Is it possible to eat too much in anorexia recovery?

[Lilly-2]

Im trying to gain weight by eating more calories but could I be over doing it? Or will eating for the sake of it speed up the process to gain weight?

[crazycrossstitcher]

Great you are trying to gain weight. Are you getting any help re meal planning - suggest this would be a good way forward and help you with a structured approach to weight gain. ABC have helpful information - so contact their support line and see if they can put you in touch with their dietician. Eds are really good at telling you you're over eating - or you don't need to eat etc - so its really hard on your own to make plans around food - maybe your GP could point you in the right direction - but from experience I've never found them useful as they don't seem to be able to cope with people who want to gain weight!

[MEJones]

Hi Lilly 2

Well done on choosing recovery and trying to up your calorie intake, this is a really important step to take and it’s great that you’ve taken it.

There is no such thing as too much food in recovery, by completely letting go and eating what you want, when you want and in the quantities you want, it starts to retrain your mind and breaks you free from your restriction.

If you stop yourself from eating, even if you are still eating more than you did before It’s still restriction, by completely removing all restrictive barriers you are giving less power to the ED.

They love to manipulate you and tell you that what you’re doing is wrong when it’s aftually right so removing as many of the ED rules as possible and the

better.

I wouldn’t suggest professional meal plans as the are just another form of control and order, I would only recommend them if you are someone who really struggles to know what to eat or if trying to choose and plan yourself is just too overwhelming for you.

Intuitive eating worked for me but that’s just a personal preference, I am all for people doing whatever works for them as long as they get beter that’s all that matters. When I was recovering this website really helped me as it’s very science. Based (tabithafarrar.com)

Keep eating and never think you’ve had enough if you’re still hungry for more, mental hunger is hunger and should be fed, It’s very common for people in recovery to go through periods of feast eating due to the restriction they placed on themselves, if you feel like this, try to listen to it & just go with it.

Good luck on your journey x x x

[Lilly-2 in reply to MEJones]

Thank you so much for your advice, I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone about having an eating disorder I kept feeling guilty after eating but I'll try eating when I feel like to help myself recover 😊