Recovering from an Eating Disorder?

Oh and providing that goal weight is a healthy one...x

glad to hear you are going to therapy. My daughter was bulimic but has recovered so it is possible. You're headed in the right direction. One food that will increase calories and still give you the extra protein you feel you can deal with is Greek yogurt. I prefer the fruit ones but there are lots of things you can add to the plain for your taste. Don't try to go up to the 700 cal. increase all at once since that scares you. Make it 150-200 cal. more a day for a week or so and then a little bit more. There is plenty of support on mfp. You can do this.

i was anorexic... and yes, my weight ballooned BECAUSE i ended up with polycystic ovarian syndrome from the anorexia. the first 50 i gained back were from the medication.

I'm in recovery from EDNOS and yes, I did put on weight very quickly when I started eating 'normally' again but I'm eating around 2000-2500 calories per day now and I'm still losing weight.
There is hope, love ^_^

Just take it slowly and try adding 100 calories per week or somesuch. I think you also need to reconcile yourself with the idea that if you want to lose weight the healthy way, you are going to need to forget about weight for a short time until your body is accustomed to your eating at a higher level. In the end, what choice do you have other than to carry on as you are and become seriously ill and have it forced upon you, or to do this yourself by accepting that yes, you might gain some weight before you get to a point of losing it again, but at least if you do things this way, you wont end up damaging your organs, possibly ending up infertile, and ending up in hospital with a myriad of issues.

I also suggest you think hard about why you have made your weight and eating such a strong point of focus to the point it has become more important than being alive and healthy. I used to have anorexia and almost died a few times from it (I was 5'11 and 70Ibs at my lowest). It shrunk me just over an inch in height, my bones are weaker than they should be, I developed an underactive thyroid and am lucky I didn't develop worse. I am now 126Ibs, and still with eating issues some 20 years later, with many amazing opportunities missed and lost because I chose to obsess about the scale and a silly little number rather than living my life and facing my problems head on.

I am eating 2000-2800 calories per day, with my exercise, to maintain. You need to experience that major shift in your brain where being fit and having a healthy and happy looking body becomes more important than being a certain weight and only you can reach that point, no matter what anyone suggests to you in the end. Good luck.

I had a wonderful friend on this site who struggled against her anorexia. She was short, and went from 160lbs to 92 in something like 6-8 months.

But she got help, went to outpatient and a couple hospitals. She had some pretty bad irreversible heart damage. Her stomach won't be the same. But she worked very hard to get herself better.

She regained weight during a few weeks of what she called 'massive eating' where she ate 2500 calories a day. In those few weeks she gained about 15 lbs, but that only put her at 107-110. She still looked frail and thin.

She spent the next 2 months working out with dumbbells in her apartment, and staying at 1900-2500 cals a day (sometimes more when she went to the pub with friends) She also played an instrument in a band and that kept her upperbody in good shape.

The result? Her mind is still foggy from all she has survived. Her heart, stomach, and GI will never be 'healthy' but they have repaired themselves quite a bit. She stayed in the 110-115 area, with a great BMI of 20-21. She still had days of struggle where she felt fat, but she had many more days where she felt FIT. She would share photos of herself flexing in the mirror and we were so proud to see she was no longer sickly thin, pale and ill looking, but she had a very muscular tone to her small body, as though all the weight she gained went straight in as muscle.

I have no talked to her for a few months now as she left this site, but I hope she has continued to surpass her own goals and stay healthy.

I tell you this story because I hope you can do the same. Eating more is scary, it is. Just try it every day. Even if you fail 1 day. If you fail 30 days. Just keep trying it.

I am 5'1" too. I was an overweight (not obese, but not fit) kid but got down to 114 lbs because of EDNOS when I was about 15. I realized that my control was slipping before I got caught and I stopped. It has taken me almost 10 years, but I've put all the weight back on and more. I could go into the psychology of it, but everyone has their reasons, I'm fortunate enough to be able to recognize mine and avoid triggers. Suffice it to say I completely understand your feelings about food, I've been there. I have always had an emotional connection with food but this time I'm determined to lose it the healthy way by changing my lifestyle - and keep it off.

You can do this. Do it for yourself. Start slowly and stick with it.
We're all pulling for you!

I 'recovered' a few years ago, though I still have some aspects of my life where it bothers me (such as food shopping). I found the most importan part of recovery was to go through the therapy as it helped me develop a more healthy image of myself and develop realistic goals. I also found getting into sports and training helped me, it gave me motivation to eat right because otherwise I could t perform well.
Not sure if any of this will help but feel free to add me on here x