Recovering bulimic last minute questions. Please help asap!

TravisWS
TravisWS Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys Travis here. I have come forward and admitted to my family, as well myself that I have been dealing with Bulimia as well as anorexia for the past 5 months. I went from being around 220-230 lbs to about 140 lbs since last January. (Just so you are aware I am a 6ft 2 19 year old male.) For the past 5 months I have been eating only 1,300 calories a day where most BMR calculators say I should be eating upwards of 2,300. (That's not taking into consideration my TEE, which I lift vigorously about an hour a day consisting of two sessions that last about 30 mins to 40 mins.) As you can tell I was a wreck. I would prepare my own meals and would not be able to eat with my family. Mentally I couldn't do it or I would have a melt down. Well I'm sick of it. I want to eat like a normal man and gain muscle like a normal guy...maybe even be more buff than the normal lifter ;) You can check my calorie tracker and yes I track EVERY little thing that entered my mouth including mints. Last weekend I had a GREAT fun weekend full of eating. Sunday I went to a buffet and had upwards of 5 plates of crap I would NEVER eat. I felt great on monday. I was full of energy and haven't felt like that in months and in turn exercised without any pain or lightheadedness. I told myself I would not weigh myself due to the fact that I KNEW i would weigh more and that scared me. For the first two or so days I did great...then I suffered a major relapse and weighed myself and the scale said I was up around 1.5lbs. I know I need to gain weight...but I have it in my head that if the scale goes up that its BAD when I know in the back of my head that I look sickly and need it. Well I decided I am better than my disease and I am going to beat it with my family behind me. So tomorrow will be my last day tracking my food for two weeks as an experiment. I am going to continue to make my own breakfast and lunch but will eat dinner with my family but will focus on keeping portions in check. As a friend told me a while ago...there is no such thing as "bad" food. He is ripped beyond belief and eats candy which boggled me for the longest time. (As you can tell I am in good spirits and ready to move forward and get my life back) but before I leave for two weeks I have a couple questions that I need answered. So please help me out!

I currently exercise everyday. I am developing a fitness schedule consisting of 3 days of cardio and 4 days of heavy lifting and taking saturday or sunday off. I plan on at least 30mins of heavy cardio during the cardio days and heavy lifting during the 4 days. Would this work or will I gain the weight back? Dumb question probably.

i HAVE MORE but sadly I have to go to work right now. Answer this one and I'll post more when I get back. Thanks for your help guys. Words of support are welcome. :)

-Travis

Replies

  • shells12
    shells12 Posts: 4
    Good for you, it sounds like you are really turning your life around, which is something I am finding very hard to do so you are such an inspiration. Try not to be too hard on yourself, you might set goals and work really hard to achieve them, but it is important to still like yourself when you reach them. :) x
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member
    It's nice to see that you've realized ED's are not the way to go. I'm not very well suited to answer your question, but I do know that you are on the right track mentally, so physically, your body will follow
  • TravisWS
    TravisWS Posts: 9
    celebrating this weekend by going to an amusement park on saturday and then a buffet again on sunday. I'm gonna try to take it easy, but I am throwing away the rule-book. And you know what, I deserve it right? I am underweight it won't hurt to gain a few and be happy. :))))))
  • AlyssaJoJo
    AlyssaJoJo Posts: 449 Member
    You gainging weight back has to do with what you eat while you are doing this work out. But in all honesty I think you should take a step back from wondering if you are going to gain weight and work on getting your eating habits to a healthy habit. If you've been not eating, or throwing up what you eat, you are bound to gain some h e a l t h y weight back by breaking those bad habits. Good luck on the journey of trying to get better. Sending good energy your way.
  • mrs_schultz2012
    mrs_schultz2012 Posts: 395 Member
    I'm not really good with advice, but I am so happy for you!! So glad that you realized what was wrong and you are seeking help and advice. That takes a lot of courage. Good luck to you on your journey, I'm sure you will do fabulous! Just keep your head up and keep that positive attitude :happy: :flowerforyou:
  • cersela
    cersela Posts: 160 Member
    Good for your for putting yourself out there. It's hard to talk about eating disorders, I'm glad you are looking to recover. It's going to be hard, but go easy on yourself and allow yourself to have 'slip ups' like eating the buffet the other day. (If you have a smaller slip ups and indulgences occasionally you won't go on such large binges in the future.) Good luck on the path to getting healthier!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    That sounds like a lot of exercise. Remember you need recovery time and depending on the type of lifting 3 days a week may be better. If you reached a weight that is too low, you will gain some weight as you get healthy, but you will not become over weight, don't worry about that. It's easy to become acclimated to a lower weight, but you will see that you can gain some back and still be slender and fit, but also healthy and full of energy and well being. It doesn't have to be one extreme or another. Good for you that you are getting healthy again!!! Hopefully this ED will become a thing of the past.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    You admitted yourself you need to gain weight back, so why are you worrying about whether your cardio would be enough to prevent you gaining weight back? You need to fully accept , and even wish for weight gain, to get towards recovery, as right now, you seem to be in two minds and still wishing to see that number on the scale. I suggest you quit the scale on focus on getting 'buff' as you put it, and on being healthy, hard as that is to do (speaking from experience as I also suffer bulimia and scale issues) .
  • ashblonde1
    ashblonde1 Posts: 31
    I am by no means an expert, and I think you would be best consulting a dietician. I would think that you need to gain weight but that you want to gain lean muscle mass to give you strength.

    If you see a dietician and maybe they could recommend you a good mix of macronutrients to help you bulk up in the right areas.

    I wouldn't worry about weighing yourself, in fact I would get rid of the scale... instead I would concentrate on strength and building muscle mass.

    You will need to eat and you will have to consume protein rich foods to build size.

    Maybe you should get yourself a fitness goal that isn't centered around weight (running, weight training, competition, hiking, triathlon)? Might help to change your focus.

    Food is fuel right?! Well if yes, then I guess your friend is right that there is no such thing as bad food, but I would think that this would be comparable to fueling your car on cheap gas, or fueling it with Premium. The best fuel is just going to make your car run better.

    Good luck, you deserve every success and do not believe everything you see on the scale, the number on there does not reflect what looks good, or what feels good.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    I think you need to NOT worry about what the food and exercise will do to your weight. Do cardio because you enjoy it, not to keep the weight off. Lift weights to get your muscles where you want them. At 6'2" you should be about 150lbs with a slim figure, and significantly heavier with lots of muscle, so that number on the scale is going to climb as you get healthier.

    I've recovered from EDs, and the scale and I still have a complicated relationship. If I were you, I'd not weigh in for a few months. Just focus on getting your body to where you like the look of it, and don't worry about the number.

    Best of luck. Enjoy the food!!!!!!!!!
  • julesassid
    julesassid Posts: 49
    First off, I'm not an expert at anything, but I think you're being smart about how you should approach getting back on track with eating better. You can stand to put on quit a bit more weight, so instead of binging at the buffett, eat with your family, and eat what ever they have. Try to avoid consuming calories that you could end up obsessing about and regretting and eat more of the smarter foods. Protein will be your best friend for building muscle. Maybe you could add a good protein shake in addition to your breakfast, lunch and dinner. That will both help you build and fill you up / add good calories.
    Good for you for taking control of your life and involving your family in your struggles. My sincere best wishes to you.
  • kvanderbeek1
    kvanderbeek1 Posts: 50 Member
    Well Travis, first I'm going to tell you it's awesome that you realize the problem and are going to try and get healthy. I want to tell you about my husband's sister. She was 20-years-old and played basketball in college. She worked hard every day at basketball. Unfortunately, she was bulimic and died of heart issues in her college dorm. Bulimia is something you need to take very seriously and immediately discontinue the habits. I understand the pressures of the world and how physical image tends to drive many decisions people make. I think your health should come first. Yes, you will probably see the scale go up some, but as you know muscle weighs more than fat so you will need to gain some weight. You're a tall guy and 140 seems a bit low. Gaining a little muscle would make you hotter as opposed to a stick body. Trust me! Please, please try to put your health first. Make your lifestyle change. You can still eat all your fav foods but just don't over-indulge. That's what I've figured out to do. There are some weekends we go to a birthday party. I'm not going to skip the cake, are you kidding me?!?!? I just know that I need to work out a little harder that night. I'm going to send you a friend request that I hope you accept. I would like to know that you're doing well eating and keeping your food down. Please do this and stay healthy! Kara

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