Thank you @Rob and @mighty m
I hear what you’re saying, and I wish I could say that I had no major health issues – but I do. 3 autoimmune dx with debilitating symptoms, and I have been down the deep dark path of food restriction (keto/IF, GAPS and AI paleo – even tried all three at once for awhile!). I have been refeeding for about 2 months and I just had my first temp above 98 this week and I am feeling better and seeing slow and gradual improvements in my health.
I never tried food restriction in an attempt to lose weight though, it has always been in an attempt to fix my “other” issues (pain, anxiety, depression, skin, digestion, etc). The ironic thing is that after all those diets (plus pregnancy) I was heavier than ever (about 140, but I am small, only 5’1″). 2 months of refeeding and I’m up 20 pounds and 2 pants sizes. Since my temps are just now getting into the very low 98s, I’m assuming I have a long way to go (and a lot more weight to gain)
Also, I don’t think restricted eating is what originally wrecked my metabolism. I didn’t start restricted eating until I was already pretty sick. I believe that my metabolism has been wrecked by mismanagement of hypoT/hashi (synthroid for 15 years), prescription drugs (BCP, antibiotics, psychotropics) and poor lifestyle choices and stress (alcohol, stressful jobs, insomnia, dysfunctional/toxic relationships, etc.)
I guess what I am trying to say is that – I’ve never been under-weight (or under-fat) or had a bona fide eating disorder (lots of disordered eating though) and my metabolism was most certainly messed up before I stated dieting or restricting food. If anything I’ve been more of a “binge” eater through out my life. So, I just can’t help but wondering if I need to “aggressively” refeed and gain a lot more weight because it IS stressful and stress is most likely what got me here, not dieting. Dieting most definitely didn’t help the situation though.
Thanks for listening (reading) – just feeling a little lost and uncertain.
