ED triggered! I don't want belly fat after recovery.

If you are experiencing anxiety and are fearful that you may backslide into your eating disorder it's important that you express these concerns to your doctor and to your family. Having open communication with your emotional support group during your time of transition into a healthy body is essential.

Also remember that the experience of one random person from the internet is not necessarily going to be the same as your experience.

Getting healthy should be your number one priority. if you are concerned that for the first year of recovery you may be too hypersensitive to the physical changes your body undergoes perhaps you would benefit from removing full length mirrors from your home.

Best of luck in your journey to good health.

I know this is hard for you right now. I'm sorry you're going through this and feeling these intense emotions. I don't think 10 pounds will make a huge noticeable difference on someone who is underweight. You will look fabulous!

Please take this comment in the supportive manner in which it was meant: that wasn't an article. That was a blog. Blogs and articles are two very different animals. Articles are supposed to have some kind of factual information in them when they address a topic like "redistribution" or whatever. Blogs are all about impressions, emotions, and personal thoughts. And, not for nothing, but you might want to avoid going to a blog that calls itself "Progression Obsession." I question the value of the information you'll get from it.

Although the discussion seems similar, the blog is very different from the discussions of "body recomp" that you'll read here. The recomps that people describe are all based on some pretty sound physical theories and are a combination of eating more food, particularly proteins, while trying to build muscle, and doing "cuts" of weight loss when the additional calories add weight. (I know I'm simplifying--there are people who can explain it much better than I can.) The blog seems to be claiming that the fat will flood a particular area before moving on, as if the face or the stomach is a fat type of Ellis Island or something. Your doctor is correct, however. Your body will attempt to distribute the new fat as evenly as possible. You might notice it most in your face, given that the bony structures there make it more noticeable, but in reality "redistribution" is probably more perception than reality.

There's something amazing about recovery, and that is that it's worth it.

At first you probably won't feel great about gaining weight. It's scary and hard. But you don't just gain weight - you literally gain an entirely new perspective on life. One where you're happier and able to go about your daily life without freaking out about what you're eating or what you weigh. It sounds too good to be true, but it will happen.

You won't get there until you've gained weight, though. Right now is the fear of the unknown. You don't know what you'll feel like when you gain weight, and you're imagining it to be much worse than it actually is.

The weight gain may happen unevenly at first, but there is literally no way to avoid that. It's what happens when you've been starving and you begin eating normally again. It would happen whether you had an eating disorder or were some sort of prisoner of war. But it passes. It goes away. Things become normal again.

In the end you need to trust those qualified to give you medical advice, i.e. your doctors and therapists. Stop reading things online. In fact, I'd advise you to delete your MyFitnessPal account and whatever other fitness forum accounts you have. Everyone in the world will give you different advice, but this isn't a time to listen to opinionated strangers (even me, technically, although having had anorexia nervosa, I feel somewhat qualified to know what works).

Things get better, and recovery IS worth it. Promise.

How long it takes for weight redistribution depends on the person .
Where the weight will settle at first depends on the person .


Its worth it .

Plastic surgery isn't necessary . You can get a flat belly with time & patience .

Recovery takes time . Its the best thing ive ever done for myself . Life changing .

There's something amazing about recovery, and that is that it's worth it.

At first you probably won't feel great about gaining weight. It's scary and hard. But you don't just gain weight - you literally gain an entirely new perspective on life. One where you're happier and able to go about your daily life without freaking out about what you're eating or what you weigh. It sounds too good to be true, but it will happen.

You won't get there until you've gained weight, though. Right now is the fear of the unknown. You don't know what you'll feel like when you gain weight, and you're imagining it to be much worse than it actually is.

The weight gain may happen unevenly at first, but there is literally no way to avoid that. It's what happens when you've been starving and you begin eating normally again. It would happen whether you had an eating disorder or were some sort of prisoner of war. But it passes. It goes away. Things become normal again.

In the end you need to trust those qualified to give you medical advice, i.e. your doctors and therapists. Stop reading things online. In fact, I'd advise you to delete your MyFitnessPal account and whatever other fitness forum accounts you have. Everyone in the world will give you different advice, but this isn't a time to listen to opinionated strangers (even me, technically, although having had anorexia nervosa, I feel somewhat qualified to know what works).

Things get better, and recovery IS worth it. Promise.

THIS COMPLETLY.
Recovery wont mean that your life is always fantastic. You wont always be happy, and energetic and confident. However, I can assure you it will be a damn sight better than maintaining an unatural low weight. I'm still recovering my weight after a relapse from Anorexia, and yes, some days you feel rubbish about your body. But so do people who have never suffered from an ED. Just like victoria Secrets models will too sometimes!
Numbers on the scales are clear, easy to define and perfectly measurable. The human body is never these things.
Good luck with your recovery. It really does get better.

not everything you read on the internet is true

Stay healthy! Do not let your eating disorder win. You are stronger than that

Talk to your psychiatrist ASAP. I'm having the same exact problem but a bit different. Have been in recovery for about...gee, I don't know, since I was 19, I am 26 now. A few relapses here and there, nothing serious, then my pituitary got shot bcs of a brain tumor/SE of radiotherapy from yrs ago; they put me on steroids and I am actively getting moonface/fat deposits. Haven't been able to eat consistently since getting out of the hospital 3wks ago - so I'm prolly getting myself checked outpatient psych very very soon, seeing as I'm quite tall and already bordering on relapse AGAIN So if you need to msg me to talk to someone, I'm here for you *waves*

Weigh restoration is an INSANE process and it's never, ever linear. But you seriously need to stop reading this stuff on the internet as nothing is ever really accurate (you'd be surprised at the amount that is actually written by people with actual DIAGNOSED EDs - it's close to zero, people love diagnosing themselves via google/webmd "oh I under ate two weeks ago, must be anorexic teehee") and also the amount of "scientific articles" that are written by people who have never set foot in a Medical School in their entire existence. Seriously. Nope out of the internet while you're in that phase. That's the best advice I can give you.

(Btw, it takes a bit for redistribution, but nowhere close to two years)

Talk to your psych and maybe go to an endo to get your levels checked out. No exercise at this point because it might trigger stuff, as you might already be aware, but you can speed stuff up if you get the approval of both your psych and your endo - if taking long for redistribution will trigger relapse, they WILL take it seriously and won't joke around with "oh maybe more therapy" or "take this other ssri" - believe me, I've been there, they don't want you in the ICU, they don't want to tube you and they don't want the liability - so you be frank and honest with them, and you nope out of the internet for the time being.

Stay strong.

I, personally, think you need help for your attitude as well as your ED. Your ED is no excuse to c*ap over the time people here have taken to offer heartfelt and genuine advice and help.