uh oh...700 calories under goal intake...in recovery what to do?

SO, I went home for the Eater holiday and found that today my intake was 700 calories lower than it should have been. i didn't do it on purpose but i just didn't have access to my snacks and foods that i normally eat while away at school. what should i do to fix this? usually i walk about 40 minutes a day but i didn't do that today so it really is only about 550 less than usual. should i eat more the next day? forget about it? i don't really know. thanks for taking the time to read this and i hope someone can help me out :)

Hi chrissy!  Just remembeer the 3500 extra to gain a pound.  Therefore, I'd just eat a bit more today...which shouldn't be hard coz it's EASTER XD

do you really need to log onto a website to ask a community of ppl what to do when your under your goal intake.#

you know what you'v to do

Original Post by fidget84:

do you really need to log onto a website to ask a community of ppl what to do when your under your goal intake.#

you know what you'v to do

fidget not me so up front, but that post was a bit rude. perhaps i thought that being under my intake for one day was NO BIG DEAL since it was just once and i didn't really move around all that much. PERHAPS, it's difficult to cope with eating more on top of my usual amount and i wanted REASSURANCE. perhaps, i just wanted to share part of my journey with the community, and i really don't want nor need people with rude and biting comments to respond. i hope you have a good easter and please think about how you respond to people before you do it because it comes across as extremely insensitive and this is a space of support not condemnation or to make people feel stupid. thanks! :)

thats the point. you are not supposed to ask for reassurance. it is a bad idea to get into the habit of coming online and asking ppl if you can or cant eat. or whether you should or shouldnt eat. 

you know what you have to do

umm yea, not to be mean or redundant but yea, why or how could u even ask such a q, i need to back up fidget.  if u know u need to eat, then eat, make a stupid sandwich or whatever, i cant even fathom what ur asking or y, sorry.

i've read your posts...both of you actually...and i don't feeel like either of you belong in the health and support forum. people ask things all the time that may have an obvious answer...i'm in health and support because i need support...not to be bashed and condemned. it's not like i said i starved myself yesterday, i just didn't meet my WEIGHT GAIN requirements, it isn't unheard of that the response would be, "well it's one day so don't worry about it, i sometimes do the same thing and as long as i do better the next day it's fine."

in a health and support forum, this type of response would definitely be more supportive. why are you guys even taking the time to respond? or even on CC at all. people ask things about restaurants, binging and how to overcome it, eating less, curbing cravings, etc. it's all about reassurance that what you're doing is the right thing. so i guess everyone around here asks stupid questions. in that case, you are of really no help to anyone and you're just on here to put other people down. 

sorry for asking a seemingly stupid question i guess.

if you ask about curbing binging - its coz there's a prob with binging and you dunno how to fix it.

if you ask about food in resturaunts - its coz you dunno how many cals are in it, or what kinda fat levels are in it.

you're question was almost bloody rhetorical: you are an anorexic, you've declared that. you are attempting to gain weight, you've declared that. you undereat for a day and you come on asking what to do??????

it just seems ridiculous. you know exactly what to do. you eat more. you meet your target and you dont allow the shoulder of responsibility to fall with someone else. support and reassurance are 2 different things. and when i was an inpatient they made bloody sure that they didnt reassure me because its like turning you back into a baby, spoon feeding you.

we are perfectly entitled to be here. and you are incorrect in suggesting otherwise. we are the only 2 to answer your post because i would imagine a few others read it and rolled their eyes because you know what you have to do.

you know it. assume some responsibility and take control

I think that you need to use this as a learning lesson so that it does not happen again. There was a reason that you didn't follow it and whether it be because you did not bring a snack with you,the choices at your home were causing anxiety,etc. I know you said you didn't mean to but before you went to bed you should ask yourself did I complete the recovery food day. If not then have a sandwich so on. If you know you are going some where that food is not available and you need to eat bring your own or make it up at the end of the day. This is medicine for your life. Some of the irriation I feel and am not sure if others feel maybe similar is that you are not being accountable for your actions. When one is below on a mp that much it was by choice not by mistake and I know how hard it is to finish with the barriers of life and ones mindset but then in my eyes it is better to come here and say that. I think you would get a better response by saying I struggled because I was in a different enviroment and what could help me next time so this would not happen. Does that make sense?

Hi,

What I would do if I were you would be to just try and not think about how much extra you "have to" eat, because potentially that could lead to more guilt for eating "too much," which could lead to more restricting. Although if you feel like you could eat extra tomorrow without feeling guilty than go ahead!

To the people who are condemning you for asking this question~yes, it might seem like a question with an obvious answer, but obviously she's asking on the health and support forum because she is in need of support because of a disorder. It's not because she's stupid. Why come on here to bash her? Its not like she said "OMG I ATE 700 CALORIES TODAY I'M SO FAT" or something.

wow I'm sorry chrissy for all of the crap you are getting and in my opinion both fidget and agruskin need to back off.

Chrissy was simply asking  if one day of not meeting her calorie goal is going to make a differencce or not. People trying to LOSE weight on this site that go over every so often and post about it don't get crap from everyone else.. instead everyone tells them to forget it and move on to the next day.

 This post wasn't meant to be an attack on Anyone. sorry if it comes off that way at all. Just wanted to voice my opinon.:)

There will always be bumps in the road to recovery. Of course you'll be anxious about being around food you're not used to having. As I already said, use this as an opportunity to truly CHALLENGE yourself and to make up for going under. Try a food you don't know the calorie content of that looks nice. This will all be worth it in the end, I promise. It was one day. Learn from it and move on and make sure it doesn't happen again.  I know you can do this! =)

I'm sorry too for the idiots in this thread. I really find it kind of digusting ... you wouldn't get, in a thread about binging, people saying "Just stop eating, stupid!" and similarly there is absolutely no call for sarcastic and patronising attacks in this thread. Believe it or not "eat a sandwich" is not the cure for anorexia, and because this is the Health and SUPPORT forum, sometimes people come here for SUPPORT or, as it's sometimes, known, REASSURANCE.

Anyway, chrissy, try not to let it worry you. If you're going to be away from school for a while remember to take some of your normal snacks with you. For thenext few days eat about 200 or 300 extra calories to make up for today's deficit. Feel free to PM me if you need to talk.

Also, another point-no one should have to worry about posting something on here for fear they will be attacked! She obviously wanted to post this topic because she was anxious and needed some reassurance. What do you guys think you're accomplishin exactly by bashing her?

You're in recovery and walking 40 minutes per day?  That seems a bit odd to me.  What does your recovery team tell you to do when you haven't reached your calorie intake?  What do they say about exercise at this point in your program?

Nuts/chocolate/avocado/cheese are all calorie dense foods that can help you meet your goal when you're short on calories.  It's good for you to have realized that you were low on calories, but now you need to make up for it.  Have a snack tonight if not a bit more and tomorrow make sure you meet your calorie target.  Don't try seesawing back and forth unless your team wants you to as that can lead to cycles.  Just get back on track doing what you need to do.

I did not mean to be rude or harsh with my comment so I m sorry if it sounded like that. What I feel is you need to be accountable. That yes recovery has many slips and is very hard trust me I know but as someone who has struggled for many years when I do slip to move forward and remind myself that I can't make excuses for the slips. I think everyone has the right to post and should ask for help one when needs it but to also try to identify the inner reasons and ask for help with how to push through. Hope today is better and sorry again

there are so many wonderful people on here, so thank you for your replies. I accept full responsibility for not meeting my calorie target because i know that fear was the main reason, fear of a new environment with foods that i didn't feel comfortable with. i should have been more on top of it but it's also difficult because all everyone around me is doing is dieting and obsessing over their weight and the environment is really not conducive to my health to be honest. it's very triggering and negative.

i don't have a treatment team anymore, it became too expensive and my family doesn't support me emotionally, financially, or otherwise. i'm in this completely alone and any financial or psychological problems i'm having are my own issues to deal with, without outside support. 

i walk so much because i attend a huge university and going to and from class ends up being about 40 minutes per day, so its not structured exercise or anything like that. 

i think next time i will prepare better for going home so that i have enough foods just in case fear kicks in and effectively cripples me from meeting my calorie goal. i guess my goal in posting on here was really just to get it out and hear any feedback from people who also get anxiety in these situations and how they deal with it. thanks again everyone who took the time to understand my situation instead of just putting me down. i really appreciate it.

The walking makes sense now.

Why don't you tell us what you would advise a friend in the same situation?

It really doesn't matter what end of the weight spectrum you're on, whenever you're not in your regular environment it takes active planning ahead of time to eat according to your overall plan.  I highly recommend picking up some prepackaged trail mixes and bars (Luna is my favorite) to carry around with you for those times when you need some extra calories.

I would tell my friend to plan for uncertainty by bringing snacks, thing fr me is, i assumed someone would take me to the grocery store to get snacks. I would also tell them to take the opportunity to let loose during their time in the  new environment and try to experience the fear foods. i would also tell them to try to focus more on the end result, weight gain, so even if one were to gain more than planned it doesnt matter because ultimately weight gain is the goal. however, this is much easier to say to someone else because the anxiety is so great when i'm looking at myself and trying to overcome this. the bar idea is a great one. i think i'll carry them with me every where i go especially when food is uncertain. thanks again :)

Great answer! 

If you have a Trader Joe's nearby I highly recommend getting the trail mix in the snack sizes.  I'm sure other stores carry these too, but I know I like the mix at TJ's.  I keep about 5 bars in my car, more when I'm traveling and take about as many with me whenever I'm flying.  I've had traveling food a few too many times to be enthusiastic about it.

See now you are being proactive in recovery and getting back on track. That is great. I think you are right that it is easier to tell others what to do then to do it ourselves. I do sometimes when struggle say how would I feel if I saw someone else doing a behavior or what would I tell someone in my shoes. So why would I be different?You are right the anxiety is hard but finding ways to cope with the anxiety and fears can make it easier. Like how you reached out here that is a big start.