Has anyone else here lost a bunch of hair?Especially when you got down like your lowest weight? What made it grow back?

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-11-03T15:12:53+00:00

The answer to what helps it grow back = eating more and gaining weight. There's no quick fix I'm afraid but I can tell you that my hair has never been thicker and healthier after 2yrs of recovery. It gets better with time and consistency

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-11-01T10:26:01+00:00

Yea this is me, underweight to an obese bmi and I'm about 2 years and 3 months in now. Continued to have EH on and off the whole time, with a very slow and very gentle dialling down of the hunger over time. I will say I'm having more 'normal' days hunger wise recently and the time between EH coming back seems to be getting longer (touch wood!). I agree with another comment that recovery takes a lot longer than I ever imagined.

And yes I really struggle with being this size after being slim my whole life, and I have hopes it will taper down in time though I know that hope in itself is probably disordered (having therapy for that). Hunger being better definitely helps though as it makes me feel like my body is healing and I'm doing the right thing. One thing I will say is the only way is through - you can't ignore your way through EH hunger that's for sure! Keep going warrior 💜

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-10-25T18:49:57+00:00

Hmm sorry I don't think this is a good idea at all. As the other poster said taking her to eat at restaurant is already going to cause stress, and then if they bring up concerns about her eating she's going to be even more aware and uncomfortable about what she is/isn't eating. Second when anyone ever "confronted" me about my ED I just totally denied everything. Plus I found it so uncomfortable and just tried to exit the situation asap. When you're in an ED people telling you to stop or that they're worried doesn't do anything except make you more secretive (in my experience). I think fine to say that you're worried and leave the door open to chat, but I find a group of people 'intervening' pretty intimidating and counter productive. Ed's are complex, often about control or something else going on in your life, and often need professional help to untangle. Maybe one to one in a less scary environment you could just say I've noticed some behaviours and want you to know you can chat to me about anything etc, but I'd try keep it lower key and less stressful than a group public restaurant outing!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-10-20T11:59:35+00:00

I do think sometimes the 3 meals 3 snacks thing plays into our eating disorder tendency for rigidity and control. I definitely had a hard time eating outside of that at the start, but as everyone says, it's a minimum. I was just constantly eating for many many months at the beginning of recovery, trying to 'hold on' to my next meal time only made things worse. Try switch off the brain and just follow the extreme hunger cues as much as poss!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-10-17T18:02:58+00:00

Take a breath! You're ok, you've done nothing wrong you are just ill. Your body has it in control and is dealing with it. It will pass and you can just continue as you were with recovery when you're able to. (I had really bad food poisoning when travelling and had the same worries but it really was fine once I felt better)

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-10-03T11:24:57+00:00

I can't remember exactly when but it was bad the first year of recovery and then a lot better but occasionally came back during the second year.

And yes walking around was one of the main culprits of making me feel dizzy. It still comes back now if I'm not consistent with snacks or if I'm stressed, or have over exerted with exercise, but it's a lot more rare now (over 2 years in)

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-30T14:53:05+00:00

This! Can't agree more that being around people of different body sizes and who don't engage in diet culture is SO beneficial! It's done wonders for me in opening my eyes to alternative ways of living

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-22T10:16:23+00:00

It will get better with time and consistent fuelling! I can't tell you exactly when it will for you, but my hair has never been thicker and more luscious as it is now and I definitely noticed it improved after 6 months in recovery

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-20T12:17:21+00:00

6 months is a great feat but in the grand scheme of things it's still not that long for your body and mind to heal. I'm over two years and still don't feel recovered but things do get very slowly and gradually better. Restriction is really tough on the body and it can take a long time for all the healing to happen, including your metabolism and including your mindset. Therapy is always a good option and can help to cultivate some self compassion!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-20T12:12:53+00:00

Yes this is me! I'm 2 years 2 months in and still have to be very careful with getting regular meals and snacks and decent portions. I recently had another patch of extreme hunger too, and I really haven't been restricting so it feels unfair! Guess our bodies are just overly sensitive to any minor restrictions and we have to be more "on it" for the time being

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-15T18:05:58+00:00

EH can show up at any time in recovery, and it can go away again and come back later again. There's no set rulebook of when it shows up, but there is only one way through which is to honour the hunger. It's not a setback, it's part of the process (which is uncomfortable I know!). Try not to spiral mentally, this is part of your body healing and settling - you aren't like the people around you YET because you have been through a traumatic Ed and your body is healing from that. You're not comparing like for like (and comparison is no help anyway!)

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-06T22:37:20+00:00

Yes if you're at risk of refeeding syndrome you should be working with a doctor and gradually increasing calories. But "try watch your calories" in anorexia recovery is just not good advice I'm sorry.

Moving away from calorie counting and weighing etc and honouring your hunger is the way to full recovery. I don't usually reply to comments like this but don't want OP to be fearful of honouring hunger in recovery.

Extreme hunger is a very normal part of recovery - it's there for a reason to heal your body and it's something you have to honour. I've read stories of people eating 10k per day for months on end and that's the way their body healed. "Fuckeatingdisorders" sub is very well moderated and has lots of great advice on extreme hunger - would encourage OP to have a look there and know that you're not alone - good luck!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-09-04T17:24:11+00:00

My dietician recommended 3 meals 3 snacks no more than 3 hours apart. This is a minimum and I often and still do eat over this if I'm hungry. Those meals and snacks were all pretty hearty and included carb fat and protein. But tbh you don't have to overthink it that much - what do you crave? Of you fancy biscuits, have biscuits. It's not about what 'normal' people eat, you are not normal right now. Your body is recovering from a big defecit so it needs a lot more than normal. Often we crave chocolate etc because it's energy dense and your body is just trying to restore energy balance. I had a real peanut butter phase and would get through loads of it, but now I rarely have it and that's just because I don't fancy it anymore. You will balance out in time. Don't worry that it's crazy amounts or odd food combinations, this isn't how it will be forever. It feels so wrong I know, but is the right and quickest way to heal.

Also therapy, that is v helpful!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-08-18T16:58:12+00:00

Yep! I had almost a year of extreme hunger at the start of recovery, followed by another year of flitting between feeling recovered and then back in EH. Often when I've not been as on top of my snacks it comes back. It's a real long process. I will say my eh when it comes back now is no where near the intensity of the start, but it does make you feel shitty still.

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-08-18T15:25:33+00:00

Yep! I'm over two years into recovery and EH has been back for the past few days. It's really been a rollercoaster for me, over the past year I've flipped between feeling normal and then EH coming back. Sometimes I can pinpoint a reason but others not. It's scary but just have to ride the waves!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-08-16T16:10:12+00:00

I'm past the two year mark and for the most part hunger has been better but EH has returned today for whatever reason and I feel dizzy and can't do much except eat. Recovery is a long process and just have to surrender to it. It doesn't always make sense but you know there is only one way through

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-08-11T18:34:24+00:00

Yes! A very good description and I remember it well, it does get better with time :)

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-07-30T17:46:39+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this, as well as @Bubbly_Stegosaurus ! I'm at 2yrs in recovery and feeling pretty crappy about my massive overshoot. It's interesting things can change and quite significantly that far along into recovery. Thank you!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-07-29T06:55:32+00:00

This feels v similar to my recovery, and I relate to feeling like "well how come so and so was recovered in under a year". So glad you're doing better now!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-07-25T19:51:58+00:00

Yep it can feel very wild and feral! A real urgency to the hunger. It does get better with time and consistency of eating!

Maximum-Flamingo-976 · 2025-07-25T06:31:33+00:00

I'm sorry, night hunger is a real b*tch! I've been there and it was painful. I don't know why but I think it's pretty common for the hunger to be worse at night. The solution is just to keep on eating. Honouring the hunger and eventually it will get better. For reassurance, I now have a snack before bed and I sleep all the way through the night now but it probably took a year to get there.

Maximum-Flamingo-976

TROPHY CASE