Just lost my way completely, cannot stop eating

2

Replies

  • Sam29a
    Sam29a Posts: 201 Member
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Sam29a wrote: »
    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    Start tracking your intake.

    I have been tracking, but binges are pretty difficult to track. I literally eat until I can't force anything else down. Don't know why I self-sabotage every time, but it's a difficult habit to break.

    I think you should put any weight loss goals on hold and replace them with a goal of improving your attitude towards food. These behaviors sound like a binging habit, which is disordered eating and very hard to break without help. I found great success going to a behavioral therapist, who helped me build much better eating habits and helped me feel happier.

    I'm absolutely miserable at this weight. Don't feel like leaving the house or seeing anyone. There is no way I can just forget about trying to get back down, the longer I stay at this weight, the more likely I am to binge eat. I did manage to stop binge eating for over a year and a half, not one binge. Once the weight starts falling off I know I'll feel happier and automatically the urge to binge will go.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,674 Member
    Agreed. If I didn't have the calories I get with exercise, I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight. At 62 and mostly sedentary, my calorie allowance is ridiculously low. With the exercise I get from daily walks with our dog plus running 5 days a week, I can eat pretty much what I want most of the time. I also know that when I feel hungry, it's real, not just boredom or stress, so I eat what I need.

    There are a lot of different activities you could be doing. Walking, running, biking, dancing, rowing, climbing, yoga, martial arts, weights, skiing, calisthenics, etc. Surely you can find something that interests you enough to do it often. Even better, do a mixture of activities. Your health will be better, you will be happier, and chances are, you'll be able to lose the weight you've regained.
  • vLifts
    vLifts Posts: 2 Member
    Sounds like you are stressed out, and when you stress out, you eat. You mentioned that you gained weight in December - the holidays are stressful for a lot of people, plus there is more temptation to overeat. I would focus on reducing stress first. When you are already maxed out on stress, counting calories becomes just another thing on your already overwhelming to-do list. Focusing instead on adding healthy habits - drinking more water, getting more exercise, eating more vegetables, and taking time to relax - will help you jump start your way back into weight loss without having to go straight to the grind of counting calories.
  • shel80kg
    shel80kg Posts: 147 Member
    I have a slightly different suggestion rather than the tendency to become obsessed with height, age, gender BMI etc.
    A number of us are on this site because we struggle with our relationship with food. You mentioned that your eating increased and may be correlated with your increased stress and quite likely the events and/or experiences which have impacted on your life. Perhaps you might review your “stressors” and empower yourself with a more constructive and functional style of problem solving techniques and not rely on food to be your “go to” response. Of course there is value in reviewing the details of appropriate eating behaviors but in my view the solution rests with your orientation to food.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    goodasgoldilox wrote: »
    If you are close the the weight your body feels is natural - it will be harder to change this even if you have other ideas.

    If you are sure that you need to be lower - why not try a new way of dieting? (Sneak up on your body from a new angle :) )

    You have been calorie-counting (an effective way to diet -as you have shown) for a long time and probably have a set of meals/foods that you fall back on regularly and a set of things that regularly make you fail in your efforts.

    So, try losing weight with a new plan for a while.
    There are many 'diets' that you could try - to make a change. Perhaps select one that restricts some foods and doesn't require the same level of counting or one that counts different things. If you are usually a meat-eater, try a veggie plan. If you eat a very processed diet now - try a whole-foods plan. Whatever you go for, it will be refreshing - and might really help.

    There is more than one way to skin a peach. :)

    umm no. all diets(ways of eating) require a deficit of calories for weight loss. you cannot sneak up on your body. changing her diet MAY change her mindset and I say MAY very strongly.and closer to the weight your body feels is natural? umm no if that were the case people with eating disorders would not get soo thin and people in 3rd workd countries would not lose all that weight either. even if you dont calorie count your body does!
  • CaliMomTeach
    CaliMomTeach Posts: 745 Member
    I have a very similar situation. I started at 193 in July 2016, and lost about 55 pounds. I gained back about 10 pounds by last summer, which I was fine with. Then, I got tired of weighing and logging, and have gained over 20 pounds since then. I just kept eating and eating. Last night, I thought "enough" and I am back to logging and 1200 calories a day. I am suddenly afraid of ending up right back where I started, which I probably will if I don't do something.
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
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    We can do this! Hugs to you all!
  • goodasgoldilox165
    goodasgoldilox165 Posts: 333 Member
    edited January 2019
    LynnJ9 - that is great!

    Reply to CharlieBeans (The smiles were to indicate that smiling is allowed in reading the original post.)

    On changing eating plan for a while:

    I think that most diets (that work) restrict calories.

    They offer you different restrictions and these may not be magic in themselves but they help you find different foods/meals/approaches to exercise. At the root of this is the fact that by following them, you eat fewer calories and exercise more.

    A change of 'packaging' can work when you feel jaded with one approach. Going back to calorie counting afterwards can seem like liberation.

    It is a bit like changing a heavy suitcase from one hand to the other. The case is just as heavy but carrying it feels easier... for a while.



    On your body allowing you to drop well below a healthy weight (a natural one for your body):

    Not everyone here is aiming for a healthy weight. Weight loss gets slower as you reach 'target', especially if you have selected a target that is too low for you.

    Yes - losing weight will continue if you starve your body of calories and keep doing so - of course it will! However unless you do have a disorder or are placed in a foodless prison you won't find it easy to keep starving yourself into being much lower than a healthy weight for your body. If you try, it is quite likely that you will be overcome with the urge to eat. (Something this thread is about.)
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    goodasgoldilox wrote: »
    LynnJ9 - that is great!

    Reply to CharlieBeans (The smiles were to indicate that smiling is allowed in reading the original post.)

    On changing eating plan for a while:

    I think that most diets (that work) restrict calories.

    They offer you different restrictions and these may not be magic in themselves but they help you find different foods/meals/approaches to exercise. At the root of this is the fact that by following them, you eat fewer calories and exercise more.

    A change of 'packaging' can work when you feel jaded with one approach. Going back to calorie counting afterwards can seem like liberation.

    It is a bit like changing a heavy suitcase from one hand to the other. The case is just as heavy but carrying it feels easier... for a while.



    On your body allowing you to drop well below a healthy weight (a natural one for your body):

    Not everyone here is aiming for a healthy weight. Weight loss gets slower as you reach 'target', especially if you have selected a target that is too low for you.

    Yes - losing weight will continue if you starve your body of calories and keep doing so - of course it will! However unless you do have a disorder or are placed in a foodless prison you won't find it easy to keep starving yourself into being much lower than a healthy weight for your body. If you try, it is quite likely that you will be overcome with the urge to eat. (Something this thread is about.)

    not always true. many people will eat less and less because they see the weight isnt coming off as fast as they want. we know the closer you are to goal the slower the weight loss is. not everyone knows that and not everyone will try and lose slower. there are many posts about women here only needing to lose 10-15lbs a day and on a 2 lbs a week deficit which IS too much.many come here and eat the minimum of 1200 no matter how much they weigh which for most is too little to start out with.

    many people want fast weight loss but they dont know the possible dangers that can stem from losing too fast. many dont care. as for starving yourself into a lower weight that is healthy. many do it,for most its because they have an eating disorder,or an unhealthy relationship with food. Maybe you or I would get hungry but the less you eat the less your body has to work to burn those calories off so your body starts reserving energy and the less you eat the less of an appetite most people have.


    Then when those people eat too little their body starts using fat,lean mass,muscle to use for energy so they continue to still lose weight. some people eat so little and overexercise to lose the weight which is very unhealthy as well. when it comes to weight loss you DONT need to exercise to lose weight, But it is good for your bones,muscles and health. as for those coming here to be a healthy weight. for most I think the ones who are trying to lose are trying to get to a healthy weight I dont know of anyone here who is obese who just wants to lose a little weight but still be in the obese category, and many that want to gain are either trying to build muscle,are underweight and trying to get to a healthy weight as well or a combo of things.
  • vanityy99
    vanityy99 Posts: 2,583 Member
    Have you managed to get back on track?

    I’m 5’2 130lbs trying to get down to 115lbs also.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
    be calm...and rethink what could work for you now, You are burned out on counting calories and I don't blame you. Don't ruin all your hard work..just find a new eating plan or way of eating that takes the pressure off and allows you to reach your goals.
    I don't count calories.. but I have rules of eating that I live by.. I think more about all the things I can eat ..not what I can't. I go out to dinner once a week..makes it so easy to stick to my healthy food all week. So maybe shift your focus to what you can eat to say fit.

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