Weight Loss

Okay, so for the past year or so I've been working to increase my calorie consumption.  At first I only added about 50 calories a month but now I'm up from 200 calories a day to 2000 (sometimes a little more than that).  My weight settled at 108 to 110 pounds; I'm 5'4 and have a slim build.  But this month when I got on the scale it read 115! This seems to happen whenever I increase my calories from 1800 to 2000 or more.  Seven pounds seems like a lot to gain in one month! 

I was really surprised because i thought i'd been losing weight again.   I exercise a ton and am working on bringing down my deficit. For months i was running a 1000 calorie deficit or more a day.  I just have a VERY active job and am literally running and sweating all day long.  So I don't feel like I should have to restrict my calories because my burn for the day is around 2800.

The only thing I could think of is I've been weight lifting pretty seriously since I started to recover from my ED. Am I suddenly starting to gain muscle? Why would it take that long?  I'm just worried that I've screwed my metabolism and it cant' handle 2000 calories! Any insights? i'm so anxious about all this...

Was your weight measured at 115 only once? It could reflect the time of the month, the amount of sodium you consumed over the past few days, and/or the results of weight lifting. 

I totally get how you're feeling so anxious - but relax. It sounds like you're eating a healthy amount and living an active lifestyle - what more could anyone ask of you? 

I can weigh as much as 4 or 5 pounds more around my period. Congrats on your recovery of ED and weight lifting!!!!!! I am sure you have made some muscle gains and your body probably looks fab.  Don't flip and allow your body some time to get used to the new calorie increase.  I have an active job and I will usually lose weight eating around 1800 cals a day.  I am sure you are not eating too much.  Give it time and let your body settle.

I'm pretty sure that its not that time of the month because my period never came back. Well, it did for about two months a year ago and then went away again.  Thanks for the support! I'll try to stay calm (and stay off the scale). It's so dumb! Because I was feeling so good about myself until i got on that stupid machine and saw the numbers.  I wish i never would've gotten on it...But you kind of have to to make sure you're not losing or gaining like crazy huh? 

Original Post by jessie7676:

I'm pretty sure that its not that time of the month because my period never came back. Well, it did for about two months a year ago and then went away again.  Thanks for the support! I'll try to stay calm (and stay off the scale). It's so dumb! Because I was feeling so good about myself until i got on that stupid machine and saw the numbers.  I wish i never would've gotten on it...But you kind of have to to make sure you're not losing or gaining like crazy huh? 

 Not necessarily. :-) Go by how your clothes feel! Feel a little tighter? Maybe cut back a tiny bit. Feeling loose? Up those calories. The number isn't nearly as important as body composition.

From what you've said, it sounds like it's some sort of fluctuation in weight, OR you're building muscle. It sounds like you're active in a healthy way, and are eating a healthy amount of calories to maintain your weight at that activity level. Congratulations on your recovery so far, and I hope you continue to stay healthy! And forget about the scale. :-)

Maybe you are just getting closer to what you should weigh. At 5'4", 115 would still be pretty light (even with a slim build). I know it is really hard to let yourself gain, but doesn't real recovery means being comfortable with a healthy weight, not one that you decide is healthy for you? Not getting back your period is a sign that things still aren't where they need to be, perhaps. Have you spoken with a medical professional and gotten advice on a healthy weight? Let them and your body decide--giving up the "control" over that decision will test your resolve to recover, but maybe it's the final step you need to take.

Mkculs, I think you're right about it being the last step but i think it's also the hardest for me. I've been trying to just let my body figure it out and I've gained a lot of weight since I started recovery.  I think that the seven pound gain was just a serious emotional shock because previously my weight gain has been slower.

And I talked to my doctor but she didn't seem concerned. She told me it was just because I was really active and that if it got to be a problem she'd put me on birth control. I'm not sure how fond I am of that idea. I don't really like the whole synthetic hormones in my body stuff...but i would if she told me that it was totally necessary I guess.  I DO want to have kids some day!

congratulations on recovering! I'm getting there myself, and even though there are really good days and terrible days, it feels amazing, doesnt it?! You are gorgeous by the way!

If you haven't noticed your clothes getting tighter, and you actually said you thought you had lost, it's most likely muscle gains so good job! This would really make sense since you've been working out and I know when I tone up I look smaller but weigh more. I've just started some strength training too and have really noticed a difference in just a couple of weeks. It's kind of scary to gain, but we have to keep in mind that we don't always look at weight gain very rationally. I'm starting to look normal again, and for some reason it scares me? I'm weird. But I know it's a good thing and I know I look a million times better, as I'm sure you do too. I also don't get a period but I had problems with that pre-ed also. I just have low hormones, but my doctor told me that it's not really a problem to not have one unless I were trying to get pregnant, in which case I would probably need to start taking hormones. I'm  nowhere near wanting kids so I'll just be happy with not having to deal with it for now. I had a lot of really bad side effects from birth control that actually triggered my ED or at least furthered it along while making me really sick so I'm scared of them.

Anyways, this is long! Keep up what you're doing!

Hey Thanks! I know what you mean about kind of missing the way you used to look even though we know that we look a million times better now.  It's kind of scary to look normal because that means that everyone else thinks that you're "okay" and i don't ever feel 100% "okay".  You know? You always want someone to be there to pull you back from the edge just in case. And if you don't LOOK like you have a problem then people just assume that you're "all better."  You're right though, rationality when it comes to the scale is definitly not my area of expertise!  Congrats to you too! We gotta just keep on trucking along