How Many Calories Did You Eat in Anorexia Recovery

Aliceeatme

I'm currently trying to recover from a year long anorexia nervosa episode. Some backstory:

I honestly don't know why it happened. I used to be so happy and free (and overweight) and then this happened. At the beginning, I just wanted to lose a kilo. Just one. Then I thought I still had too much belly fat and decided to lose more. Soon, I became devastatingly afraid of foods that I didn't know the calorie content of. Pair this with a two week vacation where we had to eat out the entire time, I lost a lot of weight. I didn't really notice during the vacation, but I stepped onto a scale when I got home and it said I lose 5 kilos in two weeks. That's close to 5 lbs per week! Nonetheless, my lowest weight was 35.5 kg at 152 cm (78 lbs/ 5'. Yes, I'm short.). I was always cold. So cold. In fact, I got so bad that I began excreting blood. It was the moment that I decided to stop this crap. That didn't work out too well. At first, I binged. Honestly, the only thing that kept me from purging was that I hated what laxatives do and I had no patience to deal with puking and then brushing my teeth. When you have braces and multiple appliances, brushing your teeth and flossing are long ordeals.

Recently, I've not binged and I'm eating what I believe is a good amount, but I'm not too sure that it is a good amount anymore. For the past week, I'd been eating 1650 calories a day, but then my weight stopped upping, so today I've decided to try to eat 1800. However, many girls in recovery say that they eat upwards of 3,000 calories during recovery and I know girls that have four or five PB & J sandwiches to round out their calories. Using the bread I use, 1 tbsp of PB and 1/2 tbsp of jam, that is 1080-1350 calories a night. Remember, this is only one meal. To be brutally honest, it sickens me that anyone would willingly eat that much in a sitting and then continue to eat like that throughout the day. Thus far, I have gained 2-2.5 kg in a week and a half depending on the time of day I weigh myself, I no longer excrete blood and I am no longer freezing all the time.

So my question is, how many calories did you eat when recovering and do you think I'm eating enough? I'm seeing a doctor during winter break, but I want to hear actual life stories.

Katsumii

Honestly, I think what you're doing sounds fine. There is no reason to overeat just so you'll gain quickly. Once your weight gain stalled, you upped your calories. Makes perfect sense to me. I say you're doing great!

When I recovered, I have no idea how much I ate honestly, because I didn't count calories.

smilep

Hi there
Can I just say well done for knocking the bad relationship with food on the head. You have done the hardest thing already the rest will work itself out

TheFangsKittie

I wish you all the luck in your recovery hun.

I would go see a dr or nutritionist so they can give you good advice.

take care

eblakes93

You sound thoughtful and ready for change. What you are doing sounds good to me. All I can suggest is to talk to your doctor like you planned, and surround yourself with supportive family, friends, co-workers/peers and possibly a good therapist/counselor.