Please don't bash on me. I would appreciate solid advice.

danibrosseau

Hi. My weight has been a roller coaster these last few years. In 2012, I ended up underweight and diagnosed with Anorexia. I went through counseling, got a nutritionist, and recovered really well. Of course, the goal then was to gain weight and up my calories without shocking my body. Recently, I've become overweight (not paying attention to what I'm eating at school--too many pizza parties and ice cream socials). Anyway, tracking my calories here was triggering for me, even though I was trying to do it the healthy way. In the last week, I lost 11 pounds by starving and exercising to excess. MFP wouldn't even let me close my diary on any given day because of nutritional concerns.

THE QUESTION IS...

Is there a way for me to up to 1200 calories without gaining the weight that I lost through starving this last week? Like, a way of maintaining until my body is ready to lose again? Or should I suck it up and accept gaining the weight, and just do it right next time?

I do have a scheduled appointment with a counselor to talk about the (very short) relapse. That isn't a concern.

DancingMoosie

The weight gain you see right when you increase your calories is water and glycogen replenishment, not fat, so don't worry about those few pounds. Even 1200 calories is super low, so your goal should probably be even higher. What is your goal weight? You might find eating an estimated calorie maintenance level for your goal weight to be more helpful.

Congratulations on realizing that last week was unhealthy and scheduling your appointment. It is a concern, but you did the right thing and are taking responsibility for it.

FatFreeFrolicking

If you are a recovering anorexic, why in the world are you eating less than 1200 calories? Recovering anorexics eat well over 2000 calories daily.

You should not be trying to lose weight or tracking calories if they are triggering. That's a recipe for disaster.

Please see your therapist, ASAP.

GaleHawkins

DancingMoosie wrote: »

The weight gain you see right when you increase your calories is water and glycogen replenishment, not fat, so don't worry about those few pounds. Even 1200 calories is super low, so your goal should probably be even higher. What is your goal weight? You might find eating an estimated calorie maintenance level for your goal weight to be more helpful.

Congratulations on realizing that last week was unhealthy and scheduling your appointment. It is a concern, but you did the right thing and are taking responsibility for it.

I agree with DancingMossie on the weight gain and hope your appointment goes well soon. Web advice is too risky for health concerns so stick with the ones that know you and your health locally. Have a great 2015.

sheepotato

Your maintenance calories are not 1200 a day, that is a deficit (for any adult alive.) You can eat up to your maintenance calories and not gain anything. Try to eat at least maintenance until you see your counselor.

Good luck with your recovery, I wish you well.

999tigger

Dont know your stats age height cw etc so hard to say. Obviously its worrying and hope the counselor can get you back on track. Id be worried that the need to eat a nutritional diet and make sure your body is nourished is sacrificed. Instead of going to extremes, then why not just be happy with the 1% of bodyweight loss or 1-2lb a week.

In answer to your question then id have assymed you will be on a deficit on 1200, so if its a real weight loss i.e not just water then 1200 will keep you losing rather than being at any risk of gaining. Imo 1200 is always a little low and I prefer to see people on 1400-1500.

If you gain weight it happens, just deal with it but I dont think it will. Id be mucch more concerned that you work something out in your own head in conjunction with your counselor that keeps you losing sensibly and just laughs in the face of doing anything as stupid and unhealthy as straving yourself. You seem smart, you know its wrong, so you have to kick in yourself, the bit of you that looks out for you.
Hope you get it sorted. Hope you are doing some weights.

mykaylis

it must be so challenging to be in your position! might i suggest getting a portion-guided plate and other dinnerware, rather than tracking and triggering? my husband flatly refuses to join MFP and he's super obese, so i'm thinking of getting these as a guide to what a healthy serving would be so he could eat and not worry about weighing, measuring, or tracking.

they seem to pretty expensive but i'm looking at all the options. such a thing might help stop you from overeating (portion control) while still encouraging you to eat enough (again, visible portion control).

SnuggleSmacks

Hi! I'm glad you're getting the help you need to address this issue. Hopefully, it will also help to know that you didn't actually lose 11 pounds of fat. The math makes it impossible that this actually happened.

A pound equals 3500 calories. So 11 pounds is 38,500 calories. Spread over 7 days, that's 5500 calories per day. This is how much deficit you would need in order to lose 11 pounds of fat. Your maintenance calories, or how much you normally burn per day, is probably somewhere in the realm of 1800-2300, depending on your height and activity level. So, even if you consumed nothing but water for a whole week, you would need to exercise enough to burn an additional 3000 or so calories per day in order to reach 11 pounds in a week. Even if you ran a marathon up a mountain every day, you'd be hard pressed to do that.

So obviously what you lost is mostly water. And you can expect to replace that water just as soon as you are no longer starving. You can be mentally prepared for that, knowing that you aren't gaining real weight, only replacing the water your muscles need to function. As long as you don't eat over your maintenance, you won't regain any real weight you lost.

I know it can be difficult to wrap your head around the concept of "real" weight as opposed to water or "fake" weight, especially when they both look the same on the scale, but math doesn't lie.

Good luck!

beautifulwarrior18

At 1200 calories chances are you'll continue to lose weight. Sounds like you need to chat with a counselor again and figure out a way to eat a healthy amount of calories and maintain a healthy weight. And if you were diagnosed with anorexia, are you sure you were actually overweight or is that just what you saw when you looked in the mirror?

Rose6300

^^ Want to clarify that 10-13% is actually very low for women, just barely above dangerous. It's really safer to shoot for at least 14%, and probably for OP closer to 20%. Here's a chart http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

IGbnat24

I think it'd be best if you got back with your therapist and nutritionist. Of course you can healthily up your calories, but it seems you need the professional guidance. Be healthy, seek help!

nxd10

I think it's silly for anyone to make recommendations to you about calories without knowing a lot more about you.

You know you have a serious problem and that you made a mistake last week. Go back to your therapist and nutritionist and keep going. This is a very serious disease and you need really good advice.

I'm so glad you've already made that commitment. That's a wonderful first step.

gothchiq

Yr very unlikely to gain *fat* by eating 1200. Some water, possibly, but what yr concerned about is fat, right?

SomeNights246

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

If you are a recovering anorexic, why in the world are you eating less than 1200 calories? Recovering anorexics eat well over 2000 calories daily.

You should not be trying to lose weight or tracking calories if they are triggering. That's a recipe for disaster.

Please see your therapist, ASAP.

She said recovered, so she probably needs maintenance. Which would likely be around 2000 (give or take), but you're probably right in assuming way more given that she is on a horse in her picture. So, I am guessing highly active (I have some riding friends on my list, and they easily eat around 3k a day).

OP, You are playing with fire again. I am sure you know that. This is why it is recommended recovered anorexics and bulimics never diet again. As often, for us, dieting can trigger a lapse or even worse. A relapse. You have recently had a lapse. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend any ways for you to eat only 1200 calories a day. I can, however, recommend you up your intake to maintenance levels. Depending on how overweight you are, this could cause initial weight loss, anyway, before your body maintains.

Upping your intake will not cause any real gains. You will gain water weight, but that will not stick around.

And please, please see your therapist.

krysmuree

No one on this website can help you the way a therapist can at this point. I wish you well in your recovery and send positive vibes. Please don't continue to track and count if it is triggering for you; you need to see your therapist and a doctor to see what should come next in your recovery plan.

djscavone

IGbnat24 wrote: »

I think it'd be best if you got back with your therapist and nutritionist. Of course you can healthily up your calories, but it seems you need the professional guidance. Be healthy, seek help!

No one here should bash you but as many said you need professional assistance as what you are experiencing goes far beyond weight maintenance or general fitness. Your mental health should come first and then with professional guidance you can get to where you need to be. My sister-in-law was in the same place as you many years ago and with help and support groups aligned with anorexia she is now still doing very well.

ninerbuff

Weight regain happens as a response from what your body deems necessary for survival. While you can dictate how much you weigh, you can't dictate how your body is going to react. The body adapts to whatever stimuli it's given and when it comes to consumption, it's going to do what it needs to to survive. So eve
n if you ate 1000 calories and gained weight, it's a direct response to how your body is reacting to current statis.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SwankyTomato

mykaylis wrote: »

it must be so challenging to be in your position! might i suggest getting a portion-guided plate and other dinnerware, rather than tracking and triggering? my husband flatly refuses to join MFP and he's super obese, so i'm thinking of getting these as a guide to what a healthy serving would be so he could eat and not worry about weighing, measuring, or tracking.

they seem to pretty expensive but i'm looking at all the options. such a thing might help stop you from overeating (portion control) while still encouraging you to eat enough (again, visible portion control).

This is a great solution imo. I second it.

nineateseven

Major applause for recognizing what was happening and trying to respond on your own while you wait to see your counselor!!!!

Agree with @DancingMoosie‌ that whatever you see as a potential increase is not fat. Like @ninerbuff‌ said, weight gain is a response to what your body deems necessary for survival. Excess fat happens when your body decides it has too many calories and puts some of it into storage. After being so low last week, what you consume this week will go to repair and restoration.

The biggest thing I would suggest in the meantime is to learn what your basal metabolic rate is (BMR). Your BMR is what your body needs to do its very basic functions like breathing, pumping blood, and basically keeping you alive. Your body will burn through those calories even if you're lying in bed all day.

At the very least, you need to make sure your net calories meet your BMR at the end of the day. For weight maintenance, your number will need to be higher. I know that might be scary, but my biggest concern is making sure you're at least getting your BMR until you can get in to see your counsellor and figure out a game plan between the two of you.

faylenechung

Wow, thank you for reaching out for help. I think you on the right track by seeing your counselor. I would normally suggest maybe find a different way to track your food instead of logging it like measuring out how much you need for that day and making sure you eat all of your food. I would suggest before taking any advice you speak with a nutritionist and get run some ideas by them. Gaining weight is bound to happen in a situation like this. As long as you don't gain more than your initial 11lbs lost I would consider it fine. Hugs and prayers for you.

RoxieDawn

I agree with nineateseven. Find your BMR. I say use Scooby. My maintenance is actually 1150 to 1200. I am a very small 5"4". I had anexoria a few years ago, so I understand where you are coming from.

Find your BMR and if you know how much additional activity you do in a given day, add these calories (energy) to your BMR which could make you around 1300 to 1500. You can set MFP for maint and not weight loss..

MFP will never allow you to go under 1000 calories and sees anything less than 1000 as unhealthy. In my case, I just let MFP calculate it this way but I know I am eating healthy and achieving a small amount of weight loss or maintaining. I also am getting over being really sick so my numbers do not tell my entire story.

alexisbrown651

I recommend eating the 1200 and working out everyday so you are getting the nutrients your body needs but still burning calories