Knowing what and how much to eat (part 1)

I got the following question from a new reader and though I should answer it in a post.

'I think it is hard to know what to eat and how much. How do you decide what and how much to eat at every meal every day?  Do you have a meal plan that someone gave you? Would you like to share it if you do?'

I honestly think it is very difficult to gain weight and recover from an eating disorder without either having a meal plan or keeping an approximate count of the calories you are consuming each day. Otherwise, as the person who asked this question said, it is very hard to know exactly what and how much you need to eat in order to gain weight. if you dont feel as though you can put a meal plan together yourself, I suggest going to see a dietician youwho will be able to help you do this.

My meal plan is something I have come up with completely on my own and I know I wouldnt have been able to make the progress I have made without it. It has made me comfortable to eat fear foods like chocolate, puddings and icecream that I thought I would never be able to eat again and I feel as though it is also reasonably balanced. It includes lots of fruit and vegetables, lots of dairy products for calcium as well as plenty of protein, fats and Carbs.

Feel free to try and follow my meal plan if you like but remember that just because this plan works for me does not mean it will necessarily work for you. We all have very different energy needs while we are recovering so it would be better if you could seek professional advice.

MY CURRENT MEAL PLAN
Breakfast:
-two slices of wholemeal toast with nut butter (cashew, spread, honey nut spread, peanut butter hazelnut spread
-1 sachet of uncle toby's flavoured oats prepared with 1/2C of milk and 1/4C water and topped with 1 small sliced banana or mixed with 1 diced apple

Morning Tea:
-one small piece of fruit (mandarin, kiwi fruit, watermelon)
-1 up and go meal supplement drink
-1 baked treat (muffin, lamington, 2 large/3 small biscuits etc.)

Lunch:
-1 sandwhich made with butter and a substantial filling (belgium and relish, cheese and relish, cheese and vegemite etc)
-1 large piece of fruit (1 cup of grapes, 1 large apple, 1 banana, 1 pear etc)
-1 dairy dessert (tub of creamed rice, tub of yoghurt, snak pack custard etc)

Afternoon Tea:
-1 large chocolate bar (Picnic, kit kat, marvelous creations chocolate, Kit Kat, violet crumble, mars bar)
-1 drink with calories (a 'just juice' fruit box drink, a small bottle of coke 'life', pump flavoured water drink)
-1 medium piece of fruit (apple, pear, orange, fruit tub)
OR
-1 slightly smaller chocolate bar (aero, twirl, timeout, bounty etc)
-Creamy vanilla yoghurt with apple puree or stewed rhubarb and apple

Tea
-Meat (chicken schnitzel, ham steaks, duck, fish cakes, fresh fish, silverside) or casserole
-mashed potato, sweet potato, corn or bread
-other vegetables
-sauce
OR
-Large serving of rice or pasta
-lots of vegetables

Dessert:
-1 hot apple pie or pudding (chocolate pudding, sticky date, lemon, golden delicious)
-1 large serve of vanilla icecream

Supper:
- 1 jarrah hot chocolate (honeycombe, white chocolate, hazelnut, frothy classic etc

All of the foods on my meal plan are foods I really enjoy and I occasionally do substitute foods on my plan for others if I feel like a change. For example, I dont really feel like a sandwhich today so I am going to have a bowl of easy mac pasta instead, as well as a piece of fruit and dairy dessert. Or somedays I may not feel like my usual afternoon tea so I will have an icecream bar and a large serve of fruit instead.

I only ever substitute foods that I know will provide my body with approximately the same amount of energy and I never substitute foods if doing so will mean giving into my anorexic thoughts. I only do it if the real me (not the anorexic me) truly wants a change. I wouldnt recommend substituting items on your meal plan unless you are really comfortable with your basic meal plan however as this can cause a lot of anxiety and indecisiveness otherwise.

I really hope that this information has been helpful so far, I will answer the second part of the question about knowing how much to eat in a second post soon.