I need help about my problem

[HaileyAlbert]

So,hello to everyone. I am sorry for this long text and I will be thankful soo much to everyone who will read it and leave an advice or tell me their thinking. Let's begin.I'm 14yo girl. I was a healthy child( happy, volleyball player,healthy weight, healthy mind,..). I play volleyball so I was always active and good-looking. But I did have some belly fat like every girl in puberty and I didn't care until now. I decided to eat more healthy foods. Yeah, I ate better but as time was passing I cut something of food groups. I ate extremly 'healthy', like, no sweets, junk food, soda,juices, cakes, white carbs and flour, bad oils..and I lost about 24lbs in 2-3 months. And my period too...I had a low energy, I was unhappy, no more laughing and no more healthy childish mind as before. I counted every calorie and I restricted myself with 1000kcal a day whic is SO STUPID FROM ME TO MY BODY..Thanks to God my parents and friends noticed that all and helped me to change my mind. So I started slowly to eat more calories. Now, I eat about 2500kcal per day so my TDEE is 2200kcal. I need to gain 14lbs to be skinny, not even enough to be healthy..My height is about 176cm and weight about 50kgs(I know, I need to gain weight right now). But, my mind is better and I have a better relationship with food because of my parents. I still have a little belly fat or idk if it's a skin but.. I'm scared that I will gain so much fat around my stomach. I have some abs, defined lines on my stomach but it's still soft but I'm okay with it. I want to gain a healthy weight, muscles, and I know I must need to gain some fat because I need it on my back,shoulders and chest. So I started to lift weights 3 times a week,sometimes 3-5 times. 30-40mins a day with volleyball trainings between rest days of weight for 1.5-2h for 2-3 times a week too.

My questions,finally, is:

-How many time will take me to gain 0.5kg of muscle?

-Am I at the right way?

-Should I eat something "bad" one time in a month or two?

-Will this bloated stomach go with some time because I'm recovering?

-How can I minimize fat gain and can I?

Thanks to everyone.❤

[alice-1994]

Hi, It's good that you have committed to gaining weight and trying to recover.

It is quite hard to calculate gaining 0.5kg of muscle unless you get on body fat measurement scales. For Anorexia recovery most outpatient E.D. teams expect weight gain of 0.5-1kg a week, but this includes things like the muscles in your brain getting bigger, bone density increasing, fat, muscle, etc.

If you want to gain 1 lb a week then you should eat 500kcal more than your TDEE a day, so an extra 3500kcal a week. 3500kcal = 1lb (0.5kg) weight gain.

Personally I think that to recover you should try and end up so that there are no 'good' and 'bad' foods. e.g. because you don't want to get to a 'healthy' BMI and still have 'fear foods' - because then your body will be recovered and your mind will be still quite poorly / Anorexic. So try to eat 'bad' foods much more - every day / a few times a day, so that they become part of your everyday diet. Maybe look at what your friends are eating or watch some 'What I eat in a day' videos on YouTube for inspiration.

I have read that weight gain tends to go to the stomach to protect vital organs. It can take up to a year to redistribute.

In January this year I was told to completely stop exercise. Overexercising can make it harder to recover and for your period to come back. If you have a compulsion to exercise then this can drive your Eating Disorder.

Hope this helps

[crazycrossstitcher]

I have responded to your 2nd email - and its great you've gained some weight and want to recovery. However, and I may be wrong - but I would suggest that exercise is perhaps becoming an obsession for you - as is the issue of body image - women need some fat round their tummy area - and from experience it is the first area to lose and the first to gain - but fat does redistribute given time. Also you talk about "bad" foods - to me this means that you do still have issues around food - so make sure you're eating a balanced diet which includes fats and sugars - not just proteins - and try less strenuous exercise - a gentle walk - in place of one or two of your other exercises. It may be a dietician and some extra counselling around the issues of food and exercise and body image might be of help - its so easy in our mind to want to recover - but without changing food and/or exercise!!!