Hey girls! Doing good but a couple of questions...please answer!

Hey guys i just have a couple of questions regarding my weight gain that i would love answered. I've been eating over 2,100 for the past 4 or 5 days and feel great. My day usually ends up to be around 2,400 give or take but its a huge jump coming from under 1,000 cals (probably around 500) anyways, I was wondering

What do I have to do to  experience hyper metabolism?

Also, what do you guys do during the day? I find myself restless and crampy so i try to take walks and such to relieve my stomach and take my mind off of what i just ate.

How many of you are active and how many of you are sedentary? Also, I find myself feeling like i eat/cook every hour! Since I am in school my day is cramped up at the end but i just wanted to know the time schedules everyone eats.

What do you do when you find yourself with a stomach ache but you are sedentary?

Thanks girls! (:

Ashley

P.S. I find myself eating the same foods all day! The only really dense fat I eat are nut butters and nuts. Any good snacks or recipes to use them with?

Hi! I'm no expert or anything, but I can relate to you. What is your current height/weight, your previous weight before ED, and your goal weight?

I am currently having issues with trying to eat a variety of foods too. I keep eating cereal and spreading peanut butter on things but it gets boring sometimes. I've been making meals for my family and experimenting with fun recipes to spice things up a bit. I add peanut butter to oatmeal sometimes and that is tasty!

Also, putting nuts, dried fruit, granola, or basically anything into cereal or yogurt can be quite delicious.

I am having difficulty gaining recently. I feel restless like you do and I feel like I want to be on the move! Today I cleaned/vacuumed my entire house just because I felt like I had to. Perhaps its my ED making me antsy! But I am not sedentary at all. Even at my lowest of 93, my doctor told me it was ok to do light walking and yoga. Now I also do hand weights to build muscle (I am currently 5'6" and stuck at 105ish--haven't gained in like 2 weeks and it's freaking me out! I think my metabolism is speeding up).

As for what times I eat, it really depends. I get very hungry late at night! Sometimes I'll eat 1,000 in one sitting which probably is bad but during the day I sometimes get busy and don't eat enough (also not good). So basically, I'm a terrible example to follow in that respect. However, I do try to have a nice BIG BREAKFAST every morning, and I recommend everyone do the same!!

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, and this post is basically just me ranting. 

Original Post by asshhlleeyy64:

Hey guys i just have a couple of questions regarding my weight gain that i would love answered. I've been eating over 2,100 for the past 4 or 5 days and feel great. My day usually ends up to be around 2,400 give or take but its a huge jump coming from under 1,000 cals (probably around 500) anyways, I was wondering

What do I have to do to  experience hyper metabolism?

I'm not sure exactly what it is or what causes it, but it is sometimes common in the recovery process. I have a SUPER fast metabolism and although it can be difficult to work with at times, I'm really thankful for it in the end and it's not impossible to overcome if you work at it.

Also, what do you guys do during the day? I find myself restless and crampy so i try to take walks and such to relieve my stomach and take my mind off of what i just ate.

I'm usually active during the day as much as I can be. I used to get frequent stomach pains but I rarely do anymore (knock on wood). I think just taking walks and exercising also increases my appetite and helps me reach my calorie goals.

How many of you are active and how many of you are sedentary? Also, I find myself feeling like i eat/cook every hour! Since I am in school my day is cramped up at the end but i just wanted to know the time schedules everyone eats.

I'm homeschooled so I am free to cook and eat when and what I want, and I eat every three hours or so. This adds up to six meals a day. I usually have them as follows...

• Breakfast - 6:15
• Snack - 9:30
• Lunch - 12:45
• Snack - 4:00
• Dinner - 7:30
• Snack - 10:45

What do you do when you find yourself with a stomach ache but you are sedentary?

I'm not really sure how to answer this one since I'm not sedentary myself. I suppose if you were you could at least get off your lazy butt and take a gentle walk or something to ease the pain slightly. Keep in mind that different things work for different people.

Thanks girls! (:

Ashley

P.S. I find myself eating the same foods all day! The only really dense fat I eat are nut butters and nuts. Any good snacks or recipes to use them with?

Try cooking with healthy oils (olive oil, sesame oil, etc.) or adding them to salads and grain dishes or pasta. Avacado is also great for monounsaturated fatty acids and can easily be added to a burrito or wrap via guacamole. Salmon is yet another AMAZING "fatty fish" and is packed with DHA and other Omega-3 fats. It's stupid-simple to cook (just broil it or pan-sear for mere minutes) and it's also quite tasty if prepared properly.

Of course, if you are totally convinced that you only like nuts then I suggest adding them to each and every meal since most nutrients and minerals rely on fats for digestion and absorbtion. Add nut butters or chopped raw nuts to your oatmeal or pancake batter in the morning. As a snack mid-morning, have a different nut butter on a slice of toast with some fresh fruit and cottage cheese. Add them to your salad, sandwich (nut butters, tahini, etc.), or whatever else you're eating at lunch. Mid-afternoon eat a handfull with your snack. Crust your chicken or roasted fish at dinner with ground nuts.... Sorry to go on and on. You get the picture. Fats are important. Fats DO NOT make you fat. I almost feel leaner since I've upped my fat percentages even though I've been gaining weight and eating more calories. Certain fats called EFAs can actually help you burn body fat, and they are vital in the maintenence of bodily functions and tissues such as organs and even your hair and nails.

 

My answers are in bold print above. Hope that helps. ;)

Hi I am glad you are doing better. If I recall you are young and still growing so you need a lot of calories for weight gain,being young,and repair. I am assuming just daily with school you are very active. I am sedentary due to my other conditions but even if not an issue I think basically just walking lightly and yoga is ok when underweight.  Being restless is common and I know I have that from anxiety. Is there other ways for you to sooth this like a craft or going to a book store? My stomach always hurts as well and I know with time it does feel less discomfort. A few things like being consistent, eating every few hours,looking at problem foods for me that is like beans but for you it could be something else. Variety can be a problem for me too.  Can you make goals to try new things each day? Can you cook with olive oil for a change in fats or add cream cheese to a bagel?

My recipe for pb is to take a banana drizzle melted pb on it and roll in graham cracker crumbs or granola and freeze.

What do I have to do to  experience hyper metabolism?

Hypermetabolism occurs as you are bringing you are brining your body out of starvation mode, and into "restore and repair" mode. As backwards as it may sound, a body damaged through starvation and malnutrition takes a great deal of calories to gain weight, usually more than the average person looking to gain a few extra pounds. This is because your body has damage to undo, and it needs to rebuild itself. Think of it like this: It takes  a lot more energy to redo all the piping in your house than it does to take a trip downstairs and turn the water main back on. A person who is gaining a few more pounds to make 20BMI just needs to eat a bit more. An eating disordered person has to restore all the damage done to their body on top of the need to gain weight. Eating more generally equates a faster metabolism. My mom actually refused to let me go past 3600-3800 calories a day unless it became absolutely necessary (IE my weight gain stalled entirely) because she didn't want my metabolism shooting through the roof like in IP (I was eating nearly 5,000 calories a day to gain 2-2.5 lbs/week there.

Also, what do you guys do during the day?

I talk to my friends online or one the phone, hang out and watch movies, drive down the sea wall. I do occasionally take walks. Walking for a bit is fine, as long as its  a gentle walk and its no more than 1/2 hour  a day. I was on bed rest for quite some time though. I know that walking can relieve some of the discomfort you get from eating (mentally and physically) but depending on where you are weight-wise, making it a habit might not be the best thing for you. EDs tend to breed habits that become hard to break. Perhaps try a heating pad on your stomach instead? I still use it every night, helps soothe my stomach at the end of the day. It is much, much better now than it was in the beginning though, and its really only an occasional "off" day with the stomach discomfort.

P.S. I find myself eating the same foods all day! The only really dense fat I eat are nut butters and nuts. Any good snacks or recipes to use them with?

I eat about 1/4 cup each of nuts and nut butter on an average day, though I also have things like Larabars, avocado, olive oil, fatty fish like salmon, tofu, salad dressings and whole-fat dairy products and coconut. Those are all excellent ways to increase your fat intake without having to eat a massive amount of nuts (which can be on the pricey side) Olive oil goes great in pasta salads, or even mixed into hummus or with tuna or brushed on tofu before being baked. Avocadoes make a great salad topper, can be mixed with canned tuna, or spread on sandwiches or bagels. Higher-fat dairy products are great too - when you are in recovery from an ED, the saturated fats and D3 found in whole dairy products are proven to help restore the brain tissues lost, and help restore cellualar integrity. Saturated fats are really just as important as any other kind of fat for you right now. Don't avoid them.

But, for your nuts, here's some ideas: Yogurt+ nuts+ dried fruit and honey

Yogurt+ banana+ PB+ honey

Brown rice+ almonds+ hummus++ peas

Wrap+ tuna/avocado salad+ chopped almonds and apple+ baby spinach

Cottage cheese + banana + PB+ honey

Oatmeal + coffee creamer+ brown sugar/cinnamon+walnuts + coconut flakes + blueberries

Quite honestly, I could give you a thousand ideas. I eat the stuff everyday in different ways. PM me if you'd like and I'll help ya figure some new stuff out.