Upping the calories for anorexia recovery...

I'm just recovering from anorexia and I'm starting to up my calories. Typically I eat around 1000-1200 each day, and my goal is to be up to 1500 by Saturday (June 20). Does anyone have any ideas on how to distribute my calories throughout the day? ie how many for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks, etc? Thanks :) Anything and any advice is welcome!

hiya! I'm going through this right now (only 3 more kilos to go), and I can tell you this:

1. Stick with foods you like the taste of (I found this VERY calming) - but make sure you find something a little higher in calories that you don't mind incorporating into your eating! For me, it was (is) peanut butter sandwiches :) I vary what I add (Bananas, Strawberries, Marshmallow Fluff...) and have fun eating them for lunch. I find if I eat something I don't really like, just to gain weight, I feel a lot worse and 'down' than if I eat something I enjoy (like a muffin - I missed muffins so much)

2. Don't eat anything plain! I can get away with eating chicken and salad for dinner, but I add sauce to the chicken and olive oil to the salad - that boosts calories, yet your meal is healthy. Also, it's very reassuring to know that, once you reach your goal weight, all you have to do to maintain (and not gain more weight than desired) is use less of the sauce and oil!

3. What helps me a lot, though I don't know if it would work for you, is to immagine myself in a role whenever I eat or drink. So when I have myself a muffin and coffee with milk (gets some of your dairy requirements covered!) for breakfast, I immagine myself being a busy news reporter dashing off to cover the next case, or being a lady in older times (isn't that wierd? lol)

3. Pay attention to your meal! During every meal, tell yourself it is a treat that you deserve! In the case of the muffin, I savor the taste of the chocolate, mixed with the coffee, and think to myself- 'why did I deprive myself of this? Is it making me instantaneously fat? NO! only if I were to eat it every day, which I don't, because I eat healthily - and sufficiently'

It helped me at the start to list 1 reason why I deserve to eat whatever I'm about to eat every time I have a meal or snack :)

4. Stay busy. Do stuff with friends. I was so out of touch, I didn't even know what 'normal eating' was anymore! Friends help you redifine that :)

can't think of much more, sorry... GOOD LUCK! :D

oh my I'm sorry, I answered on the wrong post :S that wasn't really what you were asking for, lol

don't know how to delete it though... help??

G, first of all, 1500 is not enough. I know you know this already but I really think you need to acknowledge that you will have to continue increasing your calories from there on.

How you distribute your calories is up to you. It depends on when you feel most comfortable eating. I personally like to eat a big breakfast and have smaller meals for dinner/snack before bed (welll, as small as I can get away with to meet my calorie-goals) For you right now, on 1500 - you could feasibly do 500 calories x3 meals. Or you could do 300 calories x5 meals. It all depends on what you are comfortable with right now, and what will be easiest for you to eat. You could do four 300 calorie meals, and two 150 calorie snacks, and slowly start building things up by adding an extra hundred calories to three of the 6 every few days.

nappsie: thanks for answering the wrong post, it made me smile and i still think it's helpful, even if it's not answering my direct question (what post were you trying to reply to anyways?) i love the idea of putting myself into a different role when i'm eating... i'll have to try that out :)

rebel: i know, but it's a start... and im figuring out that i should probably get my calories more in the beginning of the day. i woke up really hungry this morning, and now, evening, im not hungry at all, although that might have to do with how hot it is outside, because heat decreases my appetite. but im thinking that if that's the way it's going to be, than i'd rather consume more of my calories when im actually hungry :) except for some reason i really like, well, 'really like' you know what i mean, to eat in the evenings, although then that often gets to be too late and i go to bed feeling really full. i'll get it sorted out eventually though. thanks for the tips though... i am definitely going to keep them in mind :)

If volume is an issue for you, try condensing the food.  For example, for 500 calories you could eat 1 cup of haagen-daaz ice cream or 3 cup of cheerios, 1 cup of skim milk, and a yogurt.  Here's a list of some high-cal foods that might help:

• bagels
• nuts
• trail mix
• nut butter
• whole milk
• heavy whipping cream (add to milk or cereal, etc)
• carnation instant breakfast
• protein bars (clif, larabars, luna bars, etc)
• protein powder
• smoothies
• milkshakes
• ice cream
• cream cheese
• avocado
• meats
• fish (good for omega-3s, too)
• full-fat yogurt or cottage cheese
• cheese (1 oz = 100+ calories!)
• dark chocolate
• whole wheat pasta
• brown rice
• olive oil
• eggs
• juice

swimfan: thanks that's awesome! question though: isn't it bad to get the calories you need from ice cream/desserty foods? I ask because I have the biggest sweet tooth ever, love ice cream, ate it (occasionally of course, but it was still allowed) throughout my ED days... but shouldn't I make up those calories with healthier items? 

Hiya! I've done the recovery stint before. :) I would bulk up your breakfast first, a handful of nuts will add about a 100cal onto your total.

If you want to have a bowl of ice cream at night that's totally cool too, ice cream is made of MILK remember. :P I used a lot of ice cream to up my calories personally...is like my favourite. :) If you want to be healthier you could add fruit to it like frozen blueberriies etc. but generally speaking, there's nothing wrong with it.

Perhaps if you provide your height and current weight someone will be able to give you an answer more tailored to you.

I would think that right now even a little bit of food would make you feel full, so packing more calories into little meals is probably a good idea for you.

Just remember if you feel like you overate just go for a 10 minute jog or something and half of what you had will burn away. :)

ok my stats:

18 y.o. (19 in three weeks eek!), 5'6, 93-95 lbs...

I'm also a vegetarian, although I do eat dairy products and seafood, and I have a gluten intolerance, so no wheat, oats, etc etc... thanks everyone :)

i'll try bulking up the breakfast... i do love peanut butter :D