Kelj
Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2019
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This website:
Phases of Recovery From An Eating Disorder Part 5
has this to say about the temporary nature of abdominal fat upon the resumation of eating plentiful calories after a period of eating restriction:
"I can often identify someone on sight who is living within the neither/nor space. It is difficult to describe, but patients genuinely appear unformed—not misshapen, just lacking definition and subtle age-appropriate refinement in shape. The term we have settled on is: adult-sized toddler.
The body preferentially lays down fat around the midsection to insulate vital organs from hypothermia. 16 And unfortunately, many relapse at this point because the level of distress is high and associated with a sense that the shape they have is permanent. The face, neck, shoulders, and abdomen appear out of proportion. This is a normal and transient phase in recovery, but it is difficult to maintain enough mental and emotional distance to appreciate that the body is healing. The even redistribution of the fat around the midsection to the rest of the body occurs if you persist right to the final phase."
I can personally testify to this redistribution of fat with persistence in eating to/or above minimum calorie guidelines. I can also testify to the difficulty of maintaining mental and emotional distance to appreciate that the extra abdominal fat was a phase of healing. It is the body that chooses that phase to protect us. What happens when we try to "hack", manipulate and jerry-rig our bodies? Nothing of a permanently positive nature. Ideally, we should have never restricted calories, dropped macros, and over exercised. But, we did. The only way out of this situation we have created is to let the body go through its phases of healing, without judgement, with plenty of calories to fuel the process. It has been worth it to me and others who have had the courage to stop worrying about the temporary abdominal fat.
Mayer, Laurel, B. Timothy Walsh, Richard N. Pierson, Steven B. Heymsfield, Dympna Gallagher, Jack Wang, Michael K. Parides et al. "Body fat redistribution after weight gain in women with anorexia nervosa." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81, no. 6 (2005): 1286-1291.
Mayer, Laurel ES, Diane A. Klein, Elizabeth Black, Evelyn Attia, Wei Shen, Xiangling Mao, Dikoma C. Shungu et al. "Adipose tissue distribution after weight restoration and weight maintenance in women with anorexia nervosa." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90, no. 5 (2009): 1132-1137
Phases of Recovery From An Eating Disorder Part 5
has this to say about the temporary nature of abdominal fat upon the resumation of eating plentiful calories after a period of eating restriction:
"I can often identify someone on sight who is living within the neither/nor space. It is difficult to describe, but patients genuinely appear unformed—not misshapen, just lacking definition and subtle age-appropriate refinement in shape. The term we have settled on is: adult-sized toddler.
The body preferentially lays down fat around the midsection to insulate vital organs from hypothermia. 16 And unfortunately, many relapse at this point because the level of distress is high and associated with a sense that the shape they have is permanent. The face, neck, shoulders, and abdomen appear out of proportion. This is a normal and transient phase in recovery, but it is difficult to maintain enough mental and emotional distance to appreciate that the body is healing. The even redistribution of the fat around the midsection to the rest of the body occurs if you persist right to the final phase."
I can personally testify to this redistribution of fat with persistence in eating to/or above minimum calorie guidelines. I can also testify to the difficulty of maintaining mental and emotional distance to appreciate that the extra abdominal fat was a phase of healing. It is the body that chooses that phase to protect us. What happens when we try to "hack", manipulate and jerry-rig our bodies? Nothing of a permanently positive nature. Ideally, we should have never restricted calories, dropped macros, and over exercised. But, we did. The only way out of this situation we have created is to let the body go through its phases of healing, without judgement, with plenty of calories to fuel the process. It has been worth it to me and others who have had the courage to stop worrying about the temporary abdominal fat.
Mayer, Laurel, B. Timothy Walsh, Richard N. Pierson, Steven B. Heymsfield, Dympna Gallagher, Jack Wang, Michael K. Parides et al. "Body fat redistribution after weight gain in women with anorexia nervosa." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81, no. 6 (2005): 1286-1291.
Mayer, Laurel ES, Diane A. Klein, Elizabeth Black, Evelyn Attia, Wei Shen, Xiangling Mao, Dikoma C. Shungu et al. "Adipose tissue distribution after weight restoration and weight maintenance in women with anorexia nervosa." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90, no. 5 (2009): 1132-1137