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! :)

Comments

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Stronger.

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