Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below I wondered if anyone can point me in the right direction here. My wife was basically anorexic for 2yrs, ate 1 6oz yogurt a day and limited herself to 2 cups of water as well. All this while playing college volleyball and running 5miles a day. I can't believe she is still alive. 1st year with me she was on about 500-700kcal/day diet, pretty much dinner only. I started training her on a 3day bodybuilding split with diets of 1000kcal to 1300kcal/day and any where from 38% to 60% carbs & at least 1 gallon of water/day. She gained muscle and fat at first and now seems to be gaining just fat? 5'9 and was 128lb, now at 141lb and around 23%bf. Her BMR is around 1450kcal/day but I am afraid she would gain even more fat and get more depressed. Could there be medical issues here? I have never had a person I couldn't get to burn fat, her body just doesn't respond. Any ideas on how to change up dieting/wkouts?
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Post Anorexia dieting help
- Thread starter ocker
- Start date
When was the last time she had a full work up with blood tests?
What does she eat now (in detail).
I think the carbs might be too high for her but what type of carbs is she eating and how much of each?
Birth control??
And as far as time line from after the 1 year point where are you now and how long have you been doing what you are with her?
What does she eat now (in detail).
I think the carbs might be too high for her but what type of carbs is she eating and how much of each?
Birth control??
And as far as time line from after the 1 year point where are you now and how long have you been doing what you are with her?
ocker said:
Basal Metabolic Rate - checked how? VO2Max? If BMR is 1450 with activity 6x/wk (lifting & cardio), then maint cals is approx 2250 and she is well and truly in the starvation mode. Try: increasing calories to the 1850ish range (still a cut range), zig-zag (3 days cut, 1 day maint, etc.), manipulate macros. But I think, barring medical issues, the cals have just been too low for too long and the body is protecting itself. Resets are hard - try a copy of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto (e-book) for the details of why, how, etc. and look up anorexia on the web.
Gymgurl said:
Thanks for the replies. I will attempt to answer all the questions. Yes, blood work done in the past month, just a basic test. Dr said everything was in the normal range including Thyroid which was my concern due to frequency of being cold, especially the hands. Hormones were not tested and she doesn't take birth control or other meds. RMR is figured with Harris-Benedict equation, not including activity which does bring it up in the 1800-1900 range. In the times I have tried to get her above 1400Kcal she could barely eat the food, was uncomfortable. Interesting thing with her is she claims to be bloated a lot, feels as though she retains water a lot of water and says it's almost as if her skin will hurt it's so hydrated which I have never heard before. This is a concern of mine not having worked with many women, is this normal in for females?
My thinking is that at 1200-1300kcal maybe around 1000kcal if she skimps while at work w/o my knowledge is that her body finally has enough kcal to actually store some fat and being in starvation mode it does. Back when she consumed a few hundered a day there wasn't even enough for fat storage. I think the muscle gains might be mainly from water in the muscle as she was obviously dehydrated before dinking less than 30oz fluid a day. I would like to take her to 1800 kcal a day but am fearful her body won't respond well just due to the former eating pattern and worsen the fat storage. I also had her stop cardio for 1 month as I think her body was too accustomed to it after 4yrs of running 4-5miles almost every day. I am about to start the cardio again by doing a 4day lift/3day cardio plan. THANKS FOR THE HELP!
We have been working on her for 4.5 months of which there were a few weeks where the diet was not followed at her request. The current diet is as follows.
Break, 354kcal. =eggs and oatmeal. 27g protein, 40g carbs, 9g fat
snack, 132Kcal. =.5 scoop muscle milk and .5 scoop egg protein 26g Pro, 3g Carb, 4.5g Fat
lunch, 228
kcal.-3 oz chicken breast and 6 0z sweet potato. 27P, 30g Carbs, 1g F
snack, 204Kcal =yogurt and almonds. 19g carb, 16 P, 7g fat ( I think she will skip a lot because shes at work)
PWO shake, 242Kcal =42g Carb, 19 Protein. Half banana, apple juice or rice milk and whey.
dinner, 121 Kcal = 4oz fish or other lean meat. steamed fresh or a canned vegetable like green beans, asparagus etc. 24g P, 4g carbs 1 F
For me, cold hands & feet are a prime indicator that my metabolism has slowed (fat storage mode). Has she/is she working with a counsellor regarding food and body image issues? You indicated depression due to the body not doing what she wants - that suggests a mental component to the issues. I suspect you are right about the fat storage issue - however, if this diet/exercise is not hers to the point that she's not cheating (eating more or less) when she's not with you, then you can't do much about it.
23% BF is normal female BTW.
23% BF is normal female BTW.
Tatyana
Elite Mentor
wlmcrae said:
I wanted to expand on this great post.
To check metabolism, have your wife check her temperature before she gets out of bed in the morning. If her temperature is significantly lower, she may have done some damage to her metabolism.
Mind you, it sort of goes without saying that the anorexia will have damaged her metabolism.
However, I think it is possible to reverse this.
She will have to start eating more calories, it is funny, the more you eat, your metabolism speeds up (within your own normal calorie range).
You will have to increase her calories slowly, maybe something like 5-10% every two to four weeks.
Weight training will factor significantly, muscle increases the metabolic rate, it is a very hungry tissue.
She is a normal bodyfat.
There is a thread in this section on dieting and metabolic damage.
I have also seen a little blog by Tom Venuto on repairing metabolic damage.
How long has your wife been on the diet you have planned for her?
You may also want to try carb tapering. How I would normally do this that my meals earlier in the day would have starchy carbs, like oats, potatoes, rice, earlier in the day, minimising fat, and later in the day (with the exception of post training), fibrous carbs like steamed broccoli and salads with more fat.
fitness-rubber
New member
I'd just want to chime in that, well, after anorexia a lot of the pros - doctors, counselors and nutritionists alike - often say that dieting isn't really a good option.
Mandy Polk
Banned
I suggest you read the metabolic damage thread. Also look at www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. This is a very slippery slope. She needs a full thyroid panel run, but sometimes even that doesn't show any problems when there obviously are problems. Doctors should treat symptoms, not test results. Has she regained her cycle?
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