Exercise with an eating disorder, or after eating disorder recovery... is it possible?

Exercise with an eating disorder, or after eating disorder recovery is possible, under the care of a size affirming personal trainer with an understanding of eating disorder pathology.

I have an eating disorder... can I still exercise?

Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question for you here. But as a personal trainer, I can certainly be an adjunct to an established treatment team that includes your physician, mental health counselor or therapist, and/or a registered dietitian nutritionist. Together, we can create a realistic, balanced, and health promoting movement program. 

I am recovered from an eating disorder and want to start exercising, but I'm afraid of relapsing. Can you help me?

Yes! Exercising after ED recovery is possible, but it is a slow and steady evolution, and will likely look very different than what you did in the past. Your eating disorder, exercise, and mental health history will inform how we move forward on a practical level when it comes to creating an exercise and movement plan and will always work on something in-session, before left to conquer exercise on your own. 

slow exercises like yoga and stretching are really uncomfortable for me. will i be able to do fast, high intensity exercise?

Much of the work we do together is heavily focused on embodiment, that is usually the most uncomfortable part of this work. So while not all mind-body movement that promotes embodiment has to be slow, I've found in my practice that slow movement, or movement that promotes embodiment becomes much more comfortable when we can identify the discomfort and talk about it. That's why the personal training component of this session is always coupled with therapeutic counseling. 

I Have PTSD, Can Exercise help with that?

Exercise can be a great adjunct to PTSD therapy, however in many cases it can also be triggering depending on your trauma history. While my personal training services are not aimed to treat PTSD directly, I like to stay that my training method is "trauma informed", and we can use movement and counseling to work through any discomfort you might be experiencing. 

This work is extremely customized, and there really is no one-size-fits-all approach. It might take a little trial-and-error and a lot of team collaboration to see what will work best for you as you move along in your treatment and recovery process. If you'd like to learn more, contact me or schedule an Initial Assessment today!