Making this too complicated?!
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I'd also recommend a slower weight loss. I have similar stats to you - 5'5'' and starting weight of 185 lbs (now at 145 lbs,14 months later). I started with 1lb per week then switched to 0.5 lbs per week after a couple of months. The good thing about slow weight loss is a) it reduces the chance of bingeing or giving up, as it's easy to stick to and b) it teaches you a lot about maintenance, as it's very similar to maintenance. I relate to a lot of what you wrote, I also had to stop thinking about being on a diet, I just eat a bit less, and I'm never going to go off my diet for that same reason.
Good luck!
I second this recommendation. You don't have that much to lose in the grand scheme of things I think, 2 lbs per week is pretty aggressive, and I would feel hangry a lot of the time. But it's up to you and what you feel good doing, so good luck!0 -
Just to add to what other posters are saying, I do think a lot of weight loss / weight issues is largely psychological as well. You've done a million diets ao you know HOW to restrict food. But it sounds like you have an unhealthy relationship with food which sends you back to binging. The part where even your husband doesn't know because you sneak food is a red flag to me. (That's not a judgement - I don't think you are alone by any means). I'm wondering if it might be helpful to seek some professional assistance in working through your view of food etc. Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes and a person doesn't have to be emaciated to have one. Along with changing WHAT you eat (or rather how much) it might be helpful to address WHY you eat. Just a thought I wanted to throw in the mix.0
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I'd also recommend a slower weight loss. I have similar stats to you - 5'5'' and starting weight of 185 lbs (now at 145 lbs,14 months later). I started with 1lb per week then switched to 0.5 lbs per week after a couple of months. The good thing about slow weight loss is a) it reduces the chance of bingeing or giving up, as it's easy to stick to and b) it teaches you a lot about maintenance, as it's very similar to maintenance. I relate to a lot of what you wrote, I also had to stop thinking about being on a diet, I just eat a bit less, and I'm never going to go off my diet for that same reason.
Good luck!
I second this recommendation. You don't have that much to lose in the grand scheme of things I think, 2 lbs per week is pretty aggressive, and I would feel hangry a lot of the time. But it's up to you and what you feel good doing, so good luck!
I third this recommendation. I'll also add that it's helpful to think of your calorie budget as a fluid number. Any day that you are even a tiny bit under your maintenance number is a win for weight loss. It helps strip some of the guilt away. If your maintenance is 2000 calories, for example, and you consumed 1950, that's still a deficit and you are still doing much better than your full on "tomorrow is a diet so my world is ending tonight" kind of binges. Think of higher calorie days as just a fluid part of your eating pattern, not as a fail or as a fall off the wagon. Many naturally thin people have days where they eat a lot and days where they eat less. It's normal. So don't feel like you're doing bad if you have a higher day here or there. For me, personally, slowly letting go of guilt was the ultimate reason I was able to lose as much as I've lost and last as long as I've lasted.
ETA: Charge HR tends to overestimate calories. All heart rate activity trackers likely do (heart rate is only correlated with calories burned for steady state exercises). From experience with Charge HR, about 50-60% of the extra calories it gives you is likely safe to eat, and you SHOULD eat them back whenever you can if you feel like it or save them for a higher calorie day if you don't feel like eating, very useful for things like planned dinners out or the occasional take out you've been craving. That's how MFP was designed to work.1 -
OMG! You just totally described me and my thoughts! I have come to the same conclusion, I am going to trust mfp and eat what I want with in my calories, and try not to beat myself up so much if it doesn't go exactly to plan. Good luck.x0
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losing weight is easy.
keeping the commitment to keep doing so, is whats hard.
ive lost 80 pounds over the past 2 years. I eat what I want, and drink, and for the most part stay within my calorie goals (obviously, lol). that said, when i go over, its not a big deal. I'm going out tonight and am drinking my dinner in alcohol LOL but with working out this morning, it wont make a difference. I eat back calories if i feel hungry, or want a treat, or 3 (bar) shots of jack and two beers. whatever.
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my simple plan is this:
I found out what the calorie maintenance target would be for my goal weight. This is my daily average NET that I aim to hit. I use MFP's weekly average to help me monitor this, so if I've gone over one day, I can cut back the next. Loss is slow but sustainable as it teaches me what the future will be.
I eat foods I like and foods that are filling. That happens to be plenty of vegetables and not a lot of bread, but I do still eat bread - I enjoy delicious artisan sourdoughs etc. I’m a flavour girl and I also know that if I eat mostly plant-based I can have an enormous plate of food for not so many calories.
I exercise because I want to be superhuman. I probably never will be superhuman but I’m hoping along the way I’ll find more energy and discover things I didn’t’ know I was capable of.
I use my fitbit to record my calories and that adjusts my daily goal. So far it seems accurate.
don't diet. Enjoy your food.
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I will redo my settings today to take off the 2 lb/week and Force my mindset to think long haul, not immediate results. I do get up at 5am every morning and exercise for 30-50 minutes depending on what I'm doing (Pilates DVD, weights DVD, walk/run) in addition to trying to hit that 10,000 step goal. I think the years of the restriction/binge cycling are making things tougher. I think I need to skip the scale for a few weeks as well so that when I see a change of 1 lb I don't think "this isn't working!" I appreciate the support. I am finally understanding what the nutritionist at the gym meant when she said that I have "disordered eating." I am a mental mess in regards to food but am committed to changing that here and now. I need to stop letting the number on the scale determine how I feel about my day every day and how I feel about myself. It dictates whether I feel that I am good or bad and it is one of those things that sounds crazy to read and I would think doesn't make sense if someone else said it but it is real. Ugh.4
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I bet everyone on here can relate to your story. For me it was the realisation that each lb equals a 3500 calorie deficit so jumping on the scales every day didn't mean anything. I realised that a 250 calorie deficit a day would lead to 1/2 lb per week - long term and sustainable just by logging on MFP. In the end I lost about
I am 5'6" and 15 months ago I weighed over 180lb. I'm now 140lb and have been maintaining that weight since August.
Slow and steady wins in the end. Good luck with your journey x0 -
Great post, I bet that was cathartic!
I think you got it. Just having a mild deficit (at your weight I wouldn't do more than 500 calories as a deficit) and relaxing about what you can eat otherwise will probably help a lot.
Your post did make me think you might appreciate a book I read some time ago (basically about the dieting industry, and the author is a recovered dieter, basically): Laura Fraser's Losing It.1 -
Truth!!!
It took me almost 40 years to realize the simplicity. Eat at a caloric deficit. Work out for fitness. End of story.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Great post, I bet that was cathartic!
I think you got it. Just having a mild deficit (at your weight I wouldn't do more than 500 calories as a deficit) and relaxing about what you can eat otherwise will probably help a lot.
Your post did make me think you might appreciate a book I read some time ago (basically about the dieting industry, and the author is a recovered dieter, basically): Laura Fraser's Losing It.
I will check it out. It's funny how each different "diet" has all of these studies that they cite to back them up but then the next one has other studies that back up their plan. And each one seems to make sense by the time you finish the book. I will find that book and check it out! And I will really try to resolve to NOT check out any more diet books from the Library (even though I just received an email from my library that two are ready to be picked up that I had put on hold...)1 -
I would say that when most people on here suggest lower carb/higher protein & fat, it still revolves around CICO. Some dietary changes can make it easier to feel full on the set number of calories and not crave more food.1
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OP, I came across this the other day and I found that it gave me a more realistic view of my current weight and goals. Maybe you could benefit from that too. BTW, with your history, I have no idea what you would check for diet history except that you are currently reducing what you eat. They really need a category for those who have dieted multiple times.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Great post, I bet that was cathartic!
I think you got it. Just having a mild deficit (at your weight I wouldn't do more than 500 calories as a deficit) and relaxing about what you can eat otherwise will probably help a lot.
Your post did make me think you might appreciate a book I read some time ago (basically about the dieting industry, and the author is a recovered dieter, basically): Laura Fraser's Losing It.
I will check it out. It's funny how each different "diet" has all of these studies that they cite to back them up but then the next one has other studies that back up their plan. And each one seems to make sense by the time you finish the book. I will find that book and check it out! And I will really try to resolve to NOT check out any more diet books from the Library (even though I just received an email from my library that two are ready to be picked up that I had put on hold...)
Yeah, too true.
Most of those books operate on the assumption that people don't want to have to track what they are eating, so they are really ways to make you eat less dressed up in some pseudo-scientific rationale or health explanation. Making it simpler and getting away from the rules I think will really help you.0 -
Great epiphany, OP.
I also suggest slower rate of loss. The real devil in the weight loss industry is impatience. The get-rich-quick and lose-fat-quick schemes prey on our inherent impatience. It's not realistic, and so it sets up all kinds of dissonance, like feeling you are good or bad or certain foods are. We all have some measure of impatience; it's not just you. Learning to manage my impatience made my life much easier.
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OP, I came across this the other day and I found that it gave me a more realistic view of my current weight and goals. Maybe you could benefit from that too. BTW, with your history, I have no idea what you would check for diet history except that you are currently reducing what you eat. They really need a category for those who have dieted multiple times.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/
Just did this and it sounded so... sensible! It was just so... reassuring? Thanks for sharing!1
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