can you recover fully on 2000 cals? 2500 cals? or do you REALLY need more?? how can I exercise without it being triggering??

I AM DOING IT!! THE UNTHINKABLE!!! F*** MY ED!!!

for the past month, I have eaten 2000 cals a day, and for 2 days now I ate 2500-3000!!! I AM HORRIFIED but I also know that this is probably the only way out of REDS and having disordered thoughts, and a f***ed up metabolism for the rest of my life. 

I am only 20 and I don't want to be 30 and still struggling with relapses and restrictive eating.

anyway, I am 5'2, 20, and currently 120+ lbs I would guess? which puts me around BMI 22??

I have had an ED of some sort since I was 16 - ate 1000 cals for 9 months, dropped from 140 to 105 lbs

but I semi recovered on 1600-2000 cals when I was 17, gained to 130 lbs

then mildly relapsed at age 18 - 1600-2200 cal + intense workouts for a year, lost to 110 lbs

then ACTUALLY relapsed - 1200-1400 cal +  less-intense workouts for a year, yo-yo'd from 110-115-110 and then hurt my knee and couldn't work out for another 2 months...

I gained from 110 to 116-7 in 2 months eating 1400-1600,

then I gained to where I am now, eating 2000 a day.

anyway I JUST started eating the youreatopia.com amounts because I am afraid that if I dont, I wont be able to maintain on a normal amount when I finally recover fully. 

My ED therapist who I talked with when I was 17 for my first "recovery" told me today that 2500-3000 is enough for me, and that I can do 30 minutes of weight training 3-4x a week to help create muscle mass, which will speed my metabolism? she also said i can take a 30 min, brisk daily walk... 

does ANYONE have experience of fully recovering and having a normal metabolism, on less than 3000? why is 3000 such a magic number, and am I causing myself unnecessary stress by forcing myself to eat and eat?

will I REALLY slide back down to set point weight, naturally?? I would say that 115 is my set point, and when I weigh anything lower, I get ED symptoms like obsessiveness, fogginess, and i generally spaz out.

DO you think I will recover sooner, seeing as I had already almost recovered fully once before, ( for 2 months I was eating a LOT and running, but eating a LOT and maintaining 115)...and this time around I didnt restrict as badly, and I am willing to eat more than 2000?? I KNOW I am going to overshoot... I already am in the process of overshooting... but I don't want to overshoot FOREVER and end up like, 130-140 lbs?? and then stay there for a year!! D: THAT IS HORRIFYINGGG

View the original article here

Non teenage first time ED advice *possibly triggering?*

Hello. This is my first post here, though I've been looking up posts on this forum for a while.
Essentially, I feel I could do with a little support/advice from anyone who's been in a position they feel is similar. Also, from anyone who has recovered further than I have.

I'm currently 26 years old. I am 5'5 . I have a lifelong history of depression. For the first time at the age of 24, and a weight of roughly 10st 5lbs (145lbs, and I now believe this to be my 'set-point'), I began to seriously restrict my eating, and began to lose weight. The rate of loss seemed to be exponential, and by christmas of that year (6 months into restriction), people were telling me I looked 'better'. I was probably around 9st 4lbs at that point. I was still having periods, but generally lacked energy, due to over-restriction.

By my 25th birthday in the spring, I had lost roughly another 10lbs. I had also been on the mini pill for a month. My periods had been irregular for about 3 months, and dwindled for a couple more months, then stopped. This did not deter me from losing weight. I assumed it was entirely down to the birth control (which I was only on for a month - I had to stop due to the hormones affecting my state of mind) and so kept on restricting. At this point I was walking several miles each day, obsessively, and playing sport twice a week, for an hour or two at a time.

Around July, I recognised that something was wrong with my mental state, and at around 8st, sought help. This took several attempts, as three different doctors were astoundingly dismissive as I was not YET in the high risk weight range, and am quite bulky in appearance. The one doctor who took me seriously referred me for therapy (though I didn't get access to this until around christmas just gone).

By November, I had dropped to around 7st, and just before christmas, dropped to about 6st 12lbs. I had made a couple of fairly pathetic attempts at recovery, but clearly this was not yet happening.

To cut the rest short. I began therapy around christmas time, and now, 6 months later, have gained up to around 9st. I still have no period. I still struggle a great deal, and restrict a little on some days. I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting to my body the way it is now. I've been at or around my current weight for about 2 months.

If anyone has any experience of people who have developed eating disorders for the first time this late in life, and then if anyone has recovered menstruation subsequently.

Thank you, and sorry about the length of the post.

View the original article here