Eating 'normal' amounts is not enough when you need to gain weight

I think that one of the scariest prospects about recovery when you are sick is that you do not only have to start eating normal amounts of food, but you actually need to eat more then normal amounts. When I first started to try and recover, I can honestly say that I never intended to eat proper recovery amounts. I would have rathered die then even think about eating 2500 calories and it really did seem impossible.

When I first started to try and 'recover', I did slowly start to eat more which was important as it stopped me from continuing to lose weight and it meant that my heart got a little stronger again. I spent years maintaining on a low weight though, still convinced that I would never be able to eat proper recovery amounts. I did not believe I needed to eat proper recovery amounts as I thought I could recover without doing that. Eventually however I realised that I was wrong and that it was impossible to properly recover unless I increased my intake significantly again. 

I was not some special exception who did not need to eat as much in order to recover and I guaruntee that you aren't one either. It doesn't matter how hard you try to ignore the facts, the truth is you will not make a full recovery whilst eating 'normal' amonts of food. A great article called 'You are not a unicorn' highlights this point really well and I encourage you to follow the link and have a read.

If you are trying to recover, I encourage you to start eating proper recovery amounts as soon as you possibly can as it really is inevitable and the sooner you start eating more, the sooner you will be able to get your life back. If Ican give you any advice it would be to try and avoid staying in a half recovered state for a couple of years like I did as I really did just waste those precious years of my life.

In saying this however, although recovering slowly like I have may not have been optimal, it is still better than not recovering at all or dying from anorexia. Everybodies recovery journey is different and there really is no right or wrong way to recover. Something I am sure of however is that you need to eat proper recovery amounts at some stage in your recovery in order for your body and mind to completely repair and recover. 

When I was in my 'half recovered state I was eating between 1800 and 2200 calories per day (it varied depending on which stage I was at) but this was still not enough for me to gain any weight or make any true recovery progress. It was not until I started eating 3000 calories per day that I really started to feel my body and mind starting to repair. 

I have heard of so many people regaining weight whilst eating low amounts which has left them with sluggish metabolisms and poorly functioning bodies. I am so glad that I pushed myself to eat proper recovery amounts whe I was gaining weight so that I can now enjoy lots of yummy food and eat like a normal person without gaining lots of weight. 

My body and mind both feel healthier then they have in a really long time and I have no regrets for eating large amounts in recovery. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner as I know that being too scared to eat proper recovery amounts is the only thing that prevented me from making true recovery progress sooner. 

Please realise that eating proper recovery amounts is essential in order for you to make a full recovery from anorexia and that the sooner you can do this, the sooner you will be able to live a wonderful life, completely free of anorexia.