Difference between bingeing & 2500-3000 calorie intake?

     Okay, well i've read a lot about people recovering from anorexia, which is what i'm trying to do, but it seems like you either go one way or the other and it's confusing. Some people say they need 2500-3000 calories just to maintain or gain weight, while others say they gain back all their weight + more easily from either bingeing or eating normally again after anorexia. I don't have any problems with bingeing since I make sure to eat enough throughout the day, but is there any difference between these two ways of gaining weight? 

     I get kind of discouraged reading about people who were anorexic, but gained back too much weight once they started to eat again. They sound so depressed, and they're always like, "So now i'm trying to lose weight again." But then there are those who say they need a ton of calories just to maintain, and i really don't understand how this works. What are these people doing differently to be going in the opposite directions? And could it have anything to do with how you were pre-ed? Because I used to have a bmi of 20 and was slim, but i know others were actually overweight before their ed. Would that make a difference in weight gain during recovery?

Lots of things make a difference in terms of recovery. Binging is bad for your body...period. It generally leads to greater accumulation of fat. In addition, there is great variance amongst recovering anorexics in terms of how long they were severely restricting, just how low their weight got and for how long, etc. You also don't know if they exercise, how much they move around in their daily lives, how tall they are, etc. These factors ALL make a difference in how many calories you can/should eat.

With anorexia, you have literally starved your body, so the tendency will be for your body to hang on to every calorie it can and convert it to fat for 'later'. It assumes that your body will enter starvation mode again. Your basal metabolic rate lowers...which means your body has adjusted to needing less calories to survive. This means that there is greater propensity to put on weight because you've lowered the actual amount your body needs so its easier to over-consume.

What you definitely want to do is eat healthily. I'm not sure where your weight is now, but I definitely think you should be getting some counseling on this...both the nutritional aspect as well as the psychological aspects.

As for 'right now advice', take in a steady intake of calories throughout the day. Binging is most definitely not to your body's benefit. I think that for many many people, anorexia and bulemia are co-existing conditions, switching one eating disorder/addiction for another. You want to do the best thing for basal metabolic rate...and that is to eat a steady amount throughout the day.

This was super general, but I hope it helps. Please please please get help outside of internet forums. I know you weren't looking for advice persay, but the nature of your questions suggests concerns me that maybe you don't have all of the tools to make sure you have your best chance for recovery. One of my best friends struggles both with anorexia (in-patient twice in her past) as well as bulimia (more the latter now) and has been having some serious health consequences because of it. It's been almost 11 years since the onset of ED. Medical research now classifies anorexia and bulimea as addictions...meaning it's something you'll have to deal with for the rest of your life.

In addition to what has been said above, I felt it was important to point out how the difference in eating a normal amount of calories to gain versus eating a higher amount.

Due to the starvation the body has experienced, the basal metabolic rate has lowered and the body will likely store on to any additional calorie it can as fat for later, thinking that it will be starved again (as stated above).

In eating a "normal" calorie range (for example 1200 - 1500), the recovering body is given more fuel but not enough to fully restore the metabolism. It's not enough for the body to truly understand that it's not going to face starvation again and thus, the body gains weight more easily.

When someone in recovery starts by eating an amount upwards of 2500 calories, they may show a large initial intake due to the shock the body is going through in getting nourishment again. Once the body adjusts to this supply of nutrients, it begins to use it more efficiently and thus it takes a lot more for someone to gain weight easily even though they are eating a relatively higher amount.

A lot of times what happens is that a person entering recovery is advised to slowly up their intake (for fear that telling them to suddenly eat 2500+ calories instead of the minimal amount they're used to will make them even more afraid of overcoming their eating disorder). They'll slowly increase their calories (perhaps from 400 calories to 600 one week, 800 the next, then 1000, then 1200, and so on and so forth), they then see that even such small increases are making them gain (because the body is still not getting sufficient fuel to fully rebuild itself) and they'll get scared to increase. No matter what you say, they'll think there's no way they would actually benefit from eating 2000+ calories for a couple of weeks.

It's kind of the same way for a lot of those who are having trouble losing weight on this site - people will tell them that they are eating too little but because it seems to counter-intuitive to eat more to lose weight, they don't listen. In both cases, the body isn't getting sufficient calories and thus the basal metabolic rate is lowered. The only way to break free of the plateau is to eat maintenance level calories for a couple of weeks and then go down and try to lose weight again from there.

In my opinion, it'd be in everyone who is in recovery's best interest to jump into recovery and eat at least 2500 calories a day to gain. But then again, I'm not a medical professional and perhaps there are some extenuating circumstances that would make this a bad way to go about recovery.

In any case, best of luck to you!

I've actually been eating atleast 2500 calories a day for the past week. A few weeks before that it was more like 1200 to 1400, 1600 to 1800, etc. I was just naturally upping my intake every day because i would feel more comfortable with it. I'm 5'5 1/2 and i think my lowest weight was 104 lbs maybe 2 weeks ago, highest ever being 122 lbs, and i currently am 108 lbs. Do you think that's going at a good rate? I don't want to gain too much but i want my metabolism to fully recover. I just don't know how i'm supposed to know when it has. I've been feeling hungrier than before though and i'm actually able to get a fair amount of sleep at night, could that mean anything?

thanks

The increased feeling of hunger is definitely a great indication of your metabolism restoring itself. Keep eating 2500+ calories a day consistently and try to make sure not to go too long without food; try to eat something every couple of hours. You might want to consult some of the stickies at the top of the Weight Gain forum for more advice.

As I said, I'm not a medical professional (just a curious seventeen year old with much too much extra time on her hands) so definitely get some outside guidance from someone with formal training. Do you have anyone overseeing your recovery? If not, I think it'd definitely be to your advantage to start seeking a doctor, therapist, and/or nutritionist to help.

You can do it!

Original Post by cate_starshine:

I've been feeling hungrier than before though and i'm actually able to get a fair amount of sleep at night, could that mean anything?

thanks

Yes it does.... Regaining your appetite (feeling hungrier) is a good sign that your system is working more normally.  If you're sleeping better at night that shows your body is better nourished and is getting more energy.  Malnourished people struggle to sleep.  4lbs-8lbs a month isn't a bad gain rate

The low end healthy weight (BMI 20) for someone your height is about 125lbs.  As you gain weight your body will need more fuel just to maintain the new weight.  So you start gaining at one level but as you recover, you'll probably need to increase it in order to keep gaining.   People losing weight do the opposite... start at a relatively high intake and trim it back as they get smaller.

Worry about how to manage your new, healthy weight when you get there.... In the meantime, focus especially on eating regular meals/snacks, choosing a wide variety of different foods and enjoying what you eat.  By developing a good eating pattern you'll recover more quickly and you'll be in better shape for the long-term.