Recovering from overuse of laxative and restrictive eating

[Freshstartagain]

I finally decided last Thursday that enough was enough. Have been struggling with restrictive eating and dependency of laxatives. I stopped all laxatives and am trying to eating around 1500 calories a day. My tummy is v v bloated now and have put on 4 1/2lbs in five days.

I am really struggling and wonder if this is what normally happens. I want free from this and know I have to gain weight but so fast? Is it just water weight? I know that I need to keep eating probably eat more but terrified I will gaining a pound every day from now on?

Can anyone help/give guidance?

good to hear you are aiming for health! It isn't an over night thing, and your body is recovering, so be kind to your self.
Going off laxatives means retraining your bowels, you will have some bloating and gas as you start, but it will go away as your gut gets stronger.
Make sure you are eating lots of roughage, it will keep you full, strengthen you system, and is low calorie.

Big well done for turning a corner! What you're experiencing is pretty normal - I had quite seriously disordered eating as a teenager and it took a while for things to start moving normally.

If you can, step away from the scales for a few weeks. Drink plenty of water (counter intuitive I know but it'll help you flush out the water retention) - 2 litres ish per day including herbal tea. As for food, think along the lines of 'clean' meals like chicken noodle soup, vegetable soups, porridge, fruit (nothing too acidic though), vegetables, whole wheat toast etc.

Hope your recovery goes smoothly and you get your body and energy levels where you want them!

Almost forgot - roasting a chicken is a good idea. Then you can use the bones for your soups and the meat can go into salads etc.

Thank you so much for your positive words and advice.

I do need to banish the scales! I am drinking loads of fluid as I know I need to keep things moving. I am hoping that by writing this down it will help me to see how far I have come in a short time and progress onwards.

I have two dds and I do not want them to go down the same horrible road as I have

congratulations on your new attitude and wishing you all the luck in the world. You WILL sort this and it sounds like you have already made huge progress.

Do you have any real life help? You may need assistance in coming off the laxatives and understanding what to expect and what is normal.

meantime do keep drinking good clear fluid, lots of vegetables and good complex carbs. BTW there is no such thing as water weight and no, with a normal diet you won't keep gaining a pound a day forever!