Too much for gaining weight?

Hello

I am a long time follower of this site, but just decided to bite the bullet and officially make an account.

I am about 5'4 and around 84 pounds. Long time in recovery from anorexia, I have gained a good 12 pounds in the past 2 months.

However, I exercise still daily ..over 6 miles walking (no cardio or anything) a day and an hour of pilates/yoga alternating days. The ED voice in my head tells me I should be doing this much for all the 'extra' foods and calories I am taking in.

My question is..if I continue to gain weight will the exercise ED voice in my head slowly begin to disappear.

Thanks for any advice you have to offer!

Your BMI is an extremely dangerous 14.4 and therefore you should be in the care of professionals.

Being severely underweight and therefore severely malnourished has an effect on your brain.  A starved brain is extremely likely to be delusional, anxious, irrational and this leads to 'voices in the head'.   Start to get the right amount of energy and nourishment.... typically 2500 cals a day.... the brain is in better health and the thought processes have a chance to become more normal. 

As well as being much better nourished, crowd out the irrational food-related, body-related, exercise-related thoughts by keeping busy and focusing on other aspects of life.  You should stop walking 6 miles a day (walking is 'cardio'!!) pilates and yoga until you are a much healthier 110lbs.....  anything more than very light exercise is dangerous for your weakened heart.

Posting Guidelines

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines.

• Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited

That is way too much activity. You need at least 2500 plus many need over 4000 no activity. It can take time for the mind to catch up to the body. The refeeding and gaining is the start though. It needs to be number 1 to work on the why mentally. You need to stop the activity. I know first hand how dangerous it is at a low weight and why I ended up in a cardiac unit even on a high cal diet. You have no reserves and your organs are very weak.

Original Post by abbi333:

That is way too much activity. You need at least 2500 plus many need over 4000 no activity. It can take time for the mind to catch up to the body. The refeeding and gaining is the start though. It needs to be number 1 to work on the why mentally. You need to stop the activity. I know first hand how dangerous it is at a low weight and why I ended up in a cardiac unit even on a high cal diet. You have no reserves and your organs are very weak.

 First I want to say I love reading your posts Abbi.  You are both understanding and wise. It sounds like you've come a long ways and I hope you are now reaping the rewards!

I am particularly curious abou this last statement of yours because you mention activity being dangerous even on a high calorie diet.
I was under the impression that the primary reason for restricting activity was to prevent compulsive exercise [the ED behavior] and because it is impossible to overcome the energy balance for someone struggling to meet even what it takes to gain without activity.

Based on this, I have recently  [gradually and on a limited sense] returned to my sport, despite not being fully weight restored:
1. Activity was not a part of my disorder. I actually had to drop out of my sports due to ANorexia because I was too weak and lacked desire. And my love of being an athlete is hugely what motivated me to turn things around!

2. I made sure to heal and establish a positive energy balance before I began training again--and of course to keep building I must maintain that and continue gaining.

3. I found that getting back in the gym triggered healthy thinking more than ever with nourishing my body.

Does this sound like logical reasoning or am I still at risk even with these circumstances?

Original Post by lilmissgutz:

Does this sound like logical reasoning or am I still at risk even with these circumstances?

 If you're still far below a healthy weight (BMI 20) then you could be at risk.  The reasons why people are advised to avoid physical exercise are largely to do with putting strain on a weakened body, most particularly the heart.  And a secondary reason is that activity means the person has to eat a lot, lot more food in order to keep gaining successfully.... and if they're finding a tiny 2500 cals daunting then that can be counter-productive.    In many people 'getting back in the gym' can quickly turn into 'burning off all the extra energy I just ate'.  You may not think it applies to you but your love of being an athlete and not eating enough to sustain your activity was part of the original problem.

If you're still underweight the only 'positive energy balance' that applies is the one that says you're taking in more energy than you're using up on a regular basis.

Original Post by lilmissgutz:

I am particularly curious abou this last statement of yours because you mention activity being dangerous even on a high calorie diet.
I was under the impression that the primary reason for restricting activity was to prevent compulsive exercise [the ED behavior] and because it is impossible to overcome the energy balance for someone struggling to meet even what it takes to gain without activity.

For what it's worth, my IP allowed some exercise when people were 7lbs below their target weight. My IP also sets some of the lowest target weights in the country - this means that people were permitted to exercise (again, this was supervised, moderate exercise - starting with walking, then gradually increasing) at BMIs of  18.3, 18.3 and 18.1.  I only knew a couple peoples' target weights, so I don't have a lot of data. Before these weights, people were not allowed to exercise at all - only very limited walking (i.e., across the street = yes, two blocks = no).

Most treatment centers do not allow any activity below a BMI of 20.  I know a lot of this is their concern with weight gain ASAP (because most people cannot stay in treatment centers for very long due to insurance, at least in the US, and many find it very difficult or impossible to gain while outpatient).  However, I think that people who are underweight are much more prone to compulsive exercising, and people who are very underweight - I don't know what the numbers would be, but I would think 14.4 would qualify! - are much more likely to have serious medical complications, like a heart attack.

peachess16, congradulations on the weight gain! that is a wonderful achievement. however, at such a low weight, it is essential that you are under a doctor's care, whether inpatient or outpatient. if you are not, please please make an appointment with a dr as soon as possible to discuss refeeding yourself and your exercise!