Posts by ms_pixie

Firstly, congratulations on deciding to recover from anorexia and get your life back on track! Its fantastic to hear that you have had your period 4 months in a row, it is a good sign that your body is healing itself. To answer your question, yes it is possible to become pregnant as you are now ovulating. Just keep in mind however that getting your period doesnt mean that you have to stop gaining weight, and you should use other markers such as BMI and body fat % to ensure that you have gained to an appropriate weight. If you plan on getting pregnant, this well help to keep both you are baby healthy throughout the whole time.

Once again congrats!

Hi Florence!

This is definitely a difficult situation as it is often hard to convince people who are dieting that this can be harmful to their health, especially if they are losing weight on it as it makes them feel as if they are achieving physical weight loss from it. First and foremost though, you must take care of your own health. If her behaviour is triggering you too much, and you think you are at risk of relapsing, than perhaps you should take some time away from her and ask another friend to talk to her? However, if you think that you can handle it, perhaps sit her down and tell her your concerns and what her eating can lead to. Maybe show her some articles online about how detrimental it can be eating that amount of calories or offer to help her to plan a mre appropriate weight loss regime?

Hope this helps,

pixie :)

Well there are a variety of other things that can affect menstruation such as stress, hormonal imbalances, certain disease states. I would go to the doctor if I was you, just to get a check up. That way you will have some peace of mind. :)

Original Post by manoncamille15:

I would love to!! U sound super enthusiastic, and we hav the same goals;) u might laugh at me, but I'm kinda new to calorie count and dont know how to friend people haha:) do u mind tellin me how?:)

Love the name btw:)

Manon:)

Yay, Im excited too! I am supporting you (which I think is essentially "friending") and sent you a message via mailbox. :)

Animex and Marycarnes - you guys sound really enthusiastic aswell, do you mind if I add you? :D

Hey Sungiant,

I have been following your progress over the last month and you have truly been inspirational! You may feel fat, but I can assure you from your photos and your still low BMI that you arent. Just keep remembering that you have had a mental illness for X months and it has changed the ways you see things. From personal experience andnd knowledge, most people dont have a gap between their thighs unless they stand a certain way (ie. with their legs apart) and I think that most people would love to have a gap there but its just not achievable at a healthy weight. And with the whole bloating stomach, I have that too and I know exactly where you are coming from....I cant wear singlets, I have to wear flowy tops, otherwise people actually have asked me if I am pregnant (this was truly devastating too me). For me, I think its mainly due to my recent unwanted weight gain and also because I eat lots of fruit and vegetables which bloat me, as well as chew gum and drink lots of soda. I too am envious of a flat stomach, and have started to do some toning exercises, but if I was you I would just keep preservering with the weight gain and wait to see if some of that weight redistributes (I bet most of it will!). Also as you probably know, your change in eating habits (ie. eating more) is altering the way your body works as it is still getting used to all the new foods and nutrition you are receiving and therefore more healthy bacteria are growing etc which will bloat you a little. But keep up the great work, and as a complete stranger who doesnt really know you, I can tell you honestly that you are gorgeous and try not to let your thinking skew your recovery process! x

I would say light activity..unless ofcourse it was very very brisk walking or walking up an incline, then I might say moderate. 

Hey MsPletz,

I looked at your gallery and just wanted to give you an honest outsiders opinion about your weight. Honestly, you look fantastic in that photo! You are definitely not overweight and look so much happier and healthier than you were when you were sick and in recovery. And it sounds a bit corny, but you also seem to have a glow about you. Everyone has things that they dont like about themselves, and people who struggle or have struggled with an eating disorder, see these imperfections in themselves ten fold. So what you dislike in yourself is most definitely magnified in what you see. If you really feel uncomfortable at this weight, perhaps try eating at your intuitive 2400 calories and see if some of the weight comes off naturally? Also light exercise is great for not only toning and redistributing your weight, but also great for mental health aswell, not that you need to though! Hope my input helps a little. :) 

Hi Swantears,

First of all congratulations on the weight gain, you have done a fantastic job and you need to know that! Secondly, *hugs*! While I am not in the exact same predicament as you are in now, I have been in a similar situation and I understand how hard it can be with setback such as this. Remember that your overall health and beauty cannot be classified as a number, so forget about your BMI being over 20 - is it good though that you have reached a weight that has a BMI in the healthy range so well done. Also remember, that during the weight gain process, bingeing is entirely normal and is the body's way of obtaining all the essential foods that it has been deprived for so many months, so while you may feel fat or overweight, the urge to binge is probably an indication that your body still needs a few extra thousand calories that it has been deprived of.

Now to tackle the problem of feeling terrible after bingeing - this is a difficult one. I always find that what helps me to feel better is to get some fresh air. You cant change what has happened and there is ni point dwelling on it or making yourself feel any worse for what has happened so I go for a light walk for half an hour around the block. It really clears my head and also helps me to get a new perspective on the situation.

About your parents - maybe you can look at what they are saying in a different light. Perhaps your mother is telling you that you look perfect the way you are becuase she wants to reaffirm how well you look now that you have gained the weight, or perhaps she is telling you not to gain any more weight because she is afraid that if you gain more it may trigger you to relapse and lose it all again. Have you ever relapsed before?

About your dad, perhaps explain to him about the gaining process in more depth so he is well aware that you are still needing/wanting to gain. Or maybe just ignore his comments? Im sorry I am not much help on this one as I dont have a dad living with me :(

Recovery is difficult and most likely much more difficult to do alone without help, so I would definitely encourage maybe sitting down and speaking to your parents about seeing someone professional to help you along. Maybe explain the pros of this and the fact that reaching a goal weight does not necessarily mean you are totally alright. Do they know how you feel about your recovery process and how you are going emotionally?

If you cannot obtain a therapist, perhaps seek out a friend to talk to? You always have us at CC aswell, dont forget that :)

And lastely, I would definitely recommend seeing a doctor. There you might be able to talk about not only your weight and reaching a weight that you are happy with, but also will be able to talk about how you are feeling emotionally and they might be able to prescribe you with something to make you feel a little better.

Hope you feel a little better, and remember that purging and self harm is only going to set you back. We are all here to support you! :D

Hey lorypop

First of all, well done for recognising that your body may not be in the best state at the moment and being willing to take action to rectify this. I myself have found myself in a similar situation. I lost weight and regained a little and even though I was technically at a healthy BMI, I still wasnt quite myself and asked peoples opinions on CC as to whether or not to gain weight, and I have since and feel much better for it.

If you look boney, and feel the cold, and collapsing, these are all signs that you do not have enough body fat and that you should gain a little. Its great that you have lots of fruits and vegies and that you exercise, but remember that some fats are just as important, as well as foods with your essential proteins and vitamins, such as dairy products. People tend to shy away from these foods as they believe that they are calorie dense foods, but really, a cup of reduced fat milk has the same calories as an apple, so remember to include these.

I would cut back a little on the exercise. 10k is alot to do, and its great that you are fit and active but just remember that your body does need a break and could benefit from other activies such as pilates, or weights (which will help you keep your figure if you gain weight - if you are worried about that). Also, you are definitely on the right track about needing to gain and its good that you understand that you wont immediately gain 5 kilos just from eating a few extra calories a day. A person your age is still growing (believe it or not) so you should be consuming around 2500-3000 calories without exercise. With exercise, I would add atleast an extra 500.

And one last thing, Ive told a couple of other girls this too - have fun with it! Have more than one tastey treat each night, as you deserve it, expecially with all the exercise you do, you can afford to eat lots during the day and then have as many treats at night as you want. Also its Christmas coming up, and there are massive sales on at the shops, so go out and buy all the christmas puddings, mince pies, chocolates, lollies, cakes you can get your hands on and have them haha! If you get scared about gaining weight, just remember that you wont jump to gaining 5 kilos in one week, and that it is a gradual and slow process, and you can stop whenever you want when you feel you are at a comfortable weigt.

Original Post by sugarholic1990:

hoshii: Thanks :) Well I too think that food bore me, I can easily forget they exist lol. It helps to try new things once in a while, new recipes, international cuisine, I also go for my favorites like once in a while making a cake with lots of filling and frosting when I am in an ok mood.
My problem is certainly stress, it can mess one's life completely, appetite, sleep, mood, etc.

Good luck with getting better!

ms_pixie: I really want to go to hospital, but they haven't admited me in a worse situation I don't think they would now.
Regarding to my family, a doctor and my previous therapist (good one) both tried convincing my mother that I need hospitalization otherwise I'll probably die, then the hospital's doctors convinced her of the oposite.
When I tried hospitalization I did it all alone, seen the doctor alone, all without telling anyone of my family, because I knew my mother is against it and I currently live with her and we already don't have a good relationship, problems in home turned worse after I tried that and you know in my situation it's dangerous stressing too much.
The only way I believe I could get hospitalization is through justice, I'm almost sure I would win it, but I don't want to go through all that stress and I dont want to have another nervous breakdown, that would spoil everything.
It seems that the only option for me is to try eating on my own. I know things won't change overnight, but I want it quick, I'm about to turn 21 and sick of watching my life all going to waste.
I'm not in Australia sadly health services where I live are not good as it is there as you can see.

I have a few questions, It says I need 1385 calories to maintain my weight, plus 1000 to gain 2 lbs per week so can I increase my calories from my current 800ish to 1385 for a week, then add 500 the next week, and more 500 the following week and keep that amount until I reach my goal? Is it safe or should I go slower?

How much fluids should I drink? I heard fluids are also important for proper body functioning specially in recovery, since I've been diagnosed with dehydratation I've increased my liquids intake but it's still low. I've been told that everyone should drink at least 2L (8 cups) of liquids daily, but I ever wondered if is it for an average sized person and a small one like me should drink less, or is it for everyone regardless of weight and height?

Thanks!

dansmum99: I'm aware of the severity of things, but health services suck in 3rd world countries specialy here in Brazil, I don't think they had training for situations like mine, what explains they saying absurds like that. I have relatives in the States but going there for treatment would be a lot expensive I guess.

I'm not restricting to 800 calories, I just found out when I started counting for weight gain purposes that all I usualy can take is more or less that amount. As far as I know there are only two ED that one may end up underweight, anorexia or bulimia, and none of these apply to me. It is said that when someone is depressed can lose the appetite (or the oposite depending on the person), I'm easily depressed and enraged, my emotional is a roller coaster what I hope will stabilize after I get to a healthy weight. Also I think my stomach is really small because of eating so little all my life, if I eat a medium sized plate it's even disconfortable to bend.

Thanks for caring.

Wow, I can see your dilemma, that is rather unfortunate, but it is good that you are prepared to do this on your own. In regards to your questions, increasing in incriments such as what you have suggested looks like it would be the right thing to do and I do not believe that it would be too much at all. Ideally, a person of your age and the level of emanciation should try for ATLEAST 2500 - 3000 calories a day, but gradually making your way up to that amount at a pace that you are comfortable with is important aswell. Hedgren, a doctor on CC that has provided some great help and advice to many other underweight people has also provided some useful information about weight resoration that can be read here if you are interested (I highly recommend it):

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/health-s upport/recovery-weight-gain-information-scien tific-research

In regards to your second question, 2 litres a day is recommended for everyone as I understand it. It is really important to stay hydrated, and unless you are drinking something extremely ridiculous like 20L a day, you will not overdo it. You can also include liquid calories aswell such as shakes, cordial, juices, milk, slushies, smoothies etc.

And lastly.....have fun with this! You have deprived your body for so so long of hundreds of thousands of calories, will everyone else hasnt. Therefore spoil yourself with anything you can get your hands on that you have ever loved - chocolate, icecream, cakes, brownies, muffins, chips, lollies, hash browns, bacon and eggs, you get the drill :) and dont be afraid to try new and exciting things that you have previously thought that you have never liked!

Hope this helps, and i wish you the best of luck. Always remember that whatever the problem, or no matter how tough it gets, you will always have support on CC :D