Posted , 4 users are following.
I am recovering from anorexia and am under i deititan/nutrtionalist. In order for me to get back to a normal healthy weight i need to put on weight but i am scared that when i get back to a healthy BMI will i be able to stop putting the weight on?
1 like, 21 replies
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john124000 kirsty32448
Posted
Wishing you the very best of luck with your new diet. i believe with a good diet, exercise plan to keep your body in good shape, your weight will always stay good. also you should not be scared because your not there yet, instead you should keep your happiness and work on gaining weight, and when you have aachieved your GOAL then you have to maintain it which is not difficult atall so overall you need not be scared.also i recommend you to understand more about foods that are good for health as that will give you a clear understanding. Eat healthy and keep smiling.
harriet_34405 kirsty32448
Posted
Hope this helps!
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
Sorry to hear you're still finding things difficult.
Please see the post I wrote for you a week or so ago, there is some helpful information in there.
Whilst I think forums are useful places for advice, I, and others on here are not medical professionals. It's important to take the advice of those who are, and to act on it, because at the end of the day, that's how things will get easier.
The fact that you have posted the same message now 3 times demonstrates that you are feeling vulnerable, and are seeking reassurance that what you are doing is right.
I can empathise, but because I do not have the full medical picture, I can only provide some guidance (below) which helped me.
The most important thing is that you are honest with what you are and are not eating, and why with your treatment team, because they are the ones in your care and who can explore how to help you more.
If something becomes a challenge, you won't be the first and you definitely won't be the last, so it's key to say it's worrying you e.g. I was feeling bloated in what I thought was my stomach. (actually not my stomach...) My dietician explained why. (In short, it's gravity.)
I hate to be blunt, but you have to learn to trust the people around you and try and put into practice what they are saying.
"Hi Kirsty - sorry to hear you're struggling, but it's great that you are choosing to recover.
One of the techniques I've learned in therapy is radical acceptance (it's a DBT skill and is really useful for when you're having a difficult day).
The long and short is in order to recover from an eating disorder, you do have put on weight (if you are under what is healthy for your age and height), and you do have to eat.
If you try and cut corners then your body will constantly be trying to get that energy to get back to the weight it is designed to be, causing you to eat more and put on more weight, (which in turn may force you back into your restricting urges).
What is really common is people learnt to stabilise their weight under what is healthy...BUT become very obsessive about every detail in order to maintain that band. And when a binge occurs (which as described above...will happen...they restrict to get back to that band they have set).
What you should do is spend time working with people on how you feel when you get to your weight band, and maintaining at that, rather than the fear of getting there.
When you are at your target band, you should stick to your meal plan because we use food in a fight or flight scenario so can't trust hunger as a judgement. This will avoid relapse/weight gain from not being able to recognise fullness.
Hope that helps"
kirsty32448
Posted
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
You need to eat 21000 calories per week in order to gain 1kg of mass.
I live alone - albeit with 2 lovely flatmates who know - but I still have to make all my decisions on my own. E.g. I have to make the decision about what to eat, whether to eat, and obviously what to buy (and to complicate matters to stick to a budget). When I've been coming out of hospital/ sticking to meal plans before, my parents have been doing all that for me.
I have to stick to the plan, because when I don't everything gets really complicated. I plan out my meals over a fortnight, and usually make double what I need so I can freeze, because that makes vegetables last longer.
Planning is the best way - and helps spot any potential issues e.g. a Friday night, work/church social. I'm going straight from work, I'm vulnerable to "bingeing" or eating less healthy food when I've had a few glasses of wine. Do I allow myself to do that (as it is a normal behaviour) or do I make sure I bring snacks with me?
Planning helps this
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
You learnt to radically accept a situation.
Right now, I'm trying to put this into practice over an essay I have kept putting off.
It's very easy to avoid things we are scared of, or don't want to do.
The fact remains, that in order to recover you need to gain weight, to the target that has been set for you, and in order to recover you need to eat to gain weight, and then eat to maintain.
The coping skills you are learning in your therapy will help you with the difficulties associated to getting to that place, but only you can eat for yourself.
(or end up being a revolving door patient that keeps ending up back in hospital to allow their physical condition to stabilise - tube fed - only to be discharged and never better, and that's not a life)
Try it, radically accept the situation.
kirsty32448
Posted
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
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kirsty32448 katlouise1989
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katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
I'm not very good with llbs, but I do know 1IIB is less than 1kg, and I do know that you can expect to fluctuate between 1-3KG over 1 month.
(Fluctuate is the critical word here, not gain).
You should try and avoid weighing yourself daily, because all that is showing is when you poo and wee.
If you are sticking to your meal plan you should not be gaining weight, unless it has been designed to do that.
You will only gain if you are consuming 21000 calories or more per week. (which is equal to 1 kg of weight gain).
I know it's hard, but try and cut down weighing yourself. It's an intrinsic food behaviour which is restricting the normalisation of your eating.
kirsty32448 katlouise1989
Posted
I think i have gained the 1 pound as i need a poo but it still hasnt come
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
It's different terms.
I give you an example. During my time of the month, my scales show an increase of 3kg. My body hasn't suddenly got 3kg fatter, it just retains more water, generally around my abdomen. I get a lot more dehydrated and drink more, and still retain water. When this horrible time is over every month, low and behold the scales go back down again.
Gaining would be increase in fat (which takes a long time to build) and muscle which is just as hard.
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
Posted
It sounds like you need to confront this fear with your treatment team, because as I mentioned in some of my earlier posts not confronting this will mean you're stuck in this endless cycle.
Please try and be honest with your feelings with your treatment team. Everything from how and where food makes you feel. Why you didn't eat something on your meal plan, if you were encouraged to try something extra and didn't, if you compensated because it was all to much. You are so fortunate to be having a treatment team around you. When you don't have it, you'll regret not putting in the hard work. So please try and fight your eating disorder while you've got people helping you.
kirsty32448 katlouise1989
Posted
kirsty32448
Posted
katlouise1989 kirsty32448
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harriet_34405 kirsty32448
Posted
I just want to let you know that the weight you are putting on is muscle and bone to make them healthy again, not fat. So, you are getting heavier because of you muscle and bone not because you are putting on fat. This is want my counsellor told me.
Hope this helps!