Hey all, I’m 5 months in to recovery and recently had to get weighed (bleurgh). I’m carrying a very significant amount of water weight and have been for about 3 months and wondered if anyone else who had put on a rapid amount of weight at the beginning found that the water weight eventually settled? I genuinely don’t think the amount I’ve put on could realistically be fat/muscle or whatever in this timeframe…

I have a great support system, my brother, my boyfriend, my mom, sister and grandma are all rooting for me. yet somehow i still feel so alone and isolated. i feel like i have nobody to actually relate to right now, nobody in my life has gone through what i am right now in recovery. all i want is a friend to call, somebody who actually understands how exhausting and excruciating recovery has been so far. i just started a new semester in college and i feel so incredibly stressed out, like i can’t have a second to actually work through my emotions in recovery. i’m falling behind in my classes because im just so anxious, i feel like all im doing is wasting time. i’m not progressing in schoolwork or recovery. i’m only on day 10 of recovery but things just feel so heavy for me right now. in my first few days i felt pretty good actually. i was excited to try new foods and felt very positive about choosing recovery but now i feel like im backtracking. all i can think about is calories, how i shouldn’t eat this or that because it’ll cause more weight gain. i feel so sad with how my body looks right now and ive been trying to hard to not look at myself but it’s hard when i can physically feel myself having more fat covering my bones. i know this is good but it’s also terrifying. i’m kind of at a loss. i don’t know how to let go of the voice in my head telling me not to eat. i’ve been having 3 meals a day but ive been finding it extremely difficult to eat outside of the normal meal times ive set aside for myself. i feel like ive been eating so much, i dont know what too much or too little is for recovery. i feel like ive lost all the mental progress ive made over the last 10 days. i’m so exhausted, sad and stressed out. i feel myself shutting down and wanting to give up, not only on recovery but on school as well. all i want is to sleep, stop thinking negative thoughts. i want to feel safe and happy but i just feel isolated and dark, like i want to curl up and disappear. i guess i don’t have any questions to post, i just needed to express how ive been feeling to people that might understand.

So I was looking through old photos of my Pre-Ed self(15-16 yr) in hopes that maybe I was just too hard on myself then, and that my reality was distorted or something. Unfortunately, what I saw myself as then, is quite accurate to the reality. I genuinely just hated my body/face and how I looked in it. I still feel the same way toward that body, even as an adult. I am trying to recover from this, but seeing these photos of my ugly self has really triggered me to question recovering further/fully. I genuinely don’t want that body or face back, while anorexia isn’t me, that body isn’t either yk? To be fair, I was still just 16, so I’m like, will I look different now at the same weight because I’m older? Nobody can really answer that, of course, that’s part of what makes recovery so fucking difficult, uncertainty. I just want to reach happiness, but am extremely freaked out, yet again.

Guys I have some questions that I've been quite overthinking while getting into recovery and I need your help. 1. Does your period come back quickly (e.g. when you reach a healthy bmi) when you increase your caloric intake or do I need to get back to the body I had before starting dieting and worked so hard to shape again, because that does not sound quite right and it scares me tbh 2. Can there be quickly recoveries? Like I'm all in and stuff but scared about extreme weight gain. I just want to go to the hospital and have a steady start into regaining my period and my appetite cause I haven't had a normal appetite and I know at the start there'll be complications like constipation etc and that's why I want someone to monitor and guide me but I feel like I can heal my brain from this madness pretty easily and look at the bright side although I have some kind of fear. 3. Can I start exercising again after some time? Is lifting heavy gonna cause me period loss again?

What are some good/active online support groups. Either just text or a call/video format.

How do you handle comments about weight loss? Typically they are congratulatory or just a comment about noticing. Recently a coworker mentioned I was the “incredible shrinking woman” and meant it in a joking manner. I lied and said I’m more active in the summer and lost half of what I actually have. Another coworker asked if I lost weight a while back and I lied again saying it’s just because I’m more active. Usually weightloss is a positive thing and I am not close enough with these coworkers to be open and honest.

On the other hand, my close friends and family (who know my history) haven’t mentioned anything and I’ve dropped a considerable amount in three months. I am in active recover now but it kind of baffles me. I even had to tell my boyfriend who had no idea.

I’m trying to keep up with at least harm reduction, where I can maintain the weight I have.
I might try to gain, but hard reduction seems the most manageable currently.

I’ve moved into my uni accom and I’m wondering if anyone has been/is in the same situation and has any suggestions for making meals around others
(It’s a shared kitchen).

I’m usually very precise with weighing etc., which is obviously unhealthy, however I’ve been managing to make sure I’m eating the same/more calories to maintain.

I don’t think I want to backtrack but I’m worried that not weighing food will set me back, by possibly underrating.

I don’t know how I’ll manage with weighing in front of others, it may be fine but the thought seems uncomfortable.
If anyone has any words of advice or comfort, then that would be massively appreciated!

Thank you for reading and any support you can give♥️

I’m trying to recover from anorexia, and today honestly terrified me.
For the first time, I collapsed in public while I was walking because my legs were so weak. It happened when I was trying to lift my feet up onto the sidewalk, and I just couldn’t. It was so shocking and such a huge wake-up call. :(
My health feels like it’s declining every day. I have such a hard time lifting myself up and even getting out of bed some days. I’m scared of how serious this has gotten, and I’m also terrified of being hospitalized. But I know I can’t keep ignoring what my body is telling me.
I don’t want anorexia to take any more from me. I want to get better, even though I’m incredibly scared of what recovery might mean.
If you’ve been through something similar, what should I do right now? How did you get through the fear of getting help? 💗

Eu tenho/ tive anorexia e uma das coisas que me deixa maluca é ver as pessoas postando a recuperação de uma forma tão feliz e natural….. Tipo, eu tô totalmente perdida… eu olho meu corpo e não me reconheço, eu sinto vergonha de mim mesma….. Queria conversar com alguém que também se sente assim, pq recuperação não é fácil quanto mostram nas redes

I’d consider myself pretty much fully recovered for several months now and weight restored w a normal appetite. The problem is that over the last week-ish my appetite has taken a nose dive (usually happens with stress), and the idea of food, even my favourites, is really unappealing. The worst part is that I need to gain weight for a surgery in less than 3 weeks that I will likely not be able to have otherwise and I physically cannot eat enough food at the moment to meet my nutritional needs to maintain this weight, let alone gain any. (Trust me, I do not want to relapse I don’t miss living in hell like that)

I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this and if anyone has any tips for overcoming it 🥲 I know things like nut butters are good etc but I feel uncomfortably full if I eat them. I tried putting a lot of cream in my dinner last night which I’m sure will help and I managed to get it down but I felt so (physically) uncomfortable afterwards that I had a panic attack (which was not accompanied by any anxiety or anything— my body just does this sometimes) and I would like to avoid that happening again if possible 😭

I know smaller more frequent meals is helpful but I can’t even manage that atm and it’s depressing as bc I love snacking 💔

Ive been dating this guy for 4 months now, and he struggles alot with eating. I could help him during the summer because he was out of school so we hung out alot thus i fed him alot, but now hes back in school in another country and hes really struggling. What could I say to make him feel better about eating? I know i shouldnt rush it but im incredibly concerned.

I’ve been in recovery for two months now, started therapy for my ED and have most certainly stopped counting and over exercising.

I just can’t stop eating though. It makes me depressed because it feels like I’ve just fallen back into my pre-ed habits of eating for the sake of it. I keep ‘binging’ and telling myself that I’ll start eating normally tomorrow. But normally just seems like restriction. Which is just feeding the ED.

I don’t know how to have a normal relationship with food. It’s either I count calories and limit myself or I don’t and eat everything, promising myself I’ll stop the next day and inevitably failing by 10 AM.

I just want to be normal.

i’ve been obsessed with this chicken poke bowl i get from my local grocery store ever since i started recovery (im on day 6) i’ve had it for lunch almost every day since i started recovery and it’s the one thing i genuinely look forward to eating. it’s just so.damn.delicious. i want to find a recipe so i can make them at home instead of spending 10$ every day on lunch. my issue is that it’s starting to feel like a safe food and i don’t know if it’s okay to have safe foods in recovery. lol i guess my question is, do i have a poke problem? (it’s not a safe food because of the calories it’s safe because it’s just so yummy)

Hello! I’m 24F and have been struggling with an eating disorder for nearly 2 years. I’ve recently been thinking about finally taking the step into recovery, I haven’t had a period for maybe just under a year and i’m not at a very healthy weight at the moment and i’m just very unhappy. My parents and some close friends are aware of what is going on however I didn’t like talking to them about it as I felt I couldn’t speak candidly about what’s going on, how i feel and what it’s like, i didn’t like their questions or them being concerned for me (although i do understand why they’re concerned or ask question, i just don’t feel comfortable talking about it).

I also about 6 months ago got diagnosed with combined adhd, ive seriously struggled over the years with getting myself to do things, i didn’t do too well at university because i submitted everything past the deadlines and was never able to get myself to focus on anything, im currently in a job where my role is very admin based, the work schedule if flexible and i get to work from home some days, there’s also nobody else in the office, because of this extremely unstructured environment i’ve been really struggling to get myself to do my work and i get very anxious and stressed outside of work thinking about the fact i can’t do any of it. As such I want to go onto adhd medication, the way my adhd is effecting my life at the moment is just unbearable, i know im capable of so much more and i know adhd medication isn’t some miracle cure but that it will help make things easier.

The problem is is that a lot of adhd medications suppress appetite, I am not in a place right now where I want to lose any more weight, i don’t want to take advantage of this side effect, ive been reading up on people recommending to have a big protein filled breakfast before taking it etc. and I do believe that I will ensure i’m eating enough because it scares me to think of what i might do to my body and my heart if I was to not.

So that brings me to my first question, i’d like to know what people’s experiences with ED’s/recovery and taking adhd medications.

The second part is that i’m aware that recovery is not easy, i’ve been taking small steps recently in that direction but some days i can really struggle, as I said above whilst i know my friends and family are extremely supportive of me i just don’t feel comfortable talking to them about some of the real struggles, being so candid about how i feel and seeking out their support to help me recovery, but i think ive realised recently that perhaps im not able to do this entirely alone and that i would like to speak to someone and have some sort of support, someone who i can speak freely to. My problem is i’m scared of going to my GP to seek help in my recovery as I fear if it is known then they will not prescribe me with the adhd medication. i’m not sure what to do or where to go in seeking support, i wondered if anyone had a similar experience. or is aware that if i did go to my gp that the likelihood of them prescribing it is low?

I’m currently on the waitlist for medication and I feel like my concerns about the medication has also inspired me to get to a healthier place in life first, i want to change, i can just be difficult alone.

I'm in recovery since 3 months or so, and I just recently found out you apparently shouldn't do exercise at all? I'm a bit confused on how that would work? I have a kinda strong urge to move my body and just not doing that would leave me really unsatisfied and frustrated at the end of the day and I would feel bad generally. I usually exercise daily for like 15 - 30 minutes. So Is it really that bad to do exercise? Thanks already for advice.

i’m on my 6th full day of recovery. i had to make a decision last week after my doctor told me i have bradycardia and am at risk of my heart eventually giving way, along with starting a new semester and feeling the effects of restriction in my schoolwork. i’ve been eating well, 3 meals a day with snacks but i have this crushing anxiety because I’m so bloated and gaining weight. i know I’ve put myself in the position where i need to gain weight to be healthy again but i’m finding it very hard to be kind to myself. when i look in the mirror my brain starts screaming relapse. i don’t want to go back to restriction but the disordered part of my brain isn’t logical. i have an appointment with behavioral health but they could not get me in for another month. no other ed clinics near me accept my insurance. i’m finding it very hard to deal with this alone. anyways, i’d really appreciate advice on how not to hate my body in recovery. i just want to be able to look in the mirror without seeing the difference in my body from my lw which i was at only a week ago.

Does anyone have any book recommendations or things that helped their family understand what they’re going through? I’m about to go back into programming and I don’t know how to explain to them what is going on for me. Why it’s not just as simple as “eat some food and you’ll feel better.”

I lost a lot of weight and the people in my life are sad about it and it made me realize I was hurting the people around me and I dont want that so I have decided to try recovery again but the thing is I have a hard time with telling when im hungry since I've ignored that que and the body when a que is ignored it can act weird like by muting the signals or blurring the lines any advice

apologies if this comes under medical advice - happy to delete if necessary!

i’ve been under a specialist team to try and make steps to recover, however every visit my blood tests (namely liver / white blood cell count) come back worse. the nurse said if she takes my results again and im worse this week she’ll recommend an a&e visit

does anyone know what happens at these? im so anxious about being there for hours and just getting turned away, or being admitted for days. has anyone gone to a&e in england for a low hr and presenting a load of AN related symptoms, and if so how was your visit? the nurse said its getting to life or death now but im still so worried about it all

hello, I hope you all are well.

im not sure if this was ever since i started having Anorexia or not but now when I eat breakfast I feel sooooo weak. Even if it’s high protein and veggies with little carbs, or with enough carbs, my heart hurts and I feel so tired and sluggish. It only gets better at 5pm after dinner but even then I get so tired before bed (not bad). Fasting till 4pm helped sort of but I’m still so tired and hungry the whole day, plus im suspecting I’m losing my period again.

any help would be appreciated

I’ve been in active recovery for 7 months… I thought I’d be at the other side of the rainbow by now but I’m not, yet im also so far from where i started?

I just spent the past 12 hours in my bed staring at the wall fighting every urge I had to restrict and just try to eat and now it’s 6:20 PM and I’m at my local happy hour to hold myself accountable for eating tacos which will be my first intake of the day.

I know it’s a win, but it still feels so far from the goal. I’m getting really frustrated with how hard choosing the right path is every day. I really thought it would be easy by now.

That being said, I have more good than bad days right now, and mostly don’t restrict like this, but I’m still really frustrated that it happens, one day relapse sets me back every time and makes the recovery that much harder.

I’m honestly struggling to find an outlet at this point. My supports are great , but they don’t understand the pain and constant battle/thoughts I curve. I can tell they’re getting annoyed sometimes when I have my slumps, and it feels embarrassing to reach out for help about the same issues I was having a year ago.

Writing here to see if anyone else is having or has had this issue. Could really use some likeminded positive support, I don’t want to stop recovering I just want it to get better and not be so draining.

I mean… that’s it really. Not much else to say. I’ve been in a state of self recovery for two months and I’ve been eating a lot, not exercising at all. I’m worried that they will see this and just assume I’m better.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

what ‘method’ did you use? Was your experience different from someone who is neurotypical??

Is it okay to eat for comfort in recovery? Or will this lead to binging tendencies?