How to fix a "broken" metabolism - meal plan
this question gets brought up all the time: How do you fix a once-broken metabolism?
first of all, there is no such thing as a broken metabolism. it can surely be fixed in a matter of weeks. for instance, if you are maintaining or even gaining weight (after raising the amt.) on 1,500 calories after restricting to 1200 calories, that means your body has been adapted to eating and using only those 1,200 calories.
READ THIS (THIS EXPLAINS SLOW WEIGHT GAIN)
SCENARIO 1#: Let us name the 15-year old girl Jennifer. Jennifer has been suffering from anorexia for over two years and has decided to give recovery a shot. She may have relapsed once, but she is now determined to try recovery once more. She, however, is afraid to "up" her intake and is maintaining on 1,000 calories due to her prior intake. She decided to increase the numbers to 2,000, which initially, would result in weight gain. Her weight gain began to slow down to rather 0.5 lb per week/per every two weeks. Though 2,000 calories is actually sustainable for any human being, she is convinced that eating 2,000 calories would repair every damaged aspect of her body. She also decides to exercise after gaining a couple of pounds to become more "fit" or "athletic" during her recovery. She does not increase her intake, and within a course of six months, she merely reaches her goal weight. BUT there are several problem: Jennifer still has hair loss, brittle nails, and feels lethargic. After reaching her "goal" weight, she still keeps on gaining 0.5 lbs per week. Jennifer could not make of the issue and overshoots by only 7 lbs. Keep in mind that Jennifer is still stuck to the "calorie-counting" mentality. Once she gained 7 more lbs, her weight gain began to slow down to 1 lb per month. Worried and anxious, she exercises more and decides to "maybe" lower her calories, which set her back to the original start of her eating disorder. The point is, eating 2,000 calories may have allowed her to be weight restored, but it certainly did not restore her metabolism, her damaged organs, and insulin levels.
SCENARIO 2#: Let us name this 15-year old girl Amy. Amy is undergoing the same situation as Jennifer: she suffered from anorexia for several years and may have relapse once or twice. She is committed to recovery this time, and she starts on a 2,000 calorie plan like Jennifer. However, Amy decides to gradually "up" her intake to 3,500+ calories, and though she is scared of rapid weight gain, she knows that she is fed up with her eating disorder. She stops her exercising and basically, gives her body the "break" that it has been wanting. She has already faced the depths of extreme hunger and luckily, since she played the rules right of no exercising and purging, she now has her hunger/fuel cues. She, first, starts off of a calorie-number based meal plan, but over time, Amy began to feel more comfortable and decides to let go of the numbers. She began to trust her body's full/hunger cues, and she realized that a weight has been released off of her shoulders. She understands both sides of the feelings, and she began to finally "love" those ensure (high-caloric) bottles because she realized that she was craving "real" food (not low-calorie foods, sweeteners, sugar-free). Eating organic foods and eating 3,000 calories were hard to sustain, so adding in these bottles of milk and nuts (almond butter) reached her goal. Unlike Jennifer, she reached her target weight within three months, and her hair was much more thicker, she had a mental clarity, she was more energetic, and she did not need to rely on calorie counting anymore. Her metabolism was now faster than her pre-ed, and it was easier for Amy to reduce her intake over time. She felt insufferably full after eating 3,500 calories for a while and felt more relaxed as she was finally allowed to trust her body. She took out the ensure (high-caloric) bottles, she stopped eating too much in heavy fats that helped her weight gain, and she rather focused on her three meals throughout the day than relying on "snacking."
Weight Restored Meal (~2,000-2,100 calories) i do not keep a track of my calories at this point:
- Take out the morning snack or reduce it down from 700 calories of nuts. It was so large before, so I make that in half and not have popcorn. --> Go workout afterwards. No cardio, just simple lifting for 30 minutes.
- Morning breakfast is still the same. I always have oatmeal with fruits.
- I did not need an afternoon snack at this point. I was comfortably full.
- My lunch would be the same, and I always focus on lean meats and fats in this one.
- Like I said, I would always emphasize my three course meals, so snacking became less prevalent throughout time. I would snack on fruits or yogurt.
- Dinner would be the same but a bit smaller because I would allocate everything in my mornings.
- Dinner snack is less-likely because I have school the day afterwards and I would feel bloated. It depends on your satiety and if you are still hungry or not. If you are still hungry, I would eat a simple ice cream yogurt pop to satisfy your sweet tooth. Or almond butter with banana.
And in conclusion, Amy learned that she did not need a rigid meal plan. She became more flexible over time. See, both girls were worried about becoming "overweight" and becoming "obese." That is everyone's fear. How does one become overweight? Let me blatantly be honest with you - overeating (and if you are eating good sources of fats (not cake), protein, micro nutrients) it IS HARD to reach 3,000 calories and barely moving as much. Also, going off track in recovery, meaning that you become "bulimic," you keep "under-eating," you ate how Jennifer did and only worried about numbers. Essentially, your body NEEDS a break. It just does.
first of all, there is no such thing as a broken metabolism. it can surely be fixed in a matter of weeks. for instance, if you are maintaining or even gaining weight (after raising the amt.) on 1,500 calories after restricting to 1200 calories, that means your body has been adapted to eating and using only those 1,200 calories.
READ THIS (THIS EXPLAINS SLOW WEIGHT GAIN)
How does this play in with the 3,000 calorie rule in anorexia/bulimia/starvation recovery?
Let me give you two scenarios that tie in everything of recovery:SCENARIO 1#: Let us name the 15-year old girl Jennifer. Jennifer has been suffering from anorexia for over two years and has decided to give recovery a shot. She may have relapsed once, but she is now determined to try recovery once more. She, however, is afraid to "up" her intake and is maintaining on 1,000 calories due to her prior intake. She decided to increase the numbers to 2,000, which initially, would result in weight gain. Her weight gain began to slow down to rather 0.5 lb per week/per every two weeks. Though 2,000 calories is actually sustainable for any human being, she is convinced that eating 2,000 calories would repair every damaged aspect of her body. She also decides to exercise after gaining a couple of pounds to become more "fit" or "athletic" during her recovery. She does not increase her intake, and within a course of six months, she merely reaches her goal weight. BUT there are several problem: Jennifer still has hair loss, brittle nails, and feels lethargic. After reaching her "goal" weight, she still keeps on gaining 0.5 lbs per week. Jennifer could not make of the issue and overshoots by only 7 lbs. Keep in mind that Jennifer is still stuck to the "calorie-counting" mentality. Once she gained 7 more lbs, her weight gain began to slow down to 1 lb per month. Worried and anxious, she exercises more and decides to "maybe" lower her calories, which set her back to the original start of her eating disorder. The point is, eating 2,000 calories may have allowed her to be weight restored, but it certainly did not restore her metabolism, her damaged organs, and insulin levels.
SCENARIO 2#: Let us name this 15-year old girl Amy. Amy is undergoing the same situation as Jennifer: she suffered from anorexia for several years and may have relapse once or twice. She is committed to recovery this time, and she starts on a 2,000 calorie plan like Jennifer. However, Amy decides to gradually "up" her intake to 3,500+ calories, and though she is scared of rapid weight gain, she knows that she is fed up with her eating disorder. She stops her exercising and basically, gives her body the "break" that it has been wanting. She has already faced the depths of extreme hunger and luckily, since she played the rules right of no exercising and purging, she now has her hunger/fuel cues. She, first, starts off of a calorie-number based meal plan, but over time, Amy began to feel more comfortable and decides to let go of the numbers. She began to trust her body's full/hunger cues, and she realized that a weight has been released off of her shoulders. She understands both sides of the feelings, and she began to finally "love" those ensure (high-caloric) bottles because she realized that she was craving "real" food (not low-calorie foods, sweeteners, sugar-free). Eating organic foods and eating 3,000 calories were hard to sustain, so adding in these bottles of milk and nuts (almond butter) reached her goal. Unlike Jennifer, she reached her target weight within three months, and her hair was much more thicker, she had a mental clarity, she was more energetic, and she did not need to rely on calorie counting anymore. Her metabolism was now faster than her pre-ed, and it was easier for Amy to reduce her intake over time. She felt insufferably full after eating 3,500 calories for a while and felt more relaxed as she was finally allowed to trust her body. She took out the ensure (high-caloric) bottles, she stopped eating too much in heavy fats that helped her weight gain, and she rather focused on her three meals throughout the day than relying on "snacking."
Meal Plan of Amy's (which was mine by the way -3,500 calories):
Morning Snack (600-700 calories)
- A bag of mixed nuts, popcorn, and almond butter
Morning Breakfast (honestly i felt full at this point to even be eating this) (300-400)
- Oatmeal with a ton of fruits (a banana, honey drizzled on top, and strawberries)
Afternoon Snack (i was still full from the morning, those nuts really keep you set till lunch out of all honesty - 200 calories)
- Non-fat plain yogurt with grapes
Lunch (i focused on meats and protein in this one - 500)
- Three Eggs + Kale + Rye bread and butter
Afternoon Snack (200 calories)
- Pistachio Squares
Dinner (500 calories)
- Pasta with a ton of vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados)
Desert (Night-snack - at this point, i really was full; i kid you not. i usually reached 2,500 calories at this point so i needed more (that is why ensure helped) - 1,000 calorie desert)
- okay this is really heavy dense, i did not plan this one well but i did not want to feel tired throughout the day. this is an acai bowl that has three bananas blended, one cup of blueberries, one cup of raspberries, a cup of ice cream to mix, and a bunch of trail nuts)
- honestly, i was about to explode, and this is how you know you have your full cues back.
Weight Restored Meal (~2,000-2,100 calories) i do not keep a track of my calories at this point:
- Take out the morning snack or reduce it down from 700 calories of nuts. It was so large before, so I make that in half and not have popcorn. --> Go workout afterwards. No cardio, just simple lifting for 30 minutes.
- Morning breakfast is still the same. I always have oatmeal with fruits.
- I did not need an afternoon snack at this point. I was comfortably full.
- My lunch would be the same, and I always focus on lean meats and fats in this one.
- Like I said, I would always emphasize my three course meals, so snacking became less prevalent throughout time. I would snack on fruits or yogurt.
- Dinner would be the same but a bit smaller because I would allocate everything in my mornings.
- Dinner snack is less-likely because I have school the day afterwards and I would feel bloated. It depends on your satiety and if you are still hungry or not. If you are still hungry, I would eat a simple ice cream yogurt pop to satisfy your sweet tooth. Or almond butter with banana.
And in conclusion, Amy learned that she did not need a rigid meal plan. She became more flexible over time. See, both girls were worried about becoming "overweight" and becoming "obese." That is everyone's fear. How does one become overweight? Let me blatantly be honest with you - overeating (and if you are eating good sources of fats (not cake), protein, micro nutrients) it IS HARD to reach 3,000 calories and barely moving as much. Also, going off track in recovery, meaning that you become "bulimic," you keep "under-eating," you ate how Jennifer did and only worried about numbers. Essentially, your body NEEDS a break. It just does.
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