Expert: Samathlee Colon - 10/2/2007

Question
hi,
i am very committed to recovering from anorexia, and am gaining weight now (i lost about 20 pounds due to my eating disorder). recently, since i've given myself permission to eat any kinds of foods that i want (i don't restrict or deprive myself from cravings anymore), i have been kind of eating out of control. my mind is constantly thinking abaout food, what and when i am going to eat. it is very frustrating, as these food preoccupations are constantly in my head. i have found that i always want to eat "fattening" and sugary foods..such as desserts, cookies, etc. (these are the foods that i severely restricted while i was losing weight). i really do want to gain weight and be healthy again, but the fact that i cannot control this urge to eat all the time is scaring me, and makes me think that i will never stop gaining weight, and i will not be able to stop this intense eating. i have been told that this is my body's natural response to it's deprivation - it is trying to catch up from the months that i restricted, and that once i gain enough weight, the urge to eat won't be so strong. i am hoping this is true, because it feels quite out of control at this point...like i literally cannot restrict food anymore, even if i wanted to..my body won't let me, it needs to eat ALL the time, even when i am full! also, i still have not had a period in about a year, and i am wondering when that will come back?

Answer
you dont need to eat like a crazy person.. but yes... you will feel a bit out of control only because your restriction was your control to you. Eating normally.. to your mind - is out of control. That feeling will go away eventually. Along with the wieght gain, as long as you eat normally - no need to over do it, your weight gain will stop somewhere. Make sure you live a healthy life style along with working out and eating well, and you will do fine. Too much and not enough of anything is never good.