Coming off of supplements and Maintaining Goal Weight

Hello All!!

So last week I made it to my goal weight!! BMI of 20 ya'll!! (female, 5'7, 128lbs)

I was on 2600 calories plus 4 boosts/day. After making my weight, I am now down to 2600 and just 3 boosts/day 

I am just a little nervous about coming off of supplements and seeing where I will need to maintain. Just kind of wanted to hear other peoples experiences with this. 

How was coming off of supplements? Were your hunger cues off? Did your weight change dramatically week to week? Are you still requiring some supplements to maintain?

Any info is helpful!

Thank you!!

I was on 3000 cal, 4 ensure/day. When I made my goal weight, we took away one supplement per week and made sure I maintained on that. After that we kept the calorie level of food the same for a while, before slowly making things optional.

Once your body is where it's supposed to be, it will do what it can do to stay there. So I learned that I could have all of my "optional" items one day and very few of them the next and my weight would maintain.

I'm not going to lie, it was weird coming off the supplements. I found myself going to get them a couple months later and being confused when there weren't any around. But it made it easier to eat food that I really enjoyed.

Yes, your hunger cues will be off. For a while. 

Weight naturally fluctuates by about 5 pounds day to day, so don't freak out too much if you see a change. It's normal. When your body is working, it is fluctuating constantly. To help with this, I have my doctors only tell me there's a change if it's outside of a certain "flex zone" 

And no, after about a month and a half I was completely off the ensures.

I was on 2600 calories in food, 5-6 Ensure Plus a day in the winter of 2008.

I dropped the Entirely when I came home, and didn't do so great on food. My weight dropped instantaneously. 

In 2005, I was in IP/day treatment and had 4 ensures plus 2600 in food, like you. I cut down too quickly then too because I was convinced I didn't need that much. It wasn't evne over night - I went from 4 to three one day, 2 just a few days later and then non. I lost 15lbs in just a few weeks, and then lost another 20 when I started my senior year of high school.

Be very careful. You may or may not get hunger cues right off the bat - it depends on how long its been that you've had an ED, as well as how long you've been in recovery. So, if you don't feel hungry but know you should be having a snack, try to at least eat a little something anyways. I do that now. If I'm at work and I'm not hungry, I might get a small pot of yogurt or a granola bar out of the vending machine, knowing that its something to give me a little boost until I DO feel hungry later, but it ensures I don't have to calorie cram myself to make sure I've gotten enough in when my appetite isn't quite on cue.  In the past, if I slipped up one day, I would keep slipping down day after day. But I also slipped immediately after being WR. You have to hold tight to some sort of plan or schedule for some time, at least a few months would be my guess, and give your mind and body time to adjust to this new weight or else you really run the risk of relapsing.

Hi there so I am confused a bit...what are the ensure for?  Are you body builders or why would you need the Ensure or supplements?  Sorry if this is a dumb question but I was looking at your stats and it says you are 5'7 and 128lbs!!! wow...ok so I am 5'6", female and I weigh like 150.  I am currently aiming for 140lbs so I seriously cannot imagine how I would look at 128lbs...I know that is a very healthy BMI and your calorie intake per day is awesome...but how do you get to that?  how much are you working out?  I would actually LOVE to go down to 135lbs but not sure how I will look because I used to be that 10 years ago and I looked like a skinny boy (no chest or butt)...I loved cross country running and am currently going to start training for a 1/2 marathon next fall...maybe even try the full if I can, but start slowly...  How do you do it??? 

Original Post by mayteegoddess:

Hi there so I am confused a bit...what are the ensure for?  Are you body builders or why would you need the Ensure or supplements?  Sorry if this is a dumb question but I was looking at your stats and it says you are 5'7 and 128lbs!!! wow...ok so I am 5'6", female and I weigh like 150.  I am currently aiming for 140lbs so I seriously cannot imagine how I would look at 128lbs...I know that is a very healthy BMI and your calorie intake per day is awesome...but how do you get to that?  how much are you working out?  I would actually LOVE to go down to 135lbs but not sure how I will look because I used to be that 10 years ago and I looked like a skinny boy (no chest or butt)...I loved cross country running and am currently going to start training for a 1/2 marathon next fall...maybe even try the full if I can, but start slowly...  How do you do it??? 

i really dont think you should be asking  solstelpa this . solstelpa have been very ill sufferinbg froim an eating disorder , she needed the supplements to gain weight as she was very underweight. i donr think you should be asking someone who is in recovery from an ed this . sorry for speaking solstelpa, i was just concerned that this post may be taken over and it would be distracted from what youi asked in this post

mayteegoddess i think you would find the help you need in the weight loss forum xx

So sorry about that!  I had no idea!!!  New to this service and I didn't realize I could view other peoples info, which I just did...sorry about that everyone!

Original Post by mayteegoddess:

So sorry about that!  I had no idea!!!  New to this service and I didn't realize I could view other peoples info, which I just did...sorry about that everyone!

its ok i understand easy done

hi, congrats!

well i know tht the last time i went thru recovery i stopped too early, at a bmi of 19 which is exaactly where i am now, as of last week, and am a little nervous to keep going or what to do.

i did find that i reduced my intake by too much and too fast, and i slowly lost weight over the yr until i decided to gain again. 

great job, wow, u all maintained on a lot!

Thank you all for your replies!!

Definetley gives me a better idea of how things go. I for sure have those thoughts that maybe I dont need them, but I will do my best to stick to the advice of my doctors, and only take boosts off when they are truly no longer needed.

and thank you Tessa  for speaking up, cause that post did throw me off for a second, but as you say mistakes are easily made, and there was no harm done mayteegoddess 

I will just keep on keeping on, and do my best to maintain this healthy weight! 

solstepa-really inspiring!  i feel like im so close, yet still worried about maintaining.  im not gaining on the amount that u have been either tho, how old r u?  whats ur lifestyle?

If you are in treatment op I think it is very key to work as a team with them instead of against them or to be your own doc. That is when trouble begins. You have come a far way but your brain and body is still healing. I hope you continue to fight for health.

agruskin - Thank you! I'm 19 years old, and as far as lifestyle goes, I'm not quite sure what you mean  Anything in particular you were wondering? 

Just keep at it though girlie! I promise that being at the healthy BMI your body needs to be at is not bad at all. And it will bring you one step closer to being free of this terrible disorder. And you deserve to be!!

abbi333 - I am in op, and I completely agree! The staff there do know what best, and I am going to just trust what they tell me. Thank you! I will definetley hold onto my health as hard as I can.

thanks SOLSPTEPA-

i guess i was just wondering if you were in school or what ur days were like.

i gained 2lbs since last week, bringing me to a bmi of 19.4, im a little freaked that it was 2 whole lbs in 1 week tho, more than i normally gain and i didnt change anything, im gaining on 2500-2700 roughly.

congrats and just do what the doctors say i guess??!!

agruskin

right now im in University via correspondance, but will be heading back full time in January. My days are pretty quiet, I am in an op program, so I am there most hours of the day from Monday to Friday, then on weekends, am just home with the family, taking it easy. I have done no forms of exercise since February when I started the weight gain process, but hope to start again soon after I maintain this new weight for a bit. :)

I totally understand being freaked out. One week I gained 4 lbs in one week and the week prior I had barely gained at all! The body is an interesting thing, but you just need to trust that your body will do what is right for you. :) Just get to that BMI of 20 girl, you are sooo close, and it is soo worth it.

xx

ur such an allstar!!!  lol  really, awesome!!

thing is, i feel like a bmi of 20 is too low, idk, couldnt imagine eating 2000, only, yikes, idk, moving forward, its ok!!! lol, sorry, bit of self talk!

congrats