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Another Diet Forum > General Discussions > Eating Disorders - Compulsive Overeating, Bulimia, Anorexia > increasing calorie intake |
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tinglesonme New Member
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Hi. I was just wondering about increasing g my calorie intake. Will increasing by 400-500 over a few days make me gain weight like crazy? Cos that's what I did and I gained 1kg in a few days and right now I'm scared to death of the amount of weight I've gained... Is this just water weight or fats? :/ |
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Nir Senior Administrator 
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It helps to have some context: For example are you overweight, or normal, or underweight? Were you previously at a surplus, at energy balance or at a deficit? (and how long have you been doing what you have been doing) How do the calories you were consuming compare to the figures that standard RMR/BMR equations predict to be your normal energy requirements to maintain. so in other words Your stats (height, weight, age, sex), your current calorie intake, your typical exercise commitment and how long you have been eating this way would be helpful to know. So for example if you have been at a deficit for some time, perhaps a considerable deficit, now you want to eat more, to eat a more normal amount. It can be a good idea to increase intake gradually but regardless if your intake was too low before then the only solution is to increase it. Again a high jump like this is unlikely to be fat, more likely to be water-weight but regardless, if you need to increase calories in order to eat at a more normal level (that is more appropriate to your stats) then it is a move worth doing, and you will not be increasing indefinitely. (Still another situation would be someone who is very underweight - their body needs to find a healthier weight so their weight will increase - if that is the case then don't fight your body) |
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tinglesonme New Member
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I'm not very comfortable with admitting anything but I'm 16, 155cm, 39kg and femal. I know I'm underweight, though I constantly doubt the accuracy of my scale, but I can't bear the thought of gaining weight. I probably have a problem with food right now but part of me is still in denial. I've gone as far as to tell myself purging and restricting are normal things that everyone does everyday. Looking back at it now, I don't even feel like that was me thinking that. I'm not sure when this all started but the restricting got worse when I stopped self-harming. Ok, I didn't stop but it slowed down. Two weeks ago, I was eating about 300-400 calories a day. But then I lost control and binged and now I'm finding it so hard to restrict again. I've managed to do it for the past few days but I convinced myself I needed to try to get better, so I ate a little more than usual. But, as always, I just lose control and go into binge mode. After which, I'll always try to purge it all out. I really want to get better. I'm so sick of freaking out when I eat something out of my meal plan then start bingeing and then purging and sometimes self-harming again. I'm really trying but I know deep inside, I just can't bear to let whatever all this is go. As miserable as I am sometimes, it feels safe/familiar(?). I'm not sure. And I did try to tell my brother, hoping that he'd help me but he didn't understand and was convinced that it would be as simple as just flipping a switch and telling myself im not fat so I can eat whatever I want cos bingeing is normal and feeling self conscious as a teenage girl is totally normal. Honestly, to tell him took so much courage and I was and still am destroyed by what a failure it turned out to be. I mean, yeah I can't blame him for not being able to understand or know how to deal with the information overload but still. Suicidal thoughts aren't foreign to me and I've been so close to acting on them. Now, I feel so hopeless that I just can't find a reason to still be here. I don't actually have a reason right now even though I havent done anything but it's just so hard to constantly be at war with myself, wanting to be skinny vs trying to eat, wanting to self harm vs staying clean, wanting to die vs trying to find reasons not to. I'm so sorry if I sound worthless or whiney or that I'm ranting or wallowing in self pity, but I really don't know what to do anymore. My family won't help, so there's no way I can get professional help. And I'm just too weak to do self-recovery on my own. Is there any other way? Do you have any advice? I'm desperate.. |
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Nir Senior Administrator
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Hi again thanks for getting back to me. First of all just a disclaimer I am not an expert in Eating Disorders nor do I have first hand experience, but because of my own set of issues I've met others with EDs in a variety of settings. For example a few years ago I was attending a moderated support group set up for people with AN and BN type disorders. I also to this day attend Overeaters Anonymous meetings and in my meetings there are people who are like that. The units you are using to describe your height and weight remind me that I don't know what part of the world you are from and therefore what services you can find available for free and what services you have to pay for. It is unfortunate that your brother did not understand you but an eating disorder is a problem that is difficult to understand (and speaking more generally, I know what it is like not to have my unusual problems understood by my friends and family). I think you understand that this is a serious problem and one where you should ideally have local support as well, so what can you do? If you are still in education, you might have access to some counselling (explain what is really going on, like you have above). Another avenue is through your doctor (or maybe a school nurse?). Look up an Eating Disorders helpline if one is set up nationally and they might be able to tell you about local facilities, such as a support group like the one I attended, there might also be Overeaters Anonymous (excuse the unfortunate name) meetings in your area. If you can't even find an ED-specific helpline then maybe a general helpline for people with problems is a first entry point. I'd also like to suggest a explore a couple of helpful websites http://www.youreatopia.com/new and http://www.something-fishy.org/ And getting back to the question about calories. Because your body needs more calories, it "asks" for them. This it can do by generating the type of 'hunger' feeling that only people who have restricted that much will know about, and your body knows what it needs. The longer you have been restricting your intake the more damage you have internally to your organs and the more desperate your body is for calories and nutrition. I realise that your feelings will be very strong though and that is why it would be so helpful to have help locally and not just on the internet. |
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