So after doing what my nutritionist said Thursday and eating exactly as she prescribed and delighting my family with my eating habits and even eating waaay out of my comfort zone I am somehow at 98 pounds as of this morning at the doctor's office. He, my general practioner, was shocked that I have went from 105 to 102 to 98 within roughly a month or so and kept saying I wasn't eating blahblahblah even though I am! I basically just stuffed my face with granola cereal and whole milk and now I'm feeling guilty for eating yet I'm desperate at the same time to gain. I have to go to Greeece and I absolutely hate this damn ED. UGHHHHHHH. I'm sorry I'm ranting here. I have to go back to my ED specialist and nutritionist Thursday and it is imperative that I have gained by then. Ok, once again I'm sorry for the rant. I just want to be normal.
many anorexics can only recover their metabolisms and reach a healthy weight by super duper calorie consumption. i know this is a calorie counting website, and it can be helpful to count calories in order to reach your goal (3000, whatever it is). but honestly, when i was gaining weight, i had to EAT. and i mean EAT. don't think of 3000 as a limit--honest-to-goodness, think of it as a minimum. i would eat an egg salad sandwich for lunch and a bowl of split pea soup an hour later and some tofu ice cream an hour later. for dinner, i'd have eggs and toast; an hour later, lentils w/barley and seitan; an hour later, a peach and yogurt. before bed, i'd drink a cup of soymilk. have a big ol' bran muffin for breakfast w/butter and full fat cottage cheese or yogurt or eggs or soy bacon/turkey bacon/real bacon. i wish you luck. i know you're working hard.
This soundsa lot like me at the beginning of weight recovery; I required 4500 freaking calories just to maintain--if that!
I agree 110% with caloriecountingme; 3000 is a MINIMUM, not a limit. I would even suggest only counting food calories and ignoring drink calories...your metabolism has kicked baked into gear at an insane rate, so you will need quite a lot of nourishment. Try avoiding non-dense foods for right now (low-fat products, skinless chicken, etc) and try adding dressings, margarine, and oil to veggies. I know that you're lactose intolerant, but perhaps you could cook oatmeal in the mornings using soymilk. You can add extra calories to beans, rice and other grains by boiling them in chicken stock or other caloric liquids.
I remember feeling absolutely awful when I needed to eat SO MUCH. My parents would be rich if they got a dime for every time I complained about wanting to eat a normal diet without losing weight. 2000 calories a day was so far off at that time, not matter how badly I wanted to eat that "little" so that i could lead a normal life. I was constantly eating in order to get everything in, and IT DROVE ME NUTS! I couldn't go out with friends without stuffing my pockets with trail mix, I couldn't sleep over at friend's houses without eating half of their pantry, I couldn't randomly go out anywhere if I had to be home for a meal/snack, I couldn't DO anything ANYWAY because I had to limit my activity to a bare minimum so I wouldn't burn those precious calories I worked so hard to consume. I felt like this on 3500 calories, too. I was in the hospital connected to 12 different machines, devices and tubes when I needed 4500. Oh--and I was on bed rest. I couldn't walk even if I wanted to. THAT is why I needed so much, and likely why you need so much. Your body has suffered A LOT and you organs have really felt your struggle with ED. You need extra nutrition in order to rebuild vital organs and brain tissue along with restoring weight. Your metabolism also just kicked back into gear and is going crazy. It's like someone that was sleeping for a long time suddenly waking up to walls of fire surrounding their bed--they wake right up and have a get a burst of energy to panic about the incident and try to save themselves. Your body kind of had that happen...you stopped feeding it as much and it fell asleep, waking up in a shock to a lot more food than it was used to. It wants to heal, and now it has the energy to do so again. But your body is still in panic mode and is extremely confused. Dire circumstances usually create confusion.
Sorry to hear about your doctor....I hope that you manage to gain VERY soon! Maybe you could have your family talk to him, since they KNOW that you're eating.
Now though, my body hates me haaa....and I gain on any and everything. It is weird how the body works and goes through phases....just continue to feed yourself (like ever hour) and you should eventually gain....
I agree with what everone else is saying... definitely aim for a higher caloric intake.
Since you joined recently, I'm assuming that you weren't counting calories when you were losing weight. Since you've recently starting counting on the site, it could be possible that you are overestimating the amount of calories you are eating, and therefore it will look like you've reached your daily target when infact you are still under. I actually strated measuring out my nuts and things like that because I wasn't logging them accurately enough... and with high calorie things, a small difference in volume or weight can be a significant difference in calories. So maybe you could try measuring out the higher calorie things you are eating to see if you are actually eating as much as you think (but I wouldn't bother measuring out lower cal things like fruit or veggies).
Thanks so much for all the advice. I'm now sitting here eating again although I look pregnant and positivelinney, like with you, my doctor mentioned inpatient today which scared me so bad. My parents trust me now but it's tough to go to the doctor and have him treat me like I'm a liar. I can understand where he is coming from though, I'm sure he's seen everything. I guess since I'm supposed to be of a much higher weight to go to Greece in roughly a month I'm feeling tons of pressure right now.
How long did everyone's ridiculous metabolism last (or is it still going on)? Also, I've been getting weird body temp changes: night sweats/cold chills/hot flashes, etc. Is this representative of a high metabolic rate?
I really appreciate all the advice again. You guys are a big support!
My metabolism slowed down by an absolute ton after I contented it for about a month.
New goal for the day: 3500 calories!
Bloating has never been so sexy!
edit: I just ate 1500 calories in a two hour span and am already hungry again. WOAH.
bec you don't know the "magic number" of calories that will assist you in gaining weight, i suggest not focusing on the calories. focus on greece. every time you see a glass of apple juice or a plate of mashed potatoes and a western omlette and curried chicken and a homemade fruit smoothie and a dish of pad thai, think "greece." you'll do great :)
That's a fantastic idea, caloriecountingme. I really like the idea of thinking "Greece"! I'm going to print out a picture of Greece right now to stick to my fridge beside my MP. Thanks!!!
i think you just need to go one day at a time, listen to what your body is telling you and eat when you're hungry and especially when you're not. just like positivelinny says, i think once you jumpstart it and shock your body into gaining weight with a high enough calorie intake, you won't have any trouble gaining anymore. its just a hypothesis though since i'm not at that point yet.
good luck! and go have some baklava to try to convince your body that greece is where it wants to be!
I don't know what advice to give you, but I'm in the same boat! it seems the more I eat the faster my metabolism gets! I lost weight again this week, and I feel like I've never eaten so much in my life. I stuff myself, look pregnant, feel sick, then 30 minutes later I'm starving. I haven't been to the doctor in a while, I'm supposed to go back to the endocrinologist soon (since I have thyroid problems) and I'm worried about what hell say since I've basically made NO progress in the last 3 months. UGH it's so frustrating. On top of that, my parents are somewhat satisfied with how I eat, but I don't live with them so I don't think they believe me when i say I'm constantly eating, and my mom says I eat too "healthy" to gain weight and all I need is some junk food, and also told me yet again today that I'm never going to gain weight on a vegetarian diet, I wish they were more understanding!
I also understand everything Missmagill said about not being able to go out with friends without filling my purse with snacks, not being able to do anything too active. I'm going out of town to visit a friend in a few days and I don't know how I'm going to manage that, because no one else I know eats as much as I do or as often so I'm going to have to bring snacks with me, go shopping and stock her fridge when I get there, and we're also going camping one night so I'll have to plan that out too.
Just keep up the eating and I hope we both start gaining soon!
Yeah, I'm going to visit some friends all day tomorrow and I'm already trying to figure out how I can bring my Ensures with me :). I understand too gibbit about being hungry within 30 minutes, thats happening to me right now! Hopefully we can all gain weight!! We can all do it!
Take protein powder...the vanilla stuff is pretty good and if you put it in coffee or a smoothie it's downright yummy (still clumps a little bit without a blender). Definitely eat to get to Greece!
Gaining on a vegetarian diet...haven't they heard of nuts and avocado? Those two very healthy but vegetarian items will get your calorie count up.
What kind of protein powder do you recommend? There are so many out there!
i had to add my two cents!
when i was on a liquid diet i got my calories through ensure (duh) but also these amaaaazzzing soy protien shakes called revival soy. yummy! chocolate, vanilla, and mocha are the best. but...you're gunna need a blender, lol.
revivalsoy.com
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