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tangog1rl
New Member
| Joined: | 24 Feb 2009 |
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| Posts: | 9 |
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Posted: 3 Mar 2009 01:45 am |
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Hello
I thought the above emoticon was appropriate because sometimes, especially when I am PMS-ing that is how I feel !
I wanted to start this new topic because I am struggling with keeping my metabolism revved. I am 42, and I had ANA/MIA for...years I guess. However, I think it is mostly gone; I had maybe a couple incidents of purging this last year, but I think vits and frankly being too busy to involve myself in my disorder seem to have helped...thus, I have finally found a way of eating that works and a means of working out and my weight has stabilized at a good weight for me! It is SO great to not be weak and nervous and ruled by the scale!
My prob is that like many, I really can't go above about 1000 calories a day and that is with exercise. Without I am at about 800. Once a week I eat more, about 1500-2000 but that is a day where I do a LOT of cardio; my saturday long-run day, so usually that plus watching it a few days after keeps me at the same weight.
Now I know people might say that there is a higher BMR for calories a day for someone 5 ft 2.5 who is super muscular, but having had really good tests at the doctors, that is what they said ( so don't always assume the BMR charts are right, getting sophisticated tests at a lab and doing underwater weighing made me feel SO MUCH BETTER about my body) revealed that I can eat 1100 tops unless I do lots of exercise.
So my question; has anyone done the five feedings a day thing, and does that help? Does switching up your exercises to different ones change things? What has been your road to revving your metabolic weight, that you did in a HEALTHY manner and how did you convince yourself to stick with it?
Thanks!
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 3 Mar 2009 10:43 am |
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The latest thinking about multiple meals a day is that the only metabolism boost you're getting is TEF (thermic effect of food) which is obviously proportional to calories consumed and it makes no difference when you eat or how many times. So eating often doesn't help (it doesn't hurt either, and in so much as it aids with compliance it is a good thing for dieters, but it won't help you to boost the calories your body requires)
The only way your body can get used to more calories is by giving it more calories. I certainly don't advocate you jump to the high calorie level (as you do once a week). You need to increase calories by 100, stick with it for 1-2 weeks, then increase again by 100, stick with that for another1-2 weeks and so on. Yes, expect some weight gain during this adjustment period, because your body will take a fair amount of time to adjust back up from a lifetime of abuse.
Think about it this way: the longer you keep your body constantly depressed by only providing it with 1000 calories (and making it worse by taking some of those calories away with your exercise!) the longer you're having it stay used to this situation of famine, where for years it has not had the number of calories it would have liked. You need to break the cycle.
(incidentally author Leigh Peele has written a book about this)
I don't have the same issues, but whilst I want to build muscle I struggle with the idea of eating over my maintenance and gaining fat in the process.
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tangog1rl
New Member
| Joined: | 24 Feb 2009 |
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| Posts: | 9 |
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Posted: 3 Mar 2009 01:48 pm |
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Thanks for your reply Nir,
So you mean 100 calories a day for two weeks, hence 1100. Then two more weeks later, hence 1200.
I will look up that book!
Are there any women out there in the 100-110 pound range, 46-50 kilo range, who have reset their metabolism after an eating disorder? How long did it take and how far do you go up in calories?
Thanks!
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minionsheep
New Member
| Joined: | 31 Dec 2008 |
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| Posts: | 101 |
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Posted: 11 Mar 2009 09:46 am |
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I don't know if this will help.....
but when I was in middle and high school I swung wildly between anorexia and compulsive exercising. One day I'd eat 900 calories and the next day I'd binge and then run for miles and miles.
I weigh just under 140 lb now (I think... ) at 5'4" and it's been about five or six years since my disorder/s going into "remission".
I weighed more then than I do now! More muscle, in fact, I believe, was part of that.
But I eat between 2,300 and 2,700 calories every day now. I'm active, though I don't work out daily I get in as much physical activity between two jobs as I can, and I try to eat lots of fruit and veggies.
I do remember gaining weight after promising myself I'd eat when I was hungry and stop when I was full. I ate more than what I thought I required. But it was worth it to me because I was sick of thinking about it so much. I'm here now on these forums to keep track of what I eat each day and figure out my own "natural" patterns within eating. I personally need about four meals each day, containing between 300 and 600 calories each.
If I were you, I would just jump into eating "normally" because I think mentally for a disordered person (at least, true for me) it's hard to condition oneself without any sort of punitive plan B. "If I mess up and eat under 1500 calories well then I might as well b/p".....
Anyway good luck with everything, truly.
minionSheep
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tangog1rl
New Member
| Joined: | 24 Feb 2009 |
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| Posts: | 9 |
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Posted: 11 Mar 2009 05:02 pm |
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Hey thank you so much for those words of wisdom! "Eat normally" that is such an odd concept for me. I will try to be a bit more relaxed about it: its so hard, especially now because I am moving back to my home country and job interviewing and everything is so in flux: it makes me want to cling to my weight as a form of control when there is nothing else...I think I will try to do between what you, "Minionsheep", and "Nir" wrote; eat more, and keep up the exercise and maybe I need to weigh myself like once a month instead of so frequently. Then I could see what I naturally settle into weight wise....Augh! Scared but this is good.
Thanks!
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dmg2879
Senior Member
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Posted: 11 Mar 2009 08:31 pm |
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Hey there...
I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know how I sadly can relate to your struggle. What my body sees as a "normal" calorie intake is what someone else would see as putting the body into starvation mode. I went 13 mons @ 300 calories a day and 1000 burned in the gym. I just posted all about my battle with ana/mia on my diary if you care to see a bit of my journey. :(
I wish I had wonderful words of wisdom for you. Hopefully what Nir said will help...it seems to make enough sense. I just wanted to let you know that you are certainly not alone in this struggle to be healthy.
*hugs*
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