Bulimia recovery

paolacastro

So for the past 4 days I've been eating 'normally.'

But before we go further....
I used to be 240 and starved/purged myself down to 137.
Now let's continue...

I weighed myself after a 3 mile walk and I'm currently at 150. In 4 days I've gained 13 pounds. I'm a bit worried that I'm eating waaaaay too much for for someone who was starved. But then I realize that most of it is water retention (I'm drinking about 3 liters of water), lack of BMs, and bloating. I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through this + how to lessen the weight gain and if anyone could recommend some 'kinder' foods that won't cause my tummy to hurt so much because this is murrrrderrrr.

P

Tink_889

Hey,

I never did purge (massive phobia of being sick) but I starved myself from around 200lbs to around 100lbs.

You do need to be really gentle with the foods you are eating right now - your body probably can't tolerate foods that are high or even moderately fatty, it won't be that way forever and obviously it's important to encorporate those in to your diet but probably not right now.

I found that I was sticking to bland foods like toast, porridge, potatoes, rice, fish, fruit and veg. Though not a load of fruit and veg because all that fibre can be a bit blah too. If you eat meat, you could try some chicken and stuff? Also soups are pretty good and crackers. I ate lots of crackers, and still do!

It is natural to gain quite significantly at first but it's likely to be that your body is holding on to everything and is in a bit of a mess because of how things have been recently. It WILL adjust though and I think it's fantastic that you are recovering - a massive well done to you.

xxx

LiddyBit

I strongly recommend that you try to get a good recovery support team to help you, if possible. Nutritionist, doctor, therapist, support groups, any combination thereof.

Best of luck to you. It isn't an easy thing to do on your own.

graelwyn

Feel free to add me, I am trying to break the bulimia pattern as well, although probably not as severe as you as I have shifted between anorexia and bulimia on and off over the years and this phase has only been about 8 months and only is an issue in the evening/night. You will gain water weight to begin with, and then it should steady out and you will see where you are at. If you are unhappy with the end result, you can then begin to maybe get to where you want to be in a healthy way, but whatever you do, don't panic and relapse, it really isn't worth the damage you do to your body.

narick

If any of y'all need someone to talk to I can help, I am 9 months out of anorexia and bulimic patterns towards the end of my time. To answer your question about the weight gain. You put your body in such a low calorie arena that your metabolism has slowed down dramatically. You need to slowly add food back into your diet. Eating too much will only hurt your psyche, trust me I was there. I started out with HUGE salads. Grilled chicken breast, tuna, on 2-3 cups of spinach or mixed greens with some balsamic vinegar. the fiber in the salad will help with the BM issue That will fill you up, but you won't feel guilty. You will gain weight at a faster pace, but it will slow down, and in the end you will be a better person for this. Good luck with everything!