Expert: Saffron - 6/18/2009

Question
Hi, I'm a 5'4.5" 16 year old female and I suffered from anorexia this year for
about five months, until I decided that I needed to help myself before it
progressed even further.  Before anorexia I was consistently around 110-111
pounds and ran at most 1.5 miles a day.  I would eat whatever I wanted and
didn't give any thought to what I ate.  During anorexia, my weight went down to
a little less than 105, and I restricted my calories and ran 3.5 miles a day.
Since late April I have been trying to recover. I have gone back to eating how I
ate before I had anorexia, but I still run 4 or 5 days a week (usually 3.25
miles a day) and don't binge.  However, I have rapidly gained around 10 pounds
since late April, weighing more than I did prior to my anorexic days.  Most of
my weight gain is in my stomach and butt.  I have read that most anorexics
rapidly gain weight during recovery because the body is recovering from being in
starvation mode? I want to know if my weight will naturally stabilize back to
around 110 or will my metabolism remain slow forever. Will my body start to
naturally lose weight on its own, since I am running more than I did before I
had anorexia?  About how long will it take for my body's weight to go back to
normal since I only was anorexic for five months? Should I be concerned with my weight gain since I'm not over eating or
should I just go with the flow? Thank you so much for answering.


Answer
Dear Jane:

What you are experiencing is completely normal.  That's exactly what happened to me.  My best advice is to indeed go with the flow as you said because your body and metabolism is indeed out of wack but it will normalize.  Just keep eating normally and exercise is good (maybe don't overdo it) and eventually I guarantee you this excess weight will start to disappear though it sounds to me as though you are at a pretty healthy weight for your height.  Make sure to eat a balanced diet with a good amount of protein too-that helped me.  But patience is key here and I would say just going with the flow and not worrying about it is the best way to handle it because you will have to let go of the control right now as hard as it is for someone who had anorexia.  It can be liberating too.  But time will heal your body and your mind.  Hang in there.

Best,

Saffron