Losing a Small Amount of Weight post Anorexia Recovery

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andrea394
andrea394 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there! I'm 20 years old, 5'5 and 135 pounds. I'm recovered from anorexia and at my lowest I was roughly 98 pounds and then in hospital gained to 130 partly through NG tube. When I got home and off the tube, I stumbled with figuring out how to eat properly and overshot my hospital discharge weight. Ideally I'd like to be 125-130 and then focus on toning, but I'm struggling to cut back my calories in a way that doesn't trigger me into a complete relapse. I'm aiming to eating 1800 calories a day, but I'm scared of under-eating and doing more damage to my metabolism. My dietitian said not to drop below 2100 calories in recovery, however now that I'm "recovered" I don't know if that still applies.

Is 1800 low enough to slowly and healthily lose 10 pounds without damaging my body? And what abut set point theory? How do I know where my body wants to be?

I also want to focus on toning; does anyone know some good introductory websites or anything with at home toning exercises?

Lastly, if you're in recovery from an eating disorder of any type and you're trying to lose a small amount of weight, or if you're a female in general who only has a small amount to lose, please feel free to send a friend request!

Thanks,
Andrea

Replies

  • andrea394
    andrea394 Posts: 15 Member
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    bump :(
  • woodml1
    woodml1 Posts: 199 Member
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    Hi There,

    I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well with your recovery and are loving your body enough to care about trying to lose healthfully! I have heard that anorexia, like so many other things, can be difficult to fully and completely "recover" from. I'm sure you'll get a lot of this in posts to come but make sure that you're taking time to love and appreciate your body an all it can do, regardless of weight, exercise, or diet.

    As far as slowly decreasing your body fat, I would recommend first trying to maintain your weight. This will give you a good baseline to start to make modifications from. If it's an option, it would be good to see your dietitian again to help you determine your macros to maintain. If you can't see him/her again, maybe try the 2100 calories a day that they recommended. Once you've maintained your weight for 2-4 weeks you'll have an idea of the total number of calories that is maintenance for you and can start to decrease by 50 calories or so every week - every other week. Again, your dietitian can help you determine a precise range to drop by, how often, and when to stop decreasing. Don't worry about set-point theory.

    Now for the exercise... I see on your profile that you are a University student. I am 95% sure that your campus will have a gym that is staffed with helpful fitness professionals who can show you how to get started. (I know because I am one of these helpful fitness professionals on a college campus!) Get in touch with the Fitness Director or Fitness Coordinator at your rec center and let them know your story, they should be happy to help!

    Most of all, keep taking care of yourself!
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    Considering nobody here knows the full extent of your recovery process/history, I suggest continue working with your recovery team. (especially if recovery is a new thing for you)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Can you contact the nutritionist and provide an update of where you are now?
  • andrea394
    andrea394 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thanks for the replies, I emailed my dietitian to let her know about my struggles and my feelings towards how I look now. I can't see her supporting weight loss per say, but even to just reassure me that things will get better? I don't know...I really really don't know. I feel stuck. The only thing I see making me happy at this point is losing weight. I'm so sad all the time when it comes to food and my body. I want to eating my 2400 calories and maintain my weight but the mental torture is getting unbearable. I'm so good at pretending that everything is fine and that I'm eating freely and to everyone around me I seem totally normal, but inside I'm about to explode.
  • MysteriousDreamer
    MysteriousDreamer Posts: 96 Member
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    I have recovered from anorexia and recovering from bulimia (2 years purge free) I have been tubed too many times.

    If you need a friend, feel free to add me.
  • andrea394
    andrea394 Posts: 15 Member
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    I friended you, thank you. Recovering from an eating disorder feels like the most terrible, difficult, frustrating thing ever.

    ETA: CONGRATS on being 2 years purge free, that is AMAZING!! I'm at 2 months and I'm stoked hehe
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Instead of losing weight, have you read on body composition?. You would need to talk to your recovery team, they most likely would not be for cardio, but strength training and eating at maintenance they may be fine with. Many times the number on the scale has very little to do with how we look. Strength, health, and nutrition can give the results we wish for and a healthy way to accomplish that.

    Strength training is what gives the "toned" look, to be firm and have curves...the muscles need to be there and for muscles you need to eat enough and lift. Ask your team, they may OK this, no matter what they say....eating at the number they gave you is best, with your ED you probably lost some lean body mass and eating right, eating enough and just being active can help your body recover some of what it lost.

    Also you say you ARE recovered, but if you are having these feeling you just described.... Well you need to speak with your health team. Do you have a therapist to go with the dietitian. An ED is just as much or more so a mental issue over body. You do not need to answer the therapy question, but if you do not have one...it could really help.

    You are a beautiful young woman and should be proud of your recovery :flowerforyou:
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Thanks for the replies, I emailed my dietitian to let her know about my struggles and my feelings towards how I look now. I can't see her supporting weight loss per say, but even to just reassure me that things will get better? I don't know...I really really don't know. I feel stuck. The only thing I see making me happy at this point is losing weight. I'm so sad all the time when it comes to food and my body. I want to eating my 2400 calories and maintain my weight but the mental torture is getting unbearable. I'm so good at pretending that everything is fine and that I'm eating freely and to everyone around me I seem totally normal, but inside I'm about to explode.

    Honestly, this whole statement makes me think that you are not really recovered. It's sounds kind of like a recovering drug addict or alcholic thinking they can have just one more hit or just one more drink. Please reconsider trying to lose weight at this time. Talk to somebody IRL, not just your dietician. If you have access to a counselor, please talk to them. Or somebody close to you that you can trust.
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
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    I am totally ignorant in how to deal with this, but I had the same thought as kpost323. Why not add some physical activity? you might not lose weight (which it appears your dietitian doesn't support), but instead getting in better shape?

    Difficult problem. Best of luck!
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
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    Thanks for the replies, I emailed my dietitian to let her know about my struggles and my feelings towards how I look now. I can't see her supporting weight loss per say, but even to just reassure me that things will get better? I don't know...I really really don't know. I feel stuck. The only thing I see making me happy at this point is losing weight. I'm so sad all the time when it comes to food and my body. I want to eating my 2400 calories and maintain my weight but the mental torture is getting unbearable. I'm so good at pretending that everything is fine and that I'm eating freely and to everyone around me I seem totally normal, but inside I'm about to explode.

    Honestly, this whole statement makes me think that you are not really recovered. It's sounds kind of like a recovering drug addict or alcholic thinking they can have just one more hit or just one more drink. Please reconsider trying to lose weight at this time. Talk to somebody IRL, not just your dietician. If you have access to a counselor, please talk to them. Or somebody close to you that you can trust.

    What I was thinking. Two months "recovery" is not much of a recovery.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    It sounds like you have made great progress, but are not yet fully recovered. Talk with your dr, therapist, dietician and avoid asking for advice on the internet. You might do yourself way more harm than you think, as you might get very very bad advice. The average poster is not a dr and in any case not familiar with your medical history.
  • ccm1912
    ccm1912 Posts: 39 Member
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    I'm 7 years recovered from anorexia and I found that adding exercise was a way less triggering, better way for me to lose weight/inches. I know how tough it can be, and also how much people around you might freak out if you are trying to lose weight because they all automatically think you are falling back into habits, it's a stigma that will sadly surround you for years. BUT I think with some healthy exercise, it'll make it easy not to obsess about food and see good results and do what is right for you!

    Feel free to friend me :)
  • rachelliptic
    rachelliptic Posts: 22 Member
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    I am somewhere between recovery and relapse - almost 25 and started restricting in elementary school. I would definitely LOVE to talk with some of you who understand what this is like, so by all means add me :) .

    At times in the past I thought I'd overcome anorexia and in fact had come so far that I laughed at the notion of regressing and becoming miserable and obsessive again. Yet that's exactly what has happened, several times. I've had good therapy, too. Years of it, intensively. At this point I'm under no illusion of anorexia being "cool" or "a good idea" or any true solution. And yet, maintaining a higher weight comes with its own consuming set of issues, its own heartache. This will never be simple.

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