Should I exercise during eating disorder recovery?

In most cases during active recovery, the answer is no — and if you are in doubt, you probably should not. Exercise adds stress to your body, raises cortisol and uses energy your body needs for repair. If you are underweight, still restricting, or using exercise to compensate for eating, taking a full break is pretty much a must. Rest is what allows your body to heal and your weight to restore.

How do I know if my exercise is compulsive?

Ask yourself honestly: do you feel guilty if you miss a workout? Do you exercise to burn calories or compensate for what you have eaten? Do you push yourself to the point of physical discomfort? Do you prioritise exercise over social plans or work? Do you only allow yourself bigger portions if you have exercised? If you answered yes to any of these, exercise is probably being used to continue the eating disorder and it is best to stop.

When can I start exercising again?

Once you are at a healthier weight, mentally in a more recovered place, and you have had the all-clear from your doctor or treatment team. Ask yourself why you want to exercise again, whether your body is ready, and what your team would say. There is nothing bad about waiting. I did not exercise for years during recovery, and it was the right thing for my body.

What type of exercise is best after recovery?

For me, strength training was the healthy choice — the goal was gaining strength and confidence rather than shrinking or burning calories. Cardio is often more associated with weight loss and compensation, so check in with yourself about your reasons. Any movement you reintroduce should be done because you enjoy it, not because you have to, with rest days whenever you need them.

How do I deal with the guilt when I don't exercise?

Sit with it. The guilt and discomfort will come and go, and it is up to you whether you give them power. Accept that they are there, let them move on, and distract yourself with something else. Remove the barriers that make it easy to fall back in — cancel the gym membership, take the bus. Every time you do not give in, you prove to yourself that your worst-case fears do not play out.

Exercise in Eating Disorder Recovery

When to rest, how to break exercise addiction, and how to reintroduce movement for the right reasons.

The Rest-First Approach

If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, you will hear the opposite of everything you have been taught about exercise. Stop. Eat a lot and do very little. Gain weight. There is truth in this, and if you are in doubt as to whether you should exercise, then you probably should not. During my own recovery, I did not exercise at all for years — and it was the best thing I could have done.

Key insight: If the eating disorder is shouting at you to exercise, do not give in. The rest — and eating enough — is what actually fuels recovery. Taking a break is how you discover whether your love of movement is real or the eating disorder talking.

Why Rest Is Non-Negotiable

Exercise adds stress to your body. It circulates stress hormones that your body would otherwise use for repair, and it spends energy your body needs for vital functions. Even if you increase your calories a lot, your body will use that energy for repairs before it allocates any to non-vital functions such as reproductive functioning. If you are underweight or still restricting, exercise can hinder weight gain, delay physical recovery and keep the eating disorder alive.

It can also be genuinely dangerous. If you are underweight, taxing your body can destroy muscle rather than build it. And with pre-existing conditions, electrolyte abnormalities or unstable blood glucose, exercise can even be fatal — even if it initially feels all right. That is a scary thing to think about, but it is important. So during recovery, taking a full break is, in my eyes, pretty much a must.

Is Your Exercise Compulsive?

If you answered yes to any of these, you are probably using exercise to continue the eating disorder, and it is best to stop for now. Making that choice — and sticking to it — is how you start to take your power back.

How to Take the Break

Make the break easy for yourself. Cancel the gym membership, take the bus to work instead of walking, get rid of the fitness apps and the step tracker. Remove the barriers and the temptations. Replace workouts with calmer things: sleep a bit longer in the morning, take a bath, read, meet a friend. The urge to move will fade if you stop listening to it.

And remember that even when you are not exercising, your body still needs fuel. It needs energy for concentration, for basic functions, for repair. Do not cut your food because you are less active — that is the eating disorder talking, and it is exactly the wrong direction.

Reintroducing Exercise the Healthy Way

Once you are at a healthier weight, mentally in a more recovered place, and you have had the all-clear from your doctor, exercise can become a genuinely good thing. For me it was the best thing I ever did. I had been scared to reintroduce it for the longest time — scared it would become compulsive again — but once I was physically and mentally ready, I found I could approach it in a relaxed way: moving my body when I wanted to, and resting when I wanted to.

I chose strength training, because the goal was gaining strength and confidence after years of feeling frail, rather than shrinking or burning calories. Before you start, ask yourself three things: why do you want to exercise again, is your body ready for it, and what would your family or treatment team say? If there is any doubt, wait. There is nothing bad about waiting.

Important: If you are underweight, still restricting, or your body is under stress, exercise can be dangerous even if it feels fine in the moment. Please speak to your doctor or treatment team before making any decisions about movement in recovery.

Common Questions

What if I can't sit still and need to move?

That urge is often the compulsion, and it is exactly what the break is for. Sit with the discomfort instead of giving in — emotions come and go, and it is up to you whether you give them power. Distract yourself with something else. The more you repeat the challenge of not moving, the easier it gets, and the more you prove to yourself that nothing bad happens when you rest.

Is walking or gentle yoga okay?

Some very light movement — stretches, gentle yoga, short walks — can be okay if it is done for the right reasons: to feel your body, to de-stress, out of self-love rather than self-hatred. But be honest about the reasons. If your body may need full rest to regain your period or restore weight, even walking can be too much. When in doubt, rest. The recovery gains are far bigger than any fitness you might lose.

Will I gain lots of weight if I stop exercising?

I did not suddenly put on loads of weight when I stopped — and I did not exercise for years. Your body knows what it needs, and it needs rest to restore. The fear that you will blow up without exercise is exactly the belief the eating disorder uses to keep you moving. Challenge it, take the break, and find out for yourself that your worst-case fears do not play out.