Anorexia/Eating Disorders/very bad expirience

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Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 11/14/2009


Question
hi jeanne,
Well, i´ve had a pretty bad expirience for de past year or so.
I had always wanted to be a model, and everyone told my i should go to an agency or something, so i when there and they told me i was to fat. So i felt really bad with me self and started to eat very little. I was 65kg at that time (i´m 1.78cm tall), and after dieting i got to be about 49kg. Everyone told me i looked anorexic, my family, friends, etc, but i was very, very scared of gaining wight, because i wanted to be a model so much!
So then they took me to a nutricionist and a psicologist and they said i had anorexia. They promised that they would get me to a normal wight, but i would still be thin, and that i would maintain. Thay said that i would maintain a wight of 58-59kg. I was ok with this so i started to do what they said.
And then, before i knew it, i was 67kg! I was very worried, and you now what the nutricionist told me: to do a diet!!!
So then a started to eat much less, but i still kept gaining wieght, and i ended up eating less then what i did when i was 49kg!! I have been eating very little, about 700 calories a day, and going to the gym almost every day(when i was 49 kg i didnt even go to the gym), and i haven´t lost any wight at all.
I feel very scared, and i wich i had never even gained wight.
¿What is happening to my body?¿what should i do?

Answer

Jeannie Rust, PhD
Dear Minerva,

Yu have had a very bad experience, indeed!!  I'm so glad that you wrote.  It is so scary when our bodies don't do what we think they "should" be doing!  Your metabolism has a lot to do with it.  Unfortunately when someone has anorexia, their metabolisms go into starvation mode.  The body says, Hey, I'm not getting enough food, so I'd better not burn as many calories.  Then when the person starts to eat again there can be rapid weight gain which is usually fluids or water weight.  Then the person starts to get really scared -- I'm eating nothing and I'm still gaining.

At this point, you should be eating a regular meal plan.  If you don't, your metabolism will never get an opportunity to stabilize.  The first part of recovery is so difficult because the body is not sure what it's supposed to do!  Just know that the first 1-6 months are difficult.  Then your body will settle down, you won't be bloated or feeling huge, and your weight will stabilize and be where you want it to be.  It just takes time.

Keep in touch with me, keep going to your psychologist, and let me know how you're doing!!

Warmly,
Jeannie Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol Recovery Centers
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
888-520-1700

Jeanne Rust, PhD

Expertise

I have been treating eating disorders for over 25 years and I have a doctorate in clinical psychology. I am an expert in anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders and in co-occurring disorders as well -- depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. I was the official eating disorder therapist for the University of Arizona athletic department and love working with girls and women of all ages! 12 years ago I started my own treatment centers in Arizona where we treat adolescents and adults. I love working with people and have been helping people online since 1994. My hearts go out to the people out there who are unable to find help, who aren't sure whether they need help, and who don't have much of an understanding of the terrible consequences, emotionally and physically, that go hand in hand with the eating disorder. I view eating disorders as coping mechanisms that people use when they are under stress. I believe that eating disorders most times have many similarities whether it is anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. The good news is that people can heal from an eating disorder and learn to create the lives they would like to live.

Experience

I have 25 years of experience in treating eating disorders of all kinds. I also do consultations for people who are starting treatment centers.

Education/Credentials
Northwestern University -- BA Masters in Counseling Doctorate in Clinical Psychology -- Saybrook institute

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