Tired of the endless mind game

justdoit148

Hey everyone! So to do a quick overview of my situation. I’m 34 and have two small children ages 4 and 18 months. I have dusted since I was 15. Yo-yo is my middle name. Nine months after I had my oldest child, I lost about 35 pounds putting me at 158 and I felt great. I did that for about a year and got pregnant again not too long later. Since having my son, I have been just out of control. I’m tired of thinking about food. I’m 190 right now and I’m just miserable.

So...what do I do? I lose weight before my counting calories but it seriously makes me crazy! I dabbled with intermittent fasting starting in July and lost 14 pounds. But after school started, I’m a high school teacher, I became so hungry that I ended up binging once my window opened. Gained all that back.

I have good intentions but by the end of the day, at dinner time, I just overeat.

I want to workout at home with jillian Michaels videos and I know fasting is good, but when I worked out before while fasting, I got really light headed until I opened my window.

So how do I start again? I feel pretty defeated at this point.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

anubis609

Intermittent fasting is just a time eating tool used to restrict calories. Bingeing during an eating window negates any positive attributes that intermittent fasting has.

You can't ever get away from calories determining fat gain/loss/equilibrium. Though, if counting calories pains you, then track food just long enough for you to understand semi-accurate eyeball estimates for the most common food items you eat.

Another thing you can focus on would be food quality. For most people, it's easy to binge on cookies, candy, sweets, snacks, chips, dip, cheese, etc. which doesn't take much to add up to a day's worth of calories, and they can usually be eaten in large quantities before even feeling full. And just the opposite, it's usually difficult for most people to overeat protein, fruit, and vegetables.

A sad truth is that dieting is not going to ever feel like a culinary tour, but it doesn't have to be so rigidly defined that you screw it and down a sleeve of oreos. You'll have to find a happy medium where the majority of your food comes from nutrient dense food, and about 20% comes from little treats to keep you sane.

If you're a stress eater, then learn to manage stress positively. No food or activity is going to change your reaction to stressors. That's completely psychological and entirely within your control to decide what is worthy of affecting you.

And whether you like him or not, Lyle McDonald is a good resource for information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLcjhm4-CSg

justdoit148

Thanks so much!!!

ReenieHJ

Stress eating was one of THE hardest things for me to deal with. I'd have a tangible goal where I'd want to lose weight(mostly vanity reasons like going on a trip) so I'd lose easily, then as soon as the goal passed, I'd find myself back to polishing off trays of brownies, dozens of cookies. I mean come on, carrots+celery do NOT = stress relief. I was an in-home childcare provider(and mom of 3 adults now) for 39 years. I lived stress. Now I'm retired, happily and stress free, able to now take care of myself better.
Barring any immediate plans you have of being able to retire, try to find other ways to de-stress, to indulge yourself and take care of YOU. Find an activity you enjoy and can fit into your schedule. Start slow and make small easy to adapt habits. I always avoided those type of ideas because I wanted to lose weight NOW or I wasn't willing to try. But be more patient than I was. This will be a lifestyle change for you and will take time to get to maintenance level. I've found keeping my numbers current here has helped immensely. I still have off days where I want to eat much more than normal or days where I refuse to exercise. But I don't let it take over more than a day, then right back at it. I also keep all my tempting trigger foods out of the house as much as possible. I used to buy a box of graham crackers 'for the kids' and they'd *maybe* get 1 of the inner packages if they got any at all.

Wishing you much luck and welcome!!

justdoit148

I always avoided those type of ideas because I wanted to lose weight NOW or I wasn't willing to try. But be more patient than I was. This will be a lifestyle change for you and will take time to get to maintenance level. I've found keeping my numbers current here has helped immensely. I still have off days where I want to eat much more than normal or days where I refuse to exercise. But I don't let it take over more than a day, then right back at it. I also keep all my tempting trigger foods out of the house as much as possible. I used to buy a box of graham crackers 'for the kids' and they'd *maybe* get 1 of the inner packages if they got any at all.

All of this is ME!! Thanks so much for your insight and wisdom! I so appreciate it. I will be more patient this time.