F, 100+ to lose, low-carb, emotional eater

finzup

I'm a female in my mid 40's, need to lose 115, and am starting low-carb lifestyle. I'm married with 2 kids. I am an emotional eater with weight issues my whole life. I can stick to healthy eating for some random time period, then I fall off the wagon completely for months or even years. my motivation is simply gone and I can't seem to get it back. I have never lost "all" the weight i've wanted to lose. I self sabotage myself and even though I know I'm doing it, it's like I'm a stranger watching myself derail.

Are you an emotional eater with 100+ to lose? Let's help each other figure out how to beat this!

Libellue23

Serial self saboteur here.
Big emotional eater too.
Serious Low carb for 2 months now flirting with low carb for 2 years prior.
I recently identified one of my sabotage trigers, compliments on my weight loss from close friends and family.
I didnt know who I would be if I wasn't the fat one. My challenge is approaching, people are starting to notice my weight change.
We can do it together!

finzup

I'm glad you've identified one of your triggers! I still have no idea what mine are. I just stop caring and no matter how much I try to figure out the hows/whys, I can't "get it back". I'm old and this s*it has gone on too long and I want to succeed!

How many carbs do you eat in a day? how many calories do you eat? how has it been going so far? I only just started, I've lost 6 pounds this go around.. trying to eat less than 35 carbs/day and 1300 calories. I haven't really started much exercise yet. Too busy/stressed .

Libellue23

Im doing really good this time.
My range for loss is 2100 to 1600 calories
I try to do under 20 total carbs or 10 net.
I dont plan to exercise until I stall cos at my weight it's uncomfortable to do too much. I take the occasional walk

Have you low carbed before?

finzup

no haven't done all low carb. I've done the "cheat your way thin" diet which has some no carb days, some low GI days, some high GI days but have never been this long (today is day 12) on a low carb diet. I feel OK so far!! I have been trying to stay under 50 carbs (total, not net) .. do I just subtract the fiber to get net carbs?

Vegankid192

Any particular reason why you are excluding most carbs?

arrghmatey1

57 year old male 5' 11'' Day 22 staying between 1700 and 2100 calories with no extra exercise
Type 2 diabetic with blood pressure problems both controlled by medication
In 22 days I have lost from my highest ever weight of 317.6 lbs to 298.2 lbs (98 lbs to go )

I realize as a women you get less calories but I think your carbs are way to low for glycemic balance.
Your body will not perform well and give you cravings till you give in.
It just isn't sustainable to eat so few carbs.

I have tried every diet known to man over the last 30 years. All will fall short and aren't sustainable.

My advice is to buy a cheap meter like a Relion ($16.00 @ walmart with strips and lances about $25.00 )

Take your blood sugar before and two hours after every meal for a few days. (3 to 5)

Find what works. Do some research and find out what the recommendations are for your gender and body type.

For me I can load carbs better in the daytime than at night.

Breakfast and Lunch I try for about 40 carbs with 60 being my upper limit. 120 for the whole day.
That being said it is different for every body but it will probably still be in that 20 to 40 range.

If you balance your carbs you will find that the calories will follow, they have to its all pretty much mathematical.

I just wish I had discovered this sooner.

Since I was about 30 I have lost all the weight many times and regained it with usually a bonus.

This time will be different.

In the last 22 days i have not once been hungry and when presented with poor choices it has been pretty easy to overcome.

I hope this helps and best wishes.

ElizabethHooper1225

41 yr old female with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome teetering on the edge of Diabetes. Need to lose 100+ pounds. My doc says LCHF diet is best for PCOS. I'm a total emotional eater but I'm so ready to make a change in my life. Maybe we can help each other

Angie2822

Hi there!
I'm a 38 year old mother of 1. I would like to lose 80 pounds.
I'm currently on day 14. I am starting over again, it's sad because I have started again so many times. My goal is simply to be healthy and stay healthy. With me I find that I am either gaining or losing weight.
Like you I have never lost all of the weight that I should or want to. I will start to self sabotage and I also know but seem to be helpless to stop it. One of my triggers is when people start to notice and comment on my weight loss as well, but I don't really understand it. One thing that I do know is that I absolutely hate when my weight is the hot topic of discussion. I just don't want to talk about it with my family and friends. I don't know why but it makes me feel very uncomfortable.
I am not doing low carb.
Good luck on your journey.

Libellue23

Low carb is amazing for PCOS, I have a very similar condition that has many of the same symptoms. In my body carbs have a major inflammatory response so this works well for me and a huge number of other people.
It is not a one size fits all WOE and no one way will ever work perfectly for everyone.

arrghmatey1

Just one more thing since it wont let me edit .... hahah
This whole net carb thing is nonsense.

I have done the Atkins diet before and in the end it will not work.
Let the haters hate but a calorie is a calorie.

Eating net carbs is like eating back your exercise calories and will only bring you to failure though it may take awhile or not. hahaha

Exercise calories are subjective. They are real but not in the proportions that people use them.
For example Cardio exercise for 30 minutes may only really give you 10 minutes of REAL calorie burning time.
When your heart rate and other factors actually combine to give the Cardio burst.

So you enter 30 minutes worth of exercise and say that's a 100 calories give or take when at best you have done 30 to 40 and then you add back 60 extra calories and wonder why your stuck or gaining.

You have friendly carbs and unfriendly carbs. Those that go off like a little atomic bomb in your blood stream and those that don't.

Yes you can slow the digestion of the unfriendlies by adding fiber or fat but guess what you are still eating calories eh!

For example all those Atkins snack bars. The calories are huge!

Basically you take a snickers bar and add a bunch of fiber and pronounce it Net Carbs and that is just rubbish.

I love sweet potatoes! They have good vitamins and fiber out the wazoo and although they are a friendly carb it doesn't mean you can sit down and eat a 1 lb one because it will fit in your calories.

Low calorie food MUST be eaten in portion and that portion is dictated by a REAL carb count not some Alice in wonderland ponzi carb counting scheme.

Again Best Wishes

Libellue23

Thank you for your opinion on the subject again. Personally I do not eat back my exercise calories and I do not count net carbs but total carbs. Some people choose not to count fibre in their carbs as it is a form of carbohydrate that is not processed and used for energy. Now that we have that sorted.

This thread is in the motivation and support area. Im going to continue to support the people who choose to eat low carb.

Libellue23

Angie2822 wrote: »

My goal is simply to be healthy and stay healthy. With me I find that I am either gaining or losing weight.
Like you I have never lost all of the weight that I should or want to. I will start to self sabotage and I also know but seem to be helpless to stop it. One of my triggers is when people start to notice and comment on my weight loss as well, but I don't really understand it. One thing that I do know is that I absolutely hate when my weight is the hot topic of discussion. I just don't want to talk about it with my family and friends. I don't know why but it makes me feel very uncomfortable.
I am not doing low carb.
Good luck on your journey.

This trigger is the worst and as ive mentioned above it is also one of mine. My brain says "hey, you're doing great, you need to reward yourself" or "i can't keep doig this if they keep talking about this"
I have asked close friends and family not to comment and still I walked into a party last week and had 3 people who know this is an issue for me whisper into my ear that im looking great. As though not saying it out loud for everyone to hear makes it ok that they've mentioned something that I asked them not to.
Bright side is knowing it's a trigger makes it easier to deal with cos I can talk my head down.

timjmartin23

I'm on a similar journey, I am going to lose another 100 lbs this year, already lost 24lbs since I started with a PT in mid November.

If I can share what I've found, denying yourself food or foods doesn't work - eat clean, unprocessed food for your main diet & moderation on the rest - stay in your MFP target & log everything - even if it puts you over!

Exercise is everything & don't shy from the weights as well as cardio - it accelerates your base metabolism rate & really helps.

Try not to "lose 100 lbs ... rather, lose 1lb but 100 times" ... don't know why but that makes me feel better

Add if you wish... I don't ramble on quite as much but do log every day!

Tim

finzup

arrghmatey1 wrote: »

Just one more thing since it wont let me edit .... hahah
This whole net carb thing is nonsense.

I have done the Atkins diet before and in the end it will not work.
Let the haters hate but a calorie is a calorie.

I am tracking my calories and I do understand it's calories in and calories out. I'm choosing to do low carb because so far, right now, today, it's working for me.
I have a problem with body image /self esteem / emotional eating / self sabotage and i'm finding I'm not having too much of a problem (so far) staying within the confines of 50g of carbs or less per day.
But, for me the problem is not the diet. I can stick to ANY diet or lifestyle change until I self sabotage and fall apart. I'm looking for support for emotional eating and looking for those that are in similar situations. It's not like I'm fat because I don't know what to eat. I am fat because, well, I have issues. I don't even understand what my triggers are because right now, when I'm "ON" the diet I can't fathom not being able to stick with it. After I fall apart, I can't imagine how to get back. It's a vicious cycle.

By the way, I do love sweet potatoes. Eventually when I add in some carbs to my diet, those will be the first I add.

thx and congrats on your weight loss. No small feat.

finzup

ibhooper wrote: »

41 yr old female with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome teetering on the edge of Diabetes. Need to lose 100+ pounds. My doc says LCHF diet is best for PCOS. I'm a total emotional eater but I'm so ready to make a change in my life. Maybe we can help each other

Sent you a friend request!

finzup

Angie2822 wrote: »

Hi there!
I'm a 38 year old mother of 1. I would like to lose 80 pounds.
I'm currently on day 14. I am starting over again, it's sad because I have started again so many times. My goal is simply to be healthy and stay healthy. With me I find that I am either gaining or losing weight.
Like you I have never lost all of the weight that I should or want to. I will start to self sabotage and I also know but seem to be helpless to stop it. One of my triggers is when people start to notice and comment on my weight loss as well, but I don't really understand it. One thing that I do know is that I absolutely hate when my weight is the hot topic of discussion. I just don't want to talk about it with my family and friends. I don't know why but it makes me feel very uncomfortable.
I am not doing low carb.
Good luck on your journey.

Sent you a friend request!

ms_smartypants

Hi there....46 female with a 11 year old daughter....I use to be an emotional eater...I am a keto-er ...have lost 85 lbs in 2 years ..I had some setbacks but I am still here ..you are welcome to add me

carrie091475

Starting carb cycling again not to loose this time but to trim. I'd love to trade/share ideas and give support.

pharonelizabeth

My boyfriend and I have been HFLC since January 15. We have both lost around 35 lbs each. It's so great that we are eating the same as each other, because every time I want chocolate he reminds me how good we are doing low carb works for us because before we started, we would go eat a whole large pizza together. Having the commitment of staying in ketoses keeps us both from saying maybe we'll just have one slice, then the whole thing is gone. We stay under our calories, and compare on who has the best macros for the day. We eat at moes way too often lol. I feel so satisfied on this diet, and it's good for me to have the line where I can't cross to have sugar and carbs. But I can eat a steak for dinner with broccoli topped with cheddar and bacon. Doesn't feel like a diet.

ladipoet

Hello and welcome OP. I suggest you check out the following main low carber daily forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketophiles tend to hang out:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/discussions/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

They have lots of great resources in the sticky note / launch pad area including tons of links to websites with Keto friendly recipes not to mention thousands of supportive and knowledgeable members too!