Expert: Nafeesah - 10/29/2008

Question
Hello,   
I'm a bit shy about this and it might sound a bit awkward but I need some help. I've been struggling with an eating disorder since last year really when I discovered a few fad diets and went overboard. I'm 1.69 and I weighed about 69 kilos around this time last year and then I decided it was time to lose weight. I started bingeing and fasting, so it didn't have much effect and then around march I started eating around 400 kcal a day, bingeing every now and then. In June I weighed 62 kilos and continued at an average of 400kcal a day minus the bingeing because I had discovered purging. I didn't purge very often until a couple of weeks ago when I did it up to a few times a week (on a few occasions also multiple times per day).  Last time I weighed myself (somewhere last week) I weighed 49 kilos and I've decided that I had better start recovering before I'm too far gone to come back.  As you can see, I'm not really underweight, so saying I'm anorexic is maybe overexaggerating. But I do have a problem. Just before I reached that weight, I started eating less than 200kcal a day and I've tried to up it my intake slowly by 200 kcal every week. I'm at 600 now and I'm experiencing several problems.  My bowel movements aren't what they used to be, i feel gassy and bloated as well. I feel like I have more energy but I'm afraid I'm going to gain weight like nuts.    
I have absolutely no idea how much my calorie intake should be, because I feel totally full now but I know that 600 kcal a day is not normal.    
I also don't know how much weight I should expect to gain.   
I would really appreciate it if you could help me

Answer
When you binge and purge it can throw off one's body chemistry and you need to consume at least 1200-2000 no more than 2500 calories a day. Purging is dangerous because it can also cause long term damage to the body over extended periods of time. Bulimics have a lot of hormone problems as a result of the excessive vomiting.  You may need to see a endocrinologist to deal with your metabolism issues because this is something that your primary doctor can't deal with because it's a chemical issue. See your doctor and get a referral as soon as you can.