Metabolism questions

bethany717

Hi,

I am recovering from an eating disorder, and as such I have been eating no more than 1000 calories a day (usually less) for many, many years. I have recently gained some weight, and am looking to get back down to a more comfortable weight. My recommended amount of calories to eat is 1200. I am really unsure about this, as I am maintaining/gaining on my current intake. I have read the articles on starvation mode and metabolism, but am having trouble believing it. I guess that's the eating disorder talking to me. I just wanted some reassurance that eating more really will help me lose a little bit of weight. Is this the case for everybody, or does it just help some people? i.e. is it guaranteed to work, or is it possible I will just gain weight and my metabolism won't get faster?

Thanks.

junyr

I'd love to be able to help, but this sounds like a question that should be directed to a pro.

chooklady

Its okay to gain weight if it means you have more muscle

Melissa0174

MFP is a great tool to start with. There are no guarantees. If you don't gain weight in the starvation mode you become unhealthy and possibly a skinny fat. I would much rather be tone than a skinny fat. Weight loss starts in the kitchen. Eat healthy (fresh fruits, veggies and protein) and increase your water. Cardio and weight training works wonders. The more you exercise you will need to eat more to keep going. It has worked for me. Stay positive and lean on your MFP friends. You can do it. Good luck in your journey!

bethany717

Thank you for your replies, everyone.

I think I am definitely a skinny fat, although not even that skinny anymore. I am trying to do more exercise, but I live in the middle of nowhere and don't drive, so the gym is out. I am trying to use my Xbox with Kinect to use fitness games, but I am so unfit, I struggle to do any of it. I will keep trying though.

I have recently begun trying to eat more healthily. I struggle with protein though, as I don't really know what foods are the best for it, and my brain associates protein with meat, which I associate with fat, and therefore try to avoid. Bad I know. I'll try and eat some more of it.

I will try to eat my recommended daily calories, but I know I will struggle.

Thanks for all the advice!

DenverKos

How completely have you dealt with the eating disorder? It's going to be very difficult to do this if you aren't healthy mentally.

I would really suggest lifting weights and exercising, and forget about the scale. Your profile says you want to love your body - exercise can help with that...if you push yourself and see your body doing things and taking you places that you never thought it would, you learn to love it for what it can do for you instead of what a scale says. If you've been through therapy, you know you need to get rid of the scale - strengthening your body will make it look better, more toned and tight (getting rid of that belly you feel you have!) You could weigh the same amount, but look smaller and better because muscle is more dense than fat. Go by how you look and feel, how the clothes fit, not by what the scale says.

Good luck to you! And take care of yourself

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I didn't have an eating disorder, so I don't know if this question should better be answered by a doctor or nutritionist, but I'll tell you my experience with eating more calories.

When I got here I was eating around 900 per day. I wasn't ever diagnosed with an eating disorder I just didn't know how little that was. I had been trying to lose weight for a long time and I thought you just had to restrict until you started losing. So when I got here and people told me I was stalled out because I was eating so little I went up to 1200 cals. I gained for two weeks-- 2 lbs total. Then I started losing. Then I hit a plateau and I went up to maintenance (1600-1700ish) for a couple of weeks. When I dropped backed down to 1470 I started losing again. I hope this helps, but do please ask your doctor what is right for you.

bethany717

Thank you so much for the replies. I've never been anywhere as friendly as this before!

I will take on board the advice about exercising. Trouble is I'm not really sure what I should be doing! Fortunately my eating disorder never led to a problem with exercise, so I feel pretty safe doing that, compared to restricting my calories. I guess that's what I should be looking at. I will also try increasing my calories, scary as that may be.

I wouldn't say I have completely dealt with my eating disorder, but I'm a lot better than I used to be. I no longer want to reach an unhealthy weight, I just want to feel happy in my body. I will try to not weigh myself, at least not as often. Or rather, I will try and ignore the number and go by the body fat percentage, as I assume this will give me a better picture.

Thank you everyone.

Blueberry09

Exercise should be anything that gets you moving - whether it be a DVD like 30 Day Shred or using your Xbox as you mentioned. It doesn't have to be a gym type exercise. Hand weights or resistance bands are relatively cheap to buy and I'm sure there are tons of routines on the net you could find.

Good luck to you!

dancin2011

I am no professional, but I totally understand where you are coming from. I am in recovery from an eating disorder. I am now at a healthy weight, although I certainly wasn't always. I always would eat little to nothing and when I did eat (though very few calories), my weight would not change or it would go up. It was very frustrating. The last time I was in treatment when I had to start eating again, I did not understand how I could gain weight eating just a couple hundred calories at home, but I would have to eat thousands of calories a day to gain weight in their program. Well, it was true. When your body realizes that you are going to feed it, your metabolism speeds up and stops storing it. Lately I have struggled because I was cutting back calories to an unhealthy amount and gaining weight. I am trying to recover and lose weight healthily so I decided to try increasing my calories and eating every few hours. I've been feeling full and uncomfortable, but the scale actually went down. It's so bizarre and something I'm struggling with, but thought maybe it would help you to know that you are not alone and that it might actually be a good idea to increase your calories a little bit and that it doesn't necessarily mean that you will gain weight. Your body will adjust and it might take time depending on 'where you are' now with your eating but it might be worth a try.