ASDGRMama

Having an eating disorder is hard on your heart. The heart is a muscle and if you have very little body fat your muscles will begin to deteriorate due to not having fat stores to burn. If you are not eating enough to maintain glucose levels your body will also begin to burn muscle. Heart failure is a common cause of death in people who die due to their ED.

Sammy, your body fat levels are far too low for a girl who is either not menstruating yet or has just begun in the last several years (I'm guessing since most girls begin around 10-13 that you've only been having cycles, if at all, for the past couple of years). You are in years of your life where your body's reproductive system is maturing. 85% of your estrogen is produced within your fat cells. Progesterone is partly produced in the adrenal glands. An eating disorder taxes the adrenal glands due to the up/down of electrolytes. If your adrenal glands become tired you will not produce enough progesterone and your body will be exhausted before you've begun your adult life.

If you exercise excessively in a depleted condition you will cause harm to your body. Exercise is not damaging in and of it self of course; it's when you exercise without a proper sense of responsibility to your health. You are not exercising to gain health you are exercising to become thinner when you are already too thin.

Find a form of exercise that is only mildly cardiovascular that will build confidence, strength, flexibility and coordination. Avoid exercising with groups of people that you will be comparing your body size with. Try martial arts, yoga, pilates, swimming, walking, etc... Exercise to maintain health and stamina. At 14 you only need mild cardiovascular exercise.

To answer your question, you can gain weight while exercising but you need to burn fewer calories than what you take in which means you need to eat more than you burn. So you can either eat more or exercise less.

Try eating avocados, nuts, nut butters, seeds, flax oil, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta etc... Eat a small meal every couple of hours and focus on getting it in and keeping it there.

I hope you make the choice for health before your body out of necessity for survival makes it for you.

Love and Prayers, Kelly