Okay, here's the deal. I'm a total beginner in this and I have no specific goal at all, just to gain some weight in muscle, and lose some fat.

I am anorexic, and I lost a lot of my weight by fasting for long periods of time, which means I burned off SO much of my muscle. I'm 5'7", and around the end of November I got down to 95~96lbs and was then hospitalized. I used to be 165+ lbs. I have just gotten out today, have gained to about 110lbs and I'm trying to get better. I have to gain more weight for my health, but all the weight I've gained so far is fat, and I am not happy at all with the way I look. So I want to lose some fat and gain the rest as muscle. That would be much easier on me and my "recovery".

What makes this situation so difficult is that I gain weight by eating 1000 calories a day. My metabolism is that messed up. So I have no idea how to design a muscle-building diet around that. Can anyone help me with a diet and exercise guide?
I have no idea where to start, and most bodybuilding resources assume that the person can eat 2000 calories a day and still maintain their weight. I gain fat at 1000, so what should I eat and how much exercise should I do to gain muscle-mass and maybe even burn fat?

It's times like these I wish I had become a compulsive exerciser instead... :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance for your help.

good to hear that you are getting help, asking for it and trying to take care of this problem. just be patient and someone will respond with thier expert advice. keep up the good attitude so far. you are on your way to being healthy again even if you are taking in some fat. my apolgies for not having any advice for you... ill let those here who are more qualified to help do that as yours is a very specific situation that is not to often heard around here. i just wanted to offer some encouragement.


:tucool:

I am anorexic, and I lost a lot of my weight by fasting for long periods of time, which means I burned off SO much of my muscle. I'm 5'7", and around the end of November I got down to 95~96lbs and was then hospitalized. I used to be 165+ lbs. I have just gotten out today, have gained to about 110lbs and I'm trying to get better.

You do need to continue with the help of professional medical experts that can help you with your problems. They will rarely be found on the net. Go to your doctor, tell him of your needs and goals ask him for referrals in your area. That is the best advice you can get here.

krosspyder: Thanks for the encouragement.

rtestes: I guess that would be the best thing to do. I don't know why I try to avoid the "professionals" so often, I just want to give this a try on my own, even though I might be much better off getting a dietist/nutritionist since my insurance has approved one already. Not sure why I come here instead; logic and I don't get along so well ;)

First things first, I'm no expert.

You have messed up your metabolism unfortunately. Because of your prolonged fasts, you are fully in starvation mode, and your metabolic rate is in your boots. There will be NO short term fix.

First thing to do is get your head right. Anorexia is a thought problem, not a physical problem, and until you have the unhelpful thoughts about your body-image sorted, everything else is far harder to achieve.

You are in a tough place. The comments you will hear about the amount of calories you need to gain muscle (for average people) don't apply to you. You will need to slowly increase the amount you eat, as you will preferentially store fat in your current condition. Exercise is important, but at the minute, you will probably not be fit for very much. Something simple like walking twice per day will improve your cardiovascular fitness, and slowly raise your metabolism.

rtestes is right, this all has to be done with the aid of experts in this field. They will be able to more correctly guide you towards the correct plan of action.

Best of luck. Try to keep your chin up, as negativity can lead you back to your old habits, and a very low bodyweight can be just as harmful as being fat.

Andrew.

krosspyder: Thanks for the encouragement.

rtestes: I guess that would be the best thing to do. I don't know why I try to avoid the "professionals" so often, I just want to give this a try on my own, even though I might be much better off getting a dietist/nutritionist since my insurance has approved one already. Not sure why I come here instead; logic and I don't get along so well ;)

I went a couple years of doing my own diet research and planning. It was a good learning experience, but it improved greatly when I [finally, reluctantly] enlisted a registered dietician in the effort. I did do some damage along the way, without knowing it. That would not have happened if I enlisted an RD earlier. She'd already answered all the Q I had many, many times, knew where to look for new issues. It really made a huge difference. I was overweight. The RD tells me that advising folks with issues like yours is part of the training, too.
All of this is not to say that you do not need an MD - you do, or that you do not have ownership of your health and your program - you do.
But, I want to second the things that rtestes said.This is a good place to come. Good for motivation, ideas, information, support, encouragement - but it is not hands-on professional advice.

You have messed up your metabolism unfortunately. Because of your prolonged fasts, you are fully in starvation mode, and your metabolic rate is in your boots. There will be NO short term fix.I know that, but I have been hospitalized for two to three weeks now where I have eaten a daily total of between 1000 and 1500 calories (I know it sounds like little, but I managed to throw out any liquids they give me; shakes, yoghurt etc. I mostly wasn't thinking of recovery while I was in there). Surely I have gotten a metabolism boost now, and maybe even got out of starvation mode?

First thing to do is get your head right. Anorexia is a thought problem, not a physical problem, and until you have the unhelpful thoughts about your body-image sorted, everything else is far harder to achieve.That's going to be a very long road. It might take months or years before I'll be completely "fixed". First thing I need to do, is to get myself around a healthy weight, but the only way I can see that happening is by gaining it in muscle. More storage of fat is tempting me to go back to fasting, and then things will just get worse. All I can think about is how to lose the fat that I have gained while hospitalized, and I don't think I can stop myself from trying to lose it, so I'll need to gain muscle to make up for the fat loss.

Aside from weight gain, eating in itself is also hard for me. I am going to try to get at least 1000 calories a day, not sure about protein, carbohydrate and fat amounts. But I wasn't sure what to do as for exercise. Cardiovascular or weight-lifting, a combination? And what kind? How often?

I will wait for other people's opinions and eventually I'll make a decision. Tomorrow I'll start with the walks. I suppose that can't do any wrong...

As others have mentioned, professional assistance/guidance, whether from a doctor, nutritionist, or personal trainer, is going to be better than what you can find on a message board. The best general advice I can give you is that you have to get your eating habits and metabolism closer to normal before trying to begin an intensive muscle-gaining program.

the only way I can see that happening is by gaining it in muscle. More storage of fat is tempting me to go back to fasting, and then things will just get worse.
One of the fundamental issues of bodybuilding is that you simply can't gain significant amounts of muscle while simultaneously losing large amounts of fat. It's a thermodynamic impossibility. Gaining muscle requires a caloric surplus and entails, even on the cleanest possible diet, some fat gain, while fat (and muscle) loss is the result of a caloric deficit. Some people have reported slight LBM gains and fat loss during maintenance phases, but gaining the amount of muscle you're talking about while losing fat as well simply isn't possible. Depending on your physical state, some cardio and (possibly) light strength training are your best bets as you attempt to bring your metabolism and weight up. You should definitely talk to someone who knows more about your situation to work out the specifics of your exercise regimen. While a good exercise program won't completely prevent fat gain, it'll help boost your metabolism and put you in a position to lose fat once you're up to a healthier weight and able to engage in more vigorous workouts.

He is an on-line coach that shows up here pretty regularly, giving feed back and advice. He looks incredible today and helps a ton of people from bodybuilders to average folks. You might want to look him up. He may show up here on this thread. Anorexia is a very particular eating disorder and ones that I know have gotten the most ,ong term help when connecting with other anorexics who have succesfully dealt with their disease. Swolecat might have something to suggest that is particularly helpful for you. Here is a link to his profile here. You will find links to his own website there. Swolecat (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/member.php?u=2951)

Jeremy Likness another on-line coach (and one of the official sponsors of this sight) has a wonderful free conference call every Monday evening. Callers can talk before and after hearing a live talk by Jeremy. Recently he interviewed Swolecat and Swolecat talked about his anorexia. (It was a little stunning to hear; one would never imagine that he could have been an anorexic.) Jeremy is kind enough to put those talks and interviews on his website so anyone can listen to them any time through internet streaming. Go to this site "Become your best" (http://www.become-your-best.com/) and scroll down to the interview with Chris Januz (Swolecat's real name) and click on the link and listen to it through internet streaming. Swolecat talks about his anorexia in that interview.

The other links there are really excellent too.

Glad you are here!! You will find a lot of support here.

I'm glad someone mentioned SC here. Just last night I listened to the interview with Jeremy and SwoleCat and I was also stunned to learn about his previous condition! Makes him even more impressive though, knowing what he's gone through.

canaranti - can't say much more than what's already been said. Seek help, and read and learn. Glad to have you here, where you will find much support! :gl:

You need to take advantage of the RD your insurance is paying for. Also check out www.somethingfishy.com. I used to work in the hospital with anorexic adolesents - and the last thing you need to do right now is lose ANY fat (or muscle), not at 110 pounds and 5'7". A lot of the obessions about food and whatnot are from starvation, and the most important thing for you to do is to keep your body from thinking it is starving. Losing any fat at this point may trip that physiologic switch, even if you are gaining a little muscle. It would be very risky, in my opinion, for you to engage in a bodybuilding style program without CLOSE personal supervision. You really need an RD you trust that you can talk to face to face and can change your program week to week as your needs change and your frustrations change.


Best of luck,

Bisous

Thank you for the mention guys!

Well, first and foremost, the good news is that food can be your FRIEND. It is NOT the enemy. You can use food to SHAPE you to how you WANT to look. That is the good news!

I suggest that you work w/doctors to make sure you mentally can push forth w/this, and get the neccessary counseling to push past any thoughts of "regressing", because I know that exists. At least, it did for me.

Next would be to find/locate a sensible exercise/diet/cardio plan and utilize that to shape you, rebuild the lean muscle tissue you lost, get your metabolism back up and running, etc. You can do it!!!!! :tu:

I was 154 lbs. at 6'1", starving myself from 185-190. I now sit at 245-250, but I know HOW to shape a body, what ALL FOODS do, patternization, metabolism, insulin response, glycogen replinishment, recovery/repair, lipolysis, anabolism, etc. All tools that are valuable in using against the disease we share(d).

~SC~