Expert: Meg - 10/29/2006

Question
also (sorry for so many questions)  if i keep on eating these amount calories,
and i do continue to gain weight, will the weight gain eventualy stop? or will it
keep going until i reduce my calorie intake? my weight gain each week is
declinig, first it was like 3-4 pounds and now it is about 1, or 1/2 a pound.
does that mean that i will evetually stop gaining?
thanks again... i really appreciate it
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
hey meg
firstly i would like to say that what your doing is really sweet and its so nice
that u r helping people
ok,so here is my question- so im trying to gain weight, ive increased my
calories from 1200 to 1700-1800  and ive been doing so for about 3 weeks
and i think that i nay have stopped gaining weight on that calorie intake. is
this possible? cause i know that usually you keep gaining until your healthy
weight, but i dont not have my period yet.  also if i increase my calories more
then will i be able to maintain again on this calorie diet ? or will i be loosing?
(i am 5 feet, and 19 yrs old-if that helps anything)
thank you so much   and sorry if this is kinda confusing
-----Answer-----
Hi Abby,

Thanks for your question and I apologize for being a little slow in responding.  
My computer is acting up...grr.

In any case, it sounds like you are fairly committed to working on recovery
which is a HUGE step so give yourself a big pat on the back for getting to that
point.  

Its hard to say exactly how quickly you will gain back your weight and it
depends on where you are starting from, how long you've been sick, how
damaged your body and metabolism are as well as other factors.  That said,
my guess is that you should stay at least with 1800 calories if not up it again
unless you truly feel that you are at a healthy weight for your height.  I would
look at that more than the mere fact that you are no longer gaining from that
caloric amount as that is a moderately  low amount for a girl your age anyway
(although, I understand that its a bigger number than you have been
consuming and probably feels like a lot to the eating disordered part of your
brain).  

As far as your period, that may take awhile to come back even when you are
at a healthy weight-and although it is certainly a factor in determining
anorexia, having a period is not proof that you are healthy.  I've known many
girls who are very low weight and very sick and still manage to get their
periods, so it is only a part of the overall picture.  I only say that as I know
that for a lot of people recovery, it is scary to get your period again and many
people feel like once they do, they should be all "recovered".  Really, it is just
one factor and of course something that is a good sign that your body is still
functioning once it happens, but only one step.  

You should make sure that you are getting all of the nutrients that you need
as overall health effects getting a period as well and I know that when one is
restricting, its easy to get things out of balance.  So, this is yet another thing
to take a look at as you are recovering.  If you are not yet working with a
nutritionist, that might be helpful in terms of figuring out what *your*
specific body needs to get  healthy again. I also found that they are great at
demystifying nutrition and helped me to see that food really is fuel and to
learn what each food I was eating would help my body to do.

In terms of being worried that if you increase your  calories to gain, you will
not be able to maintain at a certain level, I think this is a common fear.  
However, once your body gets healthy, then your metabolism will get back to
its normal level and your weight should even itself out.  While you are in the
midst of recovery, it is normal for one's metabolism to be a bit off and
sometimes be sluggish and sometimes be working overboard.  This is all
normal and the key is to set a healthy plan and then stick with it-even when
you are not sure.  

I hope this helps and please feel free to write again if anything is not clear or
if there is anything else I can help with.  You really sound determined and I
have no doubt that you can do this.

Take care, okay?

Meg :)

Answer
Hey Abby,

Its impossible for me to say for sure what will happen (which is why working with a nutritionist who can take into account all the factors is best).  However, it is most likely that your weight will level off as soon as you get to a healthy place, as long as you are eating enough calories and things are stable.  It is totally normal for weight to go up and down a bit as your body and metabolism adjust and get used to normal/healthy eating again so just keep that in mind as well.

It sounds like you are on the right track and I wish you much strength as you continue to recover.  

Feel free to write again if there is anything else that I can help with.

Take care,
Meg