Please Help!

A

A5hl3y

0
Hi!!! I'm 17 years old and really into toning/keeping in shape. I used to run the tredmill every other day for 20 minutes and do an hour and a half on toning, broken up to arms, abs, and legs. My doctor recently advised me to cut back on the running, and do 20 minutes every day of toning (broken up into arms, abs and legs), since I am now active in softball. I have a couple of questions regarding my situation that I hope you guys can help me out with!!!

1. By not doing toning on those areas every other day, will I lose the muscle tone and definition that I worked so hard to get? (If so, how long before it happens?)

2. Would you guys reccommend working out arms one day, legs the next, and then abs, or should I try to get an intense total body tone-up for 20 minutes?

3. I also am recovering from an eating disorder, so even though my activity level got decreased, will I gain alot of fat by not working out like I used to?

4. Will I lose my "power" to run 20 minutes? (If so, how long before it happens?)

Thank you!!!!:p
 
Jmo

One thing I would recommend is to do some exercises for your chest and back. You really should train your whole body, not just a couple of bodyparts. Is there any reason why your DR. advised you to stop running ? But definitely train your whole body. You can do a whole body workout 2-3 days a week, depending on your recovery time. Or you can split up your bodyparts and train them on different days.
 
She feels that I need to gain weight and since i'm active in softball (which we do hardly any running) that I should give up running 20 minutes every other day. Yes I'm Pi**ed Off but I'll be happy with any tips you guys can throw at me!!!
 
I would say that since you're recovering from an eating disorder listen to your doctor. Be VERY careful not to overdo the exercise.

I recently recovered from bulimia and I'm 28!! Believe me, you don't want to be 28 and still recovering from an eating disorder. One thing my doctor tells me is to be careful not to replace the eating disorder with compulsive exercise. :rolleyes:

What do you do for softball practices typically?

~teresa
 
usually we run 2 laps, 5 minutes of conditioning (butt kicks, back pedals...) and then the typical "hit the ball, catch it and throw it to a base". Lol...

I really wish I can run like I used to and stick to my old routine...I don't want to lose what I worked for, for the past 4 months...you know? Right now, when I come home from practice, I lift 12 pound weights on my arms for about 20 minutes...and then tomorrow I'll do about 30 minutes of abs, and then 20 minutes of legs on wednesday...(and the pattern continues). Thanks for your help. I'm open to any tips!!!

Ps...to gain weight, what foods are high in calories but low in fat? (perferably low carb too with protein:D )
 
Ashley,
What is your diet like now? Any lean proteins will be low in fat (but somewhat high in calories) like chicken breast, tuna, egg whites, cottage cheese, etc. If you keep up the weight training and do the cardio that you do in softball I think you'll be just fine. When you get done with softball you can jump back into your regular exercise routine. Just eat a clean diet and keep up the working out like you're doing. Try not to worry too much about gaining weight since that's pretty much inevitable when you're recovering from an eating disorder...just remember it's a GOOD thing to gain a little weight...especially muscle! :)

~teresa
 
I try to stick to lean proteins but my mom constantly makes beef and pork lol. I eat a alittle less of those since they are higher in fat, but I usually eat 99% fat free ground turkey breast or chicken breast when I cook. How do I yield the fat to muscle?

Teresa, you are helping me alot!!! I hope we can continue to talk so I can feel more confident in eating and exercising!!! THANKS!!!!!
 
You remind me of myself 11 years ago (wow, I can't believe I'm that old!:eek: ). I worry about you because I do NOT want you to end up like me and still have an eating disorder when you're trying to start a family! As you know, it really can take over your life. Are you at a healthy weight now, by the way?

Anyway, as long as you're not overeating you won't gain weight from a little beef and pork. Some cuts of beef and pork are very lean. Just watch your portion sizes. Did your doctor give you a recommended caloric intake? Some fat in your diet is good for you!

I'm glad I'm able to help you a bit because, like I said, I DON'T want you to end up like me!!

~teresa
 
I am at an ok weight. I am 5'2" and 100 pounds. My doc wants me at about 105 so i'm almost there. I do include healthy fats in my diet...Peanut butter, cheeese, olive oil, nuts, avacados....Its just the fact that my mom makes beef and pork every night is why I watch the amount I eat of it. The doctors say my problem is, is that I know too much about what foods do to you and thats my biggest drawback. But anyways....I thank you for all your help. I'm just worried about losing the tone In my muscles that I worked hard to get and was wondering if the 20 minutes i'm allowed to do (arms one day, legs, than abs) was good enough since I wasnt working on that part everyother day and with less reps. Please stay in touch with me!!!! I hope you over come your eating disorder too!!!:D
 
you are not going to lose tone through eating a bit of beef or pork.

your eating disorder (and overall health) HAVE to be number 1 priority, fitness 2nd.

if it really is as it sounds and all your mum cooks is beef or pork then ask her to try something else, as you are getting a bit bored with them. i suspect she'll just be happy to hear you asking for food after your disorder.

if you train regularly and eat well (healthy and enough, dont fall under the calories your doc should suggest) then you will be looking perfect and feeling a whole lot better.

It sounds like you are stuck with the habit of the daily runs, but skipping every other day will help build muscle tissue and make you hit that 105kg pretty quickly.

Your doc is right in that you are thinking too much; dont let fitness control your life but let it benefit it; its no good spending all your days worrying only to look (and be) worse off for it.

keep up the healthy fats and a few 'unhealthy' ones will certainly do you no harm; quite the opposite in fact. from a male perspective, a girl that is underweight is not an attractive thing as you are so aware of how unhealthy it is.

Stop worrying about it so much and listen to the doc; i dont think slowing down your routine will do you any harm whatsoever. stopping for a while may even be useful so as to let your body weight get up a bit.

No good being thin if your unhealthy. Take care of yourself but be prepared that you will have to force yourself to listen to others rather than fearing what you have already 'gained' as it is that that brought on the disorder in the first place.

Go and eat something you enjoy, now! (and not the 99% fat free turkey)

Take care
ben
 
Ashley,
20 minutes is plenty of time for weight training (for now) to keep the muscle tone that you have...when you get done with softball and get your weight up you can gradually increase the amount of working out you do. Don't forget that you are getting a workout in softball too!! And, you know, lifting heavy weights will build muscle which will make you gain a little weight which would be exactly what you need to do! That would be awesome, wouldn't it?! I'm sure you would be much more comfortable with gaining 5 lbs of MUSCLE than 5 lbs of fat...I know I would!

Right now I'm trying to gradually increase foods that I feel are "acceptable" which is kind of what you're going through. For now, if you have to keep the portions of red meat and pork small, I think that's fine. Of course, I'm no doctor and you should definitely LISTEN to your doctor :D

Of course we'll keep in touch and I'll try to help you and I'm sure you'll also help me :)

Ben,
That was a really nice post, thank you. It helped me too because you're totally right. Remember Ben's words, Ashley!!

~teresa
 
Yes, Ben's comment was good!!!!

Teresa, here is my email. Maybe I can write you like once a week? Or you can send me an email first so you don't have to post yours? That way we dont have to keep checking the same forum posts. lol.

Xheartofinnocence@comcast.net Thanks for all your help!!!!
 
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