Weight Gain

Hey guys, I'm new to this site, so essentially I have anorexia, At the moment I'm about 181cm tall and 51 kgs, though essentially I don't understand how I can be so underweight because I'm still pretty plump....

So here's my question, I've been trying to increase my calorie intake, and I've gone up to around 1600/1700. But the thing is, on this, I gain about a kilo a week, and I'm really really scared... everything I've read seems to say how hard it is to gain just a lb, but I'm gaining huge amounts not eating much...I'm terrified that this will continue.  Will I ever be able to eat a normal diet without gaining huge amounts again?  My doctor says I need to be eating 2000 calories a day, but If I'm gaining on just 1600 surely I'll be obese in a few weeks?  I just wanted to know if anyone else had experienced this, and if it was normal, and if it will ever even out, because I'm battling huge urges not to restrict and overexercise again...

Guiltily, part of me was kind of looking forward to gaining weight and being able to eat what I wanted, but if I can't and I still gain weight...I don't know, I'm just really demotivated right now,

any advice would be so much appreciated

eating disorders officially suck out loud.

ta

Trust me, you won't become obese by eating 2000 cal a day

I use to exist on just 6 apples a day but now i am eating 2500 with 40 minutes of light exercise but i have not gained a huge amount after i have changed my habbit.

Your body is just adjusting to a new change and it is now stablising...you will become normal weight and then your metabolism will start to increase then you will stop gaining at that rate...

But the most difficult point changing your habbit to eat more without fear, i am still struggling

best wishes

The clue is in the word 'recovery'.....  When your body has been sick, underweight and under stress it tries to conserve as much energy and strength as possible from what is available.   When you start recovering by eating again it grabs onto the extra nourishment and conserves it like crazy.  Totally normal.

You should listen  to your doctor and get up to 2000 cals a day as soon as possible.  You'll gain short-term until your body has recovered and your metabolism speeded back up to normal.  And then you should be able to maintain at the new level. 

Keep going... you're doing great.

I can promise you will not become obese eating 2000 calories per day.  I was EXACTLY in your shoes 3 years ago. I had pretty much stopped eating and dropped so much weight - to the point that I needed medical assistance. When I started to eat again, I gained at a remarkable rate (like you feel you are now) until I got to a reasonable set point for my height.  Then, eating between 1700-2200 calories per day did not cause further weight gain.

Your body will put on the weight it needs to survive and thrive - it will not become obese with a healthy nutritious diet that totals 2000 calories per day.  I promise.

(I am on this forum to try to manage my daily intake healthfully - which hopefully you are doing as well - anorexia is a difficult obstacle, but you can overcome it!)

According to the BMI tool, you could stand to gain at least 20lb (9kg) before you are out of the woods. The bottom end of healthy weight for your height is approx 140lb (65kg).

As others have said, the weight gain will slow down and stop as you approach a healthy weight. In order to avoid looking "plump" as you put it, when you gain weight, you must put on lean muscle mass rather than pure fat. Begin a weight training regimen (under the advice of your doctor, of course) to start to re-build your body.

Don't do cardio at this stage!

Thanks, guys, for all your advice, I really appreciate it...

I guess the one thing I don't understand is how so many people on here are having to eat LOADS to gain a little weight and even maintain, and my body seems to be doing t just to spite me.  Any thoughts on that?  Do I have to keep upping my calories as well?  I don't have a dietician and the parents are a no go on support - they just ignore me.  As for the exercise, I don't do cardio any more, just a couple of yoga classes to avoid feeling yucky.

Thanks again,

Theo

your body is only healing itself, esetially grabbing all the calories and storing them as reserves... not body fat....

these reserve fats are the fatty tissues that connect your bones, your organs, your skin, etc.

you wont become obese, you are simply healing, plus your body is restoring muscle, enzmyes, and fluid. your weight will stop increasing like this after your body reachs a safe weight, it literally turns off.

i experienced exactly what you are.. dont worry. and 20 pounds later, im only 5 pounds under my goal weight. so dont worry.

hey guys,

thanks again for all your advice, and I'm sorry to be so neurotic about this, but I'm just starting out and finding it a bit hard, just wondering - I'm eating around 1500 calories a day and gainint, should I be upping my intake soon, and how much by?  Is it good to just dive off the deep end (sink or swim tactics) or break myself in gently?  It's such a hard thing to do when everything seems to be about healthy eating nowadays....

I found a quite nice quote the other day, if anyone's interested: "If you're going through hell...keep going."- Winston Churchill.

And I saw this American programme the other day where they pay people to lose weight?  Anyone here want to campaign to get paid for gaining?!

theo

A 'normal' intake would be around 2000 cals a day.  If you need to gain weight substantially you'd need around 2500 - 3000 a day on a consistent basis.  Personally, I think the quicker you get there, the quicker you recover and get back to normal.  But you could opt to increase in stages... it'll just take longer.

You mention 'healthy eating'.   Don't be fooled into thinking that 'diet foods' are the same thing as 'healthy foods'. :-)   And don't think you have to eat wall-to-wall junk to gain weight.   It's 100% possible to eat healthily and gain weight at the same time.  Just choose your foods wisely.  Energy-dense foods that are low in bulk would be things like avocados, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, olive oil.  So adding these to meals or eating them as snacks bumps up the total without you really noticing.   Complex carbohydrates.... wholegrain foods such as rice, pasta and bread.... are also quite energy-dense and vitamin/mineral rich.  So if you get several servings of these each day it also gets the totals looking respectable.  Red meat and oily fish are other calorie-rich options that add lots of great nutrition.  Try to avoid eating lots and lots of fruit and vegetables.  5-a-day is plenty.  More than that and you end up feeling full on very few calories.   If you struggle to get to the total you could look at supplementing your diet with protein-shakes. 

Best of luck.