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Recovering from an ED is different to other situations, the BMI of 20 is to give you some “ wiggle room” and as precaution against relapse

If you fell ill with the flu for instance, if you had a BMI of 18.5 and lost 4 lbs then that would put you in the very under weight range

If you gained to a BMI of 20, then you would not be severely underweight if you lost a few lbs.

Just think about how hard the weight gaining process has been! If you don’t gain to a BMI of 20 and you fall ill or become stressed and lose weight then you will have to go through the weight gaining process again!

Some people relapse at this point because once they are under weight again the desire to maintain a very low BMI can lead to relapse.

The best advice would be to gain to a BMI of 20 and then let your body dictate things; as long as you are eating enough for your age/height/activity level and you do not let yourself go hungry and you satisfy your appetite then if your BMI fell to 19 it would be healthy, as you have not had to restrict to get there.

I am healthy with a BMI of 19, but I did gain to a BMI of 20 initially after anorexia years ago and it was a very good thing I did gain to a BMI of 20 because I have fallen ill and lost weight due to stress since then and I lost weight and since I was already at a BMI of 20, it was not difficult to gain some weight back!

I also find that to reach a BMI of 20 I would have to eat much more then I felt like eating, so I settled for a BMI of 19; I have no visible bones, do not look thin, have ample breasts and curves, eat 1800 - 2000 calories a day lightly active50% moderately active30% of the time ( I am average height)

An important thing is to not have any pre conceived ideas; the past may not apply to you, you may have been under weight back then because you were not eating enough as well as genetics, and you are older now so your body may have developed more and need to be a little heavier.

understandable. i am certainly trying to do so, i just know the difficulties first hand. i was on a 3000+ calorie maintenance diet when i was young. for this reason, my family doctor does not even believe i have an eating disorder, he is assuring me it's my natural body type and suggesting an extra boost/ensure will sort it out! this is why i am going to a speciality clinic!

another question i have which i forgot about!

*** is anyone much more comfortable eating around people than when they're alone? i often hear that people with eating disorders eat alone out of shame or whatever. i am the complete opposite. eating alone makes me feel weak, and doesn't feel "safe", yet i can go out to restaurants with family or friends with little problem (although i do restrict). when i get back home i immediately reject food again. am i alone here? ***

i am the same with eating with others

it gives me an excuse to eat

otherwise i feel weak for eating

I would still push for 20 BMI. As Personaltrainer said, the ideal is 20 because it wards against temptation to dip back into a low range - a temptation more apparent when you're at an 18.5 to 19 BMI, and against unintentional causes of loss like illness. Additionally, your body is an intelligent thing, and if your set point is truly lower than 20 it normally adjusts back to this.

Furthermore remember you're going to need 2500 or so calories to gain anyway but if you have as quick a metabolism as you say you may need more. If you've not seen it, I'd read up here: The Aim is to Gain: Advice on Weight Gain, Whatever Your Reason - it contains advice, tips, food ideas, and even a sample meal plan. While you increase, don't weigh in for at least two weeks. When you introduce carbohydrate into the body you hold a certain amount of water for each gram of carbohydrate you consume. This does not mean less carbs mean less water retention and carbohydrate is a CRUCIAL part of anyone's diet (should make up to 50-60% of any person's caloric intake) because it is your primary fuel source. This is why people experience water retention when increasing in any situation, largely, as well as the factors of sodium, food weight, bowel movements...

2500 (or higher) will help your metabolism catch up, help fuel your body with all it needs to repair itself properly and then some and to appropriately gain weight. To get your calories up that high take initiative, make sensible choices - particularly, high calorie, low density food. Stuff like oils, nuts, nut butter, seeds, dense breads, pasta, whole fat dairy, oily fish, avocado, coconut, bananas, dried fruit - and much more, of which ideas are listed in that above link

I also have some studies and a recent contribution by CC's Nutritionist Mary on why you will need more calories than most to gain weight in my latest journal, if you start going "oh, but I won't need that, surely!" >> Because trust me (I know from experience!), you likely will!

As for eating alone... I was a bit wierd, if I can be honest. I was fine eating out with others and I was fine if I was eating in my room, or where no one could see when at home, but if I were trying to eat around a table with people in my home setting I felt REALLY uncomfortable. This has passed, now, though, but that was the only time I would get anxious.

thanks so much! yes, i realized i will have to be at at least 2500. i was always pushed to EAT EAT EAT when i was young, and it caused me to eat a lot of junk on top of the healthy vegan foods i love. i hope i don't resort to binge to get my cals... i did about 2 days of this and i realize it's normal during early recovery. made me feel very, very sick.

that being said, my morning snack is an avocado eaten with a spoon, and not oreos! :)

the only time i feel uncomfortable eating is when i am eating and nobody else is. right now i am surrounding myself with friends and family so i feel reassured, not guilty or "unsafe". i think my meeting next week will try to tackle this issue. i live alone so this fear is really quite dangerous to my health.

if you look on other sites, 18.5 is the cut off for being underweight, and if you've always been skinny, then i don't think it's bad to shoot for a bmi of 19. you don't want to make yourself uncomfortable by gorging and such to get a higher bmi. good luck, you can do it! good for you for realizing that there was a problem and that you had to do something about it...i think that is one of the hardest parts!

On this site, it is recommended to aim for a BMI of 20 even if you have a naturally small body type!

I understand that this is hard, but as LALA said, the body will naturally adjust to her natural weight once she reaches a BMI of 20!

The BMI of 20 is a pretty important goal to reach, even if it is slightly above her natural set point!

If she only gains to a BMI of 18.5 - 19 and she falls ill soon after wards, then her BMI could easily plummet down into the 16’s and lower, which means she would have to go through the process of gaining weight, which is already hard enough for her, again!

Basically, the BMI of 20 is an INITIAL pre caution, so if she falls ill, then her weight will not drop as far so there is less chance of re lapse!

At a BMI of 20, if she falls ill her weight will not drop as far and she won’t be tempted to relapse

Personally, I don’t believe that a BMI of 20 is important for those who don’t have eating disorders! I totally agree that a lot of people are perfectly healthy with sub 20 BMI’s ( within reason! Being severely under weight with BMI’s of 17 or less is medically dangerous!)

A BMI of 20 is just ONE point above 19, it is not hard to reach from 19 so why not just reach the benchmark of 20? It may not seam like a big deal but it is if you get sick or stressed and lose weight just after you have worked so hard to gain! !

How much would it suck if you got to a BMI of 19 or 18.5, got the flue, and dropped to a BMI of 15 or 16, and then had to start gaining all over again! A BMI of 20 means you will not fall as low on the BMI chart and therefore will not have to gain as much weight back.

Also, I like to think of it as part of the mental recovery; to conquer any fears of weight gain and food, making yourself gain to a BMI of 20 gets you past the feeling of having to be at a low weight to feel good about yourself; even if you don’t stay that weight for long, you have proved to yourself that you can be that weight and still be valued as much by your friends, family, and get the same out of life.

Hi. A few thoughts I have and am trying to do myself. One to stay in the day and do what you can do today to be healthy. I think goals like 20 bmi are good but to me overwhelming so it is better to focus on what the day is today and what I need to be healthy and to eat enough for my weight gain. I know for me when I developed my ed I was 16 and now am 30 so who knows what my true set point is. As I get closer to a that guideline of bmi I can adjust to that mentally and hopefully be more accepting because I will feel better mentally and physically.

A BMI of 20 is just an ultimate goal when recovering, it is good to just set yourself smaller goals for each day!

I did not mean to over whelm you! First things first, just aim to eat enough each day, and to not give up. The BMI of 20 just comes later, after you have won your day to day battles.