Expert: Meg - 3/28/2006

Question
I have been a anorexic for 6 years. I am currently in the recovery stage and having a really difficult time with the weight gain...as you know it isn't easy.  My question, is how long did it take for your weight gain to level out and when could begin the process of maintaining a good balance?  I just want to know when it will end...


Answer
Hi Marcie,

Thanks for your question and I think its really wonderful that you are working on getting healthy again.  Especially after 6 years, I know it is so difficult to "undo" all of the anorexic mindset and behaviors/feelings that go along with it.  It definitely "isn't easy" but the  good news is that the healthier you get, the less awful it will feel until one day, you spend more time focussing on your life and doing things than you do on your weight/body/food.  And trust me, THAT is so very worth it-and it will happen as long as you can keep truding through the initial difficulties of learning to eat again and all that  goes along with that.

In terms of how long it will take for that to happen and for your weight to stabilize, that is a little difficult to predict as it depends on how sick your body was when you started refeeding as well as how it reacts to your starting to get healthier.  For me, it took awhile to be honest, but I regained my weight fairly slowly so this dragged things on but also helped me from freaking out as immensly.  I've known other girls who regained a little more quickly and because of this, their bodies stabilized in a shorter period of time.  It really does depend on your own body, though and the extent of damage done to it.  Hopefully, you have a doctor who knows about your eating disorder and can help should you have any medical/health type questions.  

In general, there are a few things that can help your recovery be as quick and easy as possible and they include:  
1.) Stop weighing yourself.  
I know this one sounds impossible probably, but it really does help shift your focus off of weight and that obsession and towards other more important things (like having a life , reconnecting with friends, etc).  I was terrified to do this, but I can't tell you how much it helped not to begin and end every day weighing and cursing myself for getting better.  So, this is a great first step and if you've not already done it, I highly recommend ditching the scale.
2.)  Find a healthy meal plan for yourself and follow it consitantly.
Consistancy being the key here, as its very easy to work on recovery off and on (trust me, I had periods of this-probably everyone does) and it just makes it more drawn out.  So, if you can be as consistant as possible, your body is going to become healthy faster and your weight will even out more quickly.
3.) In terms of meal plans, you might want to consider a non numerical but instead food exchange plan.
This is something that I learned as I recovered and it was pretty helpful for me.  Instead of counting calories, I was encoured by a nutritionist to develop a plan based on what my body needed (and if you are not working with a nutritionist,this can be a very good thing as well so that you really understand exactly *what* your body needs). Meaning, instead of saying, I will eat x calories of protein, you plan how many servings of each and then make sure that you get them rather than adding up the calories of what you are going to eat.  Sounds kind of silly, but it really can be helpful in terms of stopping the obsessive counting that many of us do.

Finally, as you are getting healthy and trying to find balance, I think its really important to start to put some of the energy that gets consumed by an eating disorder into other things that are going to be meaningful/fun/helpful for you.  Get back in touch with friends, take some classes (or, if you are in school, put some of your focus back into that), volunteer, start a new hobby, figure out what your passions are-what makes you excited to start the day and start shifting some focus to these areas.  This, I think, is the fun part of recovery in that the healthier you get, the more energy and brain capacity you will have for the things that will bring you real happiness.

I hope this helps at least a bit and PLEASE feel free to write again if anything is unclear or if there is anything else at all that I can help with.

Take care and best of luck!

Meg