enough is enough!

I am so sick of hearing all of these recovery stories in which the individual has to eat well over 2000cal just to gain one pound in like a month!! How is this possible? Why does my body suck so much?? Let me tell you, I have been eating about 1300cal for the last few months of my recovery and I have gained nearly 10lbs... HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??

I am soo confused; because I know that some of it HAS to be water since I still look relativly the same as I did when I was 'lighter', but how do I get rid of this and balance my metabolism and body again?

I just read a story of a girl who was gaining on 1200cal because after eating like that for a while her body just kept holding onto everything... NOOO I don't want this...

I wish I started eating more at the beginning of recovery to kick start my metabolism, but instead now it seems to just be holding onto everything and it is making me so frusterated!

Does anyone have any advice? How much should I eat? Please I am, going insane, I want to just starve myself back down again and start the recovery process all over again the right way :(

(*sorry if thats triggering*)

It's going to sound counter-productive, but you have to give yourself a little jump-start. Eat over 2000 for at least a week or two, then die down to about 1800. You're still eating too little, that's why.

I was gaining at 1400, and now I maintain at 1800 after eating 2400 for a couple of weeks.

Hi there-

Hopefully this won't make you more upset, but I've experienced the same thing in my recovery. My body definitely holds onto everything I eat, even when I was eating less than 300 calories a day I still never got below 105. My doctor told me that my body was protecting me!

Anyway, I've been in recovery for about a year, I still rarely eat over 1200 calories a day, and I've gone from about 109 to about 118 (I'm 5'7"). It seems impossible that I would gain on 1200 calories, but I did. On the plus side, I've evened out, and I haven't gained anything (except up or down a few pounds depending on the day) in a while, and I definitely have days where I go over 1500 too (although there are days when I'm still less than 1000). All my clothes still fit though, and my fiancee, who is very honest with me in my recovery, honestly tells me I don't look very different, and when I am very honest with myself, I know I don't look much heavier. I just seem to have filled out the parts that were bones before, and my boobs are bigger which is awesome, but that's about it.

I just wanted to share my story, b/c I definitely know how you feel about this, and I know my metabolism is pretty much shot, but most likely you won't just keep gaining and gaining, your body will even itself out and you will stop. Then, depending on where you are, you might have to bump up your calories to even gain more.

So, my suggestion is to keep eating 1300 until you stop gaining. My doctor and nutritionist knew that if they bumped me up to a 2000+ calorie diet and I started gaining rapidly, I would absolutely relapse, so they said that as long as I was gaining and I wasn't severely underweight, it was ok for me to start at 1000, then 1100, then 1200, then stay there since I was gaining. They would like me to get to 125 lbs, but I'm working on it very slowly!

Good luck, you'll be ok, and let me know if you need anything or have any questions (I'm a trained student rep at my law school to talk to people with eating disorders so I have lots of info if you need anything!)

Ashleigh

I hate to say it, but the weight will come back on rather rapidly once you start eating enough. I gained about ten pounds in ten days when I started refeeding. It happens.

The truth is you still aren't eating enough. Most recovering females in treatment are put on 3000 calorie diets for at least a month to give their metabolism a shock. I would suggest you go for 1800-2000 for the moment. At some point your metabolism will figure itself out and your weight will level off. Personally I gained about 20 pounds in a few weeks before my metabolism normalized. Now that it is back to normal I have to eat over 4000 on a daily basis to gain anything.

If you remain at such a low intake, you will continue to gain weight indefinitely as you body will simply continue operating at a lower metabolic rate. Eating more is the best you could possibly do for your body at this moment in time.

Obviously you should increase your intake slowly as to not shock your body too much. Try increasing 50-100 cals a day until you are eating 2000+.

btw imccarthy I have been "recovering" for over 7 months now... but wow, i want to hear your story, 20lbs? how much did you lose, how tall are you and what do you wiegh?

 FYI... I have been eating about 1300cal a day for a few months now, so don't say wait until my weight levels off... I know this is somehow still in starvation mode and I should probably eat about 1500cal... which I wouldn't be afraid to do except... I'm going to Mexico in 18 days!! I don't want to be bloated the whole time... this is so frusterating.

I understand that I have to eat more, and then i will be able to cut back a few calories to maintain, but ugh i just wish i knew how much and for how long...

Happened to me last year.  I gained from 98 pounds to 117 pounds in a year (About).  Now im 109 pounds.  Your body really gets used to it.  Oh ya I eat 1,600 calories a day.

wow not exactly getting the answers i was hopeing for :(

anyone else??

please I need more information and advice...

Well, I'm not really sure what you're looking for, and I'm sure you know this already, but you're body is only holding on to the calories because you were underweight. I promise you that you will not keep gaining on 1300 calories! That's almost impossible! I know I'm not much help, but a few months ago, I thought that I was gaining on 1200-1300 calories, and it ended up being water weight. I actually lost more weight once the water went away. I'm sure that you'll level off soon and stop gaining. How quickly are you gaining weight? Has it slowed down at all? I really don't know what else to say besides you're probably still not eating enough. Have you tried eating a little more? Maybe try 1400-1500. The only reason I say this is because maybe you're metabolism isn't getting enough of a boost.

Well, Im certainly no expert, but have you had your thyroid checked?  I know underactive thyroid is common when you've had an eating disorder.  I do and my doctor put me on medicine for it.  Just a thought...

I agree with bre and I posted on the recovery thread also in hopes to answer your ?. I have been gaining rapidly too from 500 cals up to around 1200 and then for the past month around 1400-1500. Some days I just try not to count, but I know that I am gaining like crazy. This is definitely because our bodies are still in shock. I know you have been in recovery for seven months, but think about how long you were restricting? I have been in recovery for six months and I can't really seem to level off at a maintanence yet. I think it is honestly just the bodies way of trying to redistribute the weight in areas that are needed most. Like right now I find that it has gone to my stomach to protect my organs and my booty and boobs. That is great, however, I am in the same boat as you and not really sure what to do from here. My nutritionist says though that if you eat at your maintanence level considering your stats then that is where your body will stablize, so for me that is 1600-1700. But in order to gain once we continue to eat around that higher level then I will need to consume another 500 per day, so around 2200-2300. Right now start taking in your maintanence level, which is way above 1300 and then take it from there.

But the weight is just the shocking effects of water and your bodies protection mode. And yes it can last for months too. So up your intake, pace yourself, and have faith darling, you are doing well and I am doing this exact same thing with you....

and I am sure you will be looking smoking in Mexico (oh so jealous!)

Go to a health food store and buy some digestive enzymes. The product I use is called Mega-Zyme. They are a systemic enzyme that helps your body digest food better. It has been a big part of my losing 100 pounds since last February. The main thing is don't be hungry.

There's a lot of good advice on here above me, so I'm just going to second what everyone else has been saying! I found that for me, I was freaking out over counting calories and weighing myself, because it seemed like every pound the scale went up made me want to restrict back down again. Since I KNOW that's unhealthy and I was triggering myself, I stopped weighing and counting and focusing on eating right, portion control, and how my clothes fit and I looked in the mirror. I've started gradually reintroducing counting as I've gotten more comfortable with food and such, but it's such a struggle. Since I haven't weighed myself in over a month, I couldn't tell you how much I weigh, but looking in the mirror and judging by my clothes, I've definitely gained a LOT. The last time I weighed, I was at a healthy weight, and I look about the same as I did pre-ED, which I guess is good. It's tough to see myself "bounce back" like that, but I just have to tell myself every day, no, every MINUTE that it's what's best for me and healthy and all that. Stay strong, and know that even though it's hard, there are so many of us working at the same goal. We're rooting for you!

I believe this has been explained to you many times.  Here's a tidbit from the CC+ Library, Q&A section, that explains what has happened to you.

"... very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight.

In my personal experience, it takes at least 3 months to correct this.  You need to eat at least 2000 calories a day and gain back weight.  The weight gain will level off in time and you'll find that you can eat more and stay the same weight.

If I remember correctly, from past posts from you, you are underweight.  Gaining is a good thing for you!  I wish you good health.

 

When you are underweight, your body will fight as hard as it can to get you back to a healthy weight. It shuts down the things that aren't necessary for survival and holds on to all the food it can to keep you going. The best thing to do is to eat a bit more to get your body going again, and then it will even itself out. I was gaining on about 1300 calories but now I'm gaining incredibly slowly on about 1700 calories a day, and having to go up to about 1900 to gain a bit quicker. The more you weigh the more calories you need to maintain. Good luck! xx