I'm a 27-year-old female and I "recovered" from severe anorexia after in-patient treatment in 2005. I'm 5'3" tall and weighed in the low 70s before treatment. After treatment, I was eating about 1850 calories a day and weighed just under 100 pounds (still low, I know). I continued eating about that much and exercised a bit more (but not much), and by spring 2006, my weight had dropped for some unknown reason to about 83 pounds. I was secretly pleased but disturbed.

In the summer of 2006, while I kept my calorie intake at about 1850 and continued exercising for 45 min/day, my weight started to inch back up. After it got to the high 80s, I couldn't help myself---I started to restrict again. Every three months or so I would cut out 30-50 calories (I can't remember the exact amounts/times), at which point I would maintain my weight (or even lose half a pound or so) for about three more months, after which the weight would go up again---until I restricted a tiny bit once more.

Now it's three years after I weighed 83 pounds, and I weigh 95 again. Not a huge deal in itself, but I'm now restricting my calorie intake to about 1300 calories--which I hate, and I DON'T want to go any lower! (I'd rather increase it.) How can I have restricted calories so much---to the point where I'm eating notably LESS than what I should be burning in a day---and I'm STILL gaining weight?

I know I'm still underweight and I wouldn't be terribly upset about gaining a few more pounds—but not 10!---and what I really hate is not being in control or understanding.

Did anorexia completely mess up my metabolism, and if so, how can I fix it? And why the initial post-treatment weight loss?

My blood tests don't red-flag a thyroid disorder, but my mother does have one. Could I have developed some kind of disorder like hypercortisolism?

You may tell me to eat more and let my body adjust its weight itself, but I also feel there's something truly wrong. Please tell me all the possibilities!

Thanks a lot.