Would my metabolism have slowed down?

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Hi I'm in anorexia recovery. I am 161cm and I used to be 53kg on 2000 calories. However, I tried to stop calorie counting and now I've been 52kg for about 3 months! I'd say I've been eating about 1600 calories if I'm being truthful. I really want to eat 2000 again and introduce breakfast etc but I'm scared I've messed up my metabolism. Last time I did this I went from 49kg on 2000 to 53kg and I'm scared I'm going to go even higher now!!!! I stayed on 2000 for a year and it never went back to the 49kg it was before. What do I do? How can I make my metabolism normal again?

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  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    What does your recovery team say?
  • zoemccarthy558
    zoemccarthy558 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm not seeing a recovery team anymore as I'm over 18 so I have to leave CAHMS and not I'll enough to go to adult services
  • heidihomm
    heidihomm Posts: 1 Member
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    I think it is important to stay consistent. There is less stress involved when you have a plan. You eat to fuel and nourish your body. If you focus on whole, nutritious foods it should be easy to stay at 1600 calories or whatever you need to maintain a good healthy weight.
  • worldofalice
    worldofalice Posts: 148 Member
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    I'm currently 161 cm and weight 49kg, and am gaining 2000 cals a day. I'm imagining I will stop gaining on this amount in a couple of kilos time (according to my coach). The important thing here is NOT your weight - it's your intake. There is a big difference between 2000 and 1600 cals, in terms of mental freedom, energy, flexibility around food, and social life. I recently made the decision to ditch the scales and focus on these things instead. These are the things we actually need to be focusing on in recovery. You're recovering because you want your life back, right? Congratulations on getting this far - keep pushing on. We've got this!
  • worldofalice
    worldofalice Posts: 148 Member
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    Also - 49 kg is still very light for our height. You shouldn't be aiming to go back down to this weight, for all kinds of reasons. You won't maintain the very bottom of the healthy range on 2000 cals because, like 99% of the population, that's not where your body wants to be x
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Don't think about it like you can mess up your metabolism. Some people just use calories more efficiently than others. If you need fewer calories then you are just one of those people. But if you want to increase your metabolism you do that through exercise. The more you exercise the more calories you require, regardless of how efficient your body is at using them.