Expert: Joanne - 10/24/2007

Question
Hello.  I am an adult with anorexia.  I have recently relapsed and I was hoping you could point me to any websites that have sample meal plans.  I have lost all of my old ones from treatment.  I am back with a therapist for now.  I just don't want to eat and when I try, I panic. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer
Unfortunately, I can not find any online meal plans or anything like that, but I didn't expect to find one either!

Meal plans tend to be quite a personal thing that will be tailored to suit your own needs, and it would be unwise for me to give you something that may not be giving you enough, or possibly even giving you too much, putting you at risk of weight gain, and therefore returning to fasting.

I think that you should look to eat 3 well-balanced meals a day - easier said than done, I know - and aim to have 2-3 snacks of about 150-200 calories at a time.

I think that you should bring this up with your therapist and ask whether they can point you in the direction of a good meal plan.  It may also be worth bringing up the fact that you are feeling the need to have the structure of a meal plan in your life again if you had gone past the stage of using one on a regular basis!

Hope this is of some help, even though I know it is very limited!

Please get back in touch if you want to ask anything further, or just need someone to talk to!

All the best
Holly