eating disorder recovery plan,any help appreciated!

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:51 pm

im a 23 year old female currently trying to recover and gain weight after 2 years of anorexia and bulimia,and would love to put on HEALTHY weight,and build lots of muscle,coz ive lost the little muscle i had (i tend to have skinny limbs and put all weight on around stomach),but dont quite know how to go about it.im 5ft 4in,weight 83lbs (38kg),BMI 14 and, according to an impededance test,have a body fat percentage of about 2.7%. im currently eating about 1900-2000 calories a day,and managed to put on 3lbs in the last 7 weeks,but the only place i can see it is stomach,i still have horribly skinny arms and legs,despite best efforts to do some weight lifting! (can only really manage about 5lbs!) if anyone could give me any advice on how much i should be eating/working out and what i should be eating/training i would really,really appreciate it! thanks very much

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:06 pm

Well the calories look good.

What's the plan like, Food? Times?

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:30 pm

i eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours because i cant handle a lot of food all at once, meal plan is similar on most days :
breakfast-
oatmeal with dried fruit&nuts &small amount of protein powder (about 10g)

lunch-
grilled chicken breast + small baked sweet potato + veg (soya beans, brussel sprouts, peas)

dinner-
grilled open turkey burger + small corn on the cob,sundried tomatoes, grilled mushrooms.

snacks-
1.peanut butter + no added sugar jam on 1 slice of oatmeal toast

2.banana on wholewheat bread + 1 tsp almond butter

3. 1/2 no added sugar Trek energy bar + an apple.

4.soya milk + 1 tsp wheatgerm + small amount protein powder (about 5g)

this usually adds up to the 1900/2000 calories. im not naturally muscular though and id really like to gain some bulk on arms and legs,but i think i eat too much carbs compared to the protein,do you think i should try some whey protein? ive heard that Optimum Nutrition 100% whey and their Pro Complex are both good but im not sure which would be best for me?
thanks!!

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:11 pm

dumbblonde46 wrote:i eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours because i cant handle a lot of food all at once, meal plan is similar on most days :
breakfast-
oatmeal with dried fruit&nuts &small amount of protein powder (about 10g)

lunch-
grilled chicken breast + small baked sweet potato + veg (soya beans, brussel sprouts, peas) (Be careful here. Things like Bean sources, and Peas have a high Protein / Amino acid count, as well as Carbs, so watch you don't over do the Protein, (Chicken has 30g already), when more Carbs might be more beneficial. You could perhaps cut a Legume source out, add another Veg, or increase the amount of an existing Veg, and then increase Fats slightly.)

dinner-
grilled open turkey burger + small corn on the cob,sundried tomatoes, grilled mushrooms.

snacks-
1.peanut butter + no added sugar jam on 1 slice of oatmeal toast (Not enamoured with PB, could be a bit Fatty and Salty, so go for a Spread with Poly or Monoustuarated Fats, like low Fat Margerine instead.)

2.banana on wholewheat bread + 1 tsp almond butter (Bread could mess up Banana digestion, so have Banana about 10-15 minutes before Bread, and eat Bread seperately. Don't have more than one slice of Wheatbread, as Bloodsugar impact could be quite high if you do)

3. 1/2 no added sugar Trek energy bar + an apple. (Give Apple 10-15 minutes before consuming bar.)

4.soya milk + 1 tsp wheatgerm + small amount protein powder (about 5g) (Seems fine)

this usually adds up to the 1900/2000 calories. im not naturally muscular though and id really like to gain some bulk on arms and legs,but i think i eat too much carbs compared to the protein,do you think i should try some whey protein? ive heard that Optimum Nutrition 100% whey and their Pro Complex are both good but im not sure which would be best for me?
thanks!!

I reckon Carbs would be okay here. as you're going to be doing weights, your activity levels could be increased, and Metabolic activity too, so the Carbs will help.

If you cut Carbs, you're body will use Fats, then Proteins for energy, so if you're cutting Carbs, adding Proteins, and keeping Fats the same, (I.E low-ish Fat levels), you could burn more Protein Calories, if you sacrifice the Carbs, as then the Fat Calories would not be sufficient enough, to protect some Protein conversion to Glucose, they'd be burned off too soon, and then you'll jeopardise your muscle building potential, which being female is hard enough anyway.

Good luck all the same though, and don't let anything or anyone put you off.

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:23 pm

thanks a million,i really appreciate it. tis quite tough,i think ill have to learn to live with some tummy fat! if youve any advice on either of those whey proteins,or the designer whey brand lemme know!! thanks again (esp for saying dont let anyone interfere! thats really kind)

SarahPT · Post by **SarahPT** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:12 pm

Welcome! Glad you posted. I work on women with eating disorder recovery, and one thing I will say is be patient! It takes a long time for your body to develop a healthy metabolism again. Building muscle is a very slow process for women. We don 't have the genetic make up for it, so it takes time and hard work. What I'm saying is, don't get frustrated. Celebrate each success and change you see in yourself.

Don't worry about eating too many carbs. They are very important in the muscle b uilding process.

Do let me know if I can help more.

Sarah

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:14 pm

thanks!! its so frustrating though because the only place i can see the weight gain is stomach,i still cant wear t-shirts because arms are so skinny!! any tips??! its really putting me off trying to gain the weight that i need to. also could you recommend a good whey protein for women? im at home most of the time as im waiting to go into inpatient treatment for , so i have a very sedentary lifestyle besides th exercise that i do,do you think this is why the weight is only going around abdomen or is it too much carbs??
thanks a million!

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:15 pm

is your tummy bloated or fat?

i would lay off the processed foods and stick strictly to fruits, veg, salads and protein as well get some fish oil too and regular fish for fats

the more natural your food is the easier it is to digest and as you haven't done so properly for a long time, "heavier" processed foods may not be digesting and building up in your stomach / colon giving you a bloated stomach look

do you pooh daily??

i applaud your efforts by the way

for training stick with bodyweight exercises for now...too much exercise intesnity will only requite to eat more and if you have problems with portion sizes (as you do) this will only make eating more caloreis harder...search "your body is a barbell" by alwyn cosgrove and / or "death by bodyweight" by ian king for 2 peograms you can choose from

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:28 pm

its difficult to tell sometimes if its bloated or fat!! most of the time its kinda distended for a long while after eating, but i can definately pinch skin from there which i would presume is fat.im an odd mix between one of those kids with the bloated bellies from the 3rd world chairty ad's and someone who has squeezed out a few kids and is left with loose skin!! wel,not quite that bad...but im view (which is probably disorted) thats what id compare it to! the only processed foods i eat would be a slice of 100% wholewheat bread or a slice of oatmeal bread.
thanks for the program advice,ill check them out! i got the bodyscultping bible for women book,ive beenn doing just for about a week now,seems good!
(and yes i poo daily!

)
thanks!

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:24 pm

Eat Yoghurts with things like pro and prebiotics in them. Should only need about 1 a day, and you'll hopefully notice a reduction or extinction of our bloating in around 1-2 weeks.

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:13 am

i take an UDO's probiotic after dinner and usually have some live plain yogurt with a few berries and mixed seeds for dessert,i think digestive system / metabolism is just a bit ruined! maybe im just trying to put the weight back on too fast- 2000 calories a day could be too much and im just gaining body fat instead of muscle? a better way to describe it would be if you've seen the picture of kate bosworth when she was very underweight (the infamous 'nipple slip' photo!!), where u can see her bony chest and that she has 'rolls' around her torso.maybe its body fat,or maybe its from losing too much weight?!

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 2:19 am

your metabolism is definatley not as good as it can be but frequent feedings and exercise will get this back up but it may take some time...be patient and consistent...if you think your gaining fat instead of muscle than scale back a little until your exercise can catch up with your calorie intake

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:47 am

well i do 20 mins of cardio in the mornings before breakfast, then an hour of light weights in the afternoon, and half an hour of yoga or pilates every second evening, but im pretty sedentary for the rest of the day other than that.i probably eat 50%carbs,30% protein and 20% fat, or 50/35/15.
its just the layer of fat/loose skin on upper abs that gets to me,as i have no fat anywhere else and really need to gain a stone a least,but that 'roll' holds me back!! i duno what to do.
can you recommend whether either optimum nutrition's 100% whey or their pro complex would be better for multi-use (both after workout and in the morning/night) ?
thanks a million!

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:48 pm

- never do fasted exercise...EVER
- make wts as heavy as you can make them
- the closer you are to your goal wt/look which for you is pretty close the more stringent you need to be w/ training and food
- any protein powder after training will do the trick, doesn't matter which one just have one...other than that eat actual foods, meal replacements only make you eat more calories as they don't fill you up

thanks a million!

dumbblonde46 · Post by **dumbblonde46** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:51 am

ok, thanks (although as im eating so much-2000 cals- and am house bound most of time,would i not need to do some cardio on an empty stomach so as not to put on loads of body fat??)!! do you mind if i ask you what your daily calorie intake would be like?
also, shoulders are thinner than the rest of arms as theres absolutely no muscle there,and id love nice rounded shoulders,any advice? left shoulder is especially bad,as i cant do shoulder presses/raises with this sone because is as though i dont have the full range of motion in it,i can only feel it in bicep/tricep,so that part gets bigger and just makes the shoulder look even worse&smaller!!
cheers!
(btw when you say im close to goal wt/look, i couldnt be further from it,im still only 84lbs and horribly skinny,and dont seem to be having the most successful time bulking up!)