advice needed

Hello, everyone!  My name is Cassie and this is my first post, so Im not exactly sure if Im in the right place, but I thought Id give it a shot...haha anyway, I am 19 years old and have been in recovery from anorexia for a few years.  Im doing pretty well now, and am continuing to increase calories after seeing doctors and nutritionists.  Last year was my first year of college and very hard for me so I completely hit rock bottom with my disorder, but Im working really hard to improve my health.  I was planning on attending college away next year, but have decided to go to one closer to home.  I was just hoping I could get some advice on some people who have experience in recovering.  I worry so much about nutrients and getting the right amout of protein,sugar,carbs, everything!  Im still not eating enough, but im around 1400-1500 calories now.  Im only 73 pounds and cant afford to lose anymore.  I was just curious how much you guys had to eat in order to start gaining weight.  I didnt know it would be so difficult.  I am fairly active and according to my bloodwork my thyroid has returned to normal.  I know everyones different, but I was just interested in hearing about how much protein /fat /calories you guys ate in recovery.  I worry about getting too much and also about not getting enough.  Im seeing my nutritionist soon, but so few people understand so I thought Id just try to get some opinions from those who have been there.  Thanks for anyone who replies!!
Cassie

ive never exactly been an anorexic, but for a period of time i ate under 1300 calories.. but i stopped. i dont have enough knowledge of this to appropriately give you any pointers, but i can try.

when i tried to get out of that period of time i just ate normally.. granted i think my weight shot up a bit, but it gradually went to normal over time. in your case, too much more may be too forgein for you body, so i might suggest eating some extra fruits or veggies at every meal. its a healthy calorie intake and may not be too hard on your body. other than that, im sorry i couldnt be of much help. i hope someone else can come along and give you some good advice. i admire your determination and i wish you the very best!

Most recently, I gained on 1500, but I was almost 28 at the time and had lost 50 pounds in 3 months. After a year I was maintaining on 2000-2200.

Before that (there were multiple relapses) I needed about 1800 to gain weight. Mostly just adding things into what I was eating anyway - mixing a little cereal with my yogurt, protein powder into other soft foods, cheese on my salad. Used low-fat milk in my coffee instead of skim. That way, it didn't feel like I was eating too much because the volume hadn't really changed, but it was more nutritionally dense.

I've never been an anorexic, nor do I know a lot about it.

 But, I would suggest drinking milk when you don't feel you can eat enough. Or feel too full. Chocolate milk or strawberry, or banana, or regular. I think that whole milk would give you a healthy boost.

I hope that was helpful, good luck.

( ooh and eat whatever you want.. period. )

The foods highest in calories and lowest in bulk are the fats.  Adding just a tablespoon of olive oil to your salad dressing provides over 120 calories.  You'll hardly notice it's there, and it's one of the good fats.

Don't be afraid of fat.  You need it to enable your body to make use of important vitamins.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the replies.  I was afraid at first that my body wouldnt know what to do but for the past few months I have been slowly increasing with the advice of my doctor but am still struggling to just maintain.  Its scary but I feel like Ive improved a lot since I was in college.  Ive decided to attend college close to home this year, so hopefully it will all work out.

hey! im a recovering anorexic too and for me, i need 4000+ calories a day. my body is in hypermetabolic mode and it burns a lot of what it gets. i had no idea it would take that much to gain weight until i went into treatment. & it is so hard to have to have that much a day. i was tube fed in treatment and it was sooooo much easier. anyway, i worry so much about if im getting the right amount of nutrients too! i like want to do it perfectly. ive really been focusing on what the new food pyramid says and geting the right amount of servings from each group. they have a website - www.mypyramid.gov and omg i feel stupid saying this but theres a kids game on there called blast off or something and you get to choose your meals/sides/snacks for the day and your rocket can't blast off unless you have the right amount of everything. its really fun i think.. hahah yeah im a loser. anyway i also try to get about 50-65% of my calories from carbs, 20-30% from protein, then 10-20% from fat.. which is a little hard cuz i used to be really scared of anything with fat in it. i also weight lift cuz i want the weight im gaining to be more muscle than fat. well, im glad you are doing better =) life is so much better with out stupid anorexia.

Thanks Tweety...that was really helpful...it just gets annoying when people who know nothing about eds will talk about how anorexics blow up when they start eating again...when it can be so hard to gain weight...and btw I have been to that website and I love that game too haha...its great, good with your recovery!

Have you seen the ED recovery thread.  It's been going on for some time, and it's a wonderful group who can offer you support and advice.  Please feel free to participate

ED Recovery Club

Hi Cassie or anyone else who knows about this, I never really thought of myself as an anorexic, but someone once told me that i was borderline regarding my way I eat and how much I exercise, i work out 5days a week, I run about 40miles a week and was only eating about 1200-1400 calories a day and Have now been diagnosed with hypothyroidism??  Does your doctor believe that your thyroid problem was due to not eating properly??   And did it go back to normal naturally or did you have to go on synthroid??  The doc put me on syn but it has not made me feel any better infact I still feel tired and sluggis and wondering if it is my metabolic rate??  Thanks Dessie

Hey 1dessie!  Yea I'm pretty sure the hypothyroidism is definitely caused by anorexia.  I dont quite understand it though, cuz my doc says I have an underactive thyroid, yet Im still unable to eat enought to gain weight lol oh well.  Yea but Id definitely see a doctor if I was you.  Your calories seem low, especially for exercising so much.  But I am now on medicine for it and my doctor says a messed up thyroid is really easy to fix.  But I do know not eating enough can definitely mess with your thyrodid. 

 Hope that helps a little!