I've come to the realization that having my calories too low hurts more than it helps.
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Geocitiesuser wrote: »
Word. Why don't you have a re-feed day? My Saturdays are 2030 and it makes life so much better.3 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Geocitiesuser wrote: »Ironandwine, IF is a lot different than this situation. IF is something planned, and controlled, and usually involves a 500 calorie meal on the fast day. What I was describing was multiple 250 calorie days in a row to offset weekend calories, losing control, then repeating the process. IF is a diet style. Not eating to undo calories eaten from a surprise binge is a haphazard eating disorder that is not sustainable. The two can't really be compared. One is planned and thought out, the other poor eating habit.
thats one type of IF when you eat 500 calories for a few days and regular calories the other days. There are other types.
Planned vs bad eating habits. The two aren't comparable.
you can plan to eat bad,not saying everyone does it but.just saying there are more than one type of IF. But I get what you are saying2 -
Good for you for getting back on the right track, OP. It's a hard lesson to learn. I had a time when I went way too low to make up for high days as well. That's a tough cycle. I don't require myself to eat the same number of calories every single day now but I do use +/-200 cals as the limit as far as my variations go now.2
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Is there a chance that these recent urges to binge are stemming from something psychological instead of food restriction? I am sincerely wishing you all the best. My heart goes out to you. I know this is physically and emotionally challenging.0
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*stands up and slow claps*
This is great. Good for you!!1 -
That's a more extreme version of my own experience. Super low-calorie eating, to get past a plateau, after losing most of the weight I wanted too lose, didn't work at all. I had already read, countless times from countless sources, that it wouldn't.
I thought it had to work: 800 - 900 calories a day, with at least 800-900 calorie cardio burn? Science, duh.
But no.
Undeniably, unbelievably, no weight lost, plus my family thought I'd gone mad.3 -
I have experienced this, not to as large a degree, but I have learned over restricting leads to over eating. Every time! Don't beat yourself up for "learning the hard way"... in a case like this, where the price is not too great, you can afford to let it be a lesson learned by personal experience.
I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your journey!1 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »You'll feel better about the whole operation if you set your weight loss goal to 0.5 lb per week. Psychologically, it's easier to face a higher calorie target.
^^^This.
OP, now that you finally realize the damage you've been doing, slow your rate of loss right down to allow yourself to break the vicious cycle you've set up for yourself. The closer you get to goal, the smaller your weekly weight loss needs to be anyway or you will simply end up in a rinse/repeat cycle yet again.3 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »So, starting with a fresh slate. No more fasting days trying to make up for binges. No more super low calorie days or going below 1500. From now on I am going to make sure I ingest 1500 calories a day no matter what. I'm convinced that this will solve my diet will power issues, and that this is the way forward.
Good plan. I'd add that at the level of activity you have outlined, and being close to goal and a guy, that still seems pretty low, but at least is a better place to start. I think it's quite likely that bingeing is related to overrestricting and would add that beating yourself up for it tends to play into the same cycle so try to be more understanding of yourself.1 -
1500 sounds really low still.
Those last 15 pounds don't need to be beaten into submission. It's just a number. You already look good, and I'm guessing you've eliminated any healthy issues caused by being over weight. Well done!
We say it all the time (and your post is the reason why....) - set your goal to "Lose 1/2 pound per week." This will stop the cycle you're in. I'm pretty sure that with your height/weight/activity you're going to have the same problem at 1500.
You're very self-aware. I have to agree that therapists are not worth the money, and that you are able to figure this out. The power has always been yours.5 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »Ironandwine, IF is a lot different than this situation. IF is something planned, and controlled, and usually involves a 500 calorie meal on the fast day. What I was describing was multiple 250 calorie days in a row to offset weekend calories, losing control, then repeating the process. IF is a diet style. Not eating to undo calories eaten from a surprise binge is a haphazard eating disorder that is not sustainable. The two can't really be compared. One is planned and thought out, the other poor eating habit.
I did that accidentally for several months a few years ago, It wasn't till I sat down with a nutritionist/dietician and kept a solid diary, that my counselor advised me that my fatigue was due to starving myself for days on end and my weight gain was from the binging one day of 8 or so. I was put on a "feeding plan"3 -
Great post! Thanks for sharing and best of luck on your continued success1
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Great post. Thanks for sharing.1
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I get what you're putting down. Right on dude. And everyone saying it's some sort IF that you're talking about - fuckthat. Binge/restrict cycle is no GD IF routine.
Good luck!2 -
Love this post. And @Geocitiesuser ... I miss geocities... lol1
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
That's my point.
And yes, some were comparing it to some form of extreme IF'ing.1 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »After losing 130lbs, I plugged my new stats into the calculator, and for 1.5lbs of fat loss per week MFP told me 1500 cals + exercise cals per day. This isn't a lot of food (I'm 6' and was like 185lbs at the time). It's not a lot of food, but it's sane, and doable. With exercise on most days that would be in the vicinity of 1800 cals a day.
In my infinite wisdom I decided that I needed to "double and triple down" because it was the home stretch.
There were lots of days where I ate 1500 cals and did not eat back my exercise calories. There were also a lot of days where I was only eating about 1200 calories.
For weeks that was fine. I got to my lowest numbers. But something was happening... I was not performing well in workouts, and my hunger was slowly growing. I was still losing fat, but it was coming at a price that I didn't realize. Eventually the food cravings got so bad that I ended up going on a binge three weekends in a row. During the week was self inflicted punishment of fasting days, banking calories, trying to make the numbers work out, but all the fasting was making it worse, my hunger was insatiable.
For the first time 130lbs of fat loss I lost control of sanity and will power. For the first time maybe in my life, I went on food binges not because of emotional reasons, but because I was honestly and truely hungry to the extent of losing control. I was not eating enough calories to support myself in a healthy manner, and in many ways I was "starving" myself. I put that in quotes because I'm sure I could survive at those calorie levels, but the amount of exercise at my size with that low of calories was effecting me negatively.
So, starting with a fresh slate. No more fasting days trying to make up for binges. No more super low calorie days or going below 1500. From now on I am going to make sure I ingest 1500 calories a day no matter what. I'm convinced that this will solve my diet will power issues, and that this is the way forward.
You can't starve yourself and expect good results. Treat your body good, and your body will treat you good. Weight loss means nothing if you don't have health to go with it. I've put on 20lbs these past three weeks. Some I'm sure is water, and I am certainly ashamed, but it's time to move forward, and to move forward in a more sane manner. No more fast fat loss.
That is my rant.
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6' and 185 lbs is a perfectly reasonable weight. Judging by your pic you have a decent amount of muscle mass already. Getting down to 170 is going to be on the very lean side. Ask anyone that does competitions to very low BF%, it's never pretty and certainly not fun or easy. Maybe bring your calorie intake closer to maintenance and lose the last bits slowly through exercise. 1500 cals won't satiate you either. That's probably less than half of what your body needs per day.
Congrats on the hard work and the journey you've taken to get here. But maybe it's time to stop and re-evaluate where you're at and what you need to do next to accomplish your fitness goals. Just my 2 cents.5
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