Eating Disorder to Fit Af

@dallasmunden Hey, girl! Congrats on the good fight. It is tough to overcome an eating disorder. I truly hope that you stay strong and true to yourself.

So, bulking is going to - by definition - mean that you are eating at a caloric surplus. That is just what a bulk is (nutritionally). Well, I guess that is what everyone understands by the term "bulk".

So, if you are going to bulk and a bulk means "caloric surplus" let's start with the basics!

Do you know what your maintenance caloric intake is? Meaning, if you consume xx number of calories each day - on average - you will neither gain nor loose weight. It is important to have an idea of what your maintenance is so that you can better understand what a caloric surplus (or, a caloric deficit - for that matter) is FOR YOU.

So, as a start, I plugged in your details to an on-line TDEE Calculator. Based on your gender, your age, your height and your weight things look like this:

Basal Metabolic Rate 1,114 calories per day
Sedentary 1,337 calories per day
Light Exercise 1,532 calories per day
Moderate Exercise 1,727 calories per day
Heavy Exercise 1,922 calories per day
Athlete 2,117 calories per day

So, depending on your physical activity, the above would be your "suggested" maintenance calories. However, and everyone has heard this 1,001 times from me.....the use of an on-line TDEE calculator should be viewed as a starting point. And nothing but a starting point. You would need to play with this to find your actual maintenance calories - since you are a unique individual.

So, let's just say that you have a 'sit on your booty all day' job and that you did no 'gym training' at all and that you are not super active outside of work. You would likely use the "Sedentary" number of 1,337 Calories as your starting point.

Hopefully that helps you out a little bit there.

So, your TDEE equals BMR + PAL + NEAT + TEF.....

Total Daily Energy Expenditure = Basal Metabolic Rate + Physical Activity Layer + Non-exercise Activity Thermogenisis + Thermal Effect of Food.

So, TDEE = BMR + that Gym Physical Activity Layer (Sedentary, Light Exercise, et al) + NEAT (all the walking that you do, all the house cleaning that you do, all of the 'running around' that you do....) + the cost of digesting food.

That information might be a good start for you......

So, there is your nutritional start. I will let you play with this so that you can learn all about it....both in theory and in how things work for you.

A bulk is going to include two things.....muscle mass and body fat. It is just how that works. And - to simplify - the muscle mass comes from the heavy weight training and the body fat comes from the caloric surplus. So, the amount of body fat that you add will be determined - among other things - by how much of a caloric surplus are are enjoying! Generally speaking, you increase your maintenance calories (again, this is why it is so important to have an idea of that value) by 500 a day. Now, that would work well for someone like me (50yo male, 6'0" @ 208lbs). You might be better served by a 200 calorie a day increase. Or 250 calories. You would need to play with that number to find out what works best for you.

As someone stated, you might not be 'over eating'......you are likely eating to fit your goals. That mind set change will be important....for anyone, but especially for you. Small steps, right?

And, as someone has suggested, you might want to consider different foods. For example, I like sunflower seeds. I/4 cup has 200 Calories, 8g Protein, 6g Carbs, 17g Fats. Really dense food....

Consider Peanut Butter (or Cashew Butter or Almond Butter) as well. Similar macros.

Ah, macros.....Protein, Carbs, Fats. That would be important for you do know and to understand. You caloric intake - whatever it ends up being - will be broken down into Proteins, Carbs and Fats.

So, if you were in a maintenance phase and we used the calories per day from the above, your macro breakdown might look like the following (assuming a Sedentary activity level....so, 1,337 Calories):

100g protein
52g fats
117g carbs

That will also be an important part of what you do.

Does this info help you? Or, does it confuse you?

I am hopeful that it points you in the right direction......and helps to cut down on all that noise out there (there is a TON of information available out there).

dallasmunden wrote: »

Ahhh, y’all are wonderful!! I’m not exactly sure where I’d like to be weight-wise.... I’m thinking 105, but I’ve not been in the double- digits in like three years. When I got out of treatmeant, I was 79 lbs! I’m just so scared that my stomach is going to be fat and disgusting and I don’t want to fall back into my old ways of bulimia and anorexia.

Keep on fighting! Especially the idea of “fat and disgusting.” That kind of negative self talk will limit your overall success, physically, mentally and emotionally.

What about finding a really good personal trainer? Someone who can really help you realize your fitness goals? You’ve had professional support you when you kicked you eating disorder’s butt, why not a little help to shape your butt?