Maintenance Scared to Eat More

saraclark62
saraclark62 Posts: 41 Member
edited November 26 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hello.
I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • justjara123
    justjara123 Posts: 63 Member
    sarahbums wrote: »
    it's great that you're deciding to get better! I'm in recovery myself after 11 years of my ED, so I understand how hard and scary it can be at first.

    You are gonna gain a few pounds of water weight initially. Don't freak out though- you are not gonna get fat on 1600 calories. Once your body adjusts to having sufficient calories, your weight will level out.

    Do you have a treatment team in place? If not, i would highly recommend maybe seeking counseling through your school- it's usually free or very cheap, and they can give you referrals for a dietitian, psychiatrist, etc. if needed.

    feel free to add me as a friend or drop a message in my inbox if you need anything! Best of luck <3

    This is great advice! I think social support will be a big help. Find yourself a counselor who can do Cognitive Behavior Therapy and a dietician who understands your needs. You have to be ready to open up to both of them and this will only work if you're honest with yourself and with your social support group. Your therapist may, at some point, have your dietician, family, and friends, come in for separate sessions to discuss how best to support you. Best of luck!

  • DragonHasTheSapphire
    DragonHasTheSapphire Posts: 184 Member
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    Hello.
    I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

    I have also had an ED in the past. I am a little taller and thinner than you as well. You could eat, depending on your age since you're sedentary, probably 1700 or 1800. I currently maintain on 2100-2200ish, and am comfortable with weighing myself once a week or once every two weeks. It helps keep me in check, but I don't know about you. I didn't have AN that bad, best of luck to you :). I agree with the advice above with the therapist. They'll help you become mentally comfortable eat more and develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Trust me, you won't gain massive amounts of weight eating 1600 a day.
  • saraclark62
    saraclark62 Posts: 41 Member
    DragonHasTheSapphire wrote: »
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    Hello.
    I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

    I have also had an ED in the past. I am a little taller and thinner than you as well. You could eat, depending on your age since you're sedentary, probably 1700 or 1800. I currently maintain on 2100-2200ish, and am comfortable with weighing myself once a week or once every two weeks. It helps keep me in check, but I don't know about you. I didn't have AN that bad, best of luck to you :). I agree with the advice above with the therapist. They'll help you become mentally comfortable eat more and develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Trust me, you won't gain massive amounts of weight eating 1600 a day.

    What is your current weight? Do you think 117 would be too much for my height? Also, I am just nervous I will gain a lot on 1600 because my metabolism is so messed up.
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    DragonHasTheSapphire wrote: »
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    Hello.
    I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

    I have also had an ED in the past. I am a little taller and thinner than you as well. You could eat, depending on your age since you're sedentary, probably 1700 or 1800. I currently maintain on 2100-2200ish, and am comfortable with weighing myself once a week or once every two weeks. It helps keep me in check, but I don't know about you. I didn't have AN that bad, best of luck to you :). I agree with the advice above with the therapist. They'll help you become mentally comfortable eat more and develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Trust me, you won't gain massive amounts of weight eating 1600 a day.

    What is your current weight? Do you think 117 would be too much for my height? Also, I am just nervous I will gain a lot on 1600 because my metabolism is so messed up.

    Try not to worry too much about the number on the scale. The number as very deceiving when it comes to muscle, and personally I looked leaner at 120 than I did at 110.
  • DragonHasTheSapphire
    DragonHasTheSapphire Posts: 184 Member
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    DragonHasTheSapphire wrote: »
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    Hello.
    I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

    I have also had an ED in the past. I am a little taller and thinner than you as well. You could eat, depending on your age since you're sedentary, probably 1700 or 1800. I currently maintain on 2100-2200ish, and am comfortable with weighing myself once a week or once every two weeks. It helps keep me in check, but I don't know about you. I didn't have AN that bad, best of luck to you :). I agree with the advice above with the therapist. They'll help you become mentally comfortable eat more and develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Trust me, you won't gain massive amounts of weight eating 1600 a day.

    What is your current weight? Do you think 117 would be too much for my height? Also, I am just nervous I will gain a lot on 1600 because my metabolism is so messed up.

    Umm... I'm going to be honest. I weigh 109.5 lbs with no clothing and post potty in the morning. I am working on trying to change it, I used to be clinically obese after recovering my AN, but that was only because I turned to binge eating and did not be mindful of what I was eating. I however have a healthy relationship with food, and am not scared of eating it like I used to be. I lost the weight, being montiored, and I'm slowly increasing my intake so I can at least be 111 or 115 again. No, I do not think 117 is too much at all for your height :)! I think you could even be 120, or 125 and you'd still look very healthy.

    To be honest, you will gain a few lbs pretty quickly because of water retention, but don't be alarmed and start cutting calories again. It gradually evens out. I can assure you won't gain a lot of weight as long as you are monitoring what you're eating, and having a health profressional monitor your weight if that's possible. If you find a dietician, they'll help determine what your ideal weight should be, and have you on the right path. I was quite stubborn to seek help, it's a very brave thing that you're willing to change your ways :).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    DragonHasTheSapphire wrote: »
    saraclark62 wrote: »
    Hello.
    I have been struggling with anorexia nervosa for the past 6 years. I am recognizing that I can no longer live like this, and I am making a change by committing to eat 1500/1600 calories everyday. I currently eat around 1050 calories, but maintained on 1200 in the past. I am 5'5, 19 years old, and 114 pounds. I would like to maintain my weight, but I am scared what will happen if I increase my calories to around 1500 or 1600. I am sedentary, and the only exercise I do is walking to class on a small campus. Thank you!

    I have also had an ED in the past. I am a little taller and thinner than you as well. You could eat, depending on your age since you're sedentary, probably 1700 or 1800. I currently maintain on 2100-2200ish, and am comfortable with weighing myself once a week or once every two weeks. It helps keep me in check, but I don't know about you. I didn't have AN that bad, best of luck to you :). I agree with the advice above with the therapist. They'll help you become mentally comfortable eat more and develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Trust me, you won't gain massive amounts of weight eating 1600 a day.

    What is your current weight? Do you think 117 would be too much for my height? Also, I am just nervous I will gain a lot on 1600 because my metabolism is so messed up.

    I'm your height, with a very narrow build, and have weighed both 114 and 117. The difference is completely negligible in objective terms. Self assessment can be harsher, but I assure you that no one else will see the slightest difference, and a tape measure will probably not even be able to capture the difference.
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