gaining on 2000 rather than 3500?

hi everyone

ive been recovering from anorexia and eating on ave btwn 1950-2250 for about the past 2 months.  at first i did gain but in the past 3 weeks ive gone from 93.5 to 95, to 96.5.  now dont get me wrong, im very happy to finally be recovering and gaining and getting back to life, i just dont understand why some ppl are told or need to consume much more in order to gain than what i seem to need?  i almost feel jipped in not being able to eat as much altho i dont even know that i necessaraly would(slight Ed thoughts).

also, id like to eventually be able to maintain on a nice amount of food, 2000ish id think, and since im eating that now and gaining, im a bit scared?  maybe once i weigh more ill need more to maintain my weight and then what i need now to gain, ~2000, will be my maintenenance?

any insight would really be appreciated!

thank you!

spek

increasing my calories, now at 2500 for the past 7 days, was the best thing ive done for myself in a long time.  i truly feel asthough im recovering, mind and body. 

oh hun, im so very happy for you!!!

can you tell me a bit more like....... is it getting easier eah day?

are you able to eat "wrong" foods ?

do you still add up calories daily?

sure, any and all qs.

you know its deff for everyone, but, i dont really have wrong foods, as long as i know the calories in the food, ill eat it, not necessaraly a good thing or good for recovery, but i eat almost anything.  i still count my cals mostly bc if i dont i tend to not have enough, and having enough is still important at this point.  i eat mechanically, every few hours, according to a plan that i semi planned in the morning.  i dont think about food as much, but i still do too much.  it is deff easier, w each action, taking that extra bite, licking the spoon, etc, it gets easier.  honestly, doing the action is the most important part and it wont make sense until you do it.  you just need to taek that step, say, im going to eat 2500 cals for 2 weeks, not weigh myself till then, and go with it!

you can do it!

so this is sort of connected sort of bc i just read something CHARLIEBRO wrote-

the thought change happens AFTER you take the action, increasing your cals sounds scarey before you do it, AFTERWARDS it starts to make sense and even becomes, dare i say, i bit easier, day by day...

Original Post by agruskin:

so this is sort of connected sort of bc i just read something CHARLIEBRO wrote-

the thought change happens AFTER you take the action, increasing your cals sounds scarey before you do it, AFTERWARDS it starts to make sense and even becomes, dare i say, i bit easier, day by day...

 That's because every time you do something Ed has had you afraid of, you PROVE that "nothing bad" will really happen. 

PLUS as you get healthier your brain can think more clearly.

agru-way to go with the consistency--that's KEY to getting your body to trust you again.  Just keep in mind that 2500 is pretty average for a sedentary individual.  Your full metabolic effect won't kick in until you get OVER what your body should need to maintain PLUS what it needs to fuel all the repairs and rebuilding [weight gain aside].

aka-you need 2500 + any activity you do [walking included] +extra to fuel the repairs + extra building blocks used in the repairs + extra to gain

....and it's the extra ABOVE that which signals your body needs to trust you and let the metabolism loose.

i LOVE reading your posts TUFFSTUFF, youre so awesome!  everything you say makes complete sense, especially after i actually do it.  i eman i was so scared to increase past 2000, then i did, and now its like rote, no problem, i just do it, and im ok.

so past 2500?  i havent weighed and im not planning on it until next thurs-2 weeks on 2500.  so i really dont know how the weight gain is thus far although i can tell that my clothes are deff fitting more, i mean theyre tighter-and im deff ok w that, just not usre if its bloat or real weight?

how do i know how much to go for, when do i increase bc its only been 1 week on this and as i said i was thinking i should stay at this intake for 2 weeks, then weigh? 

thank you!!!!! i hope everything is awesome with you!

thank u so much.... any inside is so helpfull!!!

im really having a good think about this...... im thinking that i might just be worth doing it for!

tuffstuff: That's exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you! I think I need constant reminders to keep me challenging ED. It is pretty amazing how the things I have been so terrified of for years are really not so formidable when I plunge in and "just do it."

I never post here but I always read it and it's soo helpful! Thank you guys so much, I was just finishing dinner when I clicked on this, not enjoying it so much, but as I read it I felt so much better and gobbled up the rest and I'm already revved to have a super calorie dense snack as soon as this meal settles.

I was thinking earlier abuot all those foods and amounts that we've become afraid of, and I just started wondering, what coudl these things possibly do to me?? specifically they were the cookies I made with white flour, white sugar, and butter. 3 horrible horrible things in my mind. But I used to eat these things all the time, I've always loved baking, the more butter the better it tasted, that was my thinking. I'd bake a cake and eat half of it in one sitting if I thought it was good and never think twice. Now if I eat more than 1 slice I call it a "binge" and freak out about the fat and empty calories. But just because white flour doesnt have as many nutrients as whole grain doesnt mean it's not worth eating. I have to remember that some things are worth eating just for the sake of enjoyment and that NOTHING bad will happen to me if I do eat these things. I enjoyed them all the time before and lived a happy healthy and full life. I should be no different now!

Now all I need to do is listen to myself when I say these things.

tuffstuff- thank you thank you thank you!! I'm worried I'm under for the day since I was really busy but was beginning to have thoughts of not wanting to make it all up tonight, but I'm feeling a lot more prepared to face the pb jar now :)

spek- you're soo very worth it! I'm so glad you're doing better, keep it up!

agru- I want to give you so many big hugs! You're incredible, I love your determination, and you always manage to keep me on track. I know that when I start to slip you'll hold me accountable and that keeps me going.

charlie- you've made so much progress! i have so much faith that you'll beat this for good and you're not going to let this ED take one more second of your life away from you.

SPEK-ofcourse youre worth it!! we all are, think of all the life and potential that we have ahead of ourselves, things we cant even fathom until were done with this, we have things to look forward to that are beyond our wildest ideas, but all trough recovery, recovery is the key, and you have the power to do it, you CAN do it.  you just need to decide, say, tomm i will make a goal of eating at least this amount, no questions, plan it out maybe that helps me at least, and then just follow it, no thought required, just go with it.

i KNOW FOR A FACT that we can all do this, put your mind to it and go for it.  all the time and effort that we put into the ED and continuing it, turn that into recovery and WOW, watch out Mr. ED, youre going down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow u all just give me so much hope.....i wont so bad to live a life that is a good one...... after 10 yrs......i think ive had enough.......at least to relize that being this thin is not healthy and is not taking away my pain.

to act on this scares me to death!

SPEK-hun, you cant keep saying that youre going to do it, you have to do it.  each action you take destrys the ED, its the actual ACTION, not the thought of doing the action.

you have to make the decision, plan it out, and DO IT.  otherwise youll keep saying i wish, i want, and be in the same place 1 year from now, until you actually take the step!

wow u could not be more right!!!!!

pls tell me how are things today for you mentally and pysically.....how many days has it been now?

im 25, ive had anorexia for maybe 3 years now but only over this past summer did i truly decide that I was ready to recover-that is the most important part-YOU have to really want it, for yourself.

withthe help, support, and guidance of the ppl on thissite i have increased my cals from about 1100 to 2500, 2500 the past week and im not weighing till next week, 2 weeks total.  i too was, and am scared, ofcourse, bc thats the ED, but only through action, taking the extra bite, licking the spoon, etc, thats how you break it.  were all diff but if you dont do the ACTION youll be stuck in this spiral forever, do you want this forever?

stop thinking and do it, are you eating at least 2000 cals? if not get there asap, if you are, increase, not 50 cals, but by a few hundred, the sooner the better, you just need to do it!

im just managing 1,800 and i eat each hr and high nrg things(nuts , dry fruits ect) and i feel so sick and full on that:(

are you very underweigh?

(i hope u dont mind me asking that)

cause i am and my body seems to get so full on so little food....... i wont to reach 2,000 but dont know what to add and where........ i seem to be constintally eating:(

i dont know what i weigh honestly and i dont think i have experience w being below a bmi of about 16 or so, but maybe try choosing higher cal foods so you eat less but get more cals.

dont fill up on fruit and veggies, you need higher cal-PB, nuts, bread, pasta, sauces, make smoothies, drink ensure or boost, ice cream, butter, cheese, eggs, oil for cooking...

okay.......does it matter its mainly from fats......??

i seem to find ne bread so filling ...... 

how many calories is safe to add in my week?

oh sorry this is overwhelming ....... 

fats are very very good, you need a lot during recovery.  do not worry about that-cheese, eggs, milk, PB, avocado, nuts...

youre at 1800 and have been a while?  i say the most you feel comfortable with, how about, 2100 for 3 days-no questions, you just need to do it immediately.

then from there 2500, or 2500 as soon as you can if its before the 3 days.

but you just need to do it, stop thinking, it doesnt matter waht you eat, ice cream, cake, bread, cheese, anything, just make sure you get enough!

you can do it!

kylies mind <<<<panic,panic,panic>>> >>>> im just crying i dont know what going on.

to even think about this......is just like what???