weight gain justification

hey guys,

I'm currently struggling with thoughts on why i should gain weight?!

ED is in my head, telling me it's alright and all these things, but why do i have to gain? Okay, let me reword that, why is it so necissary to gain the weight in order to 'recover'? I am 5'5 93lbs, 17 and I just can't seem to justify why I need to gain. I mean, I eat more now, I have the energy to do things and I am not bedridden anymore. I understand the risks such as osteoporosis etc, and I do suffer from amenorrhea for quite some time now, but why must the weight be gained in order to be fully recovered as the psychological side is just as important?

 

Thanks.

Well, because your body is a little more on the weak side, due to the fact of the ed, you are told to eat more. If you feel overwhelmed, at a piece of toast with peanutbutter and some milk. It has some great extra calories! You can do this!

Hi,

I'm wondering, how far along in the psychological aspect of your recovery do you feel yourself to be?? If you're truly recovered, you should want to gain weight because it is healthy. It is horrible for your health, even if you feel completely fine, to be that significantly underweight. When you are of a minimum healthy weight, how do you know you won't feel even better than you do right now?

Also, your profile says you love to dance, so wouldn't it be fabulous to have even more energy than you do now to dance?

It is imperative that you be of a healthy weight because until then, you are not recovered physically from your years of starvation. I really hope this helps!

Cowcow

Thanks for your replies!

I don't know where I consider myself to be. I think I am considerably behind in recovery, compared to where I was when cam home from IP. I am restricting to 1250/1300ish a day, count religiously, only eat 'my' food, constantly thinking of food etc. I was 100ish after leaving hospital.

I really do miss dancing, but it seems like so long ago since I last danced that I don't seem to miss it anymore because I know I won't enjoy it without feeling like my heart is going to stop or something dramatic like that.

I guess the thought of weight gain scares the hell out of me & seems unbearable. :/

Weight needs to be gained in order for your body to function properly. Yes, the psychological aspects of an eating disorder are important to address. But part of being recovered psychologically includes accepting that you need to be at a healthy weight in order to be healthy.

If you are restricting and losing weight then you are not recovering. I think you should seriously consider going back to IP.

if you are restricting calories to below what your body needs and keeping yourself at an unhealthy weight, i'd image it would be impossible to recover mentally.

as long as you continue to do so, your body as a survival mechnicanism will cause you to be preoccupied with food.  this unhealthy obsession, need for control, counting, restricting, guilt, ect...will not let you heal physically or mentally.

also amenorrhea and osteoporosis ARE a huge deal. do you want to be brittle, shrink, hunched over and possibly become permanently crippled?  you may be young now but your teenage years will feel like a blink of an eye compared to the rest of your life.  if you keep denying your body the nourishment it needs, you will end up struggling with bone density of an old woman at a young age.

"Both the amount of bone mass you have as a young adult and how fast you lose it as you age determine your risk for osteoporosis. Throughout life, your body removes and replaces small amounts of old bone. The amount of bone you have is called bone mass. As you age, your bones lose mass and may become porous, or less dense. This happens because you lose more old bone than your body can replace.

Women are at greater risk of losing bone mass than men because they start with 30 percent less than men and lose it faster after menopause. Caucasian and Asian women have less bone mass than African American women, which puts them at greater risk.

Bone mass in women is affected by levels of the hormone estrogen. Bone mass builds in younger years, levels off at ages 30 to 35, and remains stable until menopause. After menopause, women lose bone mass rapidly, about two to three percent each year. This loss continues for five to ten years. Women are more likely to break bones in the wrist or spine in the years after menopause, usually from ages 45 to 60, because of the drop in estrogen levels. Fractures of the spine, can cause loss of height and rounded shoulders, sometimes called dowager's hump.

You can take steps now to reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis. If you already have osteoporosis, many of the same steps for reducing your risk can be used as treatment.  Before age 35, your body is building bone mass. During these years, you can take steps to build as much bone mass as possible. These same steps may help slow the rate of bone loss later.

Bone loss is a well-established consequence of anorexia. Recent studies suggest that not only is osteopenia (a decrease in bone mass) common, but that it occurs early in the course of the disease. Key studies have found significant decreases in bone density in adolescents with anorexia. For example, affected teens have been shown to have spinal density 25 percent below that of healthy teens. Up to two-thirds of teens with the disorder have bone density values more than two standard deviations below the norm.   Studies also suggest that half of peak bone density is achieved in adolescence. Anorexia typically develops between mid- to late adolescence, a critical period for bone accretion. Affected teens experience decreases in bone density at a time when bone formation should be occurring. Research has shown that girls with anorexia are less likely to reach their peak bone density and are at an increased risk for osteoporosis and bone fracture throughout life.   The longer a person has anorexia nervosa, the less likely it is that bone mineral density will return to normal. While the possibility for complete recovery of normal bone mineral density is low, weight gain and the resumption of menses increase the likelihood that some gains in bone density will occur. Unfortunately, a significant number of girls and young women will suffer a permanent reduction in bone density, which places them at risk for osteoporosis and bone fracture throughout their lifetime."

please take care of yourself before it is too late. My sister suffered from an ED for many years and now she is only 28 years old with osteoperosis and has the body of like, a 65 year old.. please get the help you need and i wish you all the best!

I'm a recovering anorexic, too. Like you, I am underweight but I'm eating now and I have the energy to go about my daily activities. So why gain weight?

To me, I don't really feel like I have to gain that much weight (although it would make me look a lot better!). The goal is to be able to go out in public and eat whatever everyone else is eating and not think about it. Not overeat, not undereat, and be able to do it naturally without feeling any anxiety before or guilt after. To eat healthfully but also have "unhealthy" foods sometimes without having a heart attack. Don't you want that? And the only way to achieve that is to step out of your comfort zone. Sorry. Wish there was another way.