Weight gain in anorexia recovery - advice, help, experiences....?

i was diagnosed with anorexia a few weeks ago, with a BMI of 14.5 i was told i would be hospitalised if i didn't start gaining weight. i was given a meal plan by my psychologist, which probably totaled around 1800 to 2000 calories a day (i had perviously been eating around 500 a day, at my worst point around 200).


for the first week i stuck to the plan completely (basically had to force all the food down my throat but i won't go into how hard it was). i'm weighed by my psychologist once a week and i found it really hard to see the weight increase. so for the past two weeks i've not been completely sticking to my meal plan. i'm definitely eating way more than before - probably an average of 1300 - 1400 calories a day. despite this, i've gained 2 kg in 3 weeks. i know i should be happy i'm getting healthier and stuff, but i'm finding it VERY hard to deal with, especially because i didn't think it would be possible to gain so much weight on the amount i've been eating. surely 1400 calories a day isn't enough to be gaining so fast? obviously it is, but i'm so confused. is this normal? will i continue to gain weight this fast? any advice or experience on this would be very much appreciated...Weight gain in anorexia recovery - advice, help, experiences....?
I think it is normal, think of a really obese person, if they dieted they would loose more weight than a smaller person on the same diet, you're just the oppisite!


Try and think of the end result, being a healthy weight and just generally healthy, have a photo of someone curvier that you want to look like, just to keep you motivated!Weight gain in anorexia recovery - advice, help, experiences....?
Feeling better about your body will come with working through the issues that contributed to you developing anorexia in the first place. Hopefully, your psychologist has experience working with eating disorders.


Know that you're not alone. You can get through this and get to a healthy weight (one you'll be happy with).


Try changing your way of thinking little by little. Don't be so hard on yourself!
I also have an eating disorder (I'm anorexic and in recovery), and I started recovery with a similar BMI to yours. The first week of recovery, I did gain a little and I was eating only 1200 calories per day. This is normal for a person with an eating disorder because severe calorie restriction causes the metabolism to slow down. The good news is that when your body gets readjusted to a higher caloric intake, your metabolism will also increase, so you won't coninue to gain weight on small amounts of food. Try to stick to the meal plan that your psychologst recommended (I didn't stick to mine, and I ended up in the hospital for three weeks and gained a lot of weight in those three weeks) and remember that your psychologist really only wants what she/he thinks is best for you. Also, remember that some of the weight you've gained is probably water weight. People with eating disorders are more likely to be dehydrated than others, because ordinary people get some water from their food. Therefore, when you start to eat more, your body may retain a little water, causing your weight to increase. Some of your weight gain may have also been due to a slow digestive system. Eating disorders cause your digestive system to slow waaaay down, so some of the food you eat may still be in your stomach when you weigh yourself, which would result in a higher weight, even though you might not necessarily have gained any fat or muscle. As your weight increases, it will become increasingly difficult to gain or even maintain your weight (a higher weight needs more calories to maintain it), and your metabolism will also speed up. A lot of the weight you gain will be muscle weight, and since muscle burns even more calories, that will also make it a little more difficult for you to gain weight quickly.


I hope this helped, and good luck in recovery
Stick to the eating planned as assigned by your psychologist. 1800-2000 is how much calories your body needs. You will gain weight for a while which is healthy. Do not worry because your weight gain will stop at a certain point and you will maintain your weight. A normal BMI ranges from 18-24 and by sticking to your assigned meal calories, you should end up that range. Remember that having a BMI under 18 is just as unhealthy as being overweight. Good luck in your recovery.
your body has it's own weight thermostat (the hypothalamus) which controls how hungry you feel in order to maintain what your body see's as your 'ideal' weight. so because you weren't eating much you're body has probably gone into a starvation mode so is trying to get every last bit of nutrition from what you do eat, which is why you're gaining weight more quickly. however, this should only happen until you reach a healthy weight, then your body won't need to do this anymore and your weight should level off to what it should be.


so there is nothing to worry about, it is just your body's way of trying to protect you from starvation, and should stop once you're a healthy weight, so won't lead to you becoming overweight.
I'm not too educated on this subject really, but my best guess would be that because your body was so used to the way you used to eat, it's reacting by gaining more weight than usual because you've changed your diet, so most likely if you stick to it, it will slow down once you get to the right weight for you, but please stick to your plan. Anorexia is serious, and if your doctor and psychiatrist say you need to gain weight then you do, even if you don't want to. It's not like they'd just make you fat to be spiteful, they obviously know what they're doing, so you should trust them.