problem I am recovering from, what is your opinion?

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.

First at 121 and 5 3 you were not overweight. You had a bmi of around 21 which is healthy. 110 for your height is too low and will lead to disordered eating. You can be healthy again but you have to treat your body right by feeding it in a healthy way. No extremes. I am confused at what you are eating now but I would encourage you to establish a balanced meal plan and to change your goals to health and not too loose weight that you don't need to. Do you get your period? I ask because of all the extremes.

110 may or may not be too low; if it puts your BMI less then 19 then you should weigh a little more though, because it is healthier for your body/hair/skin and you will look and feel better.

ABBI - being a certain weight will not necessarily lead to disordered eating.That is not correct. Eating disorders start regardless of weight. A person with a BMI of 17 can not get an eating disorder, and people that are healthy weights CAN get eating disorders. Remember, being a certain weight doles not automatically mean the person will suffer from an eating disorder.

CHERRY TREE - your doctor is an absolute quack for suggesting you LOSE to 110 when you WERE NOT EVEN CLOSE to being “ over weight” are you SURE they are a doctor? He gave you a COMPLETELY uneducated, UNPROFESSIONAL, and most importantly, IN CORRECT opinion!

Any one that IS NOT a professional know that you DO NOT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT IF YOU ARE NOT EVEN OVER WEIGHT. I cannot understand why your doctor would tell you that you were over weight when you technically WERE IN THE HEALTHY WEIGHT RANGE.

TRUST me - from my own experience and from listening to a LOT of other people’s experiences - IT is not advisable to set a “ goal” weight to reach when you are NOT ACTUALLY OVER WEIGHT ( 118 lbs is a SLIM and HEALTHY weight for your height!)

Having a “ set limit” you want to reach will not allow your body to reach its “ natural” healthy weight.

118 may be a natural healthy weight for you; most people have a “ range” they can be in where they eat normally and do not have to restrict or TRY to achieve.

Basically, you are at a healthy weight for your height ALREADY. If you have to “ TRY” to restrict then your body will not be a natural weight because you are artificially achieving this weight; a natural weight is when you eat normally for your height/weight/activity level and let your body dictate the weight range it fells into.

In your position, strength training 2 - 4 days a week with plenty of core abdominal work will DESCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR BODY because you will reduce your body fat, and increase your muscle mass; you won’t necessarily lose a lot of weight, or even lose ANY weight, however, your body size will shrink a little and become firmer and you will feel MUCH BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF.

People that are in a healthy weight range are supposed to tone their body and do the appropriate strength training and cardio to attain their ideal figure - that is what makes people look their best, and I would know, I am a personal trainer.

I did not make myself clear. Trust me I know it is not about weight  but this person was controlling their body to be at 110 by not fueling themself in a proper way and that can lead to disordered eating. This is not the persons natural weight. To me when a person goes to extremes weighing 86 pounds and eating 500 calories to eating 6000 a day that is a disorder. You need to find the reasons behind your self destructive behavior. You seem to be thinking in black and white and extremes are not healthy. I hope you can come up with a balanced plan

I understand now. Restricting calories to attain a low weight is disordered eating of course.

cherry tree,

I am certainly no expert, but I totally agree with what personaltrainer and abbi had to say.  And, I just want you to know, too, that hearing your story, I want to reach right thru the computer screen and give you a big hug!

I have always been on the big side, and am working on that, but I grew up with and knew well an anorexia sufferer, and a bulimia sufferer, and they did suffer!  The biggest problem they faced was not what the scale said, but had had some experiece in thier lives that told them what you look like is the most important thing, and fitting some supposed mold in order to be accepted by society was a must.

It is important to care for ourselves, and be healthy.  It is hard to do that if you don't understand and love yourself, but are more concerned about what others think of you.

I would encourage you to do some soul searching, and spend some time dealing with what is going on between your ears and in your heart.  Getting that right will help you to be in tune with your body, too.  It will tell you what it needs, if you are able to listen, and hear your own voice over everyone else's.

Good Luck, and God Bless You!!