Getting back from over doing it

Hannahrose206

I recently went on a 800 calorie diet for a month and a half all while burning 500 calories in the gym daily. The problem now is that I have hit my goal weight and love the way I look but I am terrified about gaining weight as I increase my calorie intake. I stopped going to the gym because I was addicted so I am now consuming about 800 calories a day and have gained two pounds in the past 3 days! I really need advice asap because my doctor and nutritionist want me to increase to 1300 calories asap and I heard a slight increase of 100 calories a week is better for your metabolism. I know I sound like I have an eating disorder and I do; I have started treatment for it. I just help from someone who has been here and beat it because I can't get in touch with a doctor on a Saturday. Thanks so much!

darrensurrey

And that's why it's about lifestyle changes not quick fixes.

So, as I understand it, what you've done is made your body adjust to ultra low calories and your metabolism is really slow. What I would do in your shoes is take them off because your feet are smaller than mine. I would also start weight lifting to build up muscle and increase your metabolism. If you wake up tomorrow looking like a championship bodybuilder, your financial worries will be over.

You'll have to come to terms with the fact that you're going to put on weight but I suspect your goal weight was unreasonably low judging from what you've written about having an ED.

Rather than look at the scales, look in the mirror - do you like what you see? Would it matter if you looked the same but weighed 20 stones? (Pushing on the ridiculous there to prove a point.)

grassette

Toss out the scale. It's your biggest enemy. Good health requires good eating and exercise. So, ditching exercise was a mistake.

If you were eating so few calories, your body is having a hunter-gatherer reaction to starvation. When the game is rare, you starve, and when it becomes plentiful, your body makes up for it. That is why losing gradually over time is the best strategy.

Also, huge losses in weight can give you heart problems, in that it really throws things off in your blood and starves your heart muscle.

Follow your doctor's advice. Keep up your exercise, and consider any weight gain the cost of good health.

Vanity is going to kill you. So hide the mirror too.

nexangelus

Hannah...I am recovering anorexic/bulimic. I have been trigger/binge/purge/guilt free for 3 years now. I won't say I have beaten it yet, but I hope I can help. Being on such low calories is not good for you full stop. I think what the nutritionist is saying is that you need to eat more to GAIN some weight. I have gained my whole bodyweight after I was at my lightest and then lost a couple of stone and a bit to get healthy again. 800 calories a day is not going to gain weight, I highly doubt this is your maintenance calories and I highly doubt you think this is healthy.

You need to gain the weight in order to sort out your physical body. Your mind will take time to catch up. It has taken me 22 years to get this far. 3 clear years of those 22. It is a hard and long journey, but for your sake, as you are still young I hope you can mentally beat this disorder sooner than I have. You are not going to get fat eating 800 cals per day and you know that, I know that, everyone knows that. But in order to get to a healthy weight, I think you also know you need to be eating the 1300 cals that the doctor has suggested.

p.s. when I used to weigh daily, just going for a poop would make a few pounds shift....just keeping well hydrated would also shift a few pounds in the upwards direction...2 pounds? Is that all?! It is mostly water/glycogen weight by the sounds of it, not fat...I no longer weigh daily...I only take measurements once per month and this is when I weigh-in also...the obsession with calorie numbers, the scale, the amount you eat and drink will become less of an issue as you heal mentally. Give your body a chance to get better as well...gain the weight you need to slowly and go from there, little steps...it is uncomfortable, but it is mostly in the mind with this disorder...

Hannahrose206

I'm not drastically underweight; I caught it before it got bad. I'm 5'5 and 120 pounds

Hannahrose206

And thank you all

SuperstarDJ

Vanity is going to kill you. So hide the mirror too.

EDs have [/b]nothing[/b] to do with vanity!!! Myths like this are the reason people are often so unsympathetic towards sufferers.

grassette

Vanity is going to kill you. So hide the mirror too.

EDs have [/b]nothing[/b] to do with vanity!!! Myths like this are the reason people are often so unsympathetic towards sufferers.

I wasn't being unsympathetic---simply responding to her saying she liked the way she looked. If my humour was misunderstood, I apologize.

SuperstarDJ

Vanity is going to kill you. So hide the mirror too.

EDs have [/b]nothing[/b] to do with vanity!!! Myths like this are the reason people are often so unsympathetic towards sufferers.

I wasn't being unsympathetic---simply responding to her saying she liked the way she looked. If my humour was misunderstood, I apologize.

I know you were not being unsympathetic, sorry I didn't mean you specifically. I guess there are just so many myths surrounding eating disorders; e.g. They're about vanity; wanting to be thin (the "slimmers' disease" being the worst of the lot!) etc. and these myths can do a lot of damage. They minimise the pain and suffering that EDs cause and the seriousness of these conditions (EDs have the highest mortality and suicide rate of any psychological disorder).

EDs are not about looking a certain way or being a certain weight. They are about extreme self-hate and are effectively a slow, painful suicide. They are about a million other things as well, but too many to go into right now. I guess, as a sufferer, I'm just a bit hypersensitive about the issue :embarassed: