It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and intentional movement in eating disorder recovery can be a minefield. Some people in recovery are terrified to return to exercise because of the harmful relationship they’ve had with intentional movement in their eating disorder. I’ve worked with a number of fitness clients in some form of recovery from various eating disorders, and I’m going to share some practices that we’ve found to be helpful. Your mileage may vary, as eating disorders and recovery from them can be very unique, and your journey is your own. Please seek consultation with your treatment team before making any changes to your recovery plan.
Good Communication with Your Coach
In returning to exercise, it is important to have open communication with your fitness coach. I like to know if my client is in some type of eating disorder recovery because then I know to be alert to red flags. It also helps me to know to chat about what will be the least triggering for my client. I had a client who was very triggered by numbers, including specific numbers of sets or reps. In strength training, we generally structure our workouts with sets and reps. For this client, we found that doing timed sets worked to prevent her from feeling triggered while enabling me to still have a logical progression to her program. It required both of us to be able to communicate, her to be able to share how she was feeling, and me being open to approaching her training a little differently than I might typically.
Communication Among Treatment Team
I am always willing to communicate with your therapist or dietitian. I’ve had clients in recovery start fitness training with me, and we might just exchange emails at the start. Even if we don’t continue to communicate, knowing that we are able to reach each other if there are concerns is helpful for you and your team.
It May Be Helpful to Avoid Tracking
If you were a person who obsessed over specific metrics during your eating disorder, it can be easy to shift to obsession over different metrics. Tracking of numbers, whether it’s weight on the bar, total weight lifted in a session, or number of sessions in a week, might fuel the same kind of obsessive thinking. Some people pivot from a very restrictive eating disorder into obsession with other metrics that may look healthier from the outside, but remain restrictive, limiting, and all-consuming. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t keep track of anything, but pay attention to how it makes you feel, and if it is causing distress.
Social Workouts Might be Less Triggering
Getting exercise with some supportive people can make it more fun and less focused on the pitfalls. Especially if your ED exercise routine tended to be solo and focused on burning a lot of calories, training with some friends can help to refocus your attention. Our Strength for All program facilitates a transition into a small group, where you have a great balance of support, fun, and confidence-building.
Finding a Location or Coach Who Supports a Body Neutral Approach
Showing up to a gym or fitness class where people are focused on calorie-burn, compensatory behaviors, or body metrics can be really damaging to your recovery process. Body neutral fitness spaces do exist and will be better for your recovery! FeelStrong Movement has a body neutral gym finder, and we’re proud to be one of the gyms on the list! There are many of us out here, and we’d be honored to partner with you on forming a positive relationship with movement in your recovery.
Navigating movement in eating disorder recovery is deeply personal, and finding a supportive, body-neutral space can make all the difference. Whether it’s choosing a coach who understands your needs, training in a social setting, or stepping away from tracking, the goal is to cultivate a relationship with movement that feels safe and empowering. If you’re looking for a place that prioritizes strength, support, and recovery, we’d love to welcome you at Power Plant Gym. You can book a free no-sweat intro to meet with one of our coaches and talk about your goals. You’re not alone in this journey!
