Expert: Joanne - 4/26/2007

Question
Holly

Hi! A quick question - I am 26 year old woman, 5 foot 6.5, and (I think) about 110 pounds. I have a sedentary job but i work out about 3-4 times a week which amounts to 30 mins cardio - 450 calories burned usuallly! - and about 5mins of weights training...
I suffered fairly severely from an ED at college for three years  - for reference, my lowest weight was about 100 pounds. It was called anorexia by my family but I prefer to speak of it as an ED non-specified since I NEVER felt fat and hated knowing i was losing weight! I jsut liked the control and the fact that -yes - I was slimmer than most of my contemporaries. Anyway, I did then "recover" (aged 22/23) by gaining weight and moving on.

Two years ago I consciously set out to lose a little of the weight i had gained since I was not comfortable with my present size (I forget what i weighed - although vague memories of being a size 10/12). So I got down to a fantastic /size 8 which i was really happy with! Trouble was, a slightly low period in my life coupled with a great ability to stick to a diet once on it, made me lose a little more weight than intended.
I know my family would lvoe to see me gain a bit of weight and (for myself) I worry about my fertility since I still suffer from loss of periods. However I don't think my health is too bad otherwise - i have great skin, hair and nails - :) - a good-ish appetite (see below) and (clearly) a strong desire NOT to lose weight and to gain those 4-5 pounds or so which have been eluding me. In fact I feel weirdly postive - despite what i weigh?!

Please note that I can eat anything in a day from 1000 to 1600 calories. Although- if i am honest - if it is the latter than i end up compensating by eating less the following day's breakfast/lunch.  

Any advice? Would a regular 1500 cals a day do it  - ie a small but steady/not too threatening weight gain,  with the upshot being a nice size 8 me? :) Sorry, i know i'm asking the unknowable here!

Anyway, any advice much appreciated!  

Thanks

Elli

Answer
I think that 1500 calories should allow you to maintain your weight.  To gain, I would recommend going up to about 1800-2000 calories, and in time, after your body recovers, this should also be enough calories to maintain your weight.

I think that although you don't feel that you have anorexia, you recognise that there are disordered eating patterns there that you are using to control other aspects of your life.  You really should try to speak to a professional about this and try to get the underlying issues sorted!

All the best
Holly