Recovering from ED-worried about 'Junk' consumption

hlm711

Hi there,
This may be a stupid question but its been playing on my mind for a while whilst trying to gain at the moment. Bit of background, I was diagnosed with Anorexia at 19, I regained alot of healthy weight over the last 3/4 years.However due to alot of stress, and being active at the gym (4x spinning bike for 45 mins & weight training a week plus walking) my weight plummeted over christmas/new year period..Was 5'9 and 46kg so very low.
I've really upped my calories, and understand that I will and must gain fat as well as muscle. My diet is based around lean proteins, carbs in the form of pasta, rice, bread and a crap load of cereal, also a very good portion of veg everyday.

However I'm concerned that after years of eating biscuits/cakey products to supplement weight gain (usually night time snack of 3 biscuits, a scone, some chocolate ect) that the fats from these are causes more harm than good? Could they be having a serious detrimental effect on my heart/cholesterel?
I do eat nuts, yogurts for good fats, and have thought of including cheeses but again worried about the high levels of sats fats if I'm eating on a daily basis.
Any advise much appreciated!

ChitaHearse

Hi, I'm too suffer from ED and I also got most my weight back by eating healthy & unhealthy foods such as you have to gain weight so I can relate. I am at 116 lbs & am 5'6 tall. I need at least four more lbs to go for my goal at the moment of 120 lbs. You think it wouldn't be so hard to achieve but it Is at this point. I'm eating about 1960 calories a day but find it difficult to find foods that don't make you feel so full and that can give you those high calories. I'm trying to stay away from junk food as I don't want heart disease or cholesterol issues later in life. My doctor recommended ensure 350 calories twice a day early morning before breakfast and evening before bed, peanut butter with apple, or on crackers or bananas is great too and pretty healthy, maybe a Handful of Trail mix with dried fruits throughout day. Smoothies are awesome because you can build the calories up and use healthy alternatives such as veggies and fruits with yogurt or ice cream. I hope this helps as I'm just trying it out myself. Good luck!

MelissaPhippsFeagins

My opinion after recovering from an ED 20+ years ago: eat whatever the heck you can make yourself eat and worry about long-term heart disease later. The leading cause of death among sufferers of EDs is Sudden Cardiac Arrest caused by electrolyte imbalances.

My other opinion: cholesterol/hypertension/triglyeride numbers have more to do with genetics than what you eat. My youngest brother & I and our mom can/could eat whatever the heck we want and our numbers are great. Our older brother & my dad, high cholesterol & hypertension no matter what they eat. Sucks to be them. (My mom was skinny; I am the correct weight; my dad & brothers are obese to morbidly obese.)

These are my opinions. I own them. They are not medical advice. Please ask your MD what you should be eating to gain the weight.

hlm711

Thanks for both of your advise. I'm also on a bit of a budget, If I could afford smoothies and fresh nuts I would! I try to stick to fruit buns/scones and keep the sats fats down, but I do get mad sugar cravings especially at night, and it can sometimes be very difficult to control them, and I'm worried incase I'm storing up problems for the future. Thanks though, and good luck ChitaHearse, your so close to your goal weight now-this is such an achievement, you should be proud.
And Melissa its inspirational that you've recovered and leading a normal life

Jestinia

From what I understand, trans-fats are the ones to stay away from when possible, or at least kept to a minimum. Other than that, ask a nutritionist about how much leeway you have while gaining to a healthy weight. A nutritionist might even say, given your situation, not to even worry about trans-fats right now.

geebusuk

Sat fat isn't considered to be particularly bad these days - in men at least it can have the benefit of raising testosterone, so good if you're doing weights.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/03March/Pages/Saturated-fats-and-heart-disease-link-unproven.aspx

Trans fats a bit more questionable.

Trans fats – the villain

The researchers did find a significant association between the consumption of trans fats and increased risk of heart disease (although no association was seen in studies where levels of trans fats in the blood were measured, rather than assessed through dietary intake).

In the UK, trans fats are actually pretty rare these days.

Finally, everything I've seen suggests that if you're decently fit and not overweight, the risk factors are SIGNIFICANTLY lower, regardless of what you eat.

I haven't properly studied detailed data - however there's a reason they have to account for general fitness. I suspect they often don't well enough account for that the fact that the AVERAGE person who eats a lot of Trans Fats is generally unhealthy and overweight.

Just checked and the 100g of Wonka bar I had earlier doesn't have any trans-fats .

Jestinia

Sat fat isn't considered to be particularly bad these days - in men at least it can have the benefit of raising testosterone, so good if you're doing weights.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/03March/Pages/Saturated-fats-and-heart-disease-link-unproven.aspx

Trans fats a bit more questionable.

Trans fats – the villain

The researchers did find a significant association between the consumption of trans fats and increased risk of heart disease (although no association was seen in studies where levels of trans fats in the blood were measured, rather than assessed through dietary intake).

In the UK, trans fats are actually pretty rare these days.

Finally, everything I've seen suggests that if you're decently fit and not overweight, the risk factors are SIGNIFICANTLY lower, regardless of what you eat.

I haven't properly studied detailed data - however there's a reason they have to account for general fitness. I suspect they often don't well enough account for that the fact that the AVERAGE person who eats a lot of Trans Fats is generally unhealthy and overweight.

But if being unhealthy and overweight makes one vulnerable, perhaps being unhealthy and underweight does as well?

geebusuk

But these are the solution to being underweight .

Jestinia

But these are the solution to being underweight .

Only if one doesn't have access to high calorie, trans-fat free treats to gain weight with. And there are many out there (plus for those who can, there is also baking from scratch), even in the United States, which admittedly has far less regulation and public pressure than many more civilized countries.

geebusuk

Transfats aren't legislated against in the UK, it's just that they're pretty rare in mass produced foods from fear of consumer pressure, I suspect.

I would agree you might as well avoid them, but I wouldn't get stressed about it and doubly wouldn't get stressed over ones eaten previously!

Rocbola

I didn't see fruit in your list of foods that you plan on eating. Making sure that you get enough fruit is a good way to make sure that you are not craving processed sugary junk.

And i would avoid the cheese. It's just extra fat and salt, with little nutrition.

geebusuk

I didn't see fruit in your list of foods that you plan on eating. Making sure that you get enough fruit is a good way to make sure that you are not craving processed sugary junk.

And i would avoid the cheese. It's just extra fat and salt, with little nutrition.

Why is 'processed sugary' junk?
Why will food stop "craving" that?
If you've already got enough micronutrients, why not have calorie dense food.

This is the sort of case where calorie dense food IS 'healthy' I would say.

Preparing for an ultramarathon last week I was reading up on 'carb loading' - perhaps a similar issue. 826g of carbs that day. Generally avoiding fruit, also avoiding things high in fibre.

'Healthy' depends on the needs in hand.

Oh and I had four oranges earlier; still then had a whole bar of Wonka chocolate as mentioned. (I was going to work it differently, but ended up hitting protein goal before my run, leaving me free to eat other exercise calories as I wanted.)

On that, if I was the OP I'd be ok to go for a bit fattier meat - though I often do actually prefer leaner stuff for taste.