Expert: Joanne - 3/10/2008

Question
Hi Joanne,
I noticed that you have given advice to other people whose are working to get their body out of starvation mode/ calorie hording.  I am facing that challenge as well; and although I have spent 1.5 years working with two local nutritionists, I feel like I may not be getting the most expert advice.
Briefly:  about 1.5 years ago I realized that something was wrong with my body because I had been eating less and less in an attempt to force my body to stay at 118 lbs., a weight that I had reached through weight watchers just prior to my wedding.  (I now know that this is too low for me:  I am 5’ 7’, and workout rigorously 6 days per week, burning between 450-600 calories each session; both weight training and cardio).  By the time I had sought help, I was eating only 700 calories per day, but yet the scale was creeping up to 118, 119...
Fast forward to today:  on the advice of the two nutritionists, I have slowly increased my calorie intake to 1800-1900 per day of a very balanced, healthy diet (all the recommended levels of protein, carbs, healthy fats, all “whole” food – fruits, vegetables, whole grains).  While this is good news, the very, very frustrating downside is that I have gained 17 lbs. during this process.  Furthermore, I have been at 1800 calories per day for 6 months, but the scale is still, albeit slowly, ticking up.
In your experience, do you have any sense of:
-   Whether 1800-1900 calories per day is enough for my body to begin to feel comfortable and start to metabolize food normally again?  Do I need to be eating more?  (my RMR is about 1850 per day; with my workouts, I should be able to maintain my weight with approx. 2300 cal per day)

-   How long it will take my body to STOP gaining weight?  As I said, I have been at this calorie intake for 6 months.  Shouldn’t my body be comfortable by now?  It is extremely frustrating to be doing everything “right” for a long time, yet continue to gain and gain weight.
  
-   Do you think that once my weight stabilizes, (meaning that my body is used to 1800 calories), my metabolism will continue to increase?  It would be GREAT if I could stay at this calorie level, AND also begin to lose weight.  As I said, I should be able to eat 2300 calories for weight maintenance.
-   If I do need to cut calories to lose some of the weight that I have gained, how long should I wait before doing so?
My ultimate goal is to weight about 125-7, my weight 6 years ago, which I was very easily able to maintain before I got into the dangerous dieting cycle.
Any advice you could give would be so appreciated.  I am trying to stay positive about this whole thing, but I am at the end of my rope.  
Thank you,
J


Answer
Jennifer

I think firstly, you should go to your doctor to get them to make sure that there isn't any medical condition causing you to gain weight.

After this, it may be worth talking again to your dieticians and telling them that you are not happy with the weight gain still.  However, your weight just now sounds a very healthy weight for your height.  125lbs is not underweight, but is approaching it, but at about 135lbs, you are in the middle of the recommended weight range.

The amount of calories you are eating should be enough to raise your metabolism and then maintain a healthy weight, but I am scared that your metabolism is not getting the chance to recover if you are exercising to rigorously.  I would recommend looking at your exercise routine realistically and maybe look at cutting that down slightly.  Please also be aware that when you increase your calorie intake from a restriction diet, your body has to rebuild itself, which also includes repairing and building muscle, and then with your exercise, probably build even more muscle, and muscle does weight more than fat!!!

Please speak to the people involved in your treatment and see if they have any more recommendations!

Joanne