Need HONEST help!

I dont care if the honest advice you give sounds harsh.
I have just recovered from being bulimic...well it has been about 6 months or so.....
However I still binge eat occasionaly.
I am still active and try to eat healthfully.....but in the past month and a half I have gained 13 pounds.....and I know that it is from the binge eating.

The past few days I have managed to stop binging....but I have it in my head that I need to lose 5 of the 13 pounds I gained.

Do you think this is okay and healthy?
I am 18 years old, 5"8", female, medium frame and currently 133.
I feel uncomfortable with the weight I have gained and want to be around 126.
I am pretty muscular, but at around 125ish all my old clothes would fit me again (right now they are a little tight)
Is that a bad idea? Is it just the ED speaking or is that something a regular person would do?

Advice please please and thank you!

I would assume if you are recovering from bulimia, that you are under the care of a health professional of some kind and they would probably be the best person to ask for advice.

At 133, you are near the low end of the healthy BMI scale and I personally wouldn't recommend going much lower.  I think that instead, you just concentrate on eating your maintenance calories, eating healthy and controlling your binging.  At 126, your BMI would be classified as underweight, so I wouldn't shoot for that unless you first check with a doctor who is aware of your bulimic history and they say it is okay.

I personally would use the tight clothes as an excuse to buy a new wardrobe.

Good luck and stay healthy. 

hey - i think you're doing fine.  i'm 5'8" and small-framed and would love to be 133 (actually, i'd probably be too skinny at 133).  you need to throw out your old pre-recovery clothes and start fresh; think of them as your "sick clothes" if you have to. 

That all sounds like good advice.

--No, I am not getting treatment currently.
I think its mostly psychological that I want to be lighter, which is why i was seeking advice of REAL people who will be HONEST.

starting fresh sounds perfect...but I dont know where to start?

You've already started your fresh start by eating more and gaining some beautiful weight.  Excellent advice to get rid of the old clothes that only fit you when you're sick.  The same is true for overweight people.  Keep the old fat/thin clothes in the wardrobe and subconciously you're expecting to go back there one day....   So out with the old, in with the new. 

On the bingeing... if you're still undereating then your body will react by demanding extra food - FAST - from time to time.   That would be a completely natural and normal reaction.  Increase your regular calorie intake every day to a reasonable level .... 2000+.... and you'll be a lot less likely to need the top-ups.

can you get some new clothes?  it doesn't have to be a spending spree - just a couple of pieces that fit and look great.

also, do you exercise? (not compulsively, i hope.) i don't have any personal experience with ED, but i know that when i'm stronger and fitter, i tend to think a lot less about what my body looks like and more about what it can do.

The clothes I have now still fit me, but the pants especially are hard to do up, and are tight all day- sort of like a reminder that i am no longer that small.
So I probably should get new ones...its probably a better idea than trying to diet to fit back into them...but a part of me wishes i could...but thats bad thinking.

Yes I do workout probably 4-5 days a week.  Not too intensely though. Just general workouts.

Try shopping at thrift store for some clothes that fit and are comfortable.  You can buy great jeans for only a few dollars.  I recently bought a pair for $2.50 that was $80 in the retail store. 

(edit-fix sentence)

Getting new clothes is a great idea,so is shopping at a thrift store! Some people think it sounds a little weird/gross but you can find some really unique stuff :) Also did you have any too skinny celebrity(or non-celebrity) role models? I think looking up to someone more voluptuous may be a good idea.

btw 133 sound perfect

Those both sound like really good ideas.
I think thrift stores are awesome!

Well most of the girls that I know, including my mom and family are thin thin thin.  I gain weight like a normal person, however and they don't...they are eat-a-pizza-then-some-cake-stay-size-0 people.
And yeah.

Im trying to get used to myself...But im still tempted to drop like 5 pounds.
In my head i'll feel better about myself then, but the truth is, i probably wont...

Just remember that your 'old clothes' are the clothes that fit you while you had a serious ED. Why WOULD you want to fit in them again? Alright, maybe I know why you might want that, but it seems to me like you can't trust that little voice just now.

You KNOW that you aren't going to be "happy" at 5 fewer pounds, so you might as well just find ways to feel happier right NOW, while you are at a healthy weight. ^^

Original Post by sprout21:

starting fresh sounds perfect...but I dont know where to start?

 Have you seen the new "Ask Mary" feature?  The CC+ Library has been renamed "Advice."  Click on it and you'll see "Ask Mary."  She's Mary Hartman, our CC nutritionist.  She might be able to answer your question about where to start, if she hasn't already answered it for someone else.  Browse the answers to see if it's there, if not, ask your question.

Good Luck!  Come back and tell us what you've decided to do. 

Starting around age 18 you are going to see a natural change from your teenage body to a womanly body - in a really good way. As long as you are eating healthy choices and portions and are physically active you should be proud that you've gained a bit of weight because you are maturing, AND that you are successfully recovering from an ED.

133 at 5'8 sounds lovely, but still a bit on the thin side.

I too would use this as an excuse to buy new clothes. You don't want to be wearing the same clothes you had as a freshman, do you?

We are the same height and weight.  You are fine, buy new clothes.

I am also ED.  I am recovering and trying to get pregnant - I have gained from 124 in 3 months and about a month ago I've lost it in a week during a relapse.  Balance is so key, but so hard.

I'm here if you want to talk.

Blessings