How many calories should I aim for?

nataliedanielleneale

After a VERY restrictive diet for a good few months and came out the other end with an eating disorder (EDNOS), I'm now trying to get myself back on track. Yes, I am still obsessing over calories and weighing but now the problem is that I want to eat even more than mfp is telling me I need to maintain. I'm hitting about 1600 calories everyday- I'm a 20 year old student, 5ft5 and fluctuating between 51-52kg with a fairly inactive lifestyle (although I do walk to uni and back several times a day), but more often than not I am STILL hungry even after this?

I've read in many places that to "recover" from an eating disorder, you need to eat 2000 calories, regardless of what weight you are at. I'm not underweight (although I haven't had a period since July...) so I want to maintain rather than gain, but I feel as though as soon as I go a bit over 1600 I will gain?

I don't know what to do, because I'm eating a fairly balanced diet- I think? And supposedly having enough calories for my body, so why am I still feeling hunger? The e.d. side of me is telling me that I'm too fat- that I'm just greedy, but today I kind of snapped a little and have probably had 1700ish?

I'll try and link a picture of my meals from todayso you can all see that I do appear to eat enough. (I only had a handfull of the banana chips/6 sultanas and a sprinkling of the strawberry pieces and one of the milka things- these are the things that I "snapped" with and ate as extras :embarassed: )

nataliedanielleneale

.

Graelwyn75

1) If you are not seeing someone about the ED, I suggest you do, as it sounds as if you are still putting a fear of weight gain ahead of your health ?
2) I suggest upping to around 2000 calories a day, until your periods return, as there are a lot of health ramifications to stopping your periods so young, including weakening of the bones.
3) The scale means nothing. You are the only one who sees it. Someone might be the same height as you, weigh 10 Ibs more, yet be a size smaller.
4) Your dinner looks delicious.

LeahFerri

Everything the person above me said, plus:

Sometimes when you up your calories you get way more hungry. I've experienced this. It basically felt like my body was saying, "Oh, there's more food? HOLY CRAP EAT ALL OF IT!" In your position, I would go with the flow and eat if you're hungry.

And I'll reiterate, recovering from ED of any type is best done under the guidance of a professional. A specialist physician or a dietician (I don't know exactly what the options are where you live, you may need a referral). Especially if you've stopping having periods. That could be a weight issue or a hormone issue or who knows what, and only a physician (a GP should be fine) can tell you that.

My guess is that you need 1800-1900 calories to maintain weight, so upping to 2000 until you start having periods again doesn't seem like a bad idea.

geekyjock76

You probably read that you'd need 3000 calories, not 2000. The latter amount would be insufficient for recovery because you are trying to restore lost weight as well as repair the physiological damage caused by the ED. It would be wise to get checked out by specialists first, though.

MichaelRobinson1994

I'd try and get a few extra calories in if I could, your meals overall look pretty healthy! Except I'd swap the coke for a water (I don't like fizzy drinks)
Try adding a glass of semi-skimmed milk somewhere everyday! (Perhaps with breakfast) then you'll get some extra carbs, protein, calcium, iron and calories!

You could also get some nuts into your diet! Nuts are quite calorie dense, full of healthy fats (the kind that keep you slim and healthy) and they also have a hefty dose of protein and calories in them!

Good luck overcoming your ED, and well done on not letting it control you!

editorgrrl

Set your goal to maintenance, and follow your calorie goal for a few weeks while eating back your exercise calories at the same rate you did while you were losing. Then reevaluate.

If you're still losing, eat back all your exercise calories (if you weren't before), or increase your daily calorie goal by 100. Give it another few weeks, then reevaluate.

If you gain, set your goal to lose .5 lb. per week. Reevaluate in a few weeks.

It will take trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. And your weight will fluctuate day to day & throughout the day. Once you find your sweet spot, pick a weight range (for example, +/- 2 lb.), and fine-tune your calories whenever your weight goes outside the range.

nataliedanielleneale

Set your goal to maintenance, and follow your calorie goal for a few weeks while eating back your exercise calories at the same rate you did while you were losing. Then reevaluate.

If you're still losing, eat back all your exercise calories (if you weren't before), or increase your daily calorie goal by 100. Give it another few weeks, then reevaluate.

If you gain, set your goal to lose .5 lb. per week. Reevaluate in a few weeks.

It will take trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. And your weight will fluctuate day to day & throughout the day. Once you find your sweet spot, pick a weight range (for example, +/- 2 lb.), and fine-tune your calories whenever your weight goes outside the range.

I've already been setting my goal as maintenance- mfp suggests 1610, but often I'm still hungry after that, so I am going to try 1700 and see if that satisfies me without weight gain! I don't really do any specific exercise though, just walking to and from lessons.

editorgrrl

I've already been setting my goal as maintenance- mfp suggests 1610, but often I'm still hungry after that, so I am going to try 1700 and see if that satisfies me without weight gain! I don't really do any specific exercise though, just walking to and from lessons.

Eat 1,700 for a few weeks, then reevaluate. If you gain, either eat 1,610, or start exercising.

Exercise doesn't only allow you to eat more—it increases your lean body mass (aka it builds muscle).

Edited to add read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Quasita

I'm late to this party, but I'm also one of those eating disorder lurkers on MFP. Sort of taken it upon myself to spread care and knowledge, one recovery ED person to another ED person.

One thing you should know is that someone in recovery doesn't go from their VLCD lifestyle immediately into eating 2000+ calories. This kind of jump can make you incredibly sick, and can even kill you if your body has been in a fasting/starving phase for long enough. It's extremely ill-advised to refeed and attempt a recovery diet without a nutritionist and physician advising you.

Just because MFP *says* you need something doesn't mean that's what your body *actually* needs. I learned this early on, being on here. I had to get a calorimeter and actually measure my daily burns to the minute to get the right number for me... MFP's number was several hundred calories off from what my body actually seems to use. You hunger could be a sign that a similar thing is occurring for you as well. If you're hungry, eat. You're not looking to lose, so satiety is ultimately good. You don't want to be bursting, but there's no need to be hungry.

I know that it can be difficult to get followup care with the NHS, but eating disorders are rather permanent once they set in. You can go into recovery mode, recover your body and mind, but continued therapy, mindfulness and persistence are necessary to keep you from relapsing.

This should be said though. A diagnosis of EDNOS doesn't fit into the criteria for other well-defined eating disorder presentations. It may not be advisable to increase you calories by a drastic number. Depending on your symptoms, it could bring a whole host of new problems. My advice? Pursue further analysis, both medical and psychiatric. Most EDNOS cases, when further investigated, result in a more accurate diagnosis... some even result in diagnosis that is not psychiatric but organic (meaning it's actually caused by a function of your body that can be clinically addressed). EDNOS pretty much only acknowledges that you have abnormal eating habits. It doesn't really lend well to treatment because it's so loosely defined.

TEMMEAlexa

The calorie intake should be probably above 2000. Eat well, take good rest. No need to do that much walking. And, yes. Remove the coke from your food intake. Replacing it with water would do well.

heybales

Set your goal to maintenance, and follow your calorie goal for a few weeks while eating back your exercise calories at the same rate you did while you were losing. Then reevaluate.

If you're still losing, eat back all your exercise calories (if you weren't before), or increase your daily calorie goal by 100. Give it another few weeks, then reevaluate.

If you gain, set your goal to lose .5 lb. per week. Reevaluate in a few weeks.

It will take trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. And your weight will fluctuate day to day & throughout the day. Once you find your sweet spot, pick a weight range (for example, +/- 2 lb.), and fine-tune your calories whenever your weight goes outside the range.

I've already been setting my goal as maintenance- mfp suggests 1610, but often I'm still hungry after that, so I am going to try 1700 and see if that satisfies me without weight gain! I don't really do any specific exercise though, just walking to and from lessons.

Hope you were at least honest and set MFP to Lightly Active, since you have no 40 hr desk-job with little to no other physical activity outside exercise - you are walking more than sedentary person would.
Bump it up - that will give extra cal's.

Then great advice above.

editorgrrl

Just because MFP *says* you need something doesn't mean that's what your body *actually* needs. I learned this early on, being on here. I had to get a calorimeter and actually measure my daily burns to the minute to get the right number for me... MFP's number was several hundred calories off from what my body actually seems to use. You hunger could be a sign that a similar thing is occurring for you as well. If you're hungry, eat. You're not looking to lose, so satiety is ultimately good. You don't want to be bursting, but there's no need to be hungry.

^^^This is amazing advice for every single person here on MFP.

Everybody's different, and it takes trial & error to find what works for you.

Thanks for an important reminder for all of us, Quasita.

DeterminedFee201426

any calorie intake around 2000 and no more than it .. if your trying to maintain weight.

Ulwaz

Since youre recovering from an ED, i would add it back up too 2000, since this is the guided amount for a normal woman, if you havent had your period come back your body is obviously crying out for nutrition