changes after recovery

what are the main changes you have noticed?

good ones -

looking forward to meals and social events

more relaxed about leaving food (not wasting, just stopping eating when done)

good moods and (relatively) normal dreams. also, i can sleep however long i want now

warmth! seriously, it's so, so amazing being warm, or at least normal temperature.

obvious ones - skin, hair, nails, breath, muscle strength

weird change - i now admire so much healthy people who don't think too much about what they eat. i dont mean eat rubbish all day. i just mean those who eat healthily with the occasional treat but who you know don't think about their food too much, and certainly not their weight. i aspire to be like them. hell, i used to be one of them :s

and there are definitely no bad changes after recovery. only annoyingly, it does take longer to shave legs.

tell me some of your good changes.

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;          

This is an amazing thread-thank you so much for starting it. Though I am still early in my recovery- I can already enjoy everything more. Walking my dogs is like a new experience. Instead of just getting by/functioning throughout the day I can actually get involved and enjoy it. I don't turn people down automatically whenever anyone wants to go out for dinner (esp. if they'll pay!) and I look at more of the menu than just the salads. I can Enjoy the things that I cook again, and not just serve them to others. I can decide whether or not I want to wear that scarf because it's cute, not because I'm so effing cold! Thank you again for starting this thread, it's given me just the boost I needed to get my butt outta bed and start the day with a great breakfast, then I have to get back to writing my transcontinental sister and working on papers (finals- ugh!) ooh, I can enjoy my classes again and not merely stress about them, although at the moment finals are making that a bit more difficult ;)
can't wait to hear others!!! and post more as I rediscover how lucky we are and how amazing life is. 

I would also like to thank you for starting this thread. I feel the same way. I'm happier and feel so much better! I allow myself to eat more now and to explore different kinds of foods (in moderation). I'm still recovery but have felt good affects! I'm looking forward to the holiday!

 Today...I'm gonna have a piece of cake! YUMMY! 

This thread is awesome - end of story.

Besides the things already mentioned (dang, it seems like you've all read my mind!) I've noticed that I'm more into guys now. During my lowest weight, my hormones were probably shot so I never really gave guys a second look. Now that my hormones are waking up again... hey. ;)

Also, the energy. Before, I was always exhausted and didn't have any energy to randomly chase someone, skip down the sidewalk, or dance to a song I liked. I like having hyper moments again - missed those way too much.

I agree with everyone..this thread is great! Transcontinental sis you rock my world too! Anyway besides what everyone else also stated previously I think that I look forward to actually cooking my own meals and putting together things that I know are healthy as well as new than during ED times. I am only 3 months into recovery but I feel so much more healthier all over. I have noticed that my hair is finally growing (considering my roots) and it is also so much stronger. I can also focus on getting my work/school stuff done as well without being exhausted every second. Plus, I look forward to going out with friends and family to new places for drinks, coffee, food, and laughs! Overall, I think the mood difference has to be the best...I love life!! I really am so much happier already.

I'll second the mood thing for sure positivelinny! In the throes of my ED thinking I would just lie in bed or sit in my house trying to convince myself to do something, anything but just sit there. I usually only had the energy to read a book or go online and even walking around the mall took effort. I almost never saw any of my friends or family that didn't live with me because I didn't have the energy to make the effort to go out. That was the worst part, because I'm a naturally very social, flirtatious person, so losing that part of my personality to my ED thinking was awful! Now I'm starting to get back in the game. It's sad, because I lost a lot of friendships because I was a hermit for so long, but I'm working on that. It's also really hard to readjust to having a social life, lol. I have to remind myself to call people and do stuff because now I won't get tired and have to go home halfway through. But it's awesome that I have the energy to LIVE again! 

This thread is doing wonders for my mood!  I'm so excited to be on the road to recovery...  I'm already feeling the benefits of giving my body enough, and reading all of this makes it feel even more worthwhile. <3

Yeah, I agree with everyone else, great thread!

My personal favorite part of recovery is being able to be social again. When I was stuck in my ED, I didn't even notice how anti-social I was being, slipping away from my friends.. It's actually really sad to think about. Now I have all the enegry I need to go out and have fun with everyone (:

I think the biggest thing I've noticed (but it's been a few years since I was ill) was that I feel far more confident in loving myself now than I ever did when I was in the grip of my ED.

No constant obsession over food and exercise.  I have random, spontaneous outbursts and I'm loving the company of my friends, and new boyfriend ^^

I look at food as more of a nourishment, a pleasurable experience and try to enjoy the tastes more.  As I gradually return to exercise, I appreciate walks now, the air, the environment, everything around me - not just calories.

Thank you for starting this thread, I needed a little boost of self-esteem ^^

I've been "recovered" for over 2 years already, but some of the things I distinctly remember:

• the first time I ate ice-cream after 2 years.
• not having to wear 3-4 jerseys every time I wanted to go out
• I LOVED being able to exercise and finish feeling healthy and strong, not weak, exhausted and in pain.
• being able to lie any way i wanted and have friends lean/lie on me and not complain about bones poking into them.
• actually feeling HAPPY
• being able to think about things other than food-like art, music, science, reading the newspaper etc etc

Hi everyone, wow... i haven't posted anything on here in a long time! I was looking thru a few of the forums and found this thread! Amazing thats for sure. As I read thru the things that you all write i was saying to myself, " wow thats me, thats what i felt!"

The threads on CC have been such an amazing help for me during my recovery. Although i still watch everything i eat, i'm not afraid to have treats in moderation. Its nice to have a whole cookie instead of a partial bite just to taste it!

i look forward to logging and checking this thread out

thanks

melissa

i'm dealing with a kind of anorexia to... recovering actually, x bulimic, now obsessed with what i eat insted of purging it- BUT I AM TRYING TO WORK ON THAT. Anyway here's what i've been through: Normally you are looking up at 6 months of totally unexpected changes: like super weight gain, super apetite or exactly the opposite- so bottom line for the first 6 months of living normally your body will be in shock, but believe me it's worth it.

my 1st month : only salat and snack or sweets binges, crying for food, crying daily trying not to purge and overeat; around 1000c/day (but that's summed up, cause my days were like 500 1800 800 700 2000, all ups and downs) result: 8 lbs more

2nd month: tried adding some meat, boiled of course and the regular binges; ate around 1400/day -2 lb ?!?!?!?

3rd month: nice, meat and yougurt almost daily, couple of snack, couple of fries, ice cream and other yummy stuff; around 1400/day +4 lb oops???

4th month: cool let's try dieting, like that was a good ideea.. i was eating only carbs or only protein, you know the diet... 1200/day STUCK no weight change

5th month: ok so i thought my intake was too high.. going down to 1000/day result -4lb

6th month: i thought this was a good time to start maintaining so ate 1250/day as i thought my BMR was the same with the daily caloric need; result: -4 lb great...

7th month:  raising cals to 1350/ day result: - 2lb. ?!?!?

Now i'm eating 1450/day as that is my actual daily cal need and i've finally understood it. 

CHANGES: 1. As everyone has said - I'm social again. I'm back, baby. I used to be such a sociable person, talked a lot and spend around 16-18 h/day with friends. When I was bulimic and hiding it I had months of not talking to anyone - this killed my morale and self estime. But now i'm back to :OMG it's 11pm and I've said i'd go out for coffe for an hour at 2 pm. That feels just great. I can have people over again and spend great time with them.

I can eat out!

I'm not cold anymore

I feel like doing tones of stuff

Going out doesn't sound like climbing Everset anymore

I don't wear my winter jacket indoors anymore, it's just a tshirt now and we're having like 32 dg out :)) I'm still shocked to see i'm not cold anymore

how about this one? I go out in the 32 dg wearing only a tshirt and coat for hours and don't feel the cold, last year it was like 2 sweaters and if i could 2 winter coats :) and after 5 minutes out i was freezing.

I finally answer my phone and am glad to hear it ring

i smile because i feel like it, not because i feel i should

i DONT HAVE TO HIDE ANYMORE

I don't feel hungry and weak all the time

I don't feel that eveything that happens is somehow my fault anymore

i dont' buy food that i don't like/need anymore (i was amazed to see how much i spear)

I CAN STUDY AGAIN, i feel like it again, i used to love it but bulimia took that away from me too

I feel like making a change and making things happen

I look forward to tomorrow...

and the list can go on for pages and pages, bottom line is:

I HAVE MY LIFE BACK!!

Im choosing to recover and ive been actually WANTING to eat properly.

It only been a while but im smiling more already.

Eating at my very favorite restaurant for the first time in 6 years last Tuesday-it was sooooooo good!!!! I was so afraid to go there b/c I thought I would over-eat, or I would want to go every day, but I went, and had dinner with my daddy, and ate just enough but not too much and it was great.

Shows that I can fight and be strong and work through the issues in my life in a healthy way

I have gained my humor back and more of a personality

More flexible

More social

More goals

There for others and more of a friend and daughter

great thread, it gives me more motivation to recover