The Student Room Group

Am I at risk of refeeding syndrome if I binge over Christmas?

Been eating around 600-900 calories a day for the past few months, with the occasional binge days of having around 2000 calories. I currently weigh 88lbs/6 stone 4 and I'm 5'0 tall, 21 years old. I'm at uni rn so I can eat according to my own schedules but when I go home for Christmas I'm planning to not follow any diet for the two weeks I will be home and just eat/drink whatever I want whenever I am craving it or feel hungry. I know from past experiences that if I suddenly stop restricting I will can eat around 3000 calories a day. I'm worried that the sudden massive calorie increase will cause damage to my health such as refeeding syndrome

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Original post
by Anonymous
Been eating around 600-900 calories a day for the past few months, with the occasional binge days of having around 2000 calories. I currently weigh 88lbs/6 stone 4 and I'm 5'0 tall, 21 years old. I'm at uni rn so I can eat according to my own schedules but when I go home for Christmas I'm planning to not follow any diet for the two weeks I will be home and just eat/drink whatever I want whenever I am craving it or feel hungry. I know from past experiences that if I suddenly stop restricting I will can eat around 3000 calories a day. I'm worried that the sudden massive calorie increase will cause damage to my health such as refeeding syndrome
refeeding syndrome only occurs when you are malnourished if you think you are malnourished that says a lot about your diet. If I was you that would be more of a concern than eating the 3000 calories when you get home. You’re weight is worryingly low. My advise put on weight, my other advice is not to ask student room and instead speak to a medical professional as you’re relationship with food seams unhealthy from this short post.
Have you talked to a doctor about your concerns, including detailing your current dietary intake?

Reply 3

Original post
by Anonymous
refeeding syndrome only occurs when you are malnourished if you think you are malnourished that says a lot about your diet. If I was you that would be more of a concern than eating the 3000 calories when you get home. You’re weight is worryingly low. My advise put on weight, my other advice is not to ask student room and instead speak to a medical professional as you’re relationship with food seams unhealthy from this short post.

I’m seeing a doctor about other stuff when I go home but I’m not trying to put weight on (other than the weight I will inevitably put on over Christmas but I lose that again when I’m back at uni)

Reply 4

Original post
by artful_lounger
Have you talked to a doctor about your concerns, including detailing your current dietary intake?

No and I don’t really intend to
Original post
by Anonymous
No and I don’t really intend to

Well then what is the point of this thread?

TSR can't provide medical advice and if you don't intend to seek medical advice from a medical professional this thread serves no purpose.

Reply 6

Original post
by Anonymous
No and I don’t really intend to

I would consider changing your mind because I think you really need to.

Reply 7

Original post
by Anonymous
I’m seeing a doctor about other stuff when I go home but I’m not trying to put weight on (other than the weight I will inevitably put on over Christmas but I lose that again when I’m back at uni)

6 stone 4 for a fully grown adult is concerning

Reply 8

Original post
by Anonymous
6 stone 4 for a fully grown adult is concerning

I’m 5’0

Reply 9

Original post
by artful_lounger
Well then what is the point of this thread?
TSR can't provide medical advice and if you don't intend to seek medical advice from a medical professional this thread serves no purpose.

I’m seeing a doctor when I get home, I’m just not looking to gain weight
Original post
by Anonymous
I’m seeing a doctor when I get home, I’m just not looking to gain weight

Except that's not what I asked.

You are purporting to be at risk of a condition that apparently occurs if you are experiencing starvation and/or severe malnutrition.

In order to be assessed for this syndrome, you would need to see a medical professional and tell them about your current dietary intake to demonstrate you are in fact experiencing starvation or severe malnutrition and meet any other criteria, to be diagnosed with that or identified as being at risk of that.

You'd then need to follow whatever their treatment/management plan is.

If you're not willing to see a medical professional and disclose that information then it's really besides the point to ask on TSR whether or not you're at risk as you have no way of finding out.

Reply 11

Original post
by Anonymous
I’m 5’0

That’s still concerning check you’re BMI it’s underweight. ‘The best weight for your height is between 6 stone 11 pounds and 9 stone 2 pounds.’ According to the nhs

Reply 12

Your calorie intake is less than what is recommended for a 2 year old.

Reply 13

Original post
by artful_lounger
Except that's not what I asked.
You are purporting to be at risk of a condition that apparently occurs if you are experiencing starvation and/or severe malnutrition.
In order to be assessed for this syndrome, you would need to see a medical professional and tell them about your current dietary intake to demonstrate you are in fact experiencing starvation or severe malnutrition and meet any other criteria, to be diagnosed with that or identified as being at risk of that.
You'd then need to follow whatever their treatment/management plan is.
If you're not willing to see a medical professional and disclose that information then it's really besides the point to ask on TSR whether or not you're at risk as you have no way of finding out.

I probably am malnourished, I’ve stopped getting periods. But the treatment for it is just to gradually increase your calorie intake instead of all at once
Original post
by Anonymous
I probably am malnourished, I’ve stopped getting periods. But the treatment for it is just to gradually increase your calorie intake instead of all at once

Then go to your doctor and have that conversation with them.

Reply 15

I think you should rethink posting something like this for anyone to see - especially when the site is targeted for students which could potentially be a lot younger than u are and therefore vulnerable to this kind of content. Talking about weight/calories can be incredibly triggering for some individuals especially if they are not expecting to see something like this come up (an education/student forum) I am in no way saying this is what you intended but just a bit of advice to ensure everyone keeps safe :smile:

Reply 16

Original post
by Anonymous
I think you should rethink posting something like this for anyone to see - especially when the site is targeted for students which could potentially be a lot younger than u are and therefore vulnerable to this kind of content. Talking about weight/calories can be incredibly triggering for some individuals especially if they are not expecting to see something like this come up (an education/student forum) I am in no way saying this is what you intended but just a bit of advice to ensure everyone keeps safe :smile:

The site has options to post about health/mental health, and you can very much guess the content of the post from the title, it’s not my fault if someone chooses to click on it

Reply 17

Original post
by artful_lounger
Then go to your doctor and have that conversation with them.

I won’t get a chance to before Christmas because I’m not in the UK atm

Reply 18

Original post
by Anonymous
The site has options to post about health/mental health, and you can very much guess the content of the post from the title, it’s not my fault if someone chooses to click on it


posting about mental health does not mean you need to disclose the information about your weight and calories - not to mention your question is purely something students should not be answering - if you are genuinely worried about refeeding syndrome that is something you need to speak about with a medical professional, i get you don’t want to but at the end of the day all you’ve managed to do is post triggering content.
Original post
by Anonymous
I won’t get a chance to before Christmas because I’m not in the UK atm

So get an appointment for the doctor where you are now. I can't imagine any country would permit an international student to remain in the country on a visa without adequate healthcare coverage. And if you're a domestic student and national of that country you should have healthcare coverage arranged one way or another anyway.

Or make arrangements in advance for an appointment with your doctor on your return to the UK.

This is an excuse and not a very valid one.
(edited 1 year ago)

Quick Reply

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.