gaining so, so fast?

ah so im sorry for another post, i really dont intentionally plan on flooding the boards. lol

even though ive expirienced a 35 lb. refeed in the past, this "minor refeed" (i only started out 12 lbs. under target weight this time(, this time, my energy needs seem to be much lower, and my weight gain much more rapid.

anyhow, im very confused. my weight gain has been very rapid thus far. im only eating 2500-3000 calories a day. i get weighed twice a week in hospital, same time of day, no food or water, same clothes, everything.

heres my stats so far:

5'4", goal weight of 108 lbs.

weigh-in 9/19- 92.4 lbs.

weigh-in 9/23- 95.4 lbs.

weigh-in 9/26- 94 lbs.

weigh-in 9/30- 96 lbs.

so im really frazzled... why am i gaining so fast? on such low calories? thid weight gain would mean that my RMR is only 1000! i do light toning exercises (minimal calorie burn, like sit-ups and push-ups) daily, too.

last time, it took 4500 calories for me to gain .5 lbs. a week last time on bed rest! how can i fix mt screwed up and sluggish metaboilsm? thanks!

my weigh-ins

eekers, ive beeon on 2500 the past 2 weeks and will weigh tomm for the 1st time, i feel like ive gained tons but i guess ill see then.  the only thing i can thing of, and what i think others will say if they respond, is tht youre body is still starving and that it is therefore clinging to these cals bc its scared youll stop feeding it.

imwondering if lets say i gained at least hmm, i guess 4lbs in the last 2 weeks i would proceed, continue at 2500 or what?

i know its diff for everyone is what my nutritionist says... some gain on lower cals than others.  i gain on 1800 and some other people who need 3000 to gain.

i say keep doing the same cals you are and your body will get used to it.  thats what i figure will happen to me.

do not freak out or over exercise or restrict bc of this... it should even out.. express your concerns to your drs!  youre in the best place to do so.

and AGRU... don't let this freak you out... everyone is diff.  keep me updated about tomm.  and good luck.  I'll be up late if you need to vent or chat. xo

hi

so JULZ or anyone, i gained about 5lbs in 2 weeks, only a few more days than it took with your scenario but i think thats pretty much on target?

im about 5'4 so a bmi now of 17.5.

ive been at 2500 the past 2 weeks and i assume ill continue w that level?

This goes for all of you seeing overly rapid gains: it will be, in part, water weight. Not all of it, but some. So, keep eating at the levels you are if you are at 2500+, get to 2500+ if you are not there already.

I gained 10lbs in two weeks at one point, then a week and a bit later lost all but 3lbs of that again. Gaining at a lower rate (under 2500) indicates your body may still be starving; over 2500, and excesses of a 2lb-per-week gain are more likely your body holding water too. Weighing in more than once a week is often counterproductive anyway but you are working with a team so can't avoid it. I would follow a trend line per week; pick one of those two weigh ins and look at the trend between them. So, if you went for your weigh ins on the 19th and then the 26th it'd say you'd have gained just about 2lbs in a week. At 3000, that'd be about right.

i seem to be having a different problem. i've increased my calories to 2500+ for almost 4 weeks now. however, though i feel more energized and stronger, i'm not sure if i've gained any weight. i'm going to get weighed tomorrow, but since i was really curious, i checked my weight yesterday. i only gained about 2 1/2 pounds. granted, i was wearing workout clothes and using those manual scales where you move the weight thing yourself, but still. is there some explanation for this?

Darkouthere: 2.5lbs over four weeks? That'd make an average of 0.6-ish pounds a week, which might not be enough depending on the speed you want to gain. You'd be gaining slower due to speeding of the metabolism; your body is catching up to your intake. Essentially, you would want to add another 500 calories to your intake to take it to 3000 if you want to gain a lb a week.

LALA-umm, so i think i gained about 2.5 a week, 5lbs in 2 weeks bc i waited 2 weeks to weigh, im not a daily weigher whatsoever.  ive been eating 2500 the past 2 weeks.

should i stay at the 2500? im now at a bmi of 17.5.  2500 this week and then weigh again next thurs?

thanks!

Agru: Yes, stay at 2500.

thanks LALA!

and btw, i think it took a few mins to settle and all, but then i looked in the mirror and like, i look way hotter than i did last month! lol

but-hotter, still need to gain a bit more i know so i can be HOT again! haha

lala- THANK YOU! i always love your insight :) ill stick with the 3000. my body should adapt, im just impatient lol

agru- keep up the great work!

stay strong everybody :)

hi JULZ!  were the same height altho im a bit older-25, and have been at a higher weight pre-ED.  youre saying you think your body will adapt and stop gaining on 3000? im going to stay at 2500 for the enxt wk as was suggested but i think im aiming for at least 117 or so which is about a bmi of 20 i think.

take care!

thanks, lala!

actually, i guess i was wrong. i went to the dr's today and was weighed. apparently, i've actually gained about 5 pounds. however, i have some doubts because i don't think i look any different.

could it be muscle gain that the scale is showing or is something else going on? maybe i just don't know how i look anymore... i feel like most of the weight i gain goes toward the lower half of my body, so i still feel small and thin in a way. eh.

Darkoutthere: Hmm, 5lbs over four weeks would be 1.25lbs a week. If that's fast enough for you, go with it, but if you want to get to 2lbs a week you'd want an extra 400ish calories a day.

That's not actually that fast if you are in an intensive treatment program. It's about normal, to be honest. To us it sure seems like a lot though! (hugs)

Keep in mind that doing this to your body over and over kicks your metabolism further and further down. For example, when I was initially hospitalized, it took A LOT for me to gain even an ounce, but by my sixth hospitalizion I was gaining on a lot less because I had spent 10 years in this refeed-restarve cycle, in and out of hospital.

Your metabolism will naturally increase as your body moves out of starvation mode. It is a myth that exercise is the only way to increase your metabolism, especially for eating disordered patients. In fact, exercising with a weakened heart (which you have, even though it is "only 12 lbs" to you), puts you at severe risk for heart attack, collapse and a whole mess of other scary things.

NOAUDIENCE-hi, yes, to comment on the excercise factor, excercising now only serves to tell the body that it needs to continue to cling to cals and only works against restoring one's metabolsm. 

i gained about 5lbs in 2 weeks on 2500, part of me is stuck at that # but part wants to ensure that i am giving my body enough cals to work with and really recover my metabolsim so that in the future i can maintain on more.  eek-stupid ED and confusion?! ha