How Do I Cope with Needing to Gain Weight?
Welcome to this month’s Libby’s Listening! Use this form for a chance for your question to be answered in an upcoming month. 💫
It can be incredibly tough to be intentionally gaining weight when society is constantly praising and fixating on the opposite… 😑
If you are working on recovering from disordered eating and have been sitting at a weight that is too low for your body, part of your healing journey will involve intentionally gaining some weight.
🌟 Today’s Libby’s Listening question is asking about just that:
How do I cope with needing to gain quite a bit of weight? It feels overwhelming seeing and feeling my body change and it’s hard to be trying to gain weight when everyone else seems to be obsessed with eating less, working out more, and trying to get more toned. I’ve made some progress but it’s really hard to keep going!
First of all, it’s amazing that you are prioritizing your health and taking steps to pursue recovery, even when it feels overwhelming and uncomfortable, both physically and emotionally. It can be really tough to be in such a weight and body-obsessed world!
I’ll share a few tips below that I’ve found to be helpful for both myself and clients with whom I’ve journeyed through this process.
How to cope with needing to gain weight in recovery
Focus on healthy actions
Instead of focusing on weight, I’m constantly encouraging clients to focus on healthy actions. We can’t directly control what our body’s naturally healthy weight range is, but we can (generally) control our pursuit of health through our healthy behaviors.
I understand how hard it is to be intentionally gaining weight in recovery and to not be exactly sure during that process where exactly your healthy body size will land.
Instead of fixating on your body shape and size, seek to focus on things like:
- Nourishing yourself with enough food to heal your metabolism, organs, and hormones
- Building balanced meals with enough fat, protein, and carbohydrate
- Challenging unnecessary food rules
- Getting enough sleep
- Prioritizing rest and downtime
- Staying adequately hydrated
While it’s easier said than done, seek to focus more on improving your health and less on your actual body!Â
Wear clothes that feel comfortable
Even when you’re intentionally gaining weight, it can still be really triggering to step into clothes that no longer fit or that feel too tight.
Even though you’re pursuing a healthier body, this can be an unhelpful reminder of the change that’s occurring. Any change can be uncomfortable, even when it’s good and needed change.
I recommended donating any clothes that will clearly no longer fit your healthy body. It can be hard to say goodbye to any clothes you’ve loved wearing, but keeping clothes around that are clearly too small will only serve as a potential temptation to want to fit into them again.
Especially during the active weight gain process, it can be helpful to focus on soft, looser fitting clothes like athletic shorts, summer dresses, and stretchier types of jeans.
Remind yourself of your reasons whyÂ
Finally, I encourage you to focus as often as you can on the reasons WHY you are working on gaining weight in recovery.
Write these on a sheet of paper or a set of notecards and consider reviewing your reasons why each morning. 🌅
Your reasons why are going to be unique to you and need to be powerful enough to propel you forward each day with nourishing yourself and resting appropriately.
✨ What will your health body size allow you to do?
✨ How will it change what you’re able to pursue in the future and the type of person you can be?
Take some time alone and really consider why reaching a healthy body size (and therefore gaining weight) matters to you!
Seek to shift your thoughts from “gaining weight” to all that you are gaining in general — a healthy body, greater mental clarity, the ability to be more present with others, and so much more.
Need more support in your recovery journey? Drop your question for next month here or check out my private practice here for more personalized and ongoing support. 
August 6, 2025
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