2300-2400 calories!?!? seriously? please read!

Is that way too much?

I'm a small person - 5'3" and about 112 lbs. I don't know my bf%, but I think it is in the mid-to-low athletic range for women.  I am at what I think should be an "okay" weight, but I haven't menstruated in over a year, so my doctor, therapist, and nutritionist want me to gain a few pounds. I get about an hour of intense cardio exercise a day. I try to take a day off from exercise after about 4 days in a row of working out hard.

I have been consistently upping my calories, but haven't gained past 112. Might I really have to eat 2300-2400 calories a day to gain a few pounds? I'm so afraid I'll just keep gaining! Most days in the last couple of weeks I've eaten 2200-2350, but I'm really tough on myself when I eat at the higher end of that. I'm recovering from an ED, so gaining a few pounds isn't really "no big deal", it's something that I struggle every day with the idea of.

How much are other people eating? Doesn't it seem like I should be gaining massive amounts of weight considering how much I'm eating?!

The intense cardio is very likely to be the cause of you lack of menstruation. An hour of intense cardio is too much. You should take a rest between days, or tone it down quite a bit. Cut down your exercise quite a bit and you probably won't even have to gain weight to have your period.
Otherwise, you're probably going to need 2500+ calories to gain.

when i went inpatient to gain everyone was started off at a 2500 calorie baseline and then those that needed extra had added exchanges(calories)

i was eating 2500-3000 more around the middle to higher end of that range  for 2 and a half weeks last year and only managed to gain 3 pounds before my parents couldnt afford inpatient anymore and i had to go home

trust me you will be fine give it a week and see how it goes, also scince your active i dont think you will gain much at all

Hey, you should be proud of yourself for taking the first step and realizing you need to gain! But I hate to tell you, but you won't see much of a gain if you are doing an hour of intense cardio every day. I'm not surprise at all that you aren't gaining! I eat around 3300 calories a day, with no exercise except for light yoga. I'm recovering from an ED too, and I know it's the scariest thing in the world to have to gain weight. But I can promise you that your weight will NOT keep going up! You just have to keep in mind that this is what is best for your body. I suggest you cut down on cardio significantly. A lot of people on here do weight lifting and strength training instead. I personally hate weight lifting, so I do yoga instead. It's gentle so I don't burn many cals, and it relaxes me so I don't want to go overboard with calorie burning. Best of luck!

Hm. Thanks guys.

I try to give myself breaks from working out, but I feel extra anxious on those days, which just makes me worry that I have an exercise problem too. The good news is, though, that I've been doing about an hour of cardio for awhile now. I haven't been increasing beyond that.

It's just so hard to wrap my mind around eating 2300+ calories a day in this world where everywhere are magazines with 1600 cal meal plans and stuff. I know that's for people who need to lose weight, but since I'm pretty close to a good weight anyway, it seems rediculous to be eating so much. I haven't gotten overweight yet, though, so I guess it's okay?

Original Post by elizadoodle:

Hm. Thanks guys.

I try to give myself breaks from working out, but I feel extra anxious on those days, which just makes me worry that I have an exercise problem too. The good news is, though, that I've been doing about an hour of cardio for awhile now. I haven't been increasing beyond that.

It's just so hard to wrap my mind around eating 2300+ calories a day in this world where everywhere are magazines with 1600 cal meal plans and stuff. I know that's for people who need to lose weight, but since I'm pretty close to a good weight anyway, it seems rediculous to be eating so much. I haven't gotten overweight yet, though, so I guess it's okay?

 dude dump the magazines. eff the media. ugh i could go on and on about how much B.S. thier made up of but ill save you your time =]

nothing wrong with eating 2300 plus a day. your body will thank you for it. i think you should give it a shot.if its what is going to help your body to get back into groove to mensterate than go for it.

excercising also can make your body not menstruate maybe you can do an hour of yoga instead? or something light-ish?

I know. Magazines are really the devil. I really don't believe that the "big bad media" caused my ED, but it sure hasn't made recovery any easier.

I haven't really cut back on exercise, but I've continued eating more. I am still hungry, and it definitely isn't a "struggle" to eat that much, at least not physically. I haven't had a nutritionist appointment, so I haven't had a weigh-in for awhile. I don't really think I've gained weight, but I don't trust myself anymore. Still no sign of the period.

Is it really actually okay to eat so much? I feel so gluttonous!

hey, im also 5'3 but i dont excercise like you do and am at a lighter weight.  1 hr of intesnse excercise a day would be what is reccommended for someone looking to lose, not even maintain, and youre looking to gain.  also, after excercising-even if you eat those cals back, your metabolism is still revved up so youd need to eat even more in order not to lose.  i would say that if you really want to gain, you should either greatly greatly reduce your excercise, or increase your cals so that theyre in the 3000s.

In IP, I needed 3600kcal to gain weight. Maintaining now, I need 2700-3300 depending on the day.

Thanks. That's really good to hear. Especially the part about maintaining, because my line of reasoning goes that because I'm barely even underweight (my BMI isn't underweight, I guess I'm just underweight for me and what's healthiest for my body) that I can/should eat like I'm trying to lose weight. Which really makes almost no sense.
Good to hear that I'm not the only one eating much more than 2000 calories/day.

ps, I climb too :)

Anyone else out there eating roughly this much?

Not huge amounts for quick-as-possible weight gain, but well over 2000 calories?

I feel so alone and gluttonous, even though it's kind of doctor's orders...

I've eaten 2500 a day for about a month now, and i've gained 1.2lbs. So that seems pretty slow. I actually feel like i don't eat very much compared to other people on this site who eat 3000-4000. A month ago, before joining cc, i would have never guessed that people actually could eat that much. I would have never guessed that i could eat 2500, but once you get used to it, it really gets easier. You just need to find foods that you like, that are healthy, and that are high in calories or calorie dense. But i really feel your pain as you just found out how much you need to eat, i was in the same exact position you were. Scary!!! But you can do it!  Good luck with your whole menstruation thing! You aren't gluttonous, i promise. There are many of us in the same boat.

And i'd love to be a part of your support, i'll friend you!