Metabolism questions

I'd love to be able to help, but this sounds like a question that should be directed to a pro.

MFP is a great tool to start with. There are no guarantees. If you don't gain weight in the starvation mode you become unhealthy and possibly a skinny fat. I would much rather be tone than a skinny fat. Weight loss starts in the kitchen. Eat healthy (fresh fruits, veggies and protein) and increase your water. Cardio and weight training works wonders. The more you exercise you will need to eat more to keep going. It has worked for me. Stay positive and lean on your MFP friends. You can do it. Good luck in your journey!

How completely have you dealt with the eating disorder? It's going to be very difficult to do this if you aren't healthy mentally.

I would really suggest lifting weights and exercising, and forget about the scale. Your profile says you want to love your body - exercise can help with that...if you push yourself and see your body doing things and taking you places that you never thought it would, you learn to love it for what it can do for you instead of what a scale says. If you've been through therapy, you know you need to get rid of the scale - strengthening your body will make it look better, more toned and tight (getting rid of that belly you feel you have!) You could weigh the same amount, but look smaller and better because muscle is more dense than fat. Go by how you look and feel, how the clothes fit, not by what the scale says.

Good luck to you! And take care of yourself

I am no professional, but I totally understand where you are coming from. I am in recovery from an eating disorder. I am now at a healthy weight, although I certainly wasn't always. I always would eat little to nothing and when I did eat (though very few calories), my weight would not change or it would go up. It was very frustrating. The last time I was in treatment when I had to start eating again, I did not understand how I could gain weight eating just a couple hundred calories at home, but I would have to eat thousands of calories a day to gain weight in their program. Well, it was true. When your body realizes that you are going to feed it, your metabolism speeds up and stops storing it. Lately I have struggled because I was cutting back calories to an unhealthy amount and gaining weight. I am trying to recover and lose weight healthily so I decided to try increasing my calories and eating every few hours. I've been feeling full and uncomfortable, but the scale actually went down. It's so bizarre and something I'm struggling with, but thought maybe it would help you to know that you are not alone and that it might actually be a good idea to increase your calories a little bit and that it doesn't necessarily mean that you will gain weight. Your body will adjust and it might take time depending on 'where you are' now with your eating but it might be worth a try.