Maintenance not working!

Hey everyone!

Okay im soo confused! Im currently in maintenance but my weight keeps on majorly fluctuating. I dropped 1.1kg so i added 200kcals per day to gain a bit back but ended up gaining 1.6kg which is mental. I don't know what to do with my calories to make my weight settle, should i be thinking so much about calories? instead maybe just go with the flow and try and be normal? my ed therapist says i should know what to do by now and leaving it in my hands but i need help! should i go with the flow or keep counting and trying to hit a target (still way above what others eat cos need more kcals to mantain still) please help!?! x

You need to just to go with the flow. I know its hard, but a huuuge part of maintenance is realizing that your weight is going to flucuate. So you gained back an extra half a pound. Is it really the end of the world? If you drop calories, you'll end up losing even more (I know from experience) Increasing 200 calories will not make you gain that much in a matter of days. It's fluctuation and its part of day to day life. Don't let it get to you. If you see the scale go down dramatically, or more than once - then you know you need to increase. Also, if the scale goes down and doesn't go back to where it was, same thing - need an increase. One time, its a fluke. Twice is not a coincidence though.

My advice is this: You know what you generally need to maintain, yes? Are you comfortable with it, meaning you know how to get the calories you need without much thought? If so, then perhaps it is time to stop being so stringent with planning. If you are still feeling a bit insecure, keep the log for a bit longer. Slipping back is not an option - it leads to relapse VERY quickly because your body is so used to eating. What I am trying to do these days is eat what I want, and just keep track throughout the day or tally up as the day is ending, and then make up whatever it is I need between dinner and snack before bed. That might help you feel less obsessed maybe, but still give you the security of knowing that you are eating enough. In a few weeks or so, you might realize you don't even need to tally up any more because you actually can trust yourself to eat enough.

by going with the flow i mean not counting at all, is that a bad idea?

Ah sorry I misunderstood.

I think that depends on where you are mentally and how long you've been at a healthy weight. If its only been like a week or two....probably not the best idea. I tried just eating on my own when I came home from IP last spring....I lost 30 pounds in 6 weeks and ended up at my lowest weight to date and almost died. I'm not saying that is what would happen to you....but in my experience when you start losing weight after recovering from an ED, it can be very hard to stop.

If you are more secure in recovery (read: have been at aforementioned weight for several weeks) then it is probably OK and you more than likely have  a good idea of what it is that you need to eat in a day. However, I do also happen to think that initially, it might be a good idea to "tally up" at the end of the day for a bit just to make sure you ARE getting what you need.