Posts by vicgirl

Hey Eggybumfluff ...(love that name by the way!) what snacks  have  you come up with that are 300 to 400 cals?  Do you find if you have that big of a snack you are still hungry for dinner-lunch etc? And can i ask your timing for all the meals?  Thanks in advance. 

Thanks Agru....and may i say well done on getting your masters degree.  What a feat to accomplish while you're battling an ED....i hope you're really proud of yourself...you should be.  I will be hearing tomorrow sometime what the good folks at the hospital are advising my team here about treatment recommendations and so on.  I think i have to "let go" and follow other's advice right now.  I'm struggling with meal plans...i tend to always eat the same stuff.  Maybe ip would be good for me...even if just for a few weeks..i dont know....but it makes me feel juvenile..and somewhat defeated.  I WANT to be able to do this at home. 

HI ..

Can you guys explain what you mean by relapsing even though you were eating more....uh..how does that actually happen?  I'm having trouble.  Im 5 feet 5.5 inches and 94 pounds.  I have had a gain of one pound so far, (started to try to gain in June) and do feel as though things are holding me back.  I had severe anorexia for about 3 years in my late 20's...got down to 74pounds.  But then i got better and got up to 109.  After maintaining at that weight for several years i slid again...and have been 96-93 for the past 5 years.  The last two have been at 93.  I eat 3 meals a day...usually get between 1,600-1,700 cals.  I see other people eating this much who aren't so thin...so it's hard for me to consider myself ANOREXIC.  For me anorexics just don't eat...i do...so therefore i can't be anorexic i say to myself.  I do want to gain...but these voices just keep reasoning for me to maintain at my current weight.  It is so difficult.    I went for an assessment at this hospital nearby to possibly do ip.....and i seemed to be ok in the medical assessment part....no real weird abnormalities except the ammenhorea and low blood pressure, and osteoporosis which i can't reverse now.   So i left thinking...if im ok why should i do ip?  Why put myself through that...and others who are more severe and aren't eating might need that bed.  Do you know what i mean?  HAve you guys felt like this...what did you do to get past it? 

Hey Bsh....thanks for sharing about good old Aunty Flo...i thought it was just me and that i was using her as an excuse.  I just got her again even though im still only 93 pounds.  Amazing heh?  And ive just got to share this with all you gals (sorry guys...) i was told by this Chinese Medicine Dr. that eatiing goji berries can help restore your menstrual cycle. I didnt believe him but i gave it a try..after eating them every day for 2 weeks i got my period...at 5 feet 5.5 and 93 pounds!!!  Go figure.  So it's worth a try for anyone else wanting their period back!

HI Drivenlass....have you thought about juicing them?  I juice carrots, celery, beets ..you name it.  You get raw, vital energy and it doesn't fill you up.  I still eat whole veggies but this way i can eat enough without feeling too full. 

HI

Trisdin (hope i remembered that right!) I am a nutritional consultant and i disagree with some of the things you've posted.  Also i have personal experience.....when i was severely anorexic and restricted all saturated fat...(ate none...zip) i ended up with high cholesterol levels.  This happens when the body doesn't get any...it starts to make it itself.   Furthermore my red blood cells stopped reproducing....because of it.   Most of the rise in heart disease has been caused by TRANS fats and our sedentary lifestyle..also by the consumption of overly processed vegetable oils...the ones you see in clear plastic bottles on supermarket shelves, they cannot establish a clear link between saturated fat and heart disease.  There are tribes in Africa who eat tons of meat and drink the blood from the animals they kill and they have no heart disease.  Go figure. 

Also the Hunzas...the world's longest living people....eat full fat sour milk products like yogurt all the time...and they average 90+ years of age with most living to be 100. Please understand i am not advocating eating tons of saturated fat...merely saying it isn't the demon it's been made out to be.   Eat food in it's natural state and you'll be fine....moderation ..a little of this ..a little of that..  And Emma do you like Avacados?  They are a great source of healthy mono -unsaturated fat.  You can also put lots of macadamia nut oil or olive oil on your salads.....and what about nut butters...some folks who dont fancy nuts like them instead.

Way to go Helen!!!  And you too Emma....i am so interested in Pilates...shadowing the instructor must have been a blast.  Today i had an ensure....something ive been avoiding like the plague.  WAsn't as bad as i thought.....an extra 250 cals in an easy form.  Keep up the good work ladies!

Helen if you dont want to take BC you might ask your doc about natural progesterone cream.  Progesterone actually helps BUILD new bone and doesnt pose the risks associated with estrogen.  I interviewed an endocrinologist for an article i was writing and she was really big on it for preventing/treating osteoporosis.  Also Strontium is great....it can be taken as the drug Protelos which is available in the UK and Europe or i think you can just buy strontium citrate from the vitamin shop.  Ask  your docs..they should know.  I'm thinking of starting the progesterone cream...i'll let  you know how i make out!!  hugs

Hey guys thanks for this.  Tess you are a doll and im right behind you too...WE can do this .  Now I FEEL BAD Though because im actually relatively healthy....as i said ive not been restricting for a long time...just have been underweight...but i've always eaten around 1600-1700 cals a day so things aren't too bad.  Ive got osteoporosis but ive not broken or fractured anything yet...touch wood!!  I shouldn't have been moaning...lots of people have it much worse than i do.  And hell we all lose our parents in time don't we?  Also ive been lucky to have over a 100 articles published in various mags and newspapers..some people try and never manage to get a thing published..so i should quit bloody complaining and get on with it.  Im challenging myself now which is good...yesterday i had some oatmeal raisin cookies that my boyfriend made with white flour, brown sugar and all the stuff that usually makes little health food freak me shreek......take that orthorexia!!!  Ok Tess...let's challenge and support each other....let's set a goal to have gained a bit by 2 weeks from now...ok?  Thanks again everyone....

HEY Tiff...just wondering if  you're eating as much as yoiu think  you are.  Maybe keep track and see if you really are getting 2500+ each day.  Working 3 jobs you probably need 3000 per day to gain.  Also is there any way you can ease up on the work...cut it down to 2 jobs or something?  Don't get discouraged and know that help is probably out there somewhere just waiting to be asked...maybe a family member etc can help out financially or ease your burden in some other way.  But whatever...dont give in to discouragement...i do from time to time and it is the biggest burden of all.  Hang in there!!!

For me it is almost 20 years...well not consecutively...sort of off and on.  I miss the way my boyfriend used to look at me.   I miss not having my days scheduled around food and excercise like so many of you said.  And i miss my period too....and i hate all the damn dr.'s appointments. 

I dont know who mentioned it ..but i also miss society BEFORE body image became such a big thing. And why is it so directed at women?  I think we are on the cusp of something here...i think we need to FORCE society to change.  Oprah is always doing shows on women who have lost tons of weight....wouldnt it be great if she did one on people like us...and the struggles WE have all gone through????  I feel like writing her damn show....it is long overdue.  What say you all?

HI...welli wish it was just my mind telling me im not hungry...but unfortunately it isn't.  Its my stomach.....it's absolutely chock a block full and also crampy.  I had a parasite infection a month ago and had to take antibiotics for it...wonder if all the little buggers were really killed off.   I just had another test.  I do eat high cal foods too like pb and avacados....i just wish i could feel ravenous...really hungry..i'd love that.  Occasionally i will feel mild hunger and then of course do eat more...it's just so fleeting though.  I may go see a TCM about it..maybe acupuncture or herbs or something will help to stimulate my appetite.  Here's what i had for breakfast and now feel so full...

1 bowl amaranth porridge, 1 banana with 2tbsp pb, 1 cup 1% milk. 

HI Everyone,

Finding this particular thread very interesting as i have the opposite problem.  Im hardly ever hungry and im not even eating the 2500 cals...just can't manage to get up there most days as i am NOT hungry enough.  I wasn't a severe restricter before though.  I USED to be...got down to 74 pounds (im 5 feet 5.5 inches tall) ..then regained to 109...but slid down several years ago to 93...and have hovered here for 4 years.  I maintained the 93 pounds by eating around 1650-1750 cals per day.  It always seemed like enough food to me.  Now ive bumped up to around 1900...but this makes me feel REALLY full.  I want to gain but am finding it almost impossible to force the food down as i am never hungry.  I wish I COULD get really hungry.  Any suggestions?

HI Betty,

You mentioned in an earlier post that you feel you're in a breakfast rut and would like to change things up a bit. I meant to reply to that post but got busy.  So im doing it now!  Have you thought of changing grains for a start?  I often have quinoa porridge or amaranth or millet instead of oats.  Also you could swap the soy nuts for maybe pumpkin seeds or hemp hearts...they both have adequate protein.  Or maybe you could layer some of your fave granola with some yogurt, nuts and fresh fruit?  Occasionally i like a nice omelet too ...with goat cheese and zucchini and i'll have rye toast with it.  Im sure there are lots of things on this site you could copy too.  But sometimes it is safer just to make a small change like switching the oats to quinoa for instance.  (i cook mine in some apple juice for breakies and add cinnamon)  Anyway i think your menu plan looks awesome...i often read it and think...Wish i was going to Betty's for dinner! 

HEy KS...you and i have very similar stats.  Im almost 5 feet 6 and i weigh 93.5 right now.  This is a weight gain of 1 pound..though like you im not sure if it's just water or not.  I too am having tummy pains.  My dr. wanted to do some tests but i declined.....no one is going to give me anymore radiation if i can help it!!!  Let's push each other with the cals....and try to keep on going...i get discouraged ...it's so bloody hard some times.  But well done  you.....keep up the good work!