maintaining in ed recovery

Florameg456

I have my MFP set at maintaining but as you can see I'm obviously not eating my maintenance calories.
Ive said this so many times, my moods from not eating enough, the hair loss, the collar bones basically jumping out if my skin. I want this to stop.
I'm not mentioning the ed, I don't care what I have to do. I need as much advice as I can get on how I can eat maintenance calories and not gain weight.
How do I do it? Should I really be eating 1700 for a young woman? I'm 5"7 and about 9st 4.

I'm also not losing weight anymore eating how I am now, so does this mean my body has set itself at maintaining on barely 1000 calories on some occasions?

Thanks a lot x

a_stronger_me13

Look into reverse dieting. It's a very helpful tool for those recovering from eating disorders, mentally and metabolically.

A typical female with your stats depending on their occupation and workout program could actually be losing weight at 1700 calories per day.

As a person who has struggled with her own eating issues, I suggest seeing a counselor if possible. It really helped me with my issues when I was going through a really rough time.

ETA: I saw in another post you mentioned that doctors had decided that you aren't underweight or ill enough for treatment. I have never actually been underweight or ill from my ED issues (binging with bulimic tendencies) but my relationship with food has been disordered. This is where a counselor will be helpful because you don't need to be physically sick for them to be able to assist you with recovery like with medical doctors.

mamahannick

I suggest slowly bumping it up from where you are now. You're least likely to see jumps on the scale that way rather than jumping right to 1700, though if you want to just get it over with then you could just jump right in. Your body will adjust to the higher intake. There will probably be bloat and discomfort at first, but I promise it will go away.

When I was healthier and weighed slightly more than I do right now (5'9", BMI 18.5) I was maintaining on 1800-2000. I even stopped counting calories for a short time, ate according to my hunger, and maintained my weight to the exact ounce. It IS possible, we just have to give our bodies a chance to show us it's possible. We've screwed them over with ED behaviors over whatever period of time it's been, so it may take a while for things to even out.

mikeroybal

I would also suggest consulting a Doctor considering the symptoms you mentioned. I would be very concerned about hair loss at your age (at my age it is normal).

and completly off topic but do you support Rangers or Celtic?

Florameg456

I would also suggest consulting a Doctor considering the symptoms you mentioned. I would be very concerned about hair loss at your age (at my age it is normal).

and completly off topic but do you support Rangers or Celtic?

Bit of a Celtic supporter myself!

mikeroybal

The Doctor I work with is a Celtic supporter. He is from Glasgow.

splixi

I too have a great fear of gaining weight but want to recover. I don't think it is something we can do on our own...I tried that for a long time. I have the right people helping me now and others here are right- you don't have to be a walking skeleton in heart failure to get treatment for an ED and whoever told you that is full of ****. I'm in the same trap so i'm hardly one to preach but I would love more than anything to be able to eat without guilt or intense fear. I want to be able to eat according to my normal body cues and in the right amounts. I have a team of people now- some trying to keep me medically stable and monitoring my bloods and others helping me with the mental aspects. It is early days but after a month in hospital i'm determined to be free of this crap and you can too. A dietician would be able to give you correct advice on how to best manage your bodies nutritional needs. Good luck! feel free to add me here or send me a pm. xx