Eating 1,500 calories and maintaining?
 

So... I used to be about 245 lbs. I ended up losing weight after two years and dropped down to 119 at my lowest. Well, now I'm at 130 and I'm trying to figure out why I have gained the weight. Before, when I was 119, I didn't measure every little bit of food like I do now, and I was one 1,000 calories a day. Now I'm at 1,500 calories, but I measure all of my fruits, veggies...everything. I bike ride for an hour every other day, and on days that I don't bike I lift 10lb dumbbells. I've also grown a pant size from a 4 to a 5. I'm still happy where I am...but I would like to figure out why I gained the weight. Also, I am recovering from an eating disorder. I tend to eat a very small breakfast - maybe just a yogurt, and then I don't eat again until 4pm. I also tend to eat a big meal before going to bed. I know it doesn't help. I was thinking maybe if I try to spread out my meals? It is mentally hard though because I keep thinking I will gain the weight if I do. However, I also want to break the starvation mode habit.

I've actually heard that you can gain weight because of starvation mode. You might want to try actually adding calories to activate your metabolism, I've heard it can actually cause you to loose the weight! Your body might be afraid of you "starving" so it's hoarding reserves. Maybe 50-100 extra calories a day around breakfast?

I am by no means an expert so take what I suggest with a grain of salt, its just something I read. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can either confirm or deny what I've said. My mother had an eating disorder and it really messed with her metabolism, it was the cause of her weight gain after dieting, which is partially what I'm basing my suggestion on. She really messed up her system though, so its hard for her to do anything :( I don't think your metabolism is that far gone though at all, so don't be afraid.