ruined metabolism by starving? ?
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Any concern you have your doctor should be concerned about (weight related or not!). Please find a new doctor and contact a nutritionist or dietitian as soon as you can. You may also want to talk with a health coach or counselor to get input on body image and a healthy lifestyle.
If you really want to be healthy again as you stated in your original post, you are going to have to make changes. But you don't have to make them alone! Reach out to someone in real life who can actually help you. You CAN do it.
Best of luck!0 -
BriarBelle wrote: »500 cals a day approximately for about 1.5 years now if eat over 500 a day I gain 2-3 pounds overnight
This could be a bloat though because your stomach is really small due to consuming so little for a long time.
I would honestly see a nutritionist or someone or specializes in eating disorder recovery because they will have ways of slowly and safely being able to consume a normal, healthy amount of food. It will probably take a lot of work and dedication BUT they will know best how to overcome this because from what I've read there are ways to get back to a somewhat regular eating style.
I would really like to congratulate you on taking on recovery - ED's are definitely not easy to get over but if you ever need a friend, someone to talk to I'm more than happy to
I haven't been through an ED but I'm definitely here if you need anyone.
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You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
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I agree with Beksgirl, gradually increase your calories.
And I don't know what doctor busywater has seen. Has anyone else been to see a GP or an endocrinologist and received an Rx for a high protein diet and heavy lifting and interval training? I think that might be busywater's prescription, not the doctor's. There's probably less than ten MDs in the U.S. that would make that recommendation, given your story - and its probably not a very good idea.
I wouldn't recommend any type of extreme or fad diet: eat as healthy as you can, and do 600 calories for a week, then 700. If your weight starts to spike, stay at that amount of calories, then try again to increase, the following week.
You haven't ruined your metabolism, but it sounds like its not going to recover overnight, which is reasonable.
One way to look at this is to think, if a cavewoman had starved for years and then found a bunch of food, what is the most intelligent thing her body could do with those excess calories? Store them as fat, of course, because her body assumes, naturally, that more starvation will follow.
One other point - it's hard to get enough micronutrients from a 500 calorie diet, unless you were also taking supplements. You should start now taking a multivitamin; Calcium/Magnesium; Vitamin D; and fish oil if you haven't been doing that already. Those things will gradually nourish your tissues and help your metabolism recover more rapidly.0 -
I did that too by undereating carbs for decades and hitting menopause. My metabolism came to a dead halt. It has been really difficult but I am slowly slowly eating properly and finally losing weight.
I agree that seeing a doctor is the first step, but my doctor, though he has been excellent in other things, did not seem concerned at my weight. (of course he did not know me when I was a skinny gal)
But I feel like with diet and exercise I have finally started turning it around.
The first thing I had to do was eat breakfast. I was never hungry so I didn't eat breakfast but it is important to do that EVERY morning.
Also: It is important to eat back nearly all the calories you burn off doing exercise. If I do too much exercise and I do not eat back my calories I GAIN WEIGHT. I know people claim that is impossible, but they aren't dealing with restarting their metabolism
I change the amount of exercise I do daily. Some days I do no exercise and eat 1200 calories other days I swim for an hour and eat an extra 500 calories, other days I do weight lifting and eat back 80 calories other days I do 40 minutes of aerobics and eat back 300 calories.
It has been VERY VERY slow, but I have lost 40 lbs since February 1 2014. And I am eating quite a bit of food.
There have been MANY MANY LONG PLATEAUS: Do not be impatient and do not let the frustration make you give up. Remember the hare and tortoise and keep at it!0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »
You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
Large deficits or netting negative calories can slow down RMR.
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A good doctor will also do some bloodwork to see if you have any vitamin or mineral deficiencies that need to be addressed; if you are anemic, if your thyroid is ok, etc. Getting all those things back to normal levels will be important in your recovery and getting your metabolism working right.0
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In this set of you tube videos, he talks about how to repair your metabolism. It may be helpful to you: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk&list=PLnPAPdT4m_g8cZtYQW3JNbFwK9Fix-gFC0
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We scream a lot here about there being no Starvation Mode. However, you can mess your body up by starving and in more ways than the obvious ones.
A starved body will have a messed up period while it adjusts to food again. But they say that for most people, it will adjust after a period of time.
Yes, you screwed up. Big deal. Find me an adult who never screwed anything up and has no regrets and I'll find you a big, fat liar. Everybody screws up. If the only person who got hurt was you, then you're way ahead of most! Most people's regrets involve hurting others. You'd be surprised how many dying people don't regret what they did or didn't do, but very much regret how they hurt others.
So, cheer up! The only person who you need forgiveness from is YOU. Forgive yourself and move the hell on.
Follow your doctor's advice and eat while you look for a new one. Get a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. It sounds like you have a lot of eating issues and the place to solve that is in therapy.
When you start eating normally on a regular basis, you're going to add a couple pounds of food weight. There is no way around that. Everyone has that. As your body adjusts, you may add some fat, temporarily. This is something to discuss with the therapist!
If you can a manage not to, don't weigh yourself.
But in time, you should be able to eat and exercise like a healthy person and be a healthier, happier you. 0 -
BriarBelle wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
Im happy with my weight and dont wanna gain loads of weight
Chances are that 9 pounds is water retention. Do it for another week and see if the gains are that high again.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »
You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
Large deficits or netting negative calories can slow down RMR.
No - starvation mode doesn't work like that. You've seen the pictures of people being liberated from camps after WWII right? Which is what the post below references - and were they jolly and round? No, they looked like skeletons and they were starved, way below a healthy caloric intake for a day, day in and day out for months and even years. Starvation mode simply doesn't work that way and it's not likely her case. If you eat less than you burn (TDEE) you lose weight, it's calories in vs. calories out.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810
In the long run, it can cause to gain weight quicker and have it harder to lose (IE - what the OP is going through) but short-term, you need to burn more than you consume to lose. This whole "you're not eating enough" to validate what people are doing isn't great - if you eat around 1,200/day and you're a 4'8 bedridden woman, you will probably be ok but for people who are active this can serious damage to your body and cause organ failure, hair and nail loss and issues with reproduction down the road.
There's a very small chance she has a medical condition where you're correct and her BMR/TDEE is way out of wack, but bottom line she's probably eating more than she thinks or isn't burning as much as she thinks.0 -
Essentially you have to reverse diet and realize that it could take a while to get back to a happy medium. Slowly increase calories and exercise. In terms of exercise, I would definitely lift heavy. If you do a progressive compound lifting program, you might be able to achieve some muscle gains. Additionally, realize that when you eat more calories, you also eat more carbs which will replenished depleted glycogen, which will cause increases in water weight.
Having said that, the few people I have worked with that did HCG for a year or so, took over a year of eating around maintenance and lifting heavy to get back to a point where their saw enough increases to lose weight again.
But definitely see a doctor or even use the below link for additional resources for eating disorders: http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »
You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
Large deficits or netting negative calories can slow down RMR.
No - starvation mode doesn't work like that. You've seen the pictures of people being liberated from camps after WWII right? Which is what the post below references - and were they jolly and round? No, they looked like skeletons and they were starved, way below a healthy caloric intake for a day, day in and day out for months and even years. Starvation mode simply doesn't work that way and it's not likely her case. If you eat less than you burn (TDEE) you lose weight, it's calories in vs. calories out.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810
Starvation mode =/= RMR slow down.
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Where do you people find these doctors who do tests for vitamin or mineral deficiencies? I'm amazed at what people think doctors do.0
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acorsaut89 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »
You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
Large deficits or netting negative calories can slow down RMR.
No - starvation mode doesn't work like that. You've seen the pictures of people being liberated from camps after WWII right? Which is what the post below references - and were they jolly and round? No, they looked like skeletons and they were starved, way below a healthy caloric intake for a day, day in and day out for months and even years. Starvation mode simply doesn't work that way and it's not likely her case. If you eat less than you burn (TDEE) you lose weight, it's calories in vs. calories out.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810
If I'm not mistaken, yoyopeeps is talking about metabolic adaptation, which we all will experience to certain degrees.
We do - especially with massive cuts in our diet but she would have had to be eating 3,500+ (or more) calories to experience it to this kind of rate.
I'm not a doctor, but I did a lot of research because I started at 320lbs at 5'9 so I've had to figure a lot out since I've had a lot to lose and it just is more likely that there's other factors playing into this.
Also, if she's running 8+ miles/day her body should be burning - she'd produce cortisol because of the stress that running that much puts on a 5'5 woman at 220lbs but I don't know it'd be enough to really counteract the kind of burn she'd get from that kind of run every single day.0 -
I would increase, very slowly. Add even 100 calories a day at first. It will take a while to get your calories up but this should be a way to sneak it in. That said, your weight will be up and down all the time if you weigh daily. Once a week will see changes too, but average it over a couple months and then you can see trends.
Also, it wouldn't hurt for you to be seeing a doctor to deal with the underlying reasons you were eating 500 calories in the first place because you probably know that is not healthy, not only in terms of energy input but also in terms of the nutrition you need -- you probably have vit/min deficiencies that would be good to seek out and solve, plus a dietitian would be able to help you increase your calories safely getting you the "most bang for the buck" nutrition wise. And by safely that also means in a way that won't trigger you to overly restrict again by seeing huge jumps on the scale. Find out what a healthy weight RANGE is for you, and then work with a dietitian weekly for a while to find a way to get and stay there with a more moderate calorie range. Normalizing your calories is possible, but it won't happen overnight.
You have to get your head on board also, it is hard to break unhealthy habits, which is why I would consider speaking with your doctor about it. Get people on your team to help you get there. Good luck 0 -
BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
Aside from seeing a nutritionist, please seek a therapist. At your height, 103lbs. is underweight (did I do the math right?). If it is this case, your body will hold on to anything that it can get (nutrition-wise) because it is truly in starvation mode and doesn't know when you will feed it next. So gaining the weight is probably going to happen as you up your calories because your body should be a little heavier, but this is HEALTHY. You should look at the Eating Disorder forums to discuss this further. But definitely seek professional help. Good luck in your recovery!
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When you go for your physical (or if someone enters a hospital or crisis clinic for eating disorders), they run your blood for that stuff.Where do you people find these doctors who do tests for vitamin or mineral deficiencies? I'm amazed at what people think doctors do.
If you're low, they'll start you on supplements.
It's extremely common, very routine and ho-hum. Blood tests are an all day, every day kind of thing for doctors to order.
If you are responsible about keeping yourself healthy (and have your physicals) and your doctor never runs blood, it's time to get a new doctor. That's pretty basic, health-wise.
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You need to reset your metabolism. Find your BRM and start eating that amount of calories and increase daily and slowly from there. A reset can take anywhere from 8 weeks on. There is a group on here that is called Eat More To Weigh Less. You might be interested in reading what they have to say on the subject. Your body thinks its starving so gaining weight is going to happen but will then level off.0
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Not possible to gain 2-3 pounds of fat or muscle overnight. What you are seeing is the effects of actually having food/food waste in your stomach and intestines. At 500 calories a day for such long time, you simply didn't have much there previously.
I suggest getting a second opinion from a physician who specializes in eating disorders. Because, although you state that you are not underweight, whether you like it or not, limiting yourself to 500 calories a day for a year and a half is disordered eating.0 -
BriarBelle wrote: »500 cals a day approximately for about 1.5 years now if eat over 500 a day I gain 2-3 pounds overnight
We all make mistakes OP. You did that I did excessive amounts of exercising before and lost a lot of muscle. Your RMR has slowed down a lot. You are going to have to gain weight to fix your metabolism.
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some people have made some great points. i also wanted to say an additional resource would be researching 'reverse dieting'... but I would talk to an ED specialist and a nutritionist first x0
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acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »
You may need to suck up some weight gain until your metabolism stabilizes.TavistockToad wrote: »BriarBelle wrote: »I have seen a doctor they dont care because im not underweight so they say just eat 2000 cals a day and all will be fine. I went 7 days eating normally and gained 9pounds in 7 days.
I just want to be healthy again and be able to eat normally I never planned to starve myself or anything. I dont know whether slowly increasing my calories would work or not I dont know much about how the body works apart from iv messed mine up
So what's wrong with having gained 9lbs?
My neighbor - God love her - is in the same boat.
She runs 8 miles per day and eats less than 1000 calories. She's big as can be at 5'5" all pear shaped and probably rolling around 220 lbs. It's sad for somebody to work so hard and not get the desired results.
And it only gets harder the longer she keeps this up. At some point, it's going to crater.
You have a chance to escape this fate.
Good Luck!
Sorry but how do you eat that little and not lose when she is working out that much? I know that sounds mean, but I would wager that she is either consuming more than she thinks or isn't burning what she thinks.
I'm losing at 2,000 calories/day and spin classes 4 - 5 days/week - I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs approx and definitely, definitely pear shaped (which has nothing to do with it, by the way - that's just where we carry our weight).
Large deficits or netting negative calories can slow down RMR.
No - starvation mode doesn't work like that. You've seen the pictures of people being liberated from camps after WWII right? Which is what the post below references - and were they jolly and round? No, they looked like skeletons and they were starved, way below a healthy caloric intake for a day, day in and day out for months and even years. Starvation mode simply doesn't work that way and it's not likely her case. If you eat less than you burn (TDEE) you lose weight, it's calories in vs. calories out.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810
If I'm not mistaken, yoyopeeps is talking about metabolic adaptation, which we all will experience to certain degrees.
We do - especially with massive cuts in our diet but she would have had to be eating 3,500+ (or more) calories to experience it to this kind of rate.
I'm not a doctor, but I did a lot of research because I started at 320lbs at 5'9 so I've had to figure a lot out since I've had a lot to lose and it just is more likely that there's other factors playing into this.
Also, if she's running 8+ miles/day her body should be burning - she'd produce cortisol because of the stress that running that much puts on a 5'5 woman at 220lbs but I don't know it'd be enough to really counteract the kind of burn she'd get from that kind of run every single day.
Of course there are, like increased glycogen, undigested food, miscalculation of intake etc.
And that's all I was saying - there's something either the neighbour isn't saying or doesn't even know is an underlying issue potentially.0 -
You've haulted
your body has been in deprivation too long, it has adapted to such a major deficit
now slowly, you must introduce a small sum of calories in each week, add 75 calories a week, slowly eat up and get the stroke of the fire in the metabolism back up again
What is happening is your body is holding on to all food and storing it in fear the circumstances will keep remaining in deficit
You need to you tube Layne Norton - Metabolic Damage (video)
- watch that video, layne is a bodybuilder and a doctor, he explains the process of very low calorie and the damage it does to the metabolism, he also speaks in depth of how to build it back up again, this will take time. GL0 -
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You've haulted
your body has been in deprivation too long, it has adapted to such a major deficit
now slowly, you must introduce a small sum of calories in each week, add 75 calories a week, slowly eat up and get the stroke of the fire in the metabolism back up again
What is happening is your body is holding on to all food and storing it in fear the circumstances will keep remaining in deficit
You need to you tube Layne Norton - Metabolic Damage (video)
- watch that video, layne is a bodybuilder and a doctor, he explains the process of very low calorie and the damage it does to the metabolism, he also speaks in depth of how to build it back up again, this will take time. GL
No she hasn't. She's still alive.
You love diagnosing people with metabolic damage. It's reckless.
If OP did really eat that little for over a year I think there is some damage inside the body that needs to be address with a doctor who knows what they are talking about.
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This discussion has been closed.
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