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problem I am recovering from, what is your opinion?


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Making my story very very short:

I am 5 foot 3 and I used to weigh 121lb.  My doctor told me I was overweight and that I should drop to 110, so I started exercising and eating healthy. As soon as I reached 110, I felt great and wanted to lose more. I started restricting, feeding off roughly 500 calories a day for 3 months and dropped down to 86lb. I had anorexia. January this year I started recovering. For the whole of January and febuary I ate an average of 5000 calories a day, and only gained 11 pounds. After that I started a binge/restrict cycle that has been going on for the past two months.

There came a time when I binged on around 6000 calories a day non-stop and have consequently gained a lot of weight. One day I decided to make a meal plan and recover for once and for all. but it started off as eating 600 cal a day for a week (currently where I am now). The next I would eat 700-800, the next 900-1000 and gradually increase to a healthy number of calories. 

 

So my questions are:

- Have i completely screwed up my body? Are there any chances that I can recover and lead a healthy life?

- Is this the right method for reaching a correct number of calories? Will I gain more weight? I am currently at 118 and would like to go back to 110lb. How can I lose weight whilst increasing my calories?

- Due to circumstances i have to remain sedentary for the next 3 months or so. Now what?

- Should I do this gradually or all of a sudden?

- Any general advice??

 

Thank you so very much. I appreciate your replies.

1 Reply (last)

First things first...  The 'normal healthy weight range' is a BMI of between 20 and 25.  At 118lbs your BMI is 20.9.  When you were 121lbs your BMI was 21.8.  The medical definition of 'overweight' is a BMI over 25..... so on that basis your doctor's advice was irresponsible.   You've never been anything other than very slim.   I do hope you go back to him at some point and make it very clear that he triggered a sequence of events that led to you becoming gravely ill..... He should be ashamed.

You don't mention your age so I'll assume you're over 21.  If you're completely immobile you could maintain your weight quite happily on 1700-1900 cals a day.   Aim for a minimum of three meals a day.  Choose some high-calorie, healthy foods so that you're not getting too much bulk.... things like oils, oily fish, avocados, dried fruit, nuts.   The quicker you get to 1700-1900, the sooner your body will recover and the sooner your metabolism will normalise.  There may be some small short-term gains but they'll be very minor. 

Chances are there is nothing fundamentally wrong with your body and that it's essentially going to function the same as everyone else's given the right nourishment. 

Find another doctor...

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