daily calorie

Question
I had anorexia and bullimia for 3 years, I'm 18 now and I just recovered 5 months ago. Since then I've ate a healthy 1200 balanced calorie diet every day. My diet consists of egg whites, fat free cheese, unsweetened almond milk, plain oatmeal, natural peanut butter, fruit, lots of vegetables , and all I drink is diet mountain dew, unsweetened lipton tea and unsweetened almond milk. I never eat nothing else, I follow a strict diet consisting of these foods only. The question I have is just starting this month I'm starved all the time even though I eat 1200 calories a day, and it used to be when I had my eating disorders my stomach would be bloated even if I ate the littlest thing, now I can eat lots of vegetables, fruit , oats, egg whites and my stomach will be flat 2 hours after I eat it. I want to know the reason I'm really hungry all of a sudden for a month everyday, it worries me cause I feel guilty after eating a lot even though its healthy food. _Thanks

Answer
I do not have the expertise to answer in relation to anorexia and bulimia, so I am going to answer in general terms.  I am so proud of you that you recovered!  What a difficult road to travel.

First of all, I want you to understand that hunger and weight are not static.  All through your life those things will change. Sometimes in your life 1200 calories would be great.  Then there will be times when, it is no where near enough.  Then there will be years when eating 900 calories feels like you ate a cow.  So please keep that in mind. Also, your weight/fat/water/muscle composition will change at times when your body needs more of this or less of that.  So please get to know your body well.  Here are some reasons that you might be feeling hungry:

1.  You might be more active than the food that you are eating can sustain.  Take a hard look at your activity levels. The bodybugg is a great tool that would tell you what your metabolism is and how many calories you are burning so that you can see if that is the case. If you are burning 1500 calories and eating only 1200, your body is going to scream "feed me".
2. You might be doing exercise that increases muscle mass.  If that is the case, see #1.
3. The drinks that you are drinking will increase metabolic rate to a degree; and the process that your body has to go through to clean all of the junk out of those fluids to get good fluid to your cells and systems is highly metabolically active.  Try drinking water for one or two weeks instead of Mountain Dew and teas and see what happens to your appetite. Just an FYI, soft drinks that are carbonated are high in phosphorus and leach calcium from your system.  That might also be coming into play.  It may not have happened before, but as I said things change.

I think you should be happy that your digestive system is working well and digesting your food easily.  I would like you to get what I recommend to everyone, a Tanita body fat scale.  This will tell you if the weight you gain when you increase your calories is adding to a higher fat percentage or keeping you on target.  

Do not feel guilty for feeding your body healthy food. It is asking for it for a reason.  You are going to have to listen to your body and find out why.  Chances are, your body is changing as you move further from the disorder.  I would claim that as healthy.

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