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Coping with Weight Gain


Hi team,

Weight gain is the hardest part of recovery for me. I'm having a hard time with it. I'm scared of the associations and bad experiences I had at my healthy weight, I'm scared of other people seeing me change, I'm scared of seeing myself change... but I need to do it. I know that ultimately, my body is a place to live, and, if I'm not a healthy weight, I'm deteriorating.

Like I said, I'm struggling a lot with it myself, but there are good days as well as the bad, so I thought that I'd make a list of things that are helping me cope at the moment.

 Things that help:

  • Wearing baggy clothing (I had to buy new, but changing up my style is quite refreshing)
  • Getting rid of all my old clothes that I knew wouldn't fit me
  • Moving (nothing intense, just walking, yoga, or weightlifting)
  • Spending time around other, healthy, people -  I know that I personally always underestimate the average person's weight and, as the internet a wasps' nest of underweight models everywhere, it's good to know that I'm not becoming as freakishly proportioned as I imagine
  • Wearing a little bit of make-up, or heels
  • Wear clothes (e.g. shorts) that challenge you, but only if you feel comfortable
  • Complimenting yourself every day, on a physical aspect (unrelated to weight e.g. hair, eyes etc) and/or a personality/skill based one
Things that aren't helpful (for me - your own experience may be different!):
  • Looking at old pictures
  • Looking at fashion
  • Buying clothes that you may grow out of during the recovery process 
  • Bathing/swimming
  • Trying on old clothes
  • Cardio or intense exercise (I don't recommend this for anyone during recovery)
  • Challenging yourself too much with clothing - as well as anything that doesn't fit, box up or get rid of anything that doesn't make you feel totally comfortable (for me, this was V-necks... I always wore them, but never liked them!)

Those are my current thoughts but, like I said, the struggle is still very much there. If anyone would like to share their own thoughts in the comments, it would surely go a long way! :)

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