Expert: Ryan Hale - 4/26/2009

Question
Hi
After struggling with anorexia (and bulimic episodes) for more than 1o years, I'm struggling now with my lean muscles (and the ongoing critics of my husband about my arms and thighs).. I'm 36 now but I would REALLY like to rebuilt my muscles and have firm and nicely shaped arms and thighs.Thank you very much for your help.


Answer
Connie-  I'm not sure where you are with your recovery from the eating disorder but I'm assuming you are in recovery and doing fine?  I am a little concerned that you have had this issue and seem to be with someone right now who is critical of your body?  That could be problematic.  I know from experience in this field that your husband must be very careful around this issue and that you can be particularly sensitive to what he says.  This is something that should be worked on in your relationship...hopefully you are both seeing someone in a therapy setting.

As for the muscles... here's my advice:

First, food.  You must eat enough calories to support muscle growth and maintenance.  Body builders will tell you that when it comes to maintaining their large bulk, they find it hard to eat enough and that they are ALWAYS eating.  If you want even a little bit of muscle, you will have to eat enough calories to support it and not burn it off right away.  That means, never going hungry by eating small amounts of food throughout the day.  Example: a sensible breakfast, some fruit a couple hours later, good lunch, a healthy snack a couple hours later, maybe a small snack just before dinner, a healthy dinner, and another small snack a couple hours before bedtime.

Your food is fuel for your body to do the things you want it to do.  If you plan on starting a weight training program, you will need the fuel to do it.  You have to feed the machine.  Eating throughout the day is part of that equation.  You will also need to eat foods that promote muscle development and growth, mainly that includes protein.  Studies show that normal sedentary people need 0.75g/kg of body weight (National Institutes of Health) and that an athletic person training with weights needs 1.0 - 1.5g/kg body weight.  So if you plan to increase lean muscle mass, you'll need to ramp up your protein intake most likely.  Most doctors and nutritionists will tell you it's not necessary to eat more protein, but to gain lean muscle mass there's no other way and you will need to eat a bit more I'm guessing.

As for training, you will need to do weight training.  I'm not sure how you feel about weight training but you'll have to...and not just the little weights they have for the aerobics class that all the women work with (you know the 2 lb weights with the pink foam covering).  If 2 lbs is where you have to start, that's fine but the real goal is real weight (I was recently working with a car accident victim who started by just lifting the weight of his arm because the 1lb weights were too much and he's lifting 100 overhead now, so start where you have to).

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends moderate weight training for men and women both.  Moderate means pretty challenging...not just swinging the weights around, you should feel worked when you are done.  Get with a personal trainer at a local health club and they can help you, or go to the local community rec center and talk to a trainer there.  If you don't have those resources in your community, try talking to a local health and PE teacher or one of the coaches at a local high school.  Have a college near by?  Post an add on a bulletin board requesting a personal trainer and put it up in the building where the health science, sport and exercise science, and students in those areas go to class.  You can even schedule time with a physical therapist if all else fails and they can help you at least get started.  And, if your doctor refers you, it would likely be covered on your health insurance.

You may not get the best expert advice that will sustain your weight lifting knowledge for the next 50 years but you can at least get started if you need the help.  

Please, please, please do not worry that you will get too bulky or start looking like a man.  I have to explain this to soooo many women I work with.  You do not have the hormones needed to bulk up like a guy and the women who are bodybuilders, spend their whole lives trying to look like that and some even take hormones to do so.  So, unless you plan on dedicating your entire life to looking like a body builder woman...it won't happen.  Unless that's what you want to do, and then I say go for it and good luck.

Plan on training at least 2 days per week (3-5 is even better to reach your goals).  You can divide the training up into what are called "splits."  Your split can be upper body one day and lower body the next.  Or, a popular split for those who are serious about weight training is: back and biceps one day, chest and triceps the next, and lower body the next.  Or, you can even divide it into pushing motions and pulling motions, doing all of the pushing ones one day and the pulling one the next.

There are many ways to work each muscle, so my recommendation would be to do 2-4 different motions for each body part (2-4 different biceps curls, 2-4 different shoulder exercises, 2-4 leg different exercises, 2-4 different ways to do abs, etc).

Remember, post exercise soreness is common so you can feel free to reward yourself by getting a massage after the first week.  Also, it takes about a month for something to become a habit so give it time.  It took some time for your body to get into the state that it's in so it will take time to build it back up.  Try to take your focus off of just looking a certain way.  People often start a program and when they don't look how they expected or get the results they wanted (the look), they assume it's not working and quit.  Weight training can help your condition since you've been tearing your body down so much.  It can help get back some of that bone density that you lost due to eating disorders so the focus should be on the long term benefits and not the immediate look you are going for.  Keep in mind you are building something beautiful and it will take time.  I love to recommend yoga to people as well, either the practice, the beliefs or both.

Another thing I always recommend is getting your heart and spirit straight.  So often in the world of eating disorders, the focus has been on ourselves and how to tear ourselves down and it goes on for years.  I suggest revisiting your faith and going back to your church or looking into a religion that has interested you if you are not affiliated with a church.  If you are agnostic or atheist, I would recommend getting into the earth or environment or science and nature...it is critical that you begin to see yourself as a beautiful creation, here for a purpose, and living for a reason, and worthy of taking care of yourself and that there are other things to live in the service of as well.  You will begin to see that you are not insignificant, you are not just expendable, and that there is something larger than ourselves to live for and be a part of.

Good luck!!