Can I ask something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to..but how did you cope with the weight gain during recovery? I mean..I have gained quite a bit of weight since I started recovery, but still lower than the weight the doctors set for me. It's just that, I'm happy with the way I look now, and I'm afraid to gain anymore because I don't wanna loose the self confidence that I'm only starting to get now.. (sorry it sounds silly). Sigh, my whole problem with eating started due to stress from school - I guess you could say it was a coping mechanism.
I've seen your before & after photos, and you look really good! A lot more happy too. What was the target weight the doctors set for you during your recovery (if you don't mind me asking.)?
After answering the first half of this questiona few days ago (you can read it here), I thought I better finally answer the rest of the question. Especially since it really is such a good question :) Honestly, you sound as though you are in a very similar situation to me at the moment. Although I have exceeded the goal weight my doctor set for me (She told me that I had to reach 50 kg but my weight has settled at 52 kg), I have been receiving some pressure from a few of my readers to gain more weight depite the fact that I have already reached the goal weight that my doctor set for me and I really don't want to.
Like you, I feel so happy and confident at my current weight and dont want to risk ruining that. I have the best relationhip now that I have ever had with with my body in my life and in no way does my anorexia interfere with me living life anymore. Even though I apprreciate the concern of my readers, they dont kow anything aboutt my heath and natural figure so Idont really think it is fair for them to say that I deinetely need to gain more weight, because they really cant know that.
I suppose in your case, you need to think about whether you are still underweight. If you are (if your bmi is still below 18.5) then I think you should gain more weight. Although it may seem as though you wont still like your body at a higher bmi, you most likely will! Just look at me, I accept my body now that I have a bmi of 19 which is something I thought I would never be able to do.
Although getting to a healthy weight is incredibly important, I think that there is too much focus on weight in recovery. Afterall, anorexia is a mental illness and I therefore think the way I think is more imortant then how much I weigh. So because my eating disorder thoughts are so rare ad weak these days and never stop me from doing anything I want to do, I really dont think it is necessary for me to gain any more weight at this stage. This does not mean that I have started restricting what I eat. I still listen to my body and eat atleast 2500 calories a day but I just dont eat all of the extra things that I never had an appetite for, but just ate because I knew I needed to gain weight.
Like you (the reader who asked this question), My anorexia was a coping mechanism for various things goiing on in my life, including the stress of school, frustration with my body, my alcoholic mum. The most important thing for us is that we learn knew coping mechnisms to use when life gets tough instead of these unhealthy ones. So if your anorexic thoughts are still really strong, this could also be a good indicaion tat you need to gain weight. My anorexic thoughts only improved draatically once I reached my current weight which is why I m confident that it is in fact a healthy weight for me to be at.
Also, how were you built before your eatting disorder? Have you always been slim or more solid? Although it may not be ecessary to go back to the exact weight you were before your eating disorder, you should atleast try to get up within you rnatral set point range. :)
After answering the first half of this questiona few days ago (you can read it here), I thought I better finally answer the rest of the question. Especially since it really is such a good question :) Honestly, you sound as though you are in a very similar situation to me at the moment. Although I have exceeded the goal weight my doctor set for me (She told me that I had to reach 50 kg but my weight has settled at 52 kg), I have been receiving some pressure from a few of my readers to gain more weight depite the fact that I have already reached the goal weight that my doctor set for me and I really don't want to.
Like you, I feel so happy and confident at my current weight and dont want to risk ruining that. I have the best relationhip now that I have ever had with with my body in my life and in no way does my anorexia interfere with me living life anymore. Even though I apprreciate the concern of my readers, they dont kow anything aboutt my heath and natural figure so Idont really think it is fair for them to say that I deinetely need to gain more weight, because they really cant know that.
I suppose in your case, you need to think about whether you are still underweight. If you are (if your bmi is still below 18.5) then I think you should gain more weight. Although it may seem as though you wont still like your body at a higher bmi, you most likely will! Just look at me, I accept my body now that I have a bmi of 19 which is something I thought I would never be able to do.
Although getting to a healthy weight is incredibly important, I think that there is too much focus on weight in recovery. Afterall, anorexia is a mental illness and I therefore think the way I think is more imortant then how much I weigh. So because my eating disorder thoughts are so rare ad weak these days and never stop me from doing anything I want to do, I really dont think it is necessary for me to gain any more weight at this stage. This does not mean that I have started restricting what I eat. I still listen to my body and eat atleast 2500 calories a day but I just dont eat all of the extra things that I never had an appetite for, but just ate because I knew I needed to gain weight.
Like you (the reader who asked this question), My anorexia was a coping mechanism for various things goiing on in my life, including the stress of school, frustration with my body, my alcoholic mum. The most important thing for us is that we learn knew coping mechnisms to use when life gets tough instead of these unhealthy ones. So if your anorexic thoughts are still really strong, this could also be a good indicaion tat you need to gain weight. My anorexic thoughts only improved draatically once I reached my current weight which is why I m confident that it is in fact a healthy weight for me to be at.
Also, how were you built before your eatting disorder? Have you always been slim or more solid? Although it may not be ecessary to go back to the exact weight you were before your eating disorder, you should atleast try to get up within you rnatral set point range. :)
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