Help with recovery meal plans

[Memimck1]

Hi... I want to start on the road to recovery I want to eat normally again I hate the way I look and feel from being so thin and just want my life back... but I'm a bit unsure what kinds if foods and amounts I should be eating. At the moment my daily diet is cereal, biscuit, yogurt, potato and bread. I probably consume about 1000 calories.

I am aware of refeeding syndrome which is why I'm a bit concerned on where to start.

Can anyone give me advice on their meal plans when starting out... how many calories should I consume and how often should I increase it... what foods are easy to digest but work in meal plans. Thank you

[Jots1234]

Hi Memimck1,

I would suggest if you are not getting support from your gp or eating disorder service you see your gp and get referred for counselling and to see a dietician etc. and monitored medically to check on your levels.

I was told I would need to eat 2000 calories a day to maintain my current weight and I would need to add 500 extra calories a day to gradually increase weight to a healthier bmi. I'm not at that stage of acceptance yet so I can't tell you if that's the case I'm afraid.

Obviously having a balanced diet is the best, with three portions of calcium based foods (kids yogurts and fromage frais were recommended to me as they are fortified with calcium and vitamin D, I've added those, they taste nice too!)

Carbs, especially slow release should be added to every meal and protein, fruit and veg. Fizzy drinks are best avoided because they fill up unnecessarily and decrease bone density.

Not sure if anything here helps, I've only seen the dietician once but happy to offer a listening ear or share my experiences of the service etc. so far. I definitely would say see your gp if you haven't already x

[Caroline74]

Hi Memimck great to hear you want to increase your food and get a meal plan. I started on Day treatment programme last Jan and they had us on 3000 cals a day but I just found that too much and too fast and weight gain some I left and since April last year I've been working with a private ED therapist and she has given me a much more achievable meal plan which initially was about 1850 but now it' increased to 1950-2050 depending on how much exercise I do per day (not that I'm supposed to be doing much but again she's realistic and knows I will walk! For a long time I messed around and didn't follow the meal plan plus I was drinking alcohol bingeing vomiting over exercising but since January 1st this year I have amazingly stopped all the binge vomit and alcohol and most of the time I follow the meal plan - usually I achieve 1950 per day but sometimes more AND I admit I feel better for it and there should no desire to drink or binge AND my weight has maintained (I'm bmi 16.1). I know in order for it to go up I will probably have to increase to about 2150++ or/and do less walking

SO here are some examples;

Breakfast

2 weetabix 150mls semi skimmed milk 2 clementines and a small handful of raisins

OR

45g granola with 100g full fat natural yoghurt and banana

Morning snack

Eat natural cereal bar or equivalent but must have 200-250 calories

Lunch

2 poached eggs with 2 medium wholemeal toast and 10g butter

Apple

Afternoon snack

20g nuts and 30g dried fruit

OR

Eat natural bar or 2 digestives

Dinner

50g brown rice or quinoa or a medium jacket potato

Chicken breast or salmon filet

Vegetables

And a serving of fat eg mayo, oil or butter

Bedtime snack

200mls semi skim milk and a biscuit

OR

170g Greek yoghurt and honey

It's all fairly safe and healthy and nutritious which helps me not feel guilty but sometimes if I'm feeling bravery I might swap a snack with a bar of chocolate. It's quite amazing though for me as I never ate bread and avoided carbs with dinner and if I had butter I'd have extra extra light and yoghurt would be fat free. And my old cereal bars would be 65 calorie diet ones. It honestly does feel better having good healthy fats and they are YUMMY AND they don't make you gain!

But having said all that yes you are at risk of refeeding syndrome so either you need to get professional help so they can take your bloods and do it gradually (that's what I did) - safest and best option. But if you really really don't want to then I guess increase very very gradually and half half portions of the meal plan above and gradually increase - that's how they did it with me on day treatment and when I was inpatient.

Good luck! X

[crazycrossstitcher]

suggest a trip to the GP and ask for ED referral - or at least dietician referral - sometimes a practice nurse can give meal plan guidance. You are going to need help and support to achieve recovery - its not just about the eating and weight but also about the underlying issues that caused the problem - so some counselling would be good for you. 1000 cals a day is not sufficient and is likely not to be balanced nutritionally - but do get some professional help - meal plans abound on the internet - but getting the right balance for you is so individual and getting trained help as there's so many wacky diets out there - is important. ABC also offer nutritional guidance so do visit their website. Hope you get the help you need.