Expert: Joanne - 12/29/2008

Question
some background info: i'm 17, 1.56m tall and currently 45kg. that puts my BMI at 18.4. i've been restricting and eating an average of 900 kcals everyday for the past year or so and have lost 11kg in 12 months as a result (with some episodes of ups and downs in between).  i also brisk walk/jog for 50 minutes everyday as exercise.

I think my body has kinda adjusted to surviving with only 900 kcals, with my metabolic rate slowing down, cause i have amenorrhea and i don't feel hungry if i eat 900 calories but feel bloated when eating more than that.  

now that i really wanna eat 'normally' again, but still wanna maintain my current weight, should i increase my calorie intake slowly to reach the ideal intake of 1800 kcals for my age (e.g. eating 1100 kcals per day for 2 weeks, then 1300 kcals per day for the 2 weeks and so on) or should i just increase to 1800 kcals straight away?  

p.s. i've read from various sources that a sudden increase in calorie intake will create this thing called hypermetabolism, which actually prevents weight gain despite the increased calorie intake. is this true?

thanks

Answer
Veron

I have never heard of hypermetabolism in long term recovery, but have read of it occuring in the early stages of recovery.  This will not last as far as I'm aware without there being some illness underlying, causing it, and I do not want you to expect this to happen and be disappointed when you possibly gain weight.

I, myself, would think that increasing calories as quick as possible would be the best solution, but you have to be comfortable with what you are eating on a daily basis.  There is no point in eating 1800 calories straight away if you are going to struggle and then risk cutting out calories the next day.  It may be easier to increase them slowly, but it is important that you do make a strong attempt at doing this as it is tempting to get to a slightly higher calorie intake and remain at that for ages!

I would recommend trying to get some professional input with this.  It is important to treat the underying psychological causes of the eating disorder as well as just the actual physical eating part.

Joanne