Gaining weight? eating disorder recovery?

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.

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.

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.

*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.

+1
Thank you.

I'd say it's a good start but for anorexia recovery you need about 2500+ calories a day for weight restoration and other internal repairs. If you could add foods high in fat (ex: nuts, seeds, butter, full fat dairy products) on top of what you're already eating that would help you add more calories to your daily intake without much volume.

Looking at your diary, if I had to guess, your sugar is probably a bit on the high side. Try to stay below 50 grams a day. But otherwise it doesn't look too bad.

Also, if you're underweight, try to go easy on your exercises. I know they probably make you feel good, but if you're having a hard time meeting your minimum caloric needs a day to gain weight, any added in cardio is only going to compound the problem.

If you must to do cardio, keep it light and under 30 minutes.

I'm currently working with someone else who has/had a eating disorder and the key that has helped her, is eating multiple, small meals throughout the day. If you're working a hectic job at a hospital, I'd pack yourself quick & easy healthy snacks to bring in with you and just constantly be snacking on something throughout the day.

Get a Pedometer as well. This will tell you exactly how many steps you're taking per day at your job and from there, you can more accurately calculate how many more calories, on top of your 1,647 caloric base needs, you need to be eating per day.


Good luck and don't give up!

Why would you tell someone who is trying to gain weight to cut back on sugar? Yes, she needs fats and protein, but I wouldn't suggest counting sugar to someone struggling to hit her calorie goals. The focus by even the American Heart Association on sugar is for reasons of getting too many calories.

Because she asked about how healthy she is eating. High amounts of sugar is NOT healthy for you and can contribute to all sorts of inflammatory diseases in the long term, including heart disease and diabetes.

There are plenty of other, easy ways to get your calories. Such as natural peanut butter, nuts & avocados and just eating regularly throughout the day.

OP - ignore this. It's pseudoscience and scare mongering.

You do need to get your fats up. A low fat diet is counterproductive, was abandoned in the 90s even for losing weight, and actually will endanger your health. The treats you're eating, not so much.

Listen to this guy. He knows what his talking about!

how was my diary for 15/04/2014? thanks, for all the comments guys

i think you mean 04/15/2014? do they write it the other way in some countries?

how was my diary for 15/04/2014? thanks, for all the comments guys

i think you mean 04/15/2014? do they write it the other way in some countries?

Yes, they do.

Actually, 04/15/2014 is only used in the US, the rest of the world writes day/ month/ year as in 15.04.2014 (ok except for China, they write the year first^^)

I did review your diary and you aren't eating all your calories and your protein levels are none to very low....You would do better eating more protein and you are eating a lot of fruit for breakfast. I would eat one fruit, one good source of protein, like oatmeal, eggs, turkey bacon for breakfast and a grain like granola. You definitely need about 6-8 glasses of water for hydration or your electrolytes will be very bad. Looking over the Diary it does look like eating disordered behavior and I would highly recommend seeking professional help.

how was my diary for 15/04/2014? thanks, for all the comments guys

i think you mean 04/15/2014? do they write it the other way in some countries?

Yes, they do.

Actually, 04/15/2014 is only used in the US, the rest of the world writes day/ month/ year as in 15.04.2014 (ok except for China, they write the year first^^)

wow, i really need to get out more. how do they do it in NorCal?

We use the date convention of 16APR2014 (for ex). This was also the format at the last company I worked at. Don't know if it is becoming scientific convention, or what.

Hiyya,

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but an idea could be to add in a supplement drink like fortisip or ensure. As they are nutritionally balanced you'd be able to just get a little top up on your intake and know that it had all the things in it that will help you repair your body and mind Generally speaking I used to find a handful of nuts quite helpful either raw or as a butter.

Also ( this was given to me IP and a good habit I stuck with) An evening drink before bed like ovaltine,horlicks or hot chocolate and a banana or a biscuit or other small snack helps you sleep and just gives you a little more intake.

Another thing I tried to do was not to attatch too much emotion to food and not to see it as punishment or reward - just nourishment. I also tried to enjoy eating as a social and bonding occasion maybe with family or friends. Nothing extravegant, but tonight for example, I plan to roast a chicken without extra fat in the oven, seasoned and to boil up some carrots and beans and pop in some potatoes and gravy (you could make this with oil if you wanted more cal) then I will invite my brother over and eat with him and catch up over dinner and then there probably will be some chicken left over for tommorows lunch! (and of course some scraps for my spoiled kitty).

Finally I tried to make my excercise more social and relaxed and less driven by calories - now I often yoga and hang around after to chat (this also clears your mind wonderfully). But I do still run, but out of enjoyment and to raise money for mental health charities A little excercise helps manage stress, keeps you refreshed and healthy, too much excercise can make you tired and unhappy

I hope that helps, and apologies if I've said anything to offend,

best of luck OP

Got to agree with the above..
I'm also in recovery so I do understand that you will be wanting reassurance from others about your intake, but your not meeting your daily goal-so there isnt much advice anyone can give except meet your goals, specific macros aren't really your priority right now, just calories.
I'd suggest stop trying to seeking verification from others, except a medical professional specialising in ED and just meet your goals.