losing weight after an eating disorder?

mariana_meira · May 2014

So i suffered an eating disorder for a bit over a year. i ate anywhere between 600-1100 calories per day and would burn about 400 calories at the gym. obviously this slowed my metabolism dramatically and i did not actually lose any weight. before the ED i weighed 48kg but then went on holidays and ended up at 54kg which is where it all started. i even went up to 56kg in august last year but managed to get back down to around 53kg by january.

however, no matter how hard i try to lose weight the healthy way, i just can't!!! i eat probably 1200-1500 calories per day, mainly veggies and protein. i don't have time for the gym so i walk to uni and back everyday which is about a total of 45mins at a brisk pace, carrying my bag which is quite heavy.

i very rarely eat bread, pasta, rice and those sorts of carbs and drink mainly water. i honestly couldn't eat any healthier than i already do. if anything, I've actually gained weight. I'm not vegetarian but I'm on a uni student budget so can't really afford to buy meat so i just substitute it with tofu and quorn.

I'm almost 20, female, 54kg and 161cm tall.

why can't i lose weight?! surely eating that many calories and burning around 150 calories walking everyday, i should be losing at least a little bit?! did my ED just destroy my metabolism?????

the only thing i can think is alcohol. although i only drink twice a week. its never anything other than vodka diet coke and i'll have about 5. on those 2 days where i know ill be drinking, i do lower my calorie intake quite a bit so i don't go over. usually will eat slendier as its very low in calories.

help!

TheZephyr1 · June 2014

Here is what you do: Lower it to 2 drinks during those days, drink LOTS of green tea and after two weeks switch to oolong or green tea and oolong (cancel out the bitterness of both with brown rice, I suggest getting loose-leaf tea and something to brew it lol), use stevia (liquid or In The Raw) or Monkfruit In The Raw to sweeten things and avoid artificial sweeteners, eat a serving or more of oatmeal with every meal (may want to make this your only carb/grain for most meals xD ), up the exercise (I will usually watch television or play video games while JUMPING, because jumping burns more calories than most things. You can jump during the commercials and stand during the programme), and if you have a lot of stress and whatnot in your life try to reduce it. Meditation helps. Wish you well hun.

Oh, and lose the corn. Haha, I avoid potatoes and corn all the time. And yes! Vegan foods are often WONDERFUL as long as they are not over processed (except meat substitutes, as they are lovely). Try to stay simple with most all foods.

meluhneekay · June 2014

According to my calculations you're not overweight; your BMI is in the normal range.
You don't need to lose weight, and to be perfectly honest I'm not really comfortable encouraging someone recovering from a restrictive ED to do so.
Are you working with a therapist or a dietician? I honestly believe this should be the first thing you do, before concerning yourself with losing weight. The help of a professional can be vital to making sure you don't begin to spiral back into your disordered behaviors.

NikkiX0X0 · June 2014

Just be patient .
When I was first in recovery I would GAIN on 500cal . Then 1200 cal .
I had to be patient , continue eating even tho I was gaining .
I even stopped working out .

Now I LOSE eating a lot more than that .
And ive only been in recovery 1 yr .

pleasepleaseno · June 2014

recovering from an ed myself. honestly, yeah your bodys metabolism is gonna suck for a little while...you kinda have to accept that. but you should be talking to a psychiatrist and psychologist either way. oh, and measure and weigh all your food.

MargaretSobers · June 2014

Disorder eating will give only two result, the results are it may your health will increase or you can gain some weight, and second thing happen is you will be underweight or become weak by your disorder eating.

misskarne · June 2014

You are 54 FREAKING KILOGRAMS. You do not need to lose weight!

Please see a health professional for your eating disorder. You are by no means recovered if you think you still need to lose.

SLLRunner · June 2014

Here is what you do: Lower it to 2 drinks during those days, drink LOTS of green tea and after two weeks switch to oolong or green tea and oolong (cancel out the bitterness of both with brown rice, I suggest getting loose-leaf tea and something to brew it lol), use stevia (liquid or In The Raw) or Monkfruit In The Raw to sweeten things and avoid artificial sweeteners, eat a serving or more of oatmeal with every meal (may want to make this your only carb/grain for most meals xD ), up the exercise (I will usually watch television or play video games while JUMPING, because jumping burns more calories than most things. You can jump during the commercials and stand during the programme), and if you have a lot of stress and whatnot in your life try to reduce it. Meditation helps. Wish you well hun.

Oh, and lose the corn. Haha, I avoid potatoes and corn all the time. And yes! Vegan foods are often WONDERFUL as long as they are not over processed (except meat substitutes, as they are lovely). Try to stay simple with most all foods.

Right.

No. Eat less than you burn and you will lose weight.

SLLRunner · June 2014

So i suffered an eating disorder for a bit over a year. i ate anywhere between 600-1100 calories per day and would burn about 400 calories at the gym. obviously this slowed my metabolism dramatically and i did not actually lose any weight. before the ED i weighed 48kg but then went on holidays and ended up at 54kg which is where it all started. i even went up to 56kg in august last year but managed to get back down to around 53kg by january.

however, no matter how hard i try to lose weight the healthy way, i just can't!!! i eat probably 1200-1500 calories per day, mainly veggies and protein. i don't have time for the gym so i walk to uni and back everyday which is about a total of 45mins at a brisk pace, carrying my bag which is quite heavy.

i very rarely eat bread, pasta, rice and those sorts of carbs and drink mainly water. i honestly couldn't eat any healthier than i already do. if anything, I've actually gained weight. I'm not vegetarian but I'm on a uni student budget so can't really afford to buy meat so i just substitute it with tofu and quorn.

I'm almost 20, female, 54kg and 161cm tall.

why can't i lose weight?! surely eating that many calories and burning around 150 calories walking everyday, i should be losing at least a little bit?! did my ED just destroy my metabolism?????

the only thing i can think is alcohol. although i only drink twice a week. its never anything other than vodka diet coke and i'll have about 5. on those 2 days where i know ill be drinking, i do lower my calorie intake quite a bit so i don't go over. usually will eat slendier as its very low in calories.

help!

Please seek professional help. It sounds like you are not recovered from you eating disorder. You're not overweight.

Eleonora91 · June 2014

I don't see why you should want to lose more weight (apart from still being controlled by your disordered mindset, which in all honesty I think it's your case...)

edit: also, why is your daily goal set to 1100 kcals? you didn't even log more than a few hundreds on calories worth of food during the last few days.

edit2: AND you posted in another topic you were concerned about gaining weight because you were 55 rather than 48 kgs. I think MFP is really not the place to get the proper help you need.

liesevanlingen · June 2014

Your BMI is on the lower end of the healthy range. Why do you think you need to lose weight? Perhaps you need to develop more muscle tone instead of trying to lose weight. It doesn't sound like you are mentally in a healthy place.

losing weight after an eating disorder?

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