Anyone who's had an ED before:

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theroadto100
theroadto100 Posts: 209 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I lost about 30 pounds last year in a very short amount of time. I was healthy, thin, and looked really good but at the time, I didn't realize that and began to go to dangerous lengths to lose more weight. Of course, it didn't work, and after months of starving and purging I gained back almost all the weight. I'm about 152 pounds right now and 5'2. I would like to get down to 120-125, so that's about 30 pounds which is pretty doable. The problem is I cannot lose the weight. I eat at least 1200 calories a day, and do cardio and strength but I'm losing NOTHING. I haven't in months. I haven't logged on here in a while so opening my food diary wouldn't help. I log in a journal I'm keeping because I found coming on here and seeing all the totals added up was triggering. Anyone who has ever had an ED have any suggestions?

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  • thinnerisstronger
    thinnerisstronger Posts: 124 Member
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    My recommendation is to eat more. It sounds scary but that's the simplest way to say it. Your body might be holding onto as much weight as it can because it thinks there isn't enough food available. Your weight-loss methods should be sustainable. You couldn't eat 1200 calories every day for the rest of your life, could you? Look up your BMR and eat around there. Eating more sounds scary but if you inch your way up, it can make it easier.

    Also, ditching the numbers might help too. If anything, it'll make you feel better to not worry about how much you weigh. Take measurements instead. I've heard of people who weigh themselves weekly and see no change in pounds but notice they are losing inches.

    Above all- treat yourself nicely. Good luck with your weight-loss and recovery :)
  • saraann4
    saraann4 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Never had an ED, but since nobody has replied, I would suggest talking to your doctor. What does your doctor think is best for you? Maybe he/she can give you the best advice. The only thing I can think of is switch up your work out routine.
  • Mommyof3texans
    Mommyof3texans Posts: 347
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    I would also think your body is trying to hold on to what it has, and likely need to eat more. How about raising your goal just 100 calories at a time (give it 2-3 weeks each raise) until you start losing. You have to convince your body there is enough food now and it will start to let go of the fat.

    There are a lot of good posts on here about calculating your BMR - this is the number of calories your body needs just to exist, for organ function, etc. Add to that all your daily activity (are you sedentary, active, very active) and you get your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure. If you eat somewhere in between those two numbers you should start dropping.

    As an example, my BMR is 1324 (I'm 39yr old, 5'4", 127 lbs and moderately active) and my TDEE is around 2034. I set my calorie goal to 1640 so I'm eating at a deficit. I only eat more if I burn a lot of calories exercising and eating only 1640 would put me lower than my BMR.

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