Expert: Reverend Abbott - 11/9/2007

Question
Hi,

I am sure that you came across this subject about metabolism recovery after a period of starvation.  

I have always been a thin guy my whole life, and I never diet and people usually could not stand the fact that I could eat taco bell everyday and not gain a pound.  That was of course when I was between 14-19.  

I am a male and when I was around 19 I weighed about 116-120 pounds, not exercising and eating pretty much crap.  I went through a depression and took Paxil which in 2 years made me gain up to 145 pounds.  During that time I weened off Paxil, started eating healthier, exercised, and got around 126 pounds.  At that point, I still felt like my body was all weird from the post-paxil.  I decided to be more strict in diet cutting out certain foods, running 35-40 miles a week and doing weight training.  I got to around 115 pounds, I was lean as hell, and I was eating a lot food.  I prob. ate anywhere between 1800-2700 calories a day, I didn't feel I was starving myself because I was always hungry and eating.  But oddly, 115 pounds was not a content weight.  I ended up dropping to about 110 pounds, cutting calories, exercising while weak, but mentally felt in control.  I eventually would binge eat/starve/exercise, but still maintained that low of a weight.  

The problem was once I got that low and started eating back to normal, my weight is much more jumpy now.  I am 25 now,I between 125-128 pounds now, and in order to get to 115 pounds I basically have to eliminate salt from my diet and basically pee out 10 pounds.  I been eating more, and been running 35-50 miles a week, eating healthy, but not being super strict like in the past.  It seems in possible to shed a single pound.  I just want to get to 118-120 pounds.  I can do it, but it seems severely more difficult to achieve and maintain, oppose to in the past where I could get away with overeating once in a while.

I noticed weird body changes since, I lost a lot of muscle on my left arm, no muscle tone at all.  I retain water/salt like a menopause woman.

I have a history of thyroid issues in my family, so I want to check to see if I have a thyroid issue since I am constantly cold, have water retention, irritability, weight gain, but also mainly hoping I didn't mess my metabolism up.  I never went through a period of anorexia, maybe occasional fasting, over-exercising, but never  
strict anorexia.  

Will my metabolism ever recover to what it used to be?  I am just afraid that my weight could balloon out of control.  

Answer
Mike, you might be very surprised to learn that you did, in fact, exhibit symptoms of anorexia. It's not always like the media portrays it. Sometimes it looks exactly like you. And remember, even someone weighing 300 lbs can be anorexic (it's just not usually paid attention to until there's a huge weight loss).

Another thing you might be surprised to learn is that bulimia comes in different forms, including one called "exercise bulimia" - an attempt to purge calories by exercise.

And we ALL feel like we're in control when we suffer from these eating disorders. It's a great big lie that starts with ourselves.

It sounds like you're on the way to recovery and yes, probably having some issues that are hanging on from the periods of e.d.'s

 It can take quite a while for the gut to recover (digestion, metabolism), but persisting is essential.

The way to rectify water retention is usually by increasing your fluid intake (sounds odd, but imagine priming a pump).  Not too much though - water toxicity can throw electrolyte balances off and cause heart problems.  The "8 glasses (8 ounces) a day" is adequate, maybe a few more.  

 Eating the right things is also important.  Whole grains, vegetables, legumes and lots of fruit (don't pay attention to those low carb diets, they are not appropriate for anyone).

 Take a look at my site to see more detail about the proper foods and health (it's all free)

 www.GetTheReal.info

It's also worth having your doctor do a sensitive thyroid blood chemistry and perhaps a diabetes and hypoglycemia screening.  These are relatively simple and non-invasive tests that I strongly recommend.

 Stay strong!
 Stay patient.