I just joined these forums today.  I am 24 yrs old, 5'5" and currently weigh 102lbs.  I am trying to gain some weight since I no longer have my period (exercise induced amennhorea).  I was a distance runner, which brought me to this point.. of weighing 102lbs.  I have not run since April as I am trying to focus on gaining some weight. My goal is 115. I think this sounds reasonable??

Look forward to talking with others on here!

My current weight is 95lbs and i'm 5'1. I'm a naturally small person but would like to gain some weight and tone and gain muscle mass. My target weight is 115, based on what my bmi index suggests. i'm not trying to go crazy and reach that goal overnight, just gradually. If anyone has suggestions i would love to recieve them.

Height: 5'10

CW: 148

LW: 140

GW: 160

Meal Plan: eat like a horse.  added supplement protien shakes from GNC. eating protein bars. Eating extra at meals -generally meats.- eat before i go to bed. snack throughout the day.

After 3 months i gained about five pounds.  I am active and am trying to put on muscle. I weight train about 3 times a week and jog about 3-5 times a week.  Any other suggestions?

I just started my recovery a few weeks ago and haven't really gained much weight back at all, even after a new high calorie regime. But my nutritionist says that it is okay and normal, and that some of her patients even lose weight at first because their metabolism is all out of whack. I am looking to gain my muscles, chest, and booty back!

Height: 5'5-ish

Current Weight: 95-98 lbs. (it changes a lot!)

Lowest Weight: 90-95 lbs.

Highest Weight: 126 lbs.

Goal Weight: My nutritionist and doctor say that as long as I am at least a little over 100 lbs., look and feel healthy, and I am eating nutritious and balanced meals, I am okay

height: 5'2

current weight: 90-92 lbs ---slow progress??

lowest weight: 88 lbs

age: 16

i'm doing this by myself..so, any recommended goal weight?

5'7"

CW: 115

GW: 130

i'm eating as many calories as possible, no results yet, but i'm hoping i'll start packing them on soon!

Hey! I'm also 5'2...while each person's ideal body weight is different almost all my doctors/dietitians have recommended that at our height, 100 lbs should be the bare minimum...I'm currently around 91 (so similar stats to you currently), but it really depends on each person- for instance the newest doctor (who specialises in EDs) who saw me said that because of my small frame its possible for me to be healthy at 95 lbs...it all really comes down to health and not numbers...while my vitals are perfect and all my blood work/bone density is in good shape I would prefer to get to a minimum of 98 lbs just because I feel like my current weight is borderline quite thin, plus I'd like to fill out a bit more (*cough* breasts/butt)

hope this helps :)

hi. thanks for the reply. do u have a recent pic in your current weight? i uploaded a pic of me this week 92 lbs...i don't know if i still need to gain much weight, coz i think i look okay, like a little healthy??

Hi, I'm new on here too!

I'm in recovery from anorexia for the second time after having a relapse. I spent several months in hospital last year at an inpatient unit and got to a healthier weight, but am now underweight again. I'm 5'6.

LW : 77lbs

CW : 97lbs

GW : 112-116lbs

Is my goal weight range okay for my height? I feel pretty okay with my body right now (compared to how ill I have been) but I haven't had a period in 3 years so I know I need to get to a healthy weight before its too late!

Thanks :)

Relena- the new profile picture I have is the most recent I have, it was taken about three weeks ago- its me at 93 lbs, but I more or less look the same as of now.

Oh and I did look through your pics, and sorry hon, but even at 92 you still look rather thin, don't let the ED convince you that that is a healthy weight- because even though I'm pretty much the same weight as you and i have healthy vitals/bloodwork I know that in the long term this is too low of a weight and thus not even healthy (its been a while since i've had a period...how about you?) usually when you start menstruating again, that is a sign that you've reached a healthier weight...and with that each person is different, I know that I don't menstruate below 96...thus unhealthy. Plus, don't worry...putting on another 10 lbs for instance won't change your appearance that much, especially if you do some light lifting or such to help put it on in muscle...in fact my clothing size doesn't even change within about 12 lbs of my current weight...plus its not like the weight you put on will all be fat- a lot of it will be muscle as well as tissue weight, because chances are the ED has stripped a lot of your organ weight.

:)...Today I have a doc appt/weigh-in...I am PRAYING that i've gained since last week when I was around 91.5...

Just got back from the doctor...and guess what...
GAINED WEIGHT for the first time in months! YEEESSSS!!! Okay so the ED was trying to convince me that its so completely wrong that I gained 3 lbs in the past week putting me at around 95ish...but my doctor reassured me that most of that weight is water/fluctuations, but in any case it was a gain (and i did consciously make an effort to increase my cals + i ate out a lot this past week and didn't restrict one bit...PLUS i know about the whole calories leveling out and how i won't gain 3 lbs every week.) in any case I am happy about it.

So CW: 95 :)

GW #1: 96

GW #2: 98

GW #3: 100 (ultimate)

This looks like a great thread!  I'm 5'8 currently at 127 lbs & still trying to get back to the weight I used to be before my eating disorder.  I had reached 132 lbs back in April, but I lost 8 pounds since then, so now I'm really focusing on increasing calories, eating every 2 to 3 hours, and having 2 bottles of Boost Plus in the evenings.  It seems to be working so far!

Height: 5'8

Current Weight: 127 lbs (which isn't bad, but I'd feel so much better with more meat on my bones)

Lowest Weight: 110-112 lbs after having a relapse

Goal Weight: 135 or 140 lbs 

congrats!! it's great news how you're getting better and feeling great...also, thanks for your reply. i really needed someone to speak to me some facts as i don't see any doctors. right now i'm having around 2000 calories but  i still exercise and burn approx. 800 calories. so do u think that's good? i have no idea how my metabolism is doing..i hate to think that my body is still in starvation mode and so saving everything in..coz that will just mean that i'll keep gaining for a long time, so gaining tons!! i hate it as you know i don't want to gain tons!! i already have flaps and no muscles i don't like the idea of adding on fat...ugh. sorry i'm rampling.

well thanks anyway. hope you all get better...

Hey Relena-

800 calories of burnage with only 2000 of consumption a day is FAR too little!!! You need AT LEAST 1500 net calories just to be sedentary (and you're taking in about 1100 net)...so with burning 800 calories a day, not to scare you but you would probably need about 3,000 just to maintain or gain a teensy bit per week. I know that sounds like a horrifying number...but with taking in that little and burning off that much, you are just going to keep eating away at your lean muscle tissue and thus lowering your metabolism and putting yourself in more serious danger. As hard as it may be, you probably need to cut out most of the exercising (especially cardio) and perhaps do with some light strength training 3x a week and perhaps no more than a 30 minute walk to get some circulation going while taking in at least 2,000 calories- I definitely recommend more calorically dense foods, because 500 calories in vegetables is obviously a HUMONGOUS amount of food. I know exactly how scary and almost impossible that sounds and how you're probably in the back of your mind thinking "no way in hell" but the truth is that this is what you are going to need to help yourself get healthier and become stronger and develop stronger muscles. And don't be alarmed if you gain several pounds in the few weeks, because its mostly water weight/fluctuations due to the change in diet, but if you stay CONSISTENT and DO NOT restrict, it will eventually all level out.

I know how scary it is, but it can be done and you can do it! That voice telling you that you can't do it isn't yours, its the eating disorder's and its only saying that because it is scared that you are trying to fight it.

Good luck!

PS- thats what i did...multiple times...and I didn't get fat did I? ;)

Whoop whoop! First gaining weigh-in of hopefully several more to come- Up 0.6kg from a week and a half a go! Yay! (Had a hugely emotional freak out this morning but I think I've got myself back on track and am just gonna keep on trucking!

Now 37.9kg as of today.

Height: 5'1" or 2" (2 in the morning, 1 at night, lol)

LW: 87lbs (a month ago)

CW: 96lbs

GW: Undecided..

Personally, I think I'm gaining too fast. :(

hey there!

hope you're doing well. i wanted to ask you about your calories intake since we have almost the same stats (which i find rarely!)how many calories will you take to maintain? and how many calories are you consuming now to gain? some sites say i have to take onver 2500 as i'm very active to maintain, other peaple with same stats say they take 1200-1700 to maintain.that's alot of differents! i know i've said this before, but as i keep reading more posts i get VERY confused..!!!!!!!!

Original Post by relena:

hey there!

hope you're doing well. i wanted to ask you about your calories intake since we have almost the same stats (which i find rarely!)how many calories will you take to maintain? and how many calories are you consuming now to gain? some sites say i have to take onver 2500 as i'm very active to maintain, other peaple with same stats say they take 1200-1700 to maintain.that's alot of differents! i know i've said this before, but as i keep reading more posts i get VERY confused..!!!!!!!!

Hey. :)

I think the biggest difference between the people who've told you that they maintain on 1200-1700 and the site's recommendation of 2500 is age... because apparently, teens need a lot more calories/day than adults do, as we're still "growing" (I hardly doubt I am anymore, I'm almost 18.) However, I've been taking in about 2000-2200 calories for the past month or so. At first I didn't see any initial gain, which was awesome, but now I've suddenly put on almost 10lbs and I feel much much bigger... so I don't know. :S

I'm not even sure how much I'll take to maintain.. I exercise for about an hour a day, so I'm thinking it's probably between 1700 and 1900 to maintain, but I haven't tested this theory out yet. :P

I know you can easily become confused with all the mixed messages being sent out on this site... which is why I want to stop using calorie count, eventually, and start listening to my body... I think it would be best for people suffering through an ED if they all just stopped counting calories, as long as they have an idea what 2000+ calories looks and feels like, and just go by what their body is telling them. Counting calories just leads to more obsessive behavior, and is an ED truly cured if you're still counting every morsel of food that enters your mouth? Probably not, but who am I to say..