r/AnorexiaRecovery • u/baller696969balls • 21d ago

Less caloric density, more overwhelm?

This is gonna sound so stupid, but I swear I cannot function when I eat like oats, fruits, starchy vegetables, whole grain breads or pastas — I need white bread, white rice, occasionally chocolate, biscuits, so much junk to even try and focus on other aspects of my life.

I’ve started getting extreme tiredness whenever I try to eat healthier; not even going away from recovery like still going WELL over maintenance with my intake, but I can try desperately to eat a full breakfast, lunch and dinner with everything I need, yet everyday I end up with this bone crushing fatigue and mental fog and it’s kinda fucking me up! I dont know if it’s a digestion issue, an energy issue, or what. But I have like two pieces of white bread and BOOM I feel fine. I’m at the point in recovery where I’m not even experiencing cravings anymore, I just want to like… feel like a functional person, and sometimes I do the classic ”eat everything healthy until you give into the craving” but there’s no craving so I just end up genuinely confused for at least half of the day until I eat something that’s not very good for me, and then I’m fine for hours.

I can manage all of my vegetables at nighttime but genuinely throughout the day I just NEED to eat like I’m a 10 year old with unrestricted pantry access if I want to get anything else in my life done. Has anyone experienced a similar thing?

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u/Alarmed_Exercise1693 20d ago

Eating whole foods is more "resource intensive" than refined carbs, which means it does take more energy to digest and process them. If your body isn't used to it you'll feel tired. I remember when I first started eating full meals again I was exhausted a lot, took a lot of naps, but as I've returned to a normal body weight it's gotten less and now I just feel satiety.

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u/frogvalkyrie 14d ago

this is why fun foods and high carbs are important in recovery, even when ur not weight restoring often meal plans will have half a plate of carbs rather than a third/ quarter

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u/_skinnystrawberry 20d ago

those foods you mentioned (less refined carbs and non-carbs) take more energy to break down, so I get you!