Expert: Ginger - 9/21/2010

Question
Hi Ginger
My daughter has anorexia and bulemia and has just been released from a clinic after being there for 5 weeks. She is still following the same diet as when she was in the clinic (set up by a dietician) but she seems to be picking up weight quickly.( about 6 kg in a month) I know this has something to do with your body's metabolism starting to work again but is there any time frame when she will start to lose the excess weight and stabalise? This is making her even more depressed.

Answer
Hi Anne,
Thank-you for your question! This is one of the most common questions I get. I can't tell you a time frame when her weight will stabilize (everyone is different, and it depends on so many things), but I *can* tell you that it definitely will. It's a very scary thing to go through when you're recovering from anorexia or bulimia, because you feel like you have no control over your weight, and that you'll keep gaining and gaining, but I can promise your daughter that she won't! When a person doesn't eat much for a period of time, their metabolism slows down, because their body is trying to hold on to every calorie it takes in (since it can't be sure when it will get more food). It takes a little while, after they start eating, for their body to trust that they won't starve it again, and for their metabolism to speed up again. Her weight will then even off.

It's not easy, but recovery from an eating disorder never is. It's all part of getting better. Your daughter has done so well to make it through five weeks in a clinic, and to be following the dietician's diet is fantastic! She has already taken the hardest steps to getting better. :)

Hope this helps; e-mail me any time.
Ginger