I'm a 21 yr old female, 5'6" and weigh about 118 lbs. Both me and my doctors are satisfied with this weight. When I was running I was eating about 1600-1700 calories per day and running 2-5 miles 6-7 days a week. However, to make up for my lack of exercise, I am eating only 800 calories to maintain this weight. I know this is too low, but I don't know how I can eat a more acceptable amount of calories without gaining weight. I'm afraid that if I start to gain weight, my anorexia will kick back up due to my inability to control my exercise habits. I'm eating healthy - carbs, veggies, and lean meats. Also, I do eat five small meals a day - that was also recommended to help reduce my POTS symptoms. But I know that 800 calories is too low.
And I should probably clarify I don't want to take any sort of pill or follow some ridiculous diet. I just want to eat balanced meals at a normal caloric range.
Basically my question is how should I add calories back into my diet - slowly or all at once (I assumed 1200 would be a reasonable goal for calorie intake)? How much weight should I expect to gain? Also, how long until my metabolism will start to burn the excess calories?
thanks for any advice
