Posts by missmagill

Society sucks.

Original Post by gi-jane:

If you're losing weight on 3000 cals a day there are two things you can do.  One.... eat more.  Two.....  stop doing quite so much activity.  Cut down to an hour a day if your health is being negatively affected (which it is)... and, once things have stabilised, build it back up in stages.   There is no sense in exercising if it's making you sick.   NB.  Obsessive overexercising is often just another form of eating disorder.  If you have a history of EDs then you may well have swapped undereating for overexercising....  There's 'loving bicycling' and there's 'dangerous compulsion'. 

In that light, I would suggest you go to talk to whoever helped you when you were collapsing due to being underweight.... I think you may have simply switched to a different form of the same condition.  

 

 I appreciate your concern, Jane, but exercise compulsion is not the issue here. I am well aware of its prevalence as an ED, and in fact did suffer from a short bought of it when I was at my worst. The mentality now is much, much different from then and my relationship with exercise is completely positive now. I often use exercise as a way of coping, but I also use it as a form of enjoyment and leisure. I sincerely enjoy my sport, and I take a day off from it each week. I also don't always bike for 3 hours a day, but there are times when I am really engrossed in my wonderful ride or get a surge of energy. When I am tired on other days, I stop biking, whether or not I've gone very far at all. I still eat on my rest day and I don't restrict anything in the slightest.

I do have mileage goals and I do hope to someday ride in a century (not a race...a bike tour) ride.

I have discussed things with my parents and my mom agrees with my calorie need estimate plan. It was silly for me to ask online, too. I was simply seeking a well-informed opinion from a mod. Thanks for your input.

Yeah...this question was more towards the mods than anyone.

Thanks for your thoughts, though.:)

Haha-far from it, Agru. You're fine, and your heart won't shrivel into pieces with that activity level. This is coming from an Energizer Bunny (lol, that's my nickname now), too. Try some yoga and Tai Chi for some change once in a while...exercise doesn't have to be all cardio to be beneficial. 

Agru- No, no, no...not quite. Search for your activity here on CC and it will tell you how much one hour of that burns. Then, look up how much sleeping burns per hour according to CC. Divide the higher number by the lower, and that it your number of METs per minute. Then take your weight in kgs and multiply it by your activity's METs. That is your cal burn.

But, wait--you're over 21 yrs old, so you can figure out your cal burn according to the burn meter here on CC. I need to use the children's calulator, but I wasn't sure what 1 hour of activity meant on it. I only needed to know what was considered moderate activity, which is anything 3-5.9 METS. I didn't need the cal burn.

I didn't know what a MET was either until yesterday! I reserched it after reading this post.

A MET is a measure of your resting energy expenditure. The number of METs for your activity increases with the cals burnt. Each MET represents one multiple of what you burn resting (ie, your exercise burns 450 calories per hour and you burn 50 calories per hour resting, the MET value for your activity is 9 mets/minute). To calculate the MET value of an exercise, divide the calories burnt per hour during that exercise by the calories you burn at rest.

This website has a bit of info, too: http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/mets_calcul ation.asp

I hope that that made some sense. :/

I hope that I can join you in that good feeling soon.:)

beckkkahhhx3-I only eat this much because my sole coping skill is exercise and thusly, I am insanely active. It's actually really annoying to eat so much after a while of doing it, just as I'm sure it's frustrating to eat very little. But hey, it's for my health. I need to fuel the movement somehow.=P

Do you eat according to the kid's calculator here? It is marvelously accurate and after a bit of water weight gain, I've seen many teens maintain on what it says after using diets wayyy lower in calories to maintain.

Gallbladders don't always have to be triggered by something to act up, and your gallbladder issues do not signify a lack of health otherwise. Oftentimes, gallbladder malfunctions run in families; most suffers are predisposed to attacks and an eventual need for removal. In any case, IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. Don't over-think or over-analyze the cause your situation...you can figure that out when you are well again.

I had my gallbladder removed back in '06, and I can assure you that it is TOTALLY worthwhile! I actually wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't had mine removed; my gallbladder had been severely infected for over 2 years and was growing a cyst. The cyst had spread over my liver and would have exploded, according to my surgeon, within 24-48 hours had I not had the surgery. The biggie is that nobody even realized that the cyst was there until my gallbladder removal day. My case was severe, however. There are some folks who can make it through life without taking their doctor's advice on surgery, but they must follow a severely strict diet and deal with pain for a while. And, of course, there is still the chance of an unknown infection lying within your belly.

During the time leading up to my appointment, I was required to follow a special low-fat, low-sugar diet designed especially for those with gallbladder issues.

http://www.docsmed.com/diet.htm

The above link is a guide to the diet I followed. The man who created it is the same one that removed my gallbladder. Eating this significantly decreased my stomach pain/gallbladder attacks. I'd suggest following this for your eating plan for a while. It's certainly not high-cal, but it is easy on the organ.=)

Now that my gallbladder is gone, I can eat anything that I desire. The gallbladder is used mainly in the processes of digesting fats and carbohydrates. In some rare cases, patients will need to avoid fatty foods after their surgery, but that is about it. The pain that comes from consuming fats sans-gallbladder isn't too intense, and I've yet to meet anybody who restricts fat for that reason.

It depends on the person, but some folks cannot handle food for a few days after the surgery. I personally remained on a liquid diet for a week. My aunt, however, was eating solid food 24 hours later. All of these questions can and should be asked of your doctor, too; they know you much better than people over a screen.=)

Best of luck!!!

This is why I don't use exchanges now--they can be off by up to 1000 cal/day (a really smart nutrition est--not even dietitian--told me that)!

I tried to do the exchanges for a while, but my doctor told me to stop using them after a few weeks of failed gaining (I ate a lot of foods that my dietitian had to guess the exchanges for, and she guessed high quite often...ie 1 tbsp grape nuts=1 starch). Not everyone is like this, though. If you try what the medical team says rather than simply whining to them, things move much more progressively in your favor. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. It's a period of major trail and error for everybody. But opposing their ideas won't help anything, despite how wrong they might be. Unfortunately, the medical community has no trust in the opinions of those with EDs unless they happen to agree with theirs. If you prove them wrong and comply 100% for a significant amount of time, then they may begin to trust your insights. That's just the way it goes. You can't get through to them until you've followed their rules. =/

DISCLAIMER: The above is my opinion, formulated from the experiences that I have had over a total 7 months of hospital stays at 8 different places, with too many dietitions and meal plans to count (no two of them being the same) and enough doctors to destroy an epidemic if one were to break loose in my state. 

20 pounds isn't really that much....nor is it an issue to gain that much within 2 months. I gained 30 lbs in a little less than 2 two months (76-106lbs) and I am far from a blob now. I continued gaining at a slower rate up to 120ish lbs (I'm 5'4) and my body fat has remained minimal. Earlier this summer, amidst massive bike riding, I weighed in at 126 lbs a few times...equalling 50 pounds (65%) of my starting weight being regained. And you know what? It seemed absolutely crazy when I was told to gain so much so quickly, but looking back, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Your doctor was probably expecting a high gain because most ED recvoverers gain a good deal of water weight at the first weigh-in. They also tend to gain weight quicker when vital organs are being repaired. As you experienced issues with over-exercising, your heart and lungs probably have a good bit of reconstruction to do. Also, 105 lbs is the ideal weight for a female of 5'1. The rule of thumb is 100 lbs for 5 feet tall, with 5 pounds added on for each inch above that. Most--though not all--people function best and are at their healthiest right around that weight. Some other folks will need a few pounds different in either direction. You should NOT be under 100 lbs, however. It is important to stay at least a bit above a minimum BMI.

Try not to think too much, Zeb; if you continue obsessing with perfect nutrition, complete accuracy, and a strict rate of weight gain, you'll honestly never make it and will most likely land yourself in the hospital. That's precisely how I ended up inpatient for 3 months--taking it too slow and being far too rigid.

DO NOT WAIT FOR CHANGE. DO NOT RESTRICT ANY FOOD. Yes, veggies are important, BUT calories are an even greater necessityfor you right now. The USDA recommendation of 5-a-day is for a combo of fruits and veggies....so your dietitian's recommendations actually are not off. Plus, a serving of veggies according to the 5-a-day program is one half cup, whereas most dietitians consider a serving to be a full cup. I've seen your menus, and you eat an insanely nutritious diet. Lowering the veggie portions in your diet will not cause you to lack nutrients. I adore produce, too, and when I was gaining I had to cut down on them simply because they were too bulky. My dietitian told me that I could eat as many veggies as I wanted...but ONLY after I fulfilled all of my other food group requirements. If you want more veggies, I'm sure that you could add them on in addition to your current plan.

I'm not inferring that your dietitian and your mother are the brightest crayons in the box, and I can completely relate to feeling aggravated by everybody discounting your opinion, but PLEASE remember that ED is influencing you in many ways that you are unaware of. Ease up for a while and just go with the flow; the doctors and your family love you and they want to see you healthy. Just go with the flow for a while and give it a chance. I know that this is a TON easier said than done, but be assured that I was in your exact position not too long ago. I made the right choice and simply obeyed the rules that were assigned to me, and now I am in the healthiest state that I have ever been in. I can also eat a boatload of veggies and eat as "cleanly" as I desire...though during weight gain I ate multiple goodies (blizzards from DQ, puddings, cakes, bottles of coke, etc) each day. The damage that has been done to your body is significant, and this is about the only time that "junk foods" are actually relatively good for you. The simplicity of them makes digestion and absorbtion easier on your body; it can obtain sugars and other vital nutritents for enegy and repair.

Hang in there, Kate...remember the happy girl that ED destroyed, and bring her back to life as only you can. Life has a lot more to offer than nutrition charts and calories. My best wishes go out ot you.

These are a fun and portable snack!

Lentil Munchies

Okie: What Lala just replied was directly on the dot--that is ED talking. Kick him in the shin and tell him to bug off. You need more nourishment...don't think of it as calories...it's nourishment and medicine for your body.

If it makes you feel any better at all...today I had to eat 4000 calories to maintain my now healthy weight. o_o; 3000 is really not that much, and trust me, it'll fix your metabolism while adding desperately needed weight!!:)

Eerica is a lot more beautiful than she thinks.

The mental health system needs some mental help.