fitness after an ed - advice?
for context, i was vegan before my eating disorder, and my veganism has absolutely nothing to do with it. like i imagine is the case for a lot of people here, it’s entirely a moral choice (thank you to my lovely mother for raising me with this philosophy)
i struggled with both anorexia and binge eating disorder from around the age of 12. i’m 20 now, and i’d say i properly recovered when i was about 16. after that, i deliberately gave myself a few years where i just didn’t think about calories, fitness, body composition, or any of that. my priority was just recovering and having a healthy relationship with food again.
now i’m at a point where i genuinely want to get stronger and healthier. seeing some of my family getting older has made me realise how important maintaining muscle and looking after your body is long term. i want to build strength, improve my fitness, and just generally feel healthy.
the problem is that a lot of fitness spaces and advice can still be quite triggering for me. tracking things too closely or getting overly focused on body changes can sometimes pull me back into old thought patterns. i think because i was ill from such a young age, those associations are still there even though i’m recovered.
i was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position and has any advice. how did you approach fitness without letting it become obsessive again? were there any mindsets or habits that helped you keep it healthy? would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.