2000 vs. 2500 calories!?

Hey guys.. I'm sorry for asking this, because I know I kinda have a bad rep for asking, and sometimes repeating a tun of questions.. But please help me? I really do want to get better, and I'm so confused and anxious when it comes to the numbers of calories I should consume!!

Yes, yes, I KNOW you need 2500+ to gain,, But my nutritionist gave me an exchange meal plan to follow and says don't worry about calories(but obviously that's pretty impossible for me :S) but when I add of the average number of calories in the exchange plan, it's barely up to 2000! And I HAVE been gaining on this much.

But then people keep telling me "No, no no, you can't gain without having 2500+ calories daily!" But I'm still gaining,, all my doctors (all 4) have no problem with it!

But then when I think about it.. What the HECK am I supposed to eat when I'm maintaining!? I don't want to have to eat only 1500 cals a day!

And I've heard eating more while gaining increases your metabolism. Is this true? How much will it increase it by? And why?

I know I might be being a bit of a pain, and I'm sorry! :( But please guys? I really need your help with this, I'm scared of doing this weight gain stuff the wrong way and messing up my body even more!!

look its advocated on this site that you need 2500 to gain. this is often the advice offered to ppl with out medical support. if you have a team of medical professionsals who are supervising your recovery, then please stick with their gudelines. they have your complete physical and psychological history. if you are hungry for more food after your meal plan - then eat more.

but none of us are, from cyberspace, in a position to contradict what a team of real-life professionals are advising you.

fwiw, I think the 'general' advice from this site of 2500 to gain is because it's so common for people in recovery to have very high requirements, and it's better to advise a higher number than a lower one, in order to give no room to eating disordered negotiation and so forth.

obviously there's no 'magic' number required to gain. some people become hypermetabolic, some don't. as above, I would follow your nutritionists advice, as long as you're not finding yourself hungry on that plan. also, you will probably find that your needs increase as your weight does, so I wouldn't worry about maintaining on a low number forever. even in people who don't become hypermetabolic, obviously a higher bodyweight gives a higher BMR so you need more to maintain/gain.

Marissa, I understand where you're at.  I've been there.  I have to say first off that I agree with the previous replies in this--you need to follow the advice of your professionals. 

But I want to say something else.  When I read the other replies, I put myself in your shoes, and what I heard ed saying was not very pretty.  Ex: "See, you are different from everybody else.  You don't need high cals to gain because your metabolism is ****.  Your doctors even realize this, why else would they have you on this meal plan?  Everything I told you was true.  You are the exception to nutritional 'rules'. . ."  And if it were me, this would be the beginning of ed getting a major foothold.

Soooo. . .Marissa Marissa Marissa, do not listen to ed's lies over this!  Remember that his goal is to destroy your life and fight him with all your might!

Yes, you can gain on low cals.  I've done it that way before (ip, they fully restored my weight without ever breaking 2000)  Now I'm choosing to do it on high cals (currently at 2750), and I'm gaining only slightly faster than I did ip.  (Which is totally fine with me.  My goal is to gain!)  So now I have proof to shove in ed's face that, "See, my body is not different; it can handle food/calories"

Here's my suggestion to you:  Do not do anything without the go ahead from your doc/nutritionist.  However, have you tried talking to them about the things you're posting here?  I can't imagine them having a problem with you wanting to increase your meal plan, as long as they deem it medically safe.  So give them your reasoning and see what they say:)

Original Post by bluidechic:

MBut I want to say something else.  When I read the other replies, I put myself in your shoes, and what I heard ed saying was not very pretty.  Ex: "See, you are different from everybody else.  You don't need high cals to gain because your metabolism is ****.  Your doctors even realize this, why else would they have you on this meal plan?  Everything I told you was true.  You are the exception to nutritional 'rules'. . ."  And if it were me, this would be the beginning of ed getting a major foothold.

 Ohh yes, finally, someone who understands!!! That's exactly how I feel right now. Especially after seeing all those recent posts saying that I'm supposed to have 3000 cals to gain.. I think to myself, "I'm already gaining on 2500, heck even on 2000, so why should I increase??" I've always been under the impression that I have a crappy metabolism. And trying to eat the amount of cals that got me overweight in the first place is particularly stressful. I'm slowly trying to get over this mental block, but so far it isn't going great. Although this post isn't directed at me, it is a tremendous help!

Thanks to all you guys so much! And you know what? After a LONGGGGGGG discussion with my nutritionist and therapist just this morning, we HAVE decided to increase my food amount by a huge ****load!

my old plan::

B-1grain, 1protein, CIB

L-2grain, 2protein, 1veg/fruit

S-CIB, anything i want

B-1grain, 1protein, 1veg/fruit

S-CIB

My new and improved plan:

B-1grain, 1protein, 1fruit/veg, 1fat, CIB

L-2grain, 2protein, 1fat, 2fruit/veg, 1dairy

S- 1grain, CIB

D-2grain, 3protein, 2fat, 1fruit/veg, 1dairy

S-1 thing from a list of desserts, and CIB

This is a HUGE step for me and I am very overwhelmed!! BUT, I think I can do it! I'm now totally ready to fully entirely try my hardest to gain! I;m scared! Very scared! But I'm not gonna give up quite yet...! :S Wish me luck!

Original Post by goobyb:

Original Post by bluidechic:

MBut I want to say something else.  When I read the other replies, I put myself in your shoes, and what I heard ed saying was not very pretty.  Ex: "See, you are different from everybody else.  You don't need high cals to gain because your metabolism is ****.  Your doctors even realize this, why else would they have you on this meal plan?  Everything I told you was true.  You are the exception to nutritional 'rules'. . ."  And if it were me, this would be the beginning of ed getting a major foothold.

 Ohh yes, finally, someone who understands!!! That's exactly how I feel right now. Especially after seeing all those recent posts saying that I'm supposed to have 3000 cals to gain.. I think to myself, "I'm already gaining on 2500, heck even on 2000, so why should I increase??" I've always been under the impression that I have a crappy metabolism. And trying to eat the amount of cals that got me overweight in the first place is particularly stressful. I'm slowly trying to get over this mental block, but so far it isn't going great. Although this post isn't directed at me, it is a tremendous help!

 I'm so glad this helped you!  I used to think the same thing about my body/metabolism.  The truth is, our bodies are amazing, and they can handle alot more than we give them credit for!  I know this is true, because I've been proving it the past several weeks.

As for "why should I increase when I'm gaining on xxxx cals?", here's my logic.  I have been gaining at least a pound a week (usually more) on 2500 cals, but yesterday I increased to 2750 anyway.  Why?  Because I noticed that my obsessions were starting to increase again.  I took that as my body telling me that it needed more.  I listened, and it's already helping.

Remember, your body needs those higher cals right now.  It is going to use them to rebuild your organs, your muscles, to give you energy, to help your brain function. . .it is ok!!!  You can do it!

Marissa:  You can do it girl!  Go go goooo!!!  And good for you for talking to your team about this.  Grab ahold of that little bit of courage and fight!  You are doing the hard thing, I know, but you won't regret it!  Stay strong:)

Original Post by bluidechic:

Original Post by goobyb:

Original Post by bluidechic:

MBut I want to say something else.  When I read the other replies, I put myself in your shoes, and what I heard ed saying was not very pretty.  Ex: "See, you are different from everybody else.  You don't need high cals to gain because your metabolism is ****.  Your doctors even realize this, why else would they have you on this meal plan?  Everything I told you was true.  You are the exception to nutritional 'rules'. . ."  And if it were me, this would be the beginning of ed getting a major foothold.

 Ohh yes, finally, someone who understands!!! That's exactly how I feel right now. Especially after seeing all those recent posts saying that I'm supposed to have 3000 cals to gain.. I think to myself, "I'm already gaining on 2500, heck even on 2000, so why should I increase??" I've always been under the impression that I have a crappy metabolism. And trying to eat the amount of cals that got me overweight in the first place is particularly stressful. I'm slowly trying to get over this mental block, but so far it isn't going great. Although this post isn't directed at me, it is a tremendous help!

 I'm so glad this helped you!  I used to think the same thing about my body/metabolism.  The truth is, our bodies are amazing, and they can handle alot more than we give them credit for!  I know this is true, because I've been proving it the past several weeks.

As for "why should I increase when I'm gaining on xxxx cals?", here's my logic.  I have been gaining at least a pound a week (usually more) on 2500 cals, but yesterday I increased to 2750 anyway.  Why?  Because I noticed that my obsessions were starting to increase again.  I took that as my body telling me that it needed more.  I listened, and it's already helping.

Remember, your body needs those higher cals right now.  It is going to use them to rebuild your organs, your muscles, to give you energy, to help your brain function. . .it is ok!!!  You can do it!

 That's a really good point actually. And actually, now that I think about it, since I've boosted my caloric intake, the obsessions have decreased slightly. Though I think part of the reason is also because I haven't had access to a scale and I haven't been around people of my age group to potentially compare myself to (which I really need to stop doing >.< ). But maybe it is time for me to increase my intake a bit more like you did, and see if it helps further. Good luck on your road to recovery!

Marissa good job for being proactive in recovery. I hope you are pushing through and doing the plan. It is true about the obsession though it can take time. I have always been told you need extra calories to repair and to gain. That is why also there is research about getting to a bmi of 20 cause that seems to be when the mind is more rational and less obsessive.