Expert: Joanne - 2/2/2008

Question
Hello. I have been trying to overcome my eating disorder by myself for a while now. I suffered from anorexia for about 6 months. Now, when I have started eating again, the weirdest thing is, that even though I'm not that heavy and haven't gained that much during my recovery, I am getting fatter and fatter. And I know, it's not just anorexia messing with my head - none of my clothes fit me anymore. Right now I'm 15 years old, 5'7 tall and weight about 110 pounds. I am eating 1200-1700 calories a day, it depends how much I exercise. If I don't exercise at all, I eat only 1200. Well, anyways, my body is probably still in starvation mode and is using my muscle mass for enegry, that is replaced with fat. That explains, why my weight hasn't changed, though i'm sooo horribly fat. How long would it take for me to get out of the starvation mode and be able to lose weight again in a healthy way? It's so important for me, because I'm finishing  9th grade in the middle of June and it will be followed by a prom.. I want to look the best I can:( . That's why I started starving myself in the first place. Also, my body proportions have changed drastically. I used to have a slender waist and a little bit too fat calves and ankles but now I look like an apple - with huge lovehandles and a flabby belly. Will I ever be able to look proportional, fit, healthy and slender again? I'm desperate.

Answer
Shanna

At the moment, your body will be storing as much of what you eat as it can so as it can rebuild the parts that have been broken down and also so that if you were to starve yourself again, it has something there to use as fuel.

I would recommend continuing to eat as you are, maybe increasing your lower intake of 1200 to nearer 1400-1500 calories and continue to do as you are doing.  Aim to do some exercise, but not a lot of cardio, focus more on weight and resistance training so that you can rebuild the muscle and tone rather than lose weight.

Unfortunately, this is a matter of just sticking it out and giving your body time to recover.  June is still a while away!

This may not be what you want to hear, but even if you don't manage to look 'slender' as you imagine for your prom (which hopefully providing you don't return to anorexic behaviours will happen!), no matter what your anorexia is telling you, you will look better than if you were to return to old behaviours as no matter what your anorexia is telling you at the time, anorexia thin is not pretty.  Personally I would rather have looked slightly chubbier than I would have liked to (in reality though this most likely wouldn't have been chubby to other people!) than look sick in my dance photos!  I have a huge formal dance coming up in a month's time, but I know that as much as I want to look great for my dress, it is not worth looking ill to everyone around!

Please come back if you want to ask absolutely anything else!

Joanne