Help maintaining weight after re-gaining after ED

ediebo

Hello everyone,

I have recently recovered from a small bout of an ED which lasted for about 4 months where I was eating less than 1,000 calories a day every day. My weight plummeted to about 38 kg (5 ft 2 female) and I was very ill. However, I could eat next to nothing and not feel that hungry (even though I was doing my body a lot of damage).

However, for the last 4 months I have been recovering by upping my calories to 1,500 (my suggested maintenance) and have slowly been putting the weight back on and reached a healthy 48 kg. But, especially the last month, I am absolutely RAVENOUS. I am so hungry all the time and cannot stop eating junk food. My weight is rising more quickly than ever (I put on 2 kg in 3 weeks) - but I am still sticking to around my calorie goal so I do not know why I am putting on weight so quickly and I am so hungry. All of my clothes are tight.

I don't want to keep putting on weight as I am happy and healthy with how I am at the moment, but I feel like I was so far on the other end of the spectrum, that now I see eating loads of food as a good thing and can't stop, and can see myself vastly heading for the other end of the spectrum. I do not want to start cutting out things again as I do not want to go back to the ED mentality, but at the same time I need to stop gaining and even lose a couple of pounds because I don't fit my clothes any more. I am still eating 1,500 calories - 1,700 at most - so I don't understand the sudden weight gain.

I need tips for maintenance and how to keep in with this goal where I am just so hungry all of the time! HELP!

jenniferb_00

Im pretty sure i know exactly how you feel. I lost a lot of weight very fast eating about 800 calories a day for about 6 months. My wight dropped to 104 lbs (i'm 5'3) and I didn't have my period for over a year. I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder but to this day i have extremely disordered eating patterns and horrible body image issues. I went thought exactly what you are going though right now. After going to the doctor and being told that it was ok to eat more i started and i felt like i couldn't stop. I went up to about 129 pounds and felt horrible. Im down to 117 now, hoping to get to 113 which is on the lower end of my healthy range but where i think i would feel most comfortable.

Honestly you can't stop eating because your body is hungry. I came to that realization at one point. After severely restricting for so long, it catches up to you. I can't lie, it will be hard to control for the next little while, especially the overeating or binge eating (depending on the severity of your eating habits). Its hard to have a healthy relationship with food after being underweight and seeing yourself putting wight back on. I know it has been for me, and its a constant struggle pretty much everyday.

If you ever want to talk just send a message my way. And good luck. Just try and remember that you put your body though a lot not eating enough for so long. Your body will adjust and you will slowly gain more control even if it doesn't feel like you will.

purple4sure05

I'm currently going through the exact same struggle that you are. I had about two months where I was completely ravenous and overate like crazy, and I have put a lot of weight back on. But since then what I've done is just stop weighing myself and taking things day by day, and slowly but surely I feel myself losing a little bit of weight and my eating is getting under control.

The short answer is to just ride it out and try not to go overboard if you can help it. Your body needs to do what it needs to do, and you are going to be lovely even if you gain 10 or 15 pounds in the process of going back to a stable mentality.

Good luck, and don't be too hard on yourself! Everything is going to be okay. You'll get the hang of it eventually and the Earth is going to keep on turning