Happy Aloha Friday!
For the month of January, I wanted to talk about something that almost everyone is talking about this month... Movement. We’ve all heard it... many of our friends/family/coworkers are making New Year's resolutions to get to the gym more, or to hit a certain number of steps everyday, and it can be really triggering to our eating disorders to be hearing all of this movement talk. So I want to talk about why movement ISN’T appropriate for everyone.
Why movement may not be right for you:
Reason #1 You are new to recovery
Regardless of your eating disorder, we know (from research) that movement is one of the number one causes of eating disorder “relapse” when done too early on in recovery. This is because we are still adapting to following a meal plan and focusing on reconnecting with our body. Trying to reconnect without body and exercising at the same time, can lead to crossed signals and confuse our body (and minds) even more around hunger and fullness cues. Also, if done with the intention of changing our body, it can make some of our food behaviors obsessive again, and cause us to lose sight of our recovery goal.
Reason #2 You have a challenging relationship with movement
If your history of movement has been focused around weight loss or aesthetics, it may not be a good time to start movement again. The goal later on in recovery is to take care of your body, nourish it and listen to it when it says it is time to rest. If you are used to pushing the boundaries around movement and not listening to your body, you need to first establish self care and the ability to know when your body has had enough. If stopping a workout is really challenging or taking a day off feels impossible, this is a sign that you are not ready for movement yet.
Reason #3 Movement is not something that you enjoy
If you are at a place in your recovery where movement is something that you dread… then guess what… you do not have to do it! Forcing your body to do something that it does not enjoy, or feel good about after can damage the relationship with your body even more. It is okay to avoid movements that feel like punishments. Instead, focus on movement you enjoy, such as walking or swimming, or jumping a trampoline. And if nothing sounds good, that is also okay.
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