Expert: Leigh-Anne Persing, PA-C - 5/12/2007

Question
Hello,

My name is Jillian and I am thirteen years old and I have been suffering (not medically diagnosed )with Anorexia for about 6 months, sometimes with bulimic tendencis, which luckily I have been able to cut down on, and havn't done in over a month. I do sometimes take different diet pills.

But I guess my question is about recovery. I recently have tried, but gave up due to the number on my scale. Everyime it rises, I flip out. So now I've stopped trying to eat 'normal' again, which I would really like to acheive. But the only problem is, I DO NOT WANT TO GAIN WEIGHT! I know this is really basicly impossible, but is there anyway to be normal again without gaining a lot? And how should I do it?

I hate worrying about everything that goes in my mouth, the starvation, the anxiety. I just want to be a normal care-free kid again. I used to be able to eat absolutaly anything without gaining a pound, although i was over weight(about 140).

I am now 5'3 and 110 pounds. I still don't feel comfortable with it either, but theres nothing else I would like more than to be normal, with a normal metabolism. Will my metabolism ever go back to normal, where I can eat whatever, whenever?


And after I start to eat normal again, can I lose weight, the healthy way of course?

And also, what kind of exercises are there or meal plans?

And, would LA weightloss be a good idea now, or would it just not work after this eating disorder, and make me gain?

I'm very sorry for the large amount of sporadic questions, I really don't know what to do.

Thank you so incredibly much if you could take the time to answer this!

Answer
Jillian:

Recovery is possible, but you have to be able to willing to accept that there has to be some changes... not only mentally, but physically as well. Gaining weight is a scary thing. Sometimes with recovery there is a significant increase in weight at the beginning, but this levels out after your body's metabolism has picked back up. Try increasing your daily calorie intake by 100 calories/day every week. That way your body is getting some time to readjust.

Dieting after recovery from an eating disorder is kind of controversial and frowned upon. The best thing to do is to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen. Seeing a dietician or nutritionist may be beneficial in helping you come up with a reasonable diet plan that would suit your body and activity level.

You probably won't be able to "eat whatever" again... eating disorders throw off the metabolism and while you can improve your metabolism by correcting the destroying source... age eventually wins the battle against metabolism.

If I can help in any other way please feel free to contact me again.