Hi, so i have been suffering from an eating disorder this year and i finally got checked up about it in July and have been trying to gain weight, but i am experiencing some of the worst side effects. besides the mental ones, such as depression and anxiety, i have been having terrible constipation, the worst bloating ever and that constant feeling of feeling full. i have gone from eating 850 calories a day to 1100, to now about 1500-1600. is this still enough to gain about 4 kilos in about 2 months? i need some tips, advice, stories, pelase! has anyone else gone through this and had my side effects and have tips on how to rid bloating and constipation. ive tried laxatives, prunes, etc.
Hi nicolette90842, well done on doing so well in turning things around. Constipation is terrible, when I started refeeding, I didn't go to the loo for about five weeks, I was in agony and still had to continue uping my calorie intake. I ended up in hospital. One natural way to help is to drink plenty of water, and in the morning hot water with a slice of lemon, it helps to detox your body. The water will help to keep your bowels moving, as will a walk after eating. Not too far though. See your GP, he might suggest suppositories and/or lactulose which is more effective than laxative tablets. Also massaging your tummy while lying down anti clockwise as the motion should start your bowels working again. I'm not sure 1600 calories is enough to gain your target weight. I was put on a 3000 calorie eating plan, which was really hard to cope with physically and mentally. Ask your GP to refer you to a dietician. Also visit the Beat website which is full of advice and support. Good luck. 
Have you tried to see,a dietician who can prescribe ensure milkshake drinks or juice drinks?
Each drink gives you 1000 calories all vitamin ,
Minerals and everything you need to keep healthy.
It is worth it I gave up on life and went to seven and a half,stone. This built me back up.
Its worth trying.. Honest x
Bisacodyl will help with constipation but it is strong.
You can get it from your GP.
You can try over the counter drugs first maybe x
have you been gaining weight on the amount of calories?
The drinks do not have 1000 calories, but I agree it is a good way to boost your intake, vanilla is my favourite. The drinks range from 140 cals, the next one is 250 cals and the ensure plus is 350 cals.
Oops kcal/ kj. 150/632 per 100ml.
220ml containers.
Xx
Have you tried the coffee or fruits of the Forrest. I like,all of them but not caramal.
It helped me enormously xx
Yes I was seven and,a half stone two years ago maybe a bit longer and now have a
healthy weight of nine and a half stone. Its taken time.
Ensure plus covers all nutrition, vitamins, minerals that the body needs.
The dietician who I still see has informed me that two ensure plus keeps the body going.
Try as I did, eat something even if its only a
biscuit every two hours.
My height is 5ft 5.
Xx
At the start I was on seven a day x
What was your calorie intake?
Seven ensure plus a day x
You can find relaxation, yoga etc on the internet or via your GP too xx
I Only like the milky ones, but I don't like coffee unfortunately, strawberry isn't bad. Have you ever tried them hot, I have them hot in cold weather. I'm glad you find them helpful.
Hi.
Sorry for not replying sooner.
Firstly, constipation is a diet related issue. Having abused laxatives for many years, I am a strong campaigner for the complete lack of need for these.
Even people who experience constipation in their life/experience side effects from other medication can usually resolve this in a couple of days through a result of correcting their diet.
Laxatives don't make you lose weight, they dehydrate the system. I'm not an expert on how they resolve the constipation issues longer term, but a reliance on this can lead to further problems down the line.
Working through natural processes such as retraining your body to process food again is the way forward.
Foods that will help should contain fibre; this means having cereals, and starch based fruits such as bananas.
Lillypad has also provided some good advice.
Regarding weight gain, you cannot gain weight on anything less than your RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance). Your weight will fluctuate generally around 3kg over a month if you are following a non restricting diet.
You may gain "false" weight as you start to increase, because your body is starting to correct itself, and replace the water it has lost, which is why you see a sudden increase as soon as you start eating normally again following a restriction.
The best thing to do if you have been restricting is to eat small (manageable) portions 3 x a day and snacks if possible (to avoid bingeing). This trains your stomach to feel hungry again, and helps you to manage urges around eating more (you should make sure you eat carbohydrates as this prevents energy cravings in between meals).
As a smaller person you require less calories to keep yourself going, but you still need well over 1500 just to keep blood pumping round the body.
In order to gain weight, you need to be eating 3000 calories a day, weekly (21000 calories in a week) and you will be averaging 1kg weight gain.
This is why IP units put patients on 3000 calorie diets.
You need to be patient with weight gain. Hope that helps, and once again well done for pursuing. You should be really proud.