body lacks proper nutrition, the body does its best to adapt. One of the most common side effects is lack of brain power and fatigue. Society pushes the mentality that working out helps fatigue and focus. This is generally true. However in some cases the body is neglected from proper nutrition and will not reap these benefits of working out. If you begin your warm up and after ten minutes you feel as though you are a walking zombie or your body feels 'heavy' this is often a sign you do not have enough of something to keep you going. In some cases it is as simple as you need to drink more water. But in other cases, it means your body does not have enough gas. So ask yourself these questions. 1. Have I eaten 100% according to my meal plan for the last 24 hours 2. Have I had enough water according to my meal plan for the last 24 hours 3. Is there some other outside influence that is causing my fatigue. Use the answers to these questions to deduce what to do next. Maybe you haven't eaten enough or drank enough water. Stop your workout, fuel your body, and try again later on in the day. Or maybe you simply didn't sleep the night before causing extra-ordinary fatigue. If that is the case then power through the workout lowering intensity levels. The key is to be honest with yourself, and to not get caught up in social expectations. Those who workout with you should be sensitive to this rule, and not make you feel inadequate for not finishing a workout. But the bottom line is YOUR health comes first.

1. Your workout is a result of a barter. Unlike the first two points, this point is not based on nutrition but rather the emotional side of E.D. Often E.D. will try to use exercise as a way to fill a void to control the body and emotions during recovery. It is not realistic to stay that E.D. thoughts should not exist during a workout. Particularly for someone who is just beginning recovery. However your intentions for a workout or exercise cannot be influenced by a barter. By "barter" I mean a trade or a punishment because of an outcome you don't approve of. For example, "I'm going to plan on running 30 more minutes on a treadmill because I ate that piece of pizza last night." Or "Sue looked at me judgmentally because of my outfit so I'm going to do an extra circuit to make myself feel better." Again a socially acceptable mindset is to "workout your stress" the problem when an E.D. is involved is the unhealthy addiction aspect. The unhealthy idea that working out is a form of punishment as a result of the stress you have caused yourself. This thought process is entirely different from a healthy one-working out is a form of release to help manage stress caused by outside influences. In the first example working out is a punishment and in the latter working out is a way to self improvement. Those with E.D. are bound to have unhealthy thoughts, bartering is simply red flag that E.D. is motivating your workout. How do you avoid doing this? Workout with a trainer. Have a plan for what you are going to do at every workout and stick to your plan.

These rules should be the same no matter how far along you are in recovery. The longer you are in the recovery the easier it gets and less you have to adjust your workout. I live a healthy lifestyle within recovery. That means, even now as a personal trainer myself I still automatically go through these three items every time I'm about to workout. I just rarely make adjustments because I stick to my nutrition and workout plans. The hardest thing in implementing this in your life is being honest with those around you and not letting them influence your decision. It is not socially accepted to stop a workout because you didn't eat enough. Most will tell you to power through and eat after. For this reason it took me a long time after I begun my journey in recovery to talk about working out let alone actually work out with someone close to me. Instead I used a personal trainer and maybe one or two other close people to hold me accountable. If you need help and are not sure what to do, contact me and I can help point you in the right direction. Do what works for you, but adjust your workout plan if you answer yes to any of these questions:

1. Am I prioritizing working out over my nutrition?

2. Is my body not responding to endorphins?

3. Have I eaten 100% according to my meal plan for the last 24 hours?

4. Have I had enough water according to my meal plan for the last 24 hours?

5. Is there some other outside influence that is causing my fatigue?

6. Am I working out or doing a specific exercise because of a barter I made with myself?