Expert: Ginger - 6/27/2010

Question
Hi,

My question has to do with the recovery stages of anorexia, but first I will give you some background on my ED.

I am 19 years old and just a little over 5'3".  Last year I lost between 15-20 pounds eating 1400 calories per day and exercising frequently (I am a competitive figure skater).  I maintained a weight of about 105 lbs eating this amount, but at the end of the summer I moved away from home to go to university and began restricting much more - I rarely ate more than 800 calories in a day for about 8 months and remained very active.  My lowest weight was 95 lbs.  I allowed myself to gain 10 lbs (back to 105)and maintained that weight for the latter half of my school year.  However, since being home for the summer I have been eating slightly better (between 1000-1200 calories) and exercising slightly less I have gained 10 lbs in about 2 months.  I assume that this weight gain occured because my body is hanging on to any extra calories it may get after starving it for so long but it is causing me a huge amount of depression and anxiety. I can't figure out how a person can gain that much weight in that little time while eating the amount that I was while continuing to exercise regularily.  

So ultimately my question is will my metabolism stabilize soon?  My doctors who have been monitoring me since my diagnosis have told me that my set point should be between 110-115 lbs, and I would really like to eat normal amounts of food again while maintaining a healthy weight.   At the moment I am eating less than while I was losing weight yet I am gaining!  Is this normal?

Thanks for answering,

Tess

Answer
Hi Tess,
Congratulations on your recovery! You should be so proud! :)
I think you're right- your body went into starvation mode and started holding on to the few calories it was getting. It's totally normal to be gaining now, since your metabolism has slowed down. I can only answer from my own experience and from what I've seen through working with people with eating disorders, but I would guess your metabolism will stabilize soon. This seems to happen when people get back to around their set-point weight. I know it's scary- when I was where you were, I was so afraid I'd just keep gaining and gaining, but this definitely didn't happen. Eating normal amounts of healthy food again will help your metabolism get back to normal. Don't worry. You're doing so great!
Ginger