Don't want to turn back to anorexia

lei14mar

21/f

From about ages 12-19 I was severely anorexic and entered treatment several times.
I feel like my relationship with food is a lot healthier now but between eating more, and some medicines I've started taking, I've gained way too much weight.

I need (yes, need... Not just want) to lose 30-40 pounds. I'm just looking for some friends on here with similar stats and goals or for advice from people who know more than me

5'3, 152 lbs
GW: 110-120 but by summer.

My_Butt

27/f
I had EDNOS for 17 years and finally kicked the habit of letting food rule.
153lbs, 5'7"

tgattsh

I go up and down. I've lost 70lbs, two separate times. Now I am on a 65lb goal and already lost 22. Bottom line, eating right and often (at least five times a day) is number one. Adding exercise makes weight lose faster. The better you do those two, the quicker it comes off. Caution though on going too fast. If you're not disciplined when you hit your goal, you'll put it right back on. Also, plenty of vitamins! Good luck!

gothchiq

I'm five three with a medium frame and have settled at 120 lb as my ideal weight. 110 is pretty thin (though not dangerously so.) are you small boned? I weighed that in high school but at my age now I think I'd have to cut off a leg lol.

emmbru7

I suffered with three eating disorders sense 9th grade (am now a senior) 5'7 dropped to unhealthy 111-114 pounds but thanks to binge eating i am 154 i have been up and down and know my healthy range is 128-138 i have been on a diet called shaklee 180 and lost 3 pounds in two days. Its very expensive but well worth it. Its a way of living and its the healthiest thing ever check it out!!

Metazoick

I'm not currently trying to lose and my stats are pretty different to yours, but I can maybe offer up some advice anyway from somebody who used to have... a not great attitude towards food.

Firstly, be careful you don't just keep passing milestones. I've seen it happen before in this situation (by others and by myself) where you hit 130 or whatever weight it is that you want and feel that it isn't as low as you thought it would be when you set the goal, so you figure, hey maybe 125 will do the trick. Maybe 120, actually. This is... obviously bad, when you're prone to undereating. If you reach your goal and start thinking like this, take a breather before setting a new goal, consult your doctor to see if you really 'need' to keep going (I'd put money on you not having to), and maybe talk through it with some people you trust. It's awful when bad attitudes towards eating/yourself warp and ruin what was, initially, a healthy and sustainable attitude - don't let it.

Also it's great that your relationship with food is healthier now! It makes a huge difference. Now I think of food as a great, healthy thing: it's what gives me energy, and energy lets me do things. If I eat I have the energy to go out, go and do physical activities with friends, work out so that I can become strong, and just feel good. Food and calories aren't the enemy, they're our ally, our energy, and should never be hated.

It's also important that 'healthy' foods aren't purely fruits, veggies and lean meat. While these make an awesome addition, macronutrients like fat are needed by the body, and eating fat doesn't make you fat - there's no need to avoid it like the plague. Like everything else, as long as you don't go totally overboard eating it, it's fine. The same for 'junk' food, as long as you're not eating way too much and as long as you have a good variety basically nothing is off limits (unless certain foods you just can't have in moderation, I don't think I'll ever be able to start a pack of biscuits without finishing the whole lot...) so don't cut out things you like completely just because it doesn't resemble an instagram pic.

The most important thing is probably going to be consistency. There may be days where you overeat and days where you undereat, and that's ok. Just don't make it a habit. Bingeing every day for a week, or only eating a little bit because 'you'll make it up the next day this time' yet you've been like that for a while isn't going to do you any good. If you fall off the horse, just get back on the next day. Take the weight loss steady (there's no need to rush these things), don't get too hung up or obsessive on numbers, and you'll be fine. I'd also generally avoid weighing yourself daily, it can cause people with no history of this stuff to start needlessly worrying about nothing. Fluctuations happen, weight can go up even if you've lost fat and water weight is super annoying. The only thing that matters is trends, so try and just weigh yourself once a week at the same time and see how the progression goes after a while. While, if it is just for health reasons, losing a bit of weight is fine and healthy, don't make it your life. It's just one thing you're currently doing, it isn't the be all and end all. I know for me stumbling across thinspo and the like can be stupidly triggering for wanting to eat badly again, and if that's the case for you avoid that stuff like the plague. No need to make anything harder, just look at the stuff that helps you and makes you feel good.

I'm sorry for the stupidly long reply, I guess I had a lot of probably unhelpful advice from my experience, but I hope that you get something out of it anyway.

lei14mar

Thank you so much. I knew a lot of it, logically. But it definitely helps to have someone else rationalize everything out loud and I greatly appreciate the effort you put into your response