Feel like calling it quits

jess1992uga

So I've been trying to maintain and things were going great. I have a history of extreme yo-yo diets and for once I was instead trying to be healthy. Try new foods and see it as all foods fitting into a healthy diet (had a bit of orthorexia). Then life got crazy, real crazy and before I knew it I wasn't eating till 9pm at night and getting all of my intake in between 9 pm and 3 am. Well since this began, my stomach has become distended, I'm sleep deprived, and weight has jumped up 2 lbs. I frankly just want to go back to my dieting ways. I don't get it. I'm not eating more or exercising less so why the heck is my fat coming back? And how do I make it stop.

sweetteadrinker2

It's not fat-it's water weight that your body is holding onto(bloat, in your case), probably from cortisol levels beign way to high from stress, lack of sleep, etc.

bostonwolf

I was going to reply, but I looked at your profile and would rather not get flagged for being excessively honest.

Good luck to you.

NotQuiteNorm

Stress, lack of sleep, many things can make you retain water and even sometimes gain weight! Also with your eating habits at the moment, do you weigh at night before you start to eat? This would be prime weigh time for you right now as - well - your tummy may well still have food in it in the morning!

isulo_kura

You've had a normal fluctuation. Maybe you need to go back and whatever health professionals were helping with your ED and speak to them. 2 pound is a normal variation. Your weight is not a fixed point and varies throughout the day and from day to day. It is a range

SueInAz

Take a deep calming breath. 2 pounds is a minor fluctuation, probably water, nothing more. Our weight is not static, it fluctuates day by day and hour by hour. Think of your maintenance weight as being within a 5 pound range. Anything within that range is fine.

Lack of sleep and stress can cause all kinds of problems with our bodies. Focus on getting things back under control with the rest of your life and your eating should fall back into place. If you feel like you need to continue to log your food, there's nothing wrong with that using your maintenance calories not as a means to lose weight. There are plenty of people on this site who are doing just that.

jess1992uga

Thanks everyone. Being raised by an anorexic mom kind of tainted all my ideas about food and weight. As you see in profile pice, I finally allowed myself dessert on Easter. First time in probably 2-3 years had dessert and only second time in my whole life (almost 23) having M&Ms

sofaking6

Yeah I would say, don't feel too badly if you've been triggered by all of that stress and a deficient sleep schedule. If you need a checkin with a therapist then by all means do that - the internet does have some nice people but few of them are qualified professionals

What it sounds like you really need is to get the craziness (not you, whatever is going on that's causing your schedule to be crazy) under control and the rest will follow. Failing that, get help to learn new tools to help you cope with the craziness without slipping back into ED.

Congrats on the M&Ms though, they are yummy and it sounds like that was a big step for you!