Posts by chemgirl

In the treatment program that I was enrolled in at the start of this year, the exchange system is what we used for our meal planning both at treatment and at home on the weekends. It really works well insofar as taking away the stigma of "good starch / bad starch" and keeping a balance of all types of foods. There are several threads here on CC that include meal plans on the exchange system, you could try just doing a search for them to get some ideas. The Mayo clinic has a good article explaining them as well.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-die t/DA00077

Awesome job, Flight! Eating late is sooo hard for me... good luck with the take-out!

I actually ate a full meal after one of my big time ED cut-off times last night... my fear was that I wouldn't be hungry for breakfast in the AM if I ate after ___ o'clock and I'd want to restrict to make up for it and feel that hunger. But I am hungry, and am going to eat breakfast now!

A lower protein diet is usually recommended for gainers. Especially when recovering from anorexia / amenorrhoea close to 30% fat is best.

Macronutrient ratios really don't matter all that much... calories in > calories out is the goal! 2,500 is pretty much the minimum that a sedentary adult female needs to gain ~1 lb / week.

http://caloriecount.about.com/aim-gain-guide- weight-whatever-reason-ft139174

Celebrating Halloween and actually eating after my "time when we stop eating" rule!!

This has been such a hard one to break out of!!

AND I did not measure the olive oil I used to cook my dinner tonight!!

How'd'ya like THEM apples, ED?

Personaltrainer - that is so amazing that you are able to listen to your body and nurture it properly! That is an awesome realization!

Koran - keep on keepin' on! I'm glad you're sticking around the boards and on the way to doing what's right to love yourself and take care of your body!

Original Post by waycat:

Calorie count more religiously - but obviously with a view to GAINING instead of losing.

This is a toughie for me... I don't want to count because I feel like it encourages me to obsess over having the "right" macronutrient ratios and to be sure I'm eating the "right" foods so I can tell myself "Yeah I'm gaining, but at least I'm doing it the RIGHT way" (even though there isn't a "right way" in recovery) and wanting to avoid "bad" foods because of how guilty I'd feel about writing them down and really owning that I ate them and that it was OK that I did so.

But on the other hand, I know I will tend to under-eat if I don't count so... I don't know.

I thought this thread needed a bump!

Goals for week of 10/26:

• Redistribute calories so I am eating more balanced over the course of the day instead of waiting until the second half of the day
• Increase daily calories
• Continue my 10-day binge-free streak!

Original Post by brittfett:

That seems like so much, but I want my hair to stop falling out. Its still a struggle day to day. I want to gain weight and get my period back, and my hair to stop falling out but then other days I am terrified that I will be fat. Why does it have to be so back and forth? How did you beat ED?

Wanting my hair to stop falling out was a huge motivation, I'm not gonna lie.

I'm also not going to lie and say that I've "beaten" the disease... I really don't like the idea of personifying it, because it is a mental health issue and I have no control over it - it is a chemical imbalance triggered by environmental and biological cues. I think that, as with any chronic illness, mental or physical, sometimes the best you can say is that you are managing it / treating it as dictated by a team of medical professionals.

"Management" as defined for me is knowing how to counteract the disordered thought processes, knowing what are trigger foods & situations for my own personal case that will lead to more disordered thoughts / behaviors, and knowing how to live my life around the illness and use positive coping strategies instead of self-harming ones.

"Treatment" as defined for me is continuing to eat enough, period.

I was fortunate in that I didn't acquire the sickness until late college. So, I had lived at a normal, healthy weight with (semi-)normal food intake and exercise habits (I feel like the vast majority of teenagers/women have issues with food, anymore) for a full-grown woman for quite awhile. One thing I keep telling myself is that I was never even remotely "fat" when I was at a normal weight. Another big motivator for me is the huge decrease in energy and ability to live life that I'm dealing with right now - what kind of person has to wear 2 sweatshirts and 2 pairs of pants in order to be comfortable in a normal-temperature climate-controlled environment? What kind of a person, because of this always-cold phenomenon, actually dreads and avoids going anywhere or doing anything that requires any other kind of dress code? That is no life at all.

I added pecans to my oatmeal at breakfast, breaking the "rule" of "no more than __ g of fat at breakfast time" and it made it sooo much better! Awesome for fall with nuts coming into season!

First post on this thread! I've been around here for years... I had been intensive out-patient at the beginning of this year, then I got out and did fine for awhile, but breaking up with my boyfriend of 4 yrs about a month and a half ago sent me into a downward spiral... I'm finally moving on from the grieving and acting out - or at least I am ready to move on and stop acting out and I am making steps to accomplish this! Eats today:

Breakfast: oatmeal w/raisins & applesauce, orange, eggs (w/yolks!)

Snack: PB sandwich, dried fruit

Lunch: broccoli sauteed in olive oil, hot dogs, corn-on-the-cob

Snack: turkey sandwich

Dinner: chicken, sweet potato, cauliflower w/olive oil drizzle

Snack: apple cobbler and trail mix

I read an interesting article a few months ago and I wish I could remember where, but the point of it was that food is the equivalent of s*x in this particular era... there are so many taboos and rules and restrictions surrounding food and diet and eating anymore whereas 50 years ago, similar taboos, rules, and restrictions were applied to s*x and the discussion thereof, which now, at least to me, seems to be a subject anyone can discuss with anyone else and it's no more shocking than discussing the weather.

Food commercials, like the OP noted, are becoming downright p*rnographic with all the up-close shots of this glistening, gorgeous food and to show people eating it and deriving so much pleasure from, say, the 100-calorie Boston Cream Pie Yoplait Light yogurt... it's kind of creepy.

I know I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food, and the constant flow of advertising and marketing that floods my consciousness along with that of every other American. I wonder if it is as glorified overseas as it is in the States?

I think it'd be a great idea to look into a treatment center. Texas Health Resources Dallas has a progressive in-patient to out-patient program that's wonderful. You get to pick your own meals as you progress through their progress chart. You will be on exercise restriction if you're severely underweight or if exercise is a big part (or any part) of your disorder. They re-feed you and provide group and individual psychological and nutritional counseling, as well as art therapy, relaxation technique development, and yoga as part of treatment. That's where I went. If you have any questions you're welcome to PM me.

Yeah MyPyramid gives pretty broad definitions of vegetables, which makes it much easier to comprehend when you see stuff that says "get 8 servings of fruits and veggies a day" and you realize you are eating that without having to feel like you're a walking ball of fiber from cramming green veggies in your mouth all day.

The diabetic exchange list specifies veggies only as green leafys and squash and carrots and the really low-calorie, high water content veggies, potatoes/corn/beans while counting as veggies do have significantly more kcal per serving so that is something to be mindful of.