Expert: Leigh-Anne Persing, PA-C - 6/2/2008

Question
i am 5 3, 96 pounds and feel huge but i know i need to gain weight for my
health and to live for my daughter, i have been in every kind of therapy and i
have decided to just do it once and for alll. I AM SCARED crapless about
gaining tons of weight and today i was starving and food tasted so good, it
was my daughters bday and everyone wanted me to eat so i ate and ate and
ate like 6 cupcakes with tons of icing and a bunch of other stuff, is is possible
that i gained tons of weight from that, isnt 3500 a pound, i mean i know it
sounds stupid but thats what ed's do to ya! I couldnt possibly have gained
that much i still feel bony and although i ate all that and am half-temptedto
restrict now i am still hungry and i want burger king, is the reasoning for this
hunger that i have deprived myself for so long? is my body just wanting
more? i am scared to eat all this but i know i need to to survive.Hey it tasted
good but the guilt will be there 2morro.

Answer
when you initially start eating again you are going to feel bloated, have gas, be uncomfortable and probably gain weight at a rate that you think is unreasonable. Throw out the scale... stay off of it... get a supply of gas-x and some comfortable, loose fitting sweat pants. It's going to be a shock to your system. Although you may gain quite a bit of weight from the start your body will eventually level off and you will stop gaining. In fact... you may gain and then lose a little bit after your metabolism gets started back up. Eat 6 small meals a day, and have something to keep yourself occupied after eating so that you are not tempted to purge. Exercise is OK, but keep it at a reasonable level... a half hour is fine, but don't spend 3 hours at the gym. To help with the bloating you may want to get some light, but calorie dense foods... peanut butter, granola bars, etc.