u/Embarrassed-Craft397

Okay yalls… here’s my tip.

Start baking sourdough. LOL

But hear me out. First it’s a hobby that does not involve exercise and restriction. Second, all you do is then eat your successful loaves with lots of butter!!! So homemade with love and the carbs and fats will fuel that recovery!!

Anyone else on their sourdough journey?? Is there a thing such as eating too much sourdough LOL! I’ve made like 3 loaves already and I cleared them all.

Hey all! Little win today, we went to the movies today and saw the Michael Jackson movie (10/10 btw you guys have to see!) and it was free popcorn day so we all got free bags of popcorn. Originally, I was just gonna skip it but then I felt weird being the only one not eating it, plus restriction is no longer in the picture so I got a nice bag of buttered and salted popcorn, and ended up eating the whole thing during the movie! I felt so full of salt and butter after but lowkey amazing and it def helped my low blood pressure symptoms like chronic coldness and lethargy. Anyways, trying to drink some water so I don’t get a headache from all that salt but yolo. I know it seems stupid like eating movie theatre popcorn is a win but this was a big step for me. I am a healthy weight and have never been underweight, but I went through an intense ED for around a year where I lost around 120 lbs naturally but way too fast and unhealthily. So allowing this was so scary and I’m still dealing with the guilt but also like I feel like a normal person.

Anyways, any tips for the guilt? How do I make my mind subside? Also feel free to share your recovery wins and feelings!! Love yalls 🐢🐢

Hi lovelies! I have a few questions and things I could really use some advice on so pls answer whatever you’re comfortable with! 🫶

1. okay, so I have my first gyno appointment scheduled for June! I have not been diagnosed with HA, but after a very carefully self reflection I am almost positive this is what I have. I haven’t really told anyone or even my primary doctor about restrictive eating patterns and over exercising, so I’m kind of nervous to talk to the new doctor. Idk what I should bring up or just wait for her to ask me the questions. What can I expect for this first appointment, or what should I tell her? I’m a little nervy LOL

2. I think I am past the chaotic hunger in the beginning stages of recovery, I’ve been trying to eat more throughout the day so I don’t feel the need to stuff myself before bed. I feel like I eat a lot, like truly I’ve been trying so hard, and I’m on the middle upper end of healthy bmi, and I’ve cut out exercise almost completely except when I go on walks outside for fresh air or to walk my dog, but the past couple days, I’ve been getting so many instances of head rush, feeling a little dizzy, noticeable blood sugar drops, and just feeling lethargic and sore. Idk what I’m doing wrong.

3. I’m really trying not to relapse, but I’ve noticed I really struggle with lunch time. Breakfast is really easy for me it’s my favorite meal of the day and I usually do either loaded avocado and pb toasts or warm oatmeal bowls with pb and lots of nut granola or sometimes loaded yogurt bowls. Dinner has been going better too, I have tried more to eat what my family has been eating and not my weird ass diet foods I’ve been eating more over a year LOL, so like chipotle bowls or pasta or burgers. I also have dessert everyday rn bc I used to never allow it so I’ve been enjoying a nightly ice cream sundae. And then between lunch and dinner I’ll have a granola bar or protein bar with fruits popcorn or stuff. But for whatever reason, I feel like undeserving of lunch. My hunger signals are still pretty messed up so my stomach doesn’t growl except in the morning so I feel so guilty for eating lunch. I keep finding myself trying to push off lunch as much as possible or make it super light even though in the end it backfires and I over indulge at night. How do I fix this? What are some easy recovery lunches? Idk why lunch foods are so hard.

4. Another thing, I like have an appetite but also not really? Like I don’t really crazy regular foods (except breakfast foods for whatever reason) but like dinners and lunches nothing ever appeals?? I only crave sweets. The thought of fried foods or pizza or anything (foods I used to love) like is no longer interesting? Idk if that is an old defense mechanism from restrictive eating like saying oh I don’t like a certain food so I can avoid eating it but Idk. Id really like to have an appetite back bc I feel like I don’t even have a favorite food anymore.

5. Do I tell my family? This may be dumb and everyone might be like uh duh tell them LOL, but idk. For context I’m 20, and in college but I live at home during summers and breaks. I am super close with my mom and sis but like I’m not sure how to even tell them. I’m coming off of 130 lb weightloss naturally, and so like I feel this pressure to maintain it and I’m supposed to be the healthy one now (both my mom and sister are still obese) and idk it’s just hard bc this might sound bad but I worry about going back to my larger self, I’m okay gaining some weight but going all the way back after how far I’ve come makes me really scared. Do I bring it up to them? How does one even go about that?

6. I need hobbies that don’t involve exercise. Now that I’ve stopped obsessively working out, I realized I don’t really have much else going on for me. Other than my part time job I don’t do much. This past week I started a sourdough starter so once that activates I can start making bread, and I bought a puzzle but idk what else to do with my time. I like to watch tv but I also need something a little more productive to be doing. The gym used to be my safe space but now I don’t really have that so I’m feeling lost, what do you guys do to keep your sanity and keep busy?

7. Any hormone balancing food or lifestyle tips? Since eating more, I’ve gotten a little bit of acne flare ups, likely from the initial chaotic hunger where I would down an insane amount of chocolate and salty foods LOL, but I’m trying to look into more nutrient dense options now. Anything in specific I can be trying to help restore hormonal balance?

Thank you if you took the time to read any of these! I’m now realizing I typed a lot but like I said I’ve really been alone with this so I really enjoy this support group! 🩷🩷

LOL the title is basically my question, but guys I eat like a normal person now trust like regular satisfying meals and lots of snacks and desserts. I still workout but just walks or some runs (I’m not a runner so I don’t go far LMAO, more like jogging on and off for a little) but at the end of the night a couple things happen.

After dinner, no matter how much or what i ate, i get the urge to eat anything and everything in my pantry, and sometimes I give in but then i feel like crappy and over stuffed. How do u make this stop genuinely bc i feel like out of control 🧌

Also my hunger is really never physical except right when i wake up. Is that normal? I make sure to eat regularly and similar times to work on keeping my energy stable even if I’m not hungry but I never get physical hunger sensations but mentally I’m lethargic and so I’m like yeah probably need food. I feel so disconnected from my body.

Also, again no matter if I ate so much or just enough, I cannot stop the food noise at night. I can’t stop thinking about my next meal or planning my day of eats the next day to be perfect and in alignment with recovery. It’s def the control freak and perfectionist in me and I know recovery is not perfect and linear, just like my weightloss journey before this wasn’t perfect and linear, but my brain won’t stop 👺👺

Another problem is like I am constantly sore. Only in my legs and idk how to describe it it’s like my hips but not really?? Like a little lower and I took a full month off of everything in March and literally I was sore everyday? What’s that about 🧍‍♀️I haven’t lifted a weight in months.

So basically I feel like a sore ravenous little night gremlin every night scrounging around the cabinets and fridge. I feel so out of control and I swear all I eat all day is endless peanut butter and avocados and bread and meats and idk what to do. I understand the period can take awhile to return but this energy deficit I feel like I’m in is so chronic I feel so lost and like maybe I’m doing this wrong? I thought all this eating more would make me feel amazing and somehow I feel worse than when I was prime restricting and exercising?? Like yeah I was hungry but not so mentally distraught. Idk if any of this makes sense and I’m not giving up on recovery because I want to feel womanly again and actually have my body function but holy roller coaster of a process this is.

What can I do?

Hey yalls, this is more a science behind HA and maintenance calories question. TW weight and numbers!

Okay, so I understand like maintenance cals are what you eat to maintain your current weight, but if I start eating more, like say 2500 cals for awhile, yes I’d likely gain weight, but is there a point when 2500 cals becomes my maintenance? Or do you continue to gain weight? Slightly confused on that aspect. I’m around 168 cm (5’6”) and I think like 63 kg (138 lbs). I haven’t weighed myself in a while to prevent a spiral. But I guess my question is just more like if anyone can explain this to me scientifically and how the calories get used before they’re stored as fat and stuff!

But this is really just for my own knowledge not to track anything (I’ve given up calorie tracking for the most part!) I’m just curious about how maintenance works and speeding up your metabolism works!

Hey guys! I haven’t gotten my period back yet, but a small win in my food freedom and ending restricted eating journey, I suggested going out for breakfast so I could get a big ole stack of pancakes 🥞 literally nothing crazy but old me would stress about having to go out to eat I’d be studying the menu and calculating the entire night before and I never thought I’d be one to suggest eating out! Everyday is a small step but just feeling a little proud about this one! Which pancake combo is the best?? In my opinion I love a chocolate chip one but I’d love to hear your fave! :) love you guys 🤍🫶

I understand my body is not used to this amount of food, and that I have been experiencing a lot of reactive hunger recently at night which has led to like inhaling quite a lot of food at once before bed. Anyways I’m trying to eat more substantial meals earlier to prevent that but still a work in progress. But anyways this next part may be a little tmi but this is a safe space right? LOL anyways I’ve had terrible digestive issues. I have had so much intestinal pain, lots of bloating, really smelly gas (like so bad LMAO), and just overall nausea and like dizziness after I eat a lot? I don’t even know what the heck is happening. Any advice? How to push through the chaos of recovery and is this normal or part of the process? How much longer till my body and metabolism speeds up to match my intake?