i want to cry

pb1717

Hello guys!
I feel horrible. I sticked to my diet of eating 1200-1400 calories per day and exercising at least 3 times a week for three weeks. This week, after losing a mere 1-2lbs, I binged 3 days straight. I feel disgusted with myself and don't know what to do. Every time I tell myself that this is going to be the last time I binge. But then, when I see myself in the mirror, I feel like I'm never going to get skinnier and give up...and binge. I don't know what to do to stick to this new healthy lifestyle and not give up.
Tonight I had a whole packet of mini chip ahoy, steak, fries, 4 slices of bread. I feel sick and feel like I ruined everything and I just cried for an hour (I don't usually cry) I am in the worst emotional state ever.

josstuff

The only thing you can do is keep trying exercising and keep a routine. Don't stop just because you feel like giving up, you can make positive changes in your life, you just have to believe you can and make it possible.

linnea

It's a terrible feeling! I find that I get hungry enough to binge when something is missing nutritionally. I have to monitor protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates, and sleep. Vitamin supplements help too. Don't give up!

AlainaKayy

I wouldn't beat myself up about it. Just remember to start slow. If you eat 2500 calories a day(Not saying you do). Changing to 1200 calories a day instantly is really hard. It feels more like a punishment than anything. So what if you have a couple of cookies--or an entire package. That's okay. Don't give up. and I wouldn't put so much pressure on yourself. I know it hurts when you mess up. But we're human! It's going to happen. I would just start fresh. But go slow! It's much easier to keep at it when you gradually work up(or down in this case).

rayfu75

It happens. You're aware of how you feel after you fall off the wagon. Start back up and don't give up. Next time you feel like you're not seeing progress try to remember it doesn't happen overnight. It might not happen in a month but if you keep at it without giving up it will happen. Even slow progress is progress. Hope you can pick your self up and get back on track.

Skarlet13

A "mere" 1-2 pounds? I think this is where part of your problem lies. Losing 1-2 pounds is a great achievement, especially if done in one week.

Also, I eat steak, fries and gluten free bread. I just make sure it fits into my daily servings limits. These are not bad foods.

What is your daily deficit? Lower it if you are having difficulty.

SallieBeige

pb1717
Perhaps it is about your expectations?

You said:
This week, after losing a mere 1-2lbs,

This is a good loss for a mere 1 week!! You can be proud of that loss.
If you do that for 10 weeks, then you would have lost 10 pounds, (or how much do you want to lose?)

Loosing weight is a looooong, slooooow job.
Stick with it :flowerforyou:

pb1717

Not this week, I meant 1-2lbs after 3 weeks

pb1717

Thank you so much for the kind words

lizcraft

The first step is to not give up on yourself. Get back up, brush off your jeans and move forward. Do you journal at all? I journal every day. When I am feeling one of those binges coming on I have to stop...drink 8oz water...journal or write what i am feeling and try and work it out without stuffing my face with crap. I also don't bring crap into my house. That way I dont have the temptation readily available. Journaling also helps you to focus on you and what is going on at that specific moment. If I can help please let me know

Liz

LTKeegan

I cried yesterday, this is hard. What you need to do is try to celebrate victories OTHER than the scale. Do your pants fit better? Do you feel better? Did you hit your calorie goal? Go do something fun to celebrate. Take a hot bat, get a mani/pedi, try to make yourself feel good about your small successes. This is really hard too. I've been having a hard time with not focusing on the scale. You can do it!! Remind yourself you are awesome and you can do it!!!

Also, as someone else said, baby steps.

Also, acknowledge it's hard and acknowledge how strong you are for each and every day.

*hugs*

qstneverything

Every single time I've given up was because something or another made me eat junk for one day and I decided to give up and start fresh the next week or month or whatever.

There's two things I find that can help:

a) MOST IMPORTANT: schedule cheat days. I know a lot of people look down on cheat days because they slow progress, but if you have one "bad" meal one time a week, you're less likely to binge eat Tuesday afternoon because you have Saturday night dinner to look forward to.

b) Burn excess calories. If you were out and starving and the only thing available to you is a bag of chips, find a way to burn excess calories. Stay an extra ten minutes at the gym, get off at the station before on the train home from work and walk, walk to the supermarket instead of driving.

In these situations it's mind over body. You gotta make yourself realise that you can always bounce back, there's always a solution.

This happens to me every single time I start living healthy and I'm sick of it! Time for a change right now, so I know exactly what you're going through.

Last night I caved again and binge ate, I had an unhealthy dinner with my boyfriend and we went to the movies and I ate lots of popcorn and ice cream. I then decided to go for a long walk with him afterwards and in the end I was only about 200 calories over my daily limit (My limit is 1200 anyway - tiny!) and I decided to make that night my cheat day instead of Saturday, where I'll be eating a healthy Vietnamese dinner instead of what I had planned - yum!

If I can do this, you can do it!!

PatheticNoetic

It might help to find a counselor to talk to. I'm not saying you need a therapist- I REALLY want to emphasize that. However, I think there is a deficit in society of people developing the coping skills to get through tough situations. This diet/ exercise program you've put yourself on seems to have caused you some strife. A counselor would be able to help you develop the stress coping skills so you don't find yourself in this situation again. You'll know how to move past it and continue on your fitness path.

I only say this because this is what I've done in the past.

Achrya

OP: relax. Stop being so hard on yourself. Breathe. One day over won't end you. 3 days over won't end you.

IIIIISerenityNowIIIII

If you feel like crying, go ahead and cry. Maybe by allowing yourself to express your emotions through crying until you are done, you will suppress the desire to transfer those emotions into emotional binge eating.

Cranquistador

sweetheart it is because you are WAY undereating and it leads you to binge.

look at the 3 days leading up to today.

geminijen77

I totally understand how you feel.

Just to help though, it seems like your calories are set way way way too low. And if you're exercising you need to eat back your calories.

You also might want to manage your expectations. If you lose 4-5 pounds a month, that's REALLY healthy and sustainable weight loss.

It's about balance. If it took you a year to gain the weight, give yourself a year to get it off. You need to enjoy life and not restrict yourself, otherwise binges happen.

You can follow my weight loss journey and positive motivation and healthy eating habits on my facebook page. I post lots of recipes and talk about my wins and setbacks www.facebook.com/cherryhealthandwellness I'm just a regular thirty something trying to stay healthy.

mockchoc

Your ticker says you only need to drop 4.4kgs so around 9lbs I think. Is that correct? If it is then you need to know that the closer you are to goal the slower the loss is and you should be telling your height, weight and how much activity you do not just for exercise but just daily in general if you are on your feet a lot or not so someone can help you work out what you really should be eating at 19 yrs of age. Oh and what Cranquistador said too. Easy to binge when you don't eat enough in the first place.

Dajune

Hi I just wanted to say welcome to being human. :-) I have had trouble with binging and one day I said to my self right missy you can binge but binge on good stuff. I fix my self up what I call a pick plate and put everything on it and sit down and eat the food piece by glorious piece I touch it and look at it and savour it. It is so satisfying to be tactile with the food. Last binge was on a huge salad and I mean huge, But after I had binged on it I counted the calories and it was around 200. The point I am trying to make is that if we are emotional eaters and that's why we binge why not get emotional with our food. You might feel a bit weird but believe me it is fun. I love saying to capsicum you are so yummy and gorgeous and I am going to eat the WHOLE thing. Hope this helps works for me.
:flowerforyou:

rollng_thundr

We've all been there before. Work work work, eat minimally, and step on the scale... boom... nothing.

Without having a look at your eating plan, the 1200-1400 calories/day may be a bit light. Your body may be sensing that you are on the verge of starvation and might be keeping every ounce of nutrition socked away.

Know this.. you are not alone in your struggle. Everyone here has gone through something that has caused them to question whether this is worth it.

Q) What demonstrates how important something is to you?
A) What you're willing to go through to get it.

Stay the course. Ensure that your eating plan isn't too restrictive.

YOU can do this.

kuroneko1082

Stop looking in the mirror. At least full length mirrors. Cover them all up or temporarily move them into storage. Focus on how you feel after working out and go with that feeling. Looking in the mirror for too long invites that little voice in the back of our heads to have a hey day criticizing us for not getting to goal faster and gets us noticing all the imperfections and blowing them out of proportion. Weight loss takes time. It's not a quick fix. Just make up your mind to start over fresh tomorrow, avoid the full length mirrors and get back on the plan. Also, weighing and measuring yourself should only be done once a week or so as body weight changes from day to day based on water intake and all kinds of things. You will notice the changes more if you do it less often. And try interval training. It's the hardest form of exercise for our bodies to adjust to, so it will constantly throw off your body, keeping your metabolism in high gear to burn off the fat. Start with a low amount of intervals and work your way up. Check out Dr Mike's video about weight loss plateau's on Fitfluence's youtube channel. Keep your head up and don't give up. You are worth it and you got this!

lolosensan

It might help to find a counselor to talk to. I'm not saying you need a therapist- I REALLY want to emphasize that. However, I think there is a deficit in society of people developing the coping skills to get through tough situations. This diet/ exercise program you've put yourself on seems to have caused you some strife. A counselor would be able to help you develop the stress coping skills so you don't find yourself in this situation again. You'll know how to move past it and continue on your fitness path.

I only say this because this is what I've done in the past.

There is NOTHING wrong with therapy! I've been talking to someone for over a year and I've never felt so optimistic and in control of my life....in my life.

Also OP: you have to be kind to yourself. If you beat yourself up over a small loss, you'll never get there. You have to embrace any loss and if you want more, believe in yourself and go get more. Also maybe up your intake. Make sure you're not putting your body in starvation mode. You'll get there. You got this!

mteague277

The biggest step in my life style change was knowing I will have bad days, and even binge, but to pick up the next day and move on. Also, 1-2lbs/week is ideal for losing and keeping it off!

mstrhck

Stand back from your actions and think. Your problem is not with eating. You are unhappy. You need to figure out how to change from being unhappy to happy. There is a reason why you are punishing yourself and you need to figure it out and get past it. I wish you the best because I had to do the same thing. I can tell you I did figure it out and my life changed overnight.

raulafanador

Just piggybacking on what most have already said, 1 to 2 lbs a week is an ideal number, although if you are having trouble maintaining that diet, consider eating more, maybe 1700-1800 calories per day and doing cardio 5-6 times a week for 30 mins or more, rather than 3 times a week. In my opinion that level of activity is more ideal for maintaining weight than losing it. You need to kick it up a notch so you can afford to eat the extra calories i mentioned above.