Anorexia recovery and weight gain help page 3

[golangrok]

Nobody can really tell you how much to eat. You have to see where your calories naturally fall, mine are around 1900 most days. I'm trying to get them higher with a higher fat percentage. I say aim for around 2000 for now, and when you get more centered see if you want or can handle more.

[Enokai]

I am new here and just reading your post. I feel as though I am always in some form of recovery or restricting (x8 years). the hardest part about primal for me is accepting the animal fat and tracking what I eat. counting calorie apps so I can watch my nutrients makes me crazy some days. so far so good, but I am looking to gain muscle mass and be more healthy my weight is fine at 138 & 5'10' / 19% body fat.
Honestly, the whole thing is a little terrifying. I totally agree, but Im hoping it will help with some of my mood swings, and make me feel better. I'm just worried I dont eat enough without the carbs. Im averaging only 1300 calories, but I think I need more like 1600.

[Ripped]

Hello!

Simple question: Would it be advisable to recover from anorexia via eating primally?

Some background on me: I'm 15, female, BMI hovering around 15 (water weight is annoying!), been restricting for about 2 months, maybe even 3. I'm trying to recover, but from visiting a lot of forums (ie. Calorie Counter), they seem to recommend meal plans filled with whole wheat breads, ice-cream, etc. etc.

I want to recover pretty badly, but do so in the healthiest way. I'm aware that I'll obviously gain back fat mass, but ideally, not excessively. I think my muscles are weaker now, so I would like to as far as possible gain back that.

Would eating primal be a good idea? What should my macronutrient ratio be like? Caloric count? Mostly, I'm concerned about the type of carbs I should eat to gain. Should I just focus on gaining and eat 'healthy', non-primal carbs like whole grains? Or should I go primal straight and eat just the tubers?

(Edit: Asking specifically about carbs because I'm very prepared to eat all the protein and fats I want. Although I am hesitant about too much saturated animal fats, I think I'll stick to avocados and fatty fish! Suggestions on ways to incorporate them in my meal plan and macronutrient percentages would be greatly appreciated though! )

If anyone has had experience with anorexia recovery, I would especially appreciate answers on weight redistribution and caloric count! Thanks so much!

I certainly hope you are seeking professional help!!!

I don't think you should try any sort of diet until you are at a healthy weight. Eating primally focuses on eating certain foods over others, and while that may be healthier for you than the typical american diet, eating any type of food is healthier than eating little to no food while you are already underweight and starving. My point is, you need to stop being afraid of food!

Additionally, as far as recovery goes, I'd say the first step is getting a more realistic grasp of how much you need to weigh in order to be healthy. I'd also further go on to argue that it might even be helpful for you to get a better idea as to what weight would look good for you based on your height. I know that might sound silly to tell that to someone who has suffered with such issues, but here me out with my own example as I explain.

I (being a male) actually used to be obese with a BMI over 30. And similar to you, I had an unrealistic view as to how much I should have been weighing. I thought I was only chubby, and there I was with a big belly and wondering why I wasn't getting any dates. Well duh! I was obese! I should have known! And luckily I had a friend who was mean enough to tell me the truth! Eventually I became determined to lose some weight and also figured out a more realistic weight I should be at. It turns out that while the BMI scale is a wide range to fit both men and women, a muscular male such as myself should be more around the top end of the scale. Now my BMI is down and slightly over 25 and I only have a few more lbs to go to get to where I want to be, which is with my BMI under 25. And I look good like this!

With your problem being similar to what I went through, its actually the opposite. You need to get your BMI up into the normal/healthy range for your height. Women will typically look best at the lower end of the BMI scale, but not under. This is the weight you will probably be the most healthiest and also the best looking.

While on that note, my bet is that most guys will never tell you this to your face because they think its mean and they don't want to hurt your feelings, but no guy wants to date a girl who is too skinny. No guy wants to date a girl thats so skinny that she is going to die. Its disgusting. And if you aren't geting any dates, that's why! Get your weight up into the normal range and you'll look hot. I have no doubt about that. Any less than a BMI of 18.5 is disgusting.

Politically incorrect or not, I hope that helps.

Just to give a summary along with some additional details, the lower end of the healthy scale is where you need to be. Also, some girls look better if they weigh a little bit more. As an example, my old girlfriend used to try to lose weight once in a while to look good, but I always thought she looked better with an extra 5 lbs above the bottom of the healthy BMI range.

Anyways, I don't know too much about your specific problem. But based on the similarities with my old problem and also coming from an outside point of view, I can tell you that it comes from unrealistic ideas as to how much you weigh. But knowing for sure a realistic idea as to how much your weight should be really should solve the problem. If you know the real weight you need to be at and know how to stay at it, I wouldn't care what methods you use for weight gain or loss when necessary.

Again, speaking from my own example, I've done intermittent fasting for fat loss and its worked wonders. And while many ordinary people who don't know about it would be lead to believe that its bad for me as if its anorexic or something, in my case its actually healthy because I'm overweight and I need it. In your case its the opposite.

So the thing is, you have to look at the context. In your case, you're underweight and sick which could lead to death. And until you get to a healthy weight, any food is good for you. Eat your heart out until you get your BMI up to 18.5. And if you want to get your strength and muscle back so you can be lean, lift some weights.

Hope that helps. Take care!