Starvation Mode Recovery

[binks09]

Hello everyone,

First let me say I'm an anorexic trying to recover (and yes, I'm seeing a therapist as well).
My stats are - 6'1, ~130lbs, 19 years old

I've got a few questions for those of you who actually know their **** when it comes to diet and exercise.

I've been in a reduced state of roughly 1000 calories for probably the last 3 months. My BMR is in the range of 2300-2400, and during this time I would also typically do extended cardio workouts, burning upwards of 1000 calories per session (usually at least 1.5+ hours).

My questions are as follows...
1. How should I bump up my calories? Should I just day one wake up and bump them up to around 2300 or should I take it in steps (as in, maybe +200 every couple days or something along those lines)?
2. What sort of weight increase should I be expecting and in what time frame? As in, I assume I will gain an extra 4-6 pounds of water weight that will subseded after a few weeks of "getting back to near-normal", is this true?

Any other advice or ideas you have on anorexia recovery and what to expect would be great as well.

Thanks!

[determined4000]

Hello everyone,

First let me say I'm an anorexic trying to recover (and yes, I'm seeing a therapist as well).
My stats are - 6'1, ~130lbs, 19 years old

I've got a few questions for those of you who actually know their **** when it comes to diet and exercise.

I've been in a reduced state of roughly 1000 calories for probably the last 3 months. My BMR is in the range of 2300-2400, and during this time I would also typically do extended cardio workouts, burning upwards of 1000 calories per session (usually at least 1.5+ hours).

My questions are as follows...
1. How should I bump up my calories? Should I just day one wake up and bump them up to around 2300 or should I take it in steps (as in, maybe +200 every couple days or something along those lines)?
2. What sort of weight increase should I be expecting and in what time frame? As in, I assume I will gain an extra 4-6 pounds of water weight that will subseded after a few weeks of "getting back to near-normal", is this true?

Any other advice or ideas you have on anorexia recovery and what to expect would be great as well.

Thanks!

1. I would try to get to your BMR as quick as possible (a few days 1000-->1600-->2000-->2300). Then increase 15-20% per week, aiming for a steady weight gain.
2. It is impossible to know how dehydrated and glycogen depleted you are. Don't focus about the number, just know the initial weight you gain will be that and accept it as lean mass. That gain should occurr within the first week. And then you can monitor for steady progress.

[BrandonKlodo]

Keep it simple. Five meals a day. Every 2-3 Hours. Lean protein source the size of your hand (wrist and fingers!). Slow release carb (whole grains) the size of your fist.

Meals
1 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

2 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

3 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

4 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

5 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

Eat vegetables twice a day MINIMUM OR UNLIMITED!!

Also DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. ZERO SUGAR. FRUITS ONLY IN THE MORNING.

[MakeABanana]

Keep it simple. Five meals a day. Every 2-3 Hours. Lean protein source the size of your hand (wrist and fingers!). Slow release carb (whole grains) the size of your fist.

Meals
1 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

2 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

3 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

4 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

5 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

Eat vegetables twice a day MINIMUM OR UNLIMITED!!

Also DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. ZERO SUGAR. FRUITS ONLY IN THE MORNING.

What is this... I don't even...

[HydroStorm]

Hello everyone,

First let me say I'm an anorexic trying to recover (and yes, I'm seeing a therapist as well).
My stats are - 6'1, ~130lbs, 19 years old

I've got a few questions for those of you who actually know their **** when it comes to diet and exercise.

I've been in a reduced state of roughly 1000 calories for probably the last 3 months. My BMR is in the range of 2300-2400, and during this time I would also typically do extended cardio workouts, burning upwards of 1000 calories per session (usually at least 1.5+ hours).

My questions are as follows...
1. How should I bump up my calories? Should I just day one wake up and bump them up to around 2300 or should I take it in steps (as in, maybe +200 every couple days or something along those lines)?
2. What sort of weight increase should I be expecting and in what time frame? As in, I assume I will gain an extra 4-6 pounds of water weight that will subseded after a few weeks of "getting back to near-normal", is this true?

Any other advice or ideas you have on anorexia recovery and what to expect would be great as well.

Thanks!

1. Gradual steps would be best to help prevent stomach discomfort. Your stomach has probably shrank, although it will quickly adapt to a large volume in a matter of days.

2. You can expect to gain water weight, but it's recovering lean body mass that's important. You'll always have water weight really, that's what 70% of your body is. As to how much, it'll depend on how many kcals, sodium, potassium, & fluids you consume. While we're talking about water reabsorption I might as well mention that renin & angiotensin II are just 1 of the 3 systems involved in regulating water reabsorption, thus blood pressure as well.

[milfinbikini]

When I was in your state I started off with 7 protein 7 starch 6 fruit/veg 4 milk 4 fat

Gradually increased by 1 protein 1 starch each week to get to 16 protein 16 starch 6 fruit/veg 4 milk 4 fat to gain back all weight lost

Don't be surprised if you get a lot of water retention and bloating, that happens to most anorexics who refeed.

You really should be working with a nutritionist vs. posting on here though. On here you'll find a lot of disordered eating.

[sawoobley]

I would say be patient.

From what I have read it can take from weeks to several months to recover so people can start gaining weight consistently again. You haven't been there too terribly long so you should be able to recover in a couple of weeks. I've read some extreme cases where it has taken 6-9 months to recover but this was after years of a severe calorie deficit.

[thecityignites]

It took me about a year to get from 77 lbs to 105 lbs. And its been another...2 years to put on another 10ish lbs or so. Then again, I am stubborn as hell and had some set backs along my merry way. You at least sound more motivated than I did when I started haha. And I'd been anorexic for nearly 6 years at the time. I gotta hand it to OP for getting himself together now, before it does any more damage. I wish I'd stuck to recovery the first time around.

Recovering anorexics often need vast amounts of calories to gain weight. When I was your age, I ended up on a 4600-5000 cal/day diet when I was in treatment and goal was 1-2 lbs/week. I was there for about 3 months and still was only at a BMI of 16.5. A year later at home, I got up to 3600-3800 daily for .5-1 lb/week, and took 10 months to put on the 30 some odd pounds I'd lost. (I relapsed before I'd even hit my 20th bday that year. Don't do that btw, not worth it).

Starting point should be around 1500. Increase by 200-300 calories every other day until you get to 2500. If you are feeling okay with it fullness wise, its okay to up it a little bit faster. But remember, your body needs to adjust. After you get there, do increases weekly until you are at a minimum of 3K. Be prepared to need to eat more in order to keep the weight gains going. Also, don't weigh yourself again until you've been eating the 2500-3000 calories a day consistently. Again, your body needs to adjust. There will be a lot fluid shifting initially. When I first started my recovery, my weight went up 5 lbs in the first week or so.. A month later and I was all of a pound and a half heavier than I'd been when I started. Body is a crazy thing. You may develop something called edema - where fluid kind of gets "stuck" in your lower extremities and makes your lower legs and feet very puffy. If you do develop it, make sure to keep your legs/feet elevated whenever possible. But, this can be mostly avoided by a few different things. Eating smaller, more frequent meals and taking in some liquid calories - its easier for your body to process it that way, and its also easier on your stomach. Try to stay away from eating a ton of processed/high sodium foods (probs obvious) and also - eating a higher % of fat in your diet will help greatly. In fact, it is suggested that recovering AN's eat 30-35% of their daily cals in dietary fat because it helps to restore brain/hormonal functions, as well as repair organ tissues and increases cellular integrity. Saturated fats are particularly important in this regard, so don't eschew whole fat dairy products or red meats -they're good things to have in your diet and def make increasing cals a touch easier.

Also, is a doctor monitoring you at all? I know I didn't have anyone keeping track of my vitals or anything when I recovered at home, but that was really stupid of me and I could have died in my sleep or something (not an exaggeration - legit had my heart stop in my sleep on several occasions while in treatment) Anyways, moral of the story: you should be seeing a doctor at the very least who can keep track of all your vital signs, electrolyte levels, etc.

[TacticalTurtle]

I have no idea what the psychological implications are in reference to anorexia but I was so freaking hungry after being starved for a few months that I just ate whatever looked good. You will gain weight, as long as you are eating healthy stuff and staying active you should be fine.

[Ghosting]

What is this... I don't even...

lol

[MAGnitude]

Keep it simple. Five meals a day. Every 2-3 Hours. Lean protein source the size of your hand (wrist and fingers!). Slow release carb (whole grains) the size of your fist.

Meals
1 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

2 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

3 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

4 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

5 - Protein/Carb - HAND/FIST

Eat vegetables twice a day MINIMUM OR UNLIMITED!!

Also DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. ZERO SUGAR. FRUITS ONLY IN THE MORNING.

go sit in the corner and think about what you said.


hahahahahahahah cant stop laughing at what ur suggesting.

[Ghosting]

go sit in the corner and think about what you said.


hahahahahahahah cant stop laughing at what ur suggesting.

lol

BRB, telling the OP to watch how much he eats