Expert: Meg - 9/17/2007

Question
Hi Meg,

I'm 17, 6'0", and today, 101 lbs.

I decided to start the road to recovery last Wednesday (5 days ago). I used to eat 600 calories a day. Since I started recovery, I have been eating 1500 calories with regular, healthy meals and snacks and no binging. I thought I would have gained weight by now, but I've actually LOST a couple pounds since starting recovery!

So my question is, given my stats, how many calories do you recommend that I consume to gain weight at a slow, safe rate? Also, when I start eating the right amount of calories, will my body immediately start gaining weight, or will it take time to adjust? Or is this one of those "every body is different" kind of things? Thanks so much for your time - any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Tess,

First off, great job on working on your recovery.  I hope that its going well so far and that you're hanging in there.  

I would recommend working with a nutritionist (if possible) as you begin eating because everyone's body is slightly different and they can help you  more specifically than I can.  That said, I'm happy to give some general recommendations might help.  

Losing weight when you start eating is not uncommon and it should stop shortly, as your body and metabolism begin to readjust.  I would recommend at least 2000 calories ultimately, but its best to start slowly and build up to that.  Many doctors may suggest even more, depending on your  body's needs, but 2000 is a safe point to aim for right now.  I would recommend gradually adding a hundred calories every few days until you are at this point and then trying to be as consistent as possible so that your body can get used to having a normal amount of food again.  Also, if you are exercising, then you will probably need to add 500 calories a day to this total making your daily goal 2500.  This *should* be a slow and safe gain, but as you guessed its true that every body is different.  Its important to pay attention to how your body is reacting and take that into account.

As far as how quickly you will regain the weight, there are a lot of variables that come into play including: how long you were sick, the amount of damage your body has sustained, your age, how much you exercise, and your medical history.  I think that for most people, after a week or so, your body should adjust somewhat and begin gaining weight (as long as you have no other medical issues, such as a thyroid problem-which can occur with eating disorders).  At this point, its important to stay on your meal plan and keep giving your body as much consistency as possible.  This will lead to your body recovering as quickly as is possible and is especially important as its easy to have times in your recovery when it doesn't seem worth it or you don't feel like sticking with your meal plan.  

Finally, if you haven't talked with your doctor about this yet, I would really suggest doing so.  You are at a very low weight for your height and its possible that they will need to moniter you medically as you gain weight so that you stay healthy.

I hope this helps and please write again if there is anything more I can help with.  Best of luck to you.  You sound very determinded and I know that you can do this.

Take care,
Meg