Recovery from years of crash dieting? Help?

motelbooks

(This is going to be a question about maintaining my weight and getting healthy, not losing weight.)

So I'm 18 years old and I've been going on crash diets since I was 14 or 15. At certain points I would eat 0-400 calories a day (no, I have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder, now do I believe I have one) and at other times, I'd binge eat like crazy and gain either almost everything I lost or all of it and then some. No surprise there. And I've done everything in between as well.

I'm 5'3 and my highest weight was 151 and that was over a year ago and lasted a very short period of time. I struggled and struggled to get out of the 142-146 range for nearly a year and it seems like a blur now but I eventually got to the 130's. I remember that it happened pretty quickly and without much effort but I don't remember how it happened because now I've been stuck in the 132-136 range for months. (My goal is to be in the 110's, which would look best on my frame.)

But I've realized that my eating habits, regardless of the fact that I haven't been diagnosed with an eating disorder, they are definitely not healthy. I've probably badly damaged my metabolism from the back and forth of crash dieting and binge eating and I just don't remember at this point how to have healthy eating habits. My goal for the moment is to relearn that and just maintain my weight until I learn to do that.

So my questions are pretty much just how can I relearn healthy habits? How can I stop focusing on weight loss but without overeating and gaining a bunch of weight? How can I recognize my body's signals that it's hungry or satisfied when I've ignored those both for so long? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

Sweep79

I've been in a similar boat myself. I'm not sure if we are allowed to recommend things on here but I read a great book about intuitive eating by josie spinardi... I think her name was. It was a revalation. I am still definitely work in progress but I go a lot easier on myself. Good luck.

Mal909

Same here lost around 80 pounds and now suffering from the same problem... Though I started eating my calories above my bmr....
There is one YouTube channel Micheal Korey. Go to its playlist look for macros and diet that might help you....

SueInAz

You might try making yourself a meal plan for a week in advance, pre-log your food in MFP at the beginning of the day and stick to it. It's your choice whether you'd rather plan all of your food into three meals at "normal" times or if you'd like to eat 5 or 6 small "meals" throughout the day. I might suggest starting with the three main meals and see how you respond to eating like that after a couple of weeks. If you are worried you might forget to eat, set an alarm at the appropriate times. Stop what you're doing and eat your meal. Your body will eventually start sending you normal hunger signals when it begins to expect the next meal. Since you are planning your meals and calories out you won't be overeating and you won't undereating or getting so hungry that you'll binge.

SueInAz

Sweep79 wrote: »

I've been in a similar boat myself. I'm not sure if we are allowed to recommend things on here but I read a great book about intuitive eating by josie spinardi... I think her name was. It was a revalation. I am still definitely work in progress but I go a lot easier on myself. Good luck.

Recommend away as long as it's not something that you're going to profit from. People are always recommending exercise videos, strength programs, etc. and that's not a problem, quite the opposite.

jgnatca

Could you talk to a dietitian or a counsellor with some experience with eating disorders? You might benefit from some insight.

Could you work on eating three meals a day consistently, and developing a general target to eat at each meal?

sophomorelove

I had the same experience at your age and it took me over a decade to finally snap out of this mindset. What did it for me is the realization that there doesn't need to be a struggle. All you have to do is consistently be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. It's up to you what to eat. It's up to you to find out what works best to take the struggle out of the equation.

This is what works for me (I'm almost never uncomfortable, and if I ever am, I eat what I want and not beat myself up about it, because it only happens occasionally):


a big breakfast high in protein (eggs, bacon, sauteed veggies) 300-400 cal

snaking on raw fruits/veggies throughout the day (I don't have to worry about packing lunch) 200 cal

a treat right after work/before picking up my kid from daycare (I know I'll be craving sweets so I have some) 300 cal

dinner within my remaining calories/macros (I try to leave 100 cal left in the budget in case I get munchies before bed or decide to have a glass of wine) 300-400

If I exercise, it adds another 100-200 cal I can eat, so that's nice too

It took me way too long to finally accept the reality and realize that it's all up to me. So far I lost almost 30 lbs since my heaviest weight of 190. It's slow, but I am in no rush, although I do get impatient. I am happy finally being honest with myself and doing the right thing. I used to do lots of crash diets. I'd lose 12-15 lbs in two weeks, so it's not easy to cope with the slow rate of weight loss. But hey, this time it's only going down.

You can add me as a friend. I am 5'3" so I have to eat around 1200 cal, which can be tricky, but I think I got a hang of it. My diary is open,

Good luck!!

Sweep79

No - no profit in the recommendation for me. Just want to help. It's great you're looking to address this now, at a young age. I was going from 15 to 35 in that mindset. Good luck again. You will get the support you need on here.

barbecuesauce

SueInAz wrote: »

You might try making yourself a meal plan for a week in advance, pre-log your food in MFP at the beginning of the day and stick to it. It's your choice whether you'd rather plan all of your food into three meals at "normal" times or if you'd like to eat 5 or 6 small "meals" throughout the day. I might suggest starting with the three main meals and see how you respond to eating like that after a couple of weeks. If you are worried you might forget to eat, set an alarm at the appropriate times. Stop what you're doing and eat your meal. Your body will eventually start sending you normal hunger signals when it begins to expect the next meal. Since you are planning your meals and calories out you won't be overeating and you won't undereating or getting so hungry that you'll binge.

That's a great idea.

I think that I would make sure my calorie goal isn't too aggressive (too much restriction tends to lead to binges for me). Eat at least half of your exercise calories back too.

Figure out what makes you feel satiated or hungry--I no longer eat cereal during the day because it makes me hungrier, but a sandwich on whole grain bread for the same calories keeps me full until dinner.

Try new vegetables and fruits. Try new recipes. Focus on new fitness goals. Anything that takes your attention off the number on the scale (which you only have so much control over).

And if you do feel like you're losing control over your diet, please get help.

50andfabu

Remember that keeping your calories too low (under 1200) will lead to bingeing.
Your metabolism is fairly durable. It's not broken and will be find if you start to feed yourself regularly.