metabolism restoration after an ED is possible...living proof

So, i've been weight restored for almost 5 months now ...yay!! i thought my metabolism was shot and i would never be normal again...WRONG!! 

i am 16% above normal for my age/weight/height...which is phenomenal. My 

RMR [not BMR] is slightly above what is predicted on phord.com/cc. i found out that i burn a heck of a lot less calories working out than i thought, and more in my day to day life than i thought. so ive been eating right on target despite my error in thinking but it's really insightful and good to know.

just thought i'd throw that out there. so stick to your meal plans, keep the calories up, and just know that there's light at the end of the tunnel!!

first of all well done chrissy youve worked so hard , its such an inspiration after having this disorder for 14 years its one of my worries, thankyou for helping me believe and giving me hope h xxx

Tessa: i know you can do it. just believe in yourself and try to see the benefits when you have moments of doubt or at least acknowledge that this disorder has brought nothing good into your life. maybe with continued support you can break through it. how far along are you in recoverY?

What was your RMR?

It's great to have proof that your metabolism has been restored. However, I think you would be an exception if it had not - the "my metabolism is permanently broken" idea is a myth. It only stays broken when you're undereating, but almost everyone's recovers just as easily when you begin to eat normally again.

Meryl: i understand that it is a myth that the metabolism remains broken once you "ruin" it to begin with but i think that some people need reassurance. so i just wanted to provide a bit of comfort to the weary and troubled minds about this idea of metabolism and let them know that there is hope. i too was worried because sometimes we think that the rules just don't apply to us for some reason, as if my metabolism is broken even though it shouldn't be. so i just wanted to share with others so they can also be hopeful!! :)

My rmr is 1426..woot woot!!!

ive been in recovery for years , but unfortunately i always gone so far then relapsed im determined to do the full hog this time, i am particular eager as my bone specalist say if i can get to a healty weight before im 30 theres a good chance alot of the osteophrosis can be reversed :) but its scary as im 27 and guess everybody is different some go on building bone after 30 some stop before . i have got good evidence as a few years back i got my weight up not to normal but to a bmi of about 17 . i have regular bone scans and it showed my hip ratio had got better, just a shame i slipped bk again sorry for going on .

tessa: don't be sorry. you are strong enough to beat this thing this time around, don't worry. i have faith in you and if you ever need support, to vent, or just chat you can always message me!!

Tessa, I've read some of your post so I can tell your a good person. You will get get better because karma helps kind souls. But remember to allow karma to help you. Good luck <3

 

thanks chrissy, your support has been such a help ,  soup can im not familar with karma.

I'm currently struggling with a slow metabolism after an ED, mine's only at 1050 and I'm 17, 5'0 and 104 lbs. What did you do to speed yours back up, and what was your RMR during your ED? I've already gained about ten pounds of pretty much pure fat, I don't think I can handle any more /:

the only think to do is eat, try eating 2500 every day, this will speed your metabolism up , initially you may gain but it will even out. i know its a hard thing to do but its the only way . ive been struggling with the same problem you need to get out of starvation mode good luck h x

Eating regularly and being consistent is all I did. No exercise until I reached a healthy weight except yoga. No huge secrets. You give your body what it needs and it begins to trust you again!

thanks chrissy its good to hear it from someone who as been through the same thing h x

mayella: my BMR is about 1050 as well, so maybe your reading was so low because of the testing conditions. If you hadn't exercised, eaten, or had caffeine for an extended amount of time prior to the test then your RMR reading would have been much lower but generally speaking the RMR is supposed to account for an elevated metabolism due to the metabolic processes of digestion along with the burn associated with increased caffeine consumption and the afterburn of exercise. so that might explain it.

Congratulations on becoming HEALTHY!  That's so awesome :)  I think health is the biggest thing to focus on, whether you're underweight or overweight.. achieving that goal and staying there, and feeling great about how you feel and how you see yourself (self esteem something worth putting time and effort into raising) and especially being able to find that balance of healthy food and sweets and other things that you enjoy and being able to stick with a weight that is best for your body :)

Congrats again, you should be SO proud!

Oh, I see, so you burn 1050 just lying around in bed all day? Because she told me not to eat, drink caffeine, or exercise three hours before the test. So does that mean you burn 1426 just doing normal every day things? Because maybe mine's the same, if our RMR's are around the same.

Unless I just totally misunderstood everything lol.

You understood perfectly. When you get your bmr tested you fast, no exercise, and no caffeine for more like 12 hours and its usually done by a doctor.

It takes more than 3 hours to fully metabolize a meal and to be rested from and exercise so when you test under those conditions you'll get a higher reading. So depending on the amount of time you actually took between the test, eating, exercising, and having caffeine then you could have affected it in such a way that it showed a lower reading. If you waited longer then your results would be closer to the BMR reading than the RMR. If you had eaten right at the 3 hour prior mark, and had caffeine then it would be closer to the RMR because some elevation of your metabolism would have occurred. I hope that makes it clearer.

Hmm, well by the time I actually TOOK the test, it had been about five hours since I'd eaten. And I hadn't exercised or consumed any caffeine that day at all prior to the test.

Thank you, that helps me a lot though. Congratulations on recovery by the way (:

I've been wanting to know - how do you get your metabolism tested?!

You're very welcome mayella.

bsh0611: you pay for it and breathe into a machine that measures your oxygen consumption and co2 output.