There's no such thing as overeating in recovery

Hi,

A few times when I was in the process of gaining weight, I exceeded the amount on my meal plan. I felt awful. I felt like I was gaining too much too quickly, and sometimes I thought that I'd swapped anorexia for binge-eating disorder.

Sometimes I ate because I was hungry, sometimes it was just because I didn't want to resist the food. Both of these reasons are okay.

You have to bear in mind that, in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder, the calories that you consume aren't going to fat immediately. Every calorie you consume is restoring you; it's making your hair thicker, it's making you warmer, it's repairing your heart, it's restoring your brain cells, it's aiding your hormones to help you sleep; it's undoing damage to your muscles and so much more.

The damage from an eating disorder takes a huge toll on your body, whether you are aware of it or not, and I can assure you that not all of that extra weight is fat, nor are any of the calories you are consuming 'extra'. Every one that gets you closer to a healthy weight is essential.

Basically... please don't restrict in recovery. The best way forward is to neglect any thoughts of calories whatsoever, as difficult as it is. If you feel satisfied and are steadily gaining weight on 2,500 calories, great! But if you're eating 5,000+ to get the same results, or even if you're gaining very quickly, know that you're not overeating; you simply can't in recovery.

I hope that this is helpful to my readers - after such a long time of restricting, and thinking that anything over my limit was 'overeating', I know that this has definitely been something I have struggled a lot with.

Good luck, team!

- A

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