Gaining weight? eating disorder recovery?
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How many calories do you think is should aim for guys? also have i eaten healthy today?
First off, I wanted to congratulate you on obviously really trying to get better, but I guess you already know the answer to your question, it is still too little! You are eating what a woman at your height and weight needs to maintain! How do I know? I am 5'9 and eating about this amount (without exercise calories).
Maybe you could try meeting your goal of 2200 and when you are comfortable with it increase it again until you are in a healthy weight range!0 -
Especially when you are undereight and need t gain weight, you definitely need to eat at least that.
I know it's hard. I'm in recovery of my ED as well and I just need to maintain my weight/ gain about 0,5kg again.
I'm 5'5" (165 cm) and am aiming for at least 1800-1900.. and that's without exercise kcal.
And it's much harder than I thought, really.
Try to add high kcal food here and there. Nuts and dried fruits are great. Sweets are of course high kcal, I don't know if you're struggling to eat them. If you cook something, try to add a little bit more of oil than normal, maybe some cheese/cream as well.
It won't make you gain weight too fast, it's a process, but it's worth it.
You can do it :flowerforyou:0 -
Do you find your weight flucutates alot as well?
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Hi, read through the thread and looked at your diary... a couple of people noted that you should try and add in some healthy fats, as fats are really important to your overall nutrition. I agree with that; it looks like you're a bit low on fats. I like avocado and nut butters (almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter), and you don't have to eat a whole ton of it to get a good amount of healthy fats.
I think that small tweak will make your diary look tons better!
I am your height (5'11"), and I do find that my weight can fluctuate as much as 8 pounds from week to week, so don't worry too much about your weight fluctuations. Focus more on nourishing your body with healthy foods and working to feel your best. 0 -
Do you find your weight flucutates alot as well?
Don't worry about fluctuations. You are going to need to gain. And you can gain muscle. And it's normal for weight to fluctuate around 5 pounds from day to day (even in the same day). Don't obsess over the scale.0 -
*facepalm* :noway:
Not exercising until she is at a healthy body weight?Incorporating foods higher in fat can make it easier to reach your calorie goal.
This includes avocado, cheese, butter (and other dairy products), oils, chocolate etc.
Cut the exercise as much as possible, at least until you are at a healthy weight.
Continue working with a dietitian specialized in eating disorders.
Why would she do that? Even if she is trying to get to a healthy weight she should still be doing weight training.
Physical recovery from a restrictive ED is not just about gaining weight outside. There is also repair going on inside the body too, e.g. restoration of organs, such as the heart. The heart muscle is the only muscle you should be worrying about in recovery, and as the heart can be damaged, weight training could be potentially dangerous.0 -
Hello
My daughter is 19 yrs old and when she was recovering from her eating disorder she actually had to eat 3500 calories a day initially because her body had difficulty absorbing the calories after her period of starvation. You must find a way to eat small meals through out the day because skipping meals is a dangerous trigger for many with eating disorders. I wish you well. Once she reached her goal weight she was able to adjust her calories to maintain her weight and eventually she was able to eat normally without counting calories at all. If you has support at home it may be beneficial to have some one else calculate your calories for you and tell you if you need to eat more. And yes as a recovering person with an eating disorder you should eat your exercise calories that was a must from the eating disorder team who were involved in my daughters care. Initially the thought of eating those calories was too much for her so she opted to not exercise until her body had reached a healthy weight for her height. She is your height. I would suggest that you see a dietician rather than really on this website to calculate your needed calories. This is a great way to track them if you must but with an eating disorder often their are nutritional needs beyond what the average person would need to gain. I wish you well and you can over come this with support from your loved ones and health care professionals.0 -
I agree restricting types of foods is feeding into the eating disorder . What you need to is maintain what you are eating now and introduce healthy fats. As a mother of a young lady with an eating disorder I understand how scary the word fat can be but healthy fats such as nuts, olive oil. coconut oil are a great way to repair some the damage done to your body from poor nutrition and an easy way to boost your intake without having to look at mounds of food which can be overwhelming. I notice that you have increased your protein way to go. You should be very proud of yourself for the efforts you are making to overcome this disorder and get healthy. It does get easier. God Bless.0
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You should aim for about a pound a week until you reach a weight that you and your physician have determined based on your body build.0
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Because she is struggling to eat her calories and her job provides her with enough activity at this point. Eating enough to gain is hard enough when you are struggling to get enough calories as it is. An eating disorder actually makes food and weight gain frightening so exercising means you have to eat more. I have lived with a person with an eating disorder they often under estimate how many calories they have burned as well. She needs the help of a healthcare team to assist her in this because it is more then a simple weight gain program.0
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*facepalm* :noway:
Not exercising until she is at a healthy body weight?Incorporating foods higher in fat can make it easier to reach your calorie goal.
This includes avocado, cheese, butter (and other dairy products), oils, chocolate etc.
Cut the exercise as much as possible, at least until you are at a healthy weight.
Continue working with a dietitian specialized in eating disorders.
Why would she do that? Even if she is trying to get to a healthy weight she should still be doing weight training.
Physical recovery from a restrictive ED is not just about gaining weight outside. There is also repair going on inside the body too, e.g. restoration of organs, such as the heart. The heart muscle is the only muscle you should be worrying about in recovery, and as the heart can be damaged, weight training could be potentially dangerous.
+1
Exercising while underweight and putting more strain on the heart is NOT a good idea.
ETA - not to mention that the body needs every bit of energy it can get to repair at the moment, rather than waste that precious energy on exercising.0 -
I'm a giant language nerd, so bear with me...
Please be cautious when using the word "healthy." It means different things to different people, so on its own without context, it's pretty much meaningless. For the majority of people on MFP, "eating healthy" typically means more fruits and veggies, lean protein, low-cal, etc. However, for a small group of people here, including you and me and a lot of the people on this board, that definition doesn't work. If I follwed the definition of "healthy" that Jane Doe, Typical MFP User has, I would end up in a very unhealthy place.
For us, first and foremost, a "healthy" day is one where we hit our minimum calorie goal. That's the #1 most important thing to consider. So, when we're asking ourselves "did I eat healthy today?", what we should be asking is "did I meet my minimum calorie goal?" If we didn't meet that minimum goal, it doesn't matter what we ate.
After minimum calories, the next question should be "did I meet or come close to my macro goals?" (That's assuming you have a reasonable macro distribution for your individual circumstances. I'll be honest and say I don't know enough about anorexia recovery to be able to tell if your macros are set up accurately or not.) I looked through a few days of your diary, and your fat macro is consistently lower than your target.
When you're in a place that "healthy eating" means almost the opposite of what it means for other people, it can be really difficult to tell whether or not you're doing it right. It kind of feels like everyone else is going together in one direction, and you're off by yourself somewhere else. I'm really happy to see that you're still posting and still working on getting better. We're all rooting for you to succeed.0 -
*facepalm* :noway:
Not exercising until she is at a healthy body weight?Incorporating foods higher in fat can make it easier to reach your calorie goal.
This includes avocado, cheese, butter (and other dairy products), oils, chocolate etc.
Cut the exercise as much as possible, at least until you are at a healthy weight.
Continue working with a dietitian specialized in eating disorders.
Why would she do that? Even if she is trying to get to a healthy weight she should still be doing weight training.
Physical recovery from a restrictive ED is not just about gaining weight outside. There is also repair going on inside the body too, e.g. restoration of organs, such as the heart. The heart muscle is the only muscle you should be worrying about in recovery, and as the heart can be damaged, weight training could be potentially dangerous.
Yes, she needs to get healthy first and doctor approval. When she has that, she can resume a normal life in moderation.
Also, when I said that she will gain muscle, I mean even if she doesn't lift weights. She will gain muscle. It won't be just fat. And she can still move around and be weight bearing and mildly active. Some people are bed ridden. But, not always.
And when we say weight training, we do not mean to start at heavy weights. She can start with 5 pound dumbbells (with doctor approval).0 -
hi, not sure if you have a clinical team?
i have been in treatment since october for anorexia nervosa.
i would suggest to cut down on the exercise. you are active at work, there's no need to do 30-60 mins of exercise on top of that a day.
try calorie dense foods so you do not feel so full, and switch to the full fat and full sugar versions of things. no diet foods.
if possible try to get clinical help, i have failed with recovery for years because i never got help.
eating disorders anonymous has online, phone and in person meetings different days and times of the week, and they are very helpful. overeaters anonymous also welcomes people, even without overeating issues, really any issues with food, are welcome there as well.
there is an app too called recovery record that has been super helpful for me.
2200 seems like a good amount to help you gain. if it is too much to handle, try upping your cals by 100 every week or two until you get there. stay away from the scale, for me seeing gains were triggering so i had to not know what i was gaining. i have been maintaining now for several months, and i am no longer underweight, no longer deficient in vitamins, my white blood cell count isn't as low and my heart rate is up from 52bpm to now 68 bpm.
feel free to add me on here, i do not log my calories anymore. i just log in recovery record app what i ate, i really have no idea how much i am eating. i go by hunger cues now and try to eat a full breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack or two, and have been successful in maintaining a healthy weight.
it is hard as hell to do this, i still have disordered thoughts quite frequently. i'm no where near recovered yet, but i am on the road to recovery.
feel free again to add me if you want a recovery buddy, if you use kik you can message me on that too.
best of luck to you.0 -
right now in my treatment, we are focussing on breaking the terms unhealthy and healthy from foods. it's okay for me to eat candy, cookies, full fat foods. because i am not overweight and i do not have heart disease. as long as i eat the recommended amount of fats, sugars, carbs etc, then that is okay. i wouldn't worry about your sugars being a little high, as your body really needs everything it can get. once you are at a healthy weight with good labs and bloodwork, then staying within the daily recommended levels is fine. if you start only eating junk food constantly, well then down the road you will run into problems. now focus on those calorie dense foods. seeds, nuts, full fat dairy, nut butters, avocados. just by having the full fat versions of foods can easily get you at the calories you need.
calculate your tdee at active, and make sure if you do exercise to eat those calories back, as you do not want to be at a deficit since you do not need to lose weight.
also, i would not suggest a pedometer, as that can lead to obsessive behaviors and can be triggering.
i also agree if you are to do exercise, to try and to strength training as you need to get muscle mass back. only start this once you are on a healthier weight gain, i wouldn't suggest to do this right away.0 -
I threw my scales out today cause im sick of weighing myself, and im aiming for more calories as well, how was my diet today? thanks guys im thinking about getting more support from the doctor too 0
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I threw my scales out today cause im sick of weighing myself, and im aiming for more calories as well, how was my diet today? thanks guys im thinking about getting more support from the doctor too
Great! Good work today! You are still going to need to eat more calories, but you are working towards that.0 -
+1*facepalm* :noway:
Physical recovery from a restrictive ED is not just about gaining weight outside. There is also repair going on inside the body too, e.g. restoration of organs, such as the heart. The heart muscle is the only muscle you should be worrying about in recovery, and as the heart can be damaged, weight training could be potentially dangerous.
Thank you.0 -
hows my eating been today guys? 0
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