A little scared to get to 3000...

Since I've been recovering I've only been able to do this maybe once before, but lately I've been feeling more motivated to gain some weight back (to get my periods back, avoid having serious osteoporosis in the future, get more muscular, have fuller breasts, be allowed to join the XC team this coming season [i'd be the captain], be less of a worry to the people around me, etc.) 

I REALLY hope I start getting healthier soon, and I think its been hard for me in the past b/c of miscalculations.  I've read other people's posts and I seriously don't think I fit the criteria of someone who requires at LEAST 3000 to gain:  I'm 17 years old, about 5'5", and currently weigh about 110 lbs.  I run 4 days a week for about 30 min., and weight train for 3;  When I walk in school, to the bus stop, etc. its generally moderate to fast-paced depending upon how many people are in my way; sometimes when I'm bored, or have some energy and don't know what to do w/ it I'll maybe do about 30 push-ups or 50 sit-ups; so yeah, I know I'm obviously not sedendary, but even at "heavy" activity level the site says I'd only need about 2300 to maintain.  I know that 500 + maintenance cal. should = 1 lb. of weight gain per week, but I counted up to 2900 for a few days last week, and I've been staying EXACTLY the same.  I'm pretty sure I've just been making stupid errors, but could there be something else that I'm missing?  Do you have any advice for gaining weight while continuing to stay at this activity level? 

You can do this you have come a long way. Add handfuls of nuts or trailmix...or you could make your own protein smoothie with pb and fruit. How about an extra snack daily, like hummus and pita or apple with pb or chips and guac.

You can gain if you only increase.....maybe try lowering your activity for a week....

linny's right... you only gain if you increase. i was also active throughout my recovery (probably shouldn't have been at all... but yeah...), and i have to say that it is truly possible you need at least 3000 to gain. i never imagined it was possible, but i barely gained a thing unless i had 4000-5000 cals a day. it was INSANE. nuts are definitely a good idea, and peanut butter... maybe add drinks like ensure to a couple of your meals or as an extra snack... try higher calorie breads for sandwiches and things like that too to you don't feel like your always eating.

When I was in college I was an athelete and we had to be at a certain weight (ltwt women's rowing). We worked out so much that I could eat, honestly, whatever I wanted and not gain wait. Because of mypast experiences my guess is that you are seriously underestimating how many calories you are burning through out the day.

At your level of activity, unless you are eating really unhealthy foods most the food you eat will go to muscle production and you won't notice huge changes in the way you look, this is fine. Eat healthy-nuts, protein shakes, whole grain breadetc and the weight will come back. My favorite weight gaining snack, great for muscle, is whole-wheat bread with peanut butter. PLus all of that stuff has amazing nutrients that it sounds like you were not getting, your skin, hair everything will look better with a little fat in your system.

Be really honest about how much you run and work out, I know most cross country runners run more that 30 minutes a day. Include your team warm-ups, drills etc and I bet you will find that working out 6 days a week with a team or training for a team burns way more than you think :)

 

you are on the right track! best of luck with everything and hope you get back to your team-they can be easy to miss.

 

Thank you all so much for your replies.  I don't have a therapist or counselour at the moment (not that mine ever really did anything for me anyway..), but the advice you gave is very reassuring and really helps me see the reality of the situation.  When I was inpatient it was so nice to be surrounded by a small community of people who were going through the same things as me, but the "real" world is so much different because I feel I must be secretive.  I have a very limited amount of people to open up to, and after I do bring it up I often feel that I'm just frustrating or annoying, so of course I just end up with myself and ED battling it out in my head.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that I really appreciate your advice because I know you understand what I'm going through and that that's the reason you care enough to offer advice. 

In terms of eating, I've been adding more nuts and other healthy foods (I'm very strict with trying to make EVERYTHING healthy), but we recently ran out of Ensures.  I love whole wheat and all natural peanut butter (with banana, strawberry, raisins, and apple slices) so I guess I'll just start making more :)  Decreasing my activity level has been a little challenging, but I know I can do it.

Again, thank you so much for your help.