Is my body rebelling against weight loss?

Kitteneyes01

Yeah okay I don't really believe the title myself. But I'd like some advice here. So I want to lose 5lb. But everytime I cut calories I binge uncontrollable and then just eat it all back. Every week i tell myself okay, THIS week I'm going to lose weight, and I just don't. (-.-) However once I eat maintenance for a week, I never binge once. I know it's weird. And I've been maintaining my weight as a result of this and not losing anything. (or gaining which is alright) It even happens when it's a small cut like 250 calories a day. Yelp! > (bad spelling intended)

AJ_G

Your diary only goes back like 3 or 4 days and then it's blank for a long time. You need to log consistently every day. You also need to rethink your food choices if your'e still hungry. One day you had a chocolate milkshake, another day you had a high calorie candy bar. I'm not saying you can't eat these things, but you have to understand they're not going to fill you up. A good rule of thumb is that if you're restricting calories you should get as few of your calories from liquid sources as possible because they tend not to keep you full. Also candy bars and sugary foods like that are not going to do much in the way of keeping you full. Make sure you eat plenty of protein and plenty of fat because those two macronutrients are filling. Beyond that it's just will power. If you can get through a few days at the new calorie deficit, then you kind of adjust to it and the hunger levels drop off a bit in my experience.

Kitteneyes01

I've not been logging for long on my diary I'm new to this site and this particular food journal this week was me trying 5:2 since it's only two days of dieting. Those were actually planned foods. I'm talking about like the past month when I've been trying to lose weight. on average I eat a healthy breakfast of muesli and yogurt or cottage cheese. a high carb lunch with protein and veggies and dinner would be something like soya mince, veggies or chicken. Snacks are from dried fruit to beef jerky to protein shakes to cheese and fresh fruit. You're right I hadn't eaten well this week, it was a stressful week, but this has been going on for months not just this week.

kk_140

Also, a binge isn't your body rebelling. It isn't even your bodies fault. It is a lack of self control.

missiontofitness

I've not been logging for long on my diary I'm new to this site and this particular food journal this week was me trying 5:2 since it's only two days of dieting. Those were actually planned foods. I'm talking about like the past month when I've been trying to lose weight. on average I eat a healthy breakfast of muesli and yogurt or cottage cheese. a high carb lunch with protein and veggies and dinner would be something like soya mince, veggies or chicken. Snacks are from dried fruit to beef jerky to protein shakes to cheese and fresh fruit. You're right I hadn't eaten well this week, it was a stressful week, but this has been going on for months not just this week.

Fasting diets like that are not sustainable in the long run. It does not teach you moderation, and are essentially starvation diets 2, 3, ect days out of the week.

Your body isn't rebelling against weight loss. Food is all about control, and if you are finding yourself eating at a surplus, you need to re-evaluate what it is that is making you do that, what triggers it, and if you are actually hungry while you are doing it.

Kitteneyes01

You're right I hadn't eaten well this week, it was a stressful week, but this has been going on for months not just this week.

I do mean the binging and not the bad eating this week, hehehe

segovm

I mean for me the answer to binging was to just eat foods that were nutritious and filling on a schedule I knew would satisfy my hunger throughout the day. Boring and dull advice I know but it seemed to do the trick.

I could eat 3000 calories at a BBQ joint pretty easy and be full or get the same level of full eating 300 calories with a turkey burger and some broccoli.

Eventually, if you keep looking, you'll find stuff that fills you up and leaves you satisfied without tossing in a bunch of calories you don't want to be eating.

Good luck!

Kitteneyes01

I've not been logging for long on my diary I'm new to this site and this particular food journal this week was me trying 5:2 since it's only two days of dieting. Those were actually planned foods. I'm talking about like the past month when I've been trying to lose weight. on average I eat a healthy breakfast of muesli and yogurt or cottage cheese. a high carb lunch with protein and veggies and dinner would be something like soya mince, veggies or chicken. Snacks are from dried fruit to beef jerky to protein shakes to cheese and fresh fruit. You're right I hadn't eaten well this week, it was a stressful week, but this has been going on for months not just this week.

Fasting diets like that are not sustainable in the long run. It does not teach you moderation, and are essentially starvation diets 2, 3, ect days out of the week.

Your body isn't rebelling against weight loss. Food is all about control, and if you are finding yourself eating at a surplus, you need to re-evaluate what it is that is making you do that, what triggers it, and if you are actually hungry while you are doing it.

That's just it I'm not eating at a surplus. I litterally binge...and when I find the courage to count everything I ate, it always for some reason just adds up to maintenance. Not over or under.

missiontofitness

I've not been logging for long on my diary I'm new to this site and this particular food journal this week was me trying 5:2 since it's only two days of dieting. Those were actually planned foods. I'm talking about like the past month when I've been trying to lose weight. on average I eat a healthy breakfast of muesli and yogurt or cottage cheese. a high carb lunch with protein and veggies and dinner would be something like soya mince, veggies or chicken. Snacks are from dried fruit to beef jerky to protein shakes to cheese and fresh fruit. You're right I hadn't eaten well this week, it was a stressful week, but this has been going on for months not just this week.

Fasting diets like that are not sustainable in the long run. It does not teach you moderation, and are essentially starvation diets 2, 3, ect days out of the week.

Your body isn't rebelling against weight loss. Food is all about control, and if you are finding yourself eating at a surplus, you need to re-evaluate what it is that is making you do that, what triggers it, and if you are actually hungry while you are doing it.

That's just it I'm not eating at a surplus. I litterally binge...and when I find the courage to count everything I ate, it always for some reason just adds up to maintenance. Not over or under.

Those don't sound like binges.
That sounds like a surplus.

"Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food. Almost everyone overeats on occasion, such as having seconds or thirds of a holiday meal. But for some people, overeating crosses the line to binge-eating disorder and it becomes a regular occurrence, usually done in secret. When you have binge-eating disorder, you may be deeply embarrassed about gorging and vow to stop. But you feel such a compulsion that you can't resist the urges and continue binge eating. If you have binge-eating disorder, treatment can help." Taken from the Mayo clinic website, and is a good summary of binge eating.

If your calorie goal was 1400 a day, and your maintenance is 1,900, 500 calories isn't a binge.
Binges are uncontrollable and generally very high in calories, and go well past maintenance.

Kitteneyes01

It does feel like a binge. Since I can't stop until I feel stuffed. I turn over everything and munch continuously until I'm STUFFED and then when I add it up it's maintenance. This also always happens in the night, on the end of the week, or sometimes in the middle. When you think about it it is a binge because if I ate 250 less for three days I would binge on the fourth and eat 750 back along with the rest for the day. At the end of the week I don't lose anything.

missiontofitness

It does feel like a binge. Since I can't stop until I feel stuffed. I turn over everything and munch continuously until I'm STUFFED and then when I add it up it's maintenance. This also always happens in the night, on the end of the week, or sometimes in the middle. When you think about it it is a binge because if I ate 250 less for three days I would binge on the fourth and eat 750 back along with the rest for the day. At the end of the week I don't lose anything.

Maybe your fasting diet isn't working then. Because you are cutting your calories drastically for two days, so clearly it may be triggering something.

jjwilde265

a good diet is one you can stick to. low carb or low calories or countless others. find one you can stick to. you have to be consistent. everyone knows how to lose weight really. if it's not working most people want a reason other than themselves. id love to eat bad food all day. it tastes way better than veg or salad lol. I have to admit I do have to the odd binge day where I eat everything in site. but then I work out how much i've eaten in calories and then eat that much less over the next few days so even after a binge i've been under calories over the week. just find what works for you. it's technically easy. but mentally hard work. just keep at it :-)

Kitteneyes01

but then I work out how much i've eaten in calories and then eat that much less over the next few days so even after a binge i've been under calories over the week. just find what works for you. it's technically easy. but mentally hard work. just keep at it :-)

Mmmmm. Interesting theory to your madness this.

(O.o)

SLLRunner

Yeah okay I don't really believe the title myself. But I'd like some advice here. So I want to lose 5lb. But everytime I cut calories I binge uncontrollable and then just eat it all back. Every week i tell myself okay, THIS week I'm going to lose weight, and I just don't. (-.-) However once I eat maintenance for a week, I never binge once. I know it's weird. And I've been maintaining my weight as a result of this and not losing anything. (or gaining which is alright) It even happens when it's a small cut like 250 calories a day. Yelp! > (bad spelling intended)

Do you realize that 5 pounds is natural fluctuation? If you binge one night and step on the scale the next morning and see five extra pounds it's not fat unless you ate 3500 x 5 over your TDEE, and it probably wouldn't show up that fast anyway. It's water retention and probably all the extra food in your system.

A 250 cut is .5 pounds per week, which leaves you little margin for error. Make sure your logging is accurate (I weigh solids and measure liquids and try to record as much as I can in grams, even to the point of entering data into "my foods,"but how you do it is up to you)..

Make sure your exercise calories are accurate as well, including not relying on MFP or the gym machine as being accurate because they are way off. If you get a heart rate monitor and calibrate it correctly, it will be more accurate than MFP and gym machines. I advise eating back around 80% of your MFP/Gym machine calories, but ,my experience with my heart rate monitor is that I can eat 90-100% of them back (this accounts for possible error, as HRM are the most accurate of the three I've mentioned).

As for the bingeing- that's usually a symptom of not eating enough, but if you've calculated your calorie goal correctly for your gender, height, weight, it sounds like you are eating enough. Try to eat food with more fat while staying in your calorie goal because this will help you stay full longer. However,if you're eating out of boredom, go find something else to do instead of eating. If you feel it's more of a compulsion where you can't stop. you need to seek professional help.

Best of luck to you.

ETA: I just read you are fasting during the week and then bingeing on the weekends. It sounds to me like fasting is not working for you, and that you are actually unconsciously setting yourself up to binge on the weekends. Why not just make sure you are accurate with your entries, eat at a moderate calorie deficit each day, and learn moderation and self control with food?

Kitteneyes01

I've only been fasting for this week. As a last resort. Before this I've been cutting a very small amount daily (100-250 calories) in an attempt to fool myself into thinking that I'm eating @maintenance. But I guess my brain can't fool my brain :-/

missiontofitness

Yeah okay I don't really believe the title myself. But I'd like some advice here. So I want to lose 5lb. But everytime I cut calories I binge uncontrollable and then just eat it all back. Every week i tell myself okay, THIS week I'm going to lose weight, and I just don't. (-.-) However once I eat maintenance for a week, I never binge once. I know it's weird. And I've been maintaining my weight as a result of this and not losing anything. (or gaining which is alright) It even happens when it's a small cut like 250 calories a day. Yelp! > (bad spelling intended)

Do you realize that 5 pounds is natural fluctuation? If you binge one night and step on the scale the next morning and see five extra pounds it's not fat unless you ate 3500 x 5 over your TDEE, and it probably wouldn't show up that fast anyway. It's water retention and probably all the extra food in your system.

A 250 cut is .5 pounds per week, which leaves you little margin for error. Make sure your logging is accurate (I weigh solids and measure liquids and try to record as much as I can in grams, even to the point of entering data into "my foods,"but how you do it is up to you)..

Make sure your exercise calories are accurate as well, including not relying on MFP or the gym machine as being accurate because they are way off. If you get a heart rate monitor and calibrate it correctly, it will be more accurate than MFP and gym machines. I advise eating back around 80% of your MFP/Gym machine calories, but ,my experience with my heart rate monitor is that I can eat 90-100% of them back (this accounts for possible error, as HRM are the most accurate of the three I've mentioned).

As for the bingeing- that's usually a symptom of not eating enough, but if you've calculated your calorie goal correctly for your gender, height, weight, it sounds like you are eating enough. Try to eat food with more fat while staying in your calorie goal because this will help you stay full longer. However,if you're eating out of boredom, go find something else to do instead of eating. If you feel it's more of a compulsion where you can't stop. you need to seek professional help.

Best of luck to you.

ETA: I just read you are fasting during the week and then bingeing on the weekends. It sounds to me like fasting is not working for you, and that you are actually unconsciously setting yourself up to binge on the weekends. Why not just make sure you are accurate with your entries, eat at a moderate calorie deficit each day, and learn moderation and self control with food?

Kitteneyes01

LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!! At the pic above (^-^)

SLLRunner

I've only been fasting for this week. As a last resort. Before this I've been cutting a very small amount daily (100-250 calories) in an attempt to fool myself into thinking that I'm eating @maintenance. But I guess my brain can't fool my brain :-/

Okay, I'm going to be blunt. There are no last resorts, jump starting, magic diets, or any other too-good-to-be-true method of weight loss. Trying to fool yourself indicates a disordered relationship with food..

Seriously, create a moderate calorie deficit and stay within that goal and you will lose weight. Five pounds is minimal and will not come off fast anyway.

SLLRunner

Yeah okay I don't really believe the title myself. But I'd like some advice here. So I want to lose 5lb. But everytime I cut calories I binge uncontrollable and then just eat it all back. Every week i tell myself okay, THIS week I'm going to lose weight, and I just don't. (-.-) However once I eat maintenance for a week, I never binge once. I know it's weird. And I've been maintaining my weight as a result of this and not losing anything. (or gaining which is alright) It even happens when it's a small cut like 250 calories a day. Yelp! > (bad spelling intended)

Do you realize that 5 pounds is natural fluctuation? If you binge one night and step on the scale the next morning and see five extra pounds it's not fat unless you ate 3500 x 5 over your TDEE, and it probably wouldn't show up that fast anyway. It's water retention and probably all the extra food in your system.

A 250 cut is .5 pounds per week, which leaves you little margin for error. Make sure your logging is accurate (I weigh solids and measure liquids and try to record as much as I can in grams, even to the point of entering data into "my foods,"but how you do it is up to you)..

Make sure your exercise calories are accurate as well, including not relying on MFP or the gym machine as being accurate because they are way off. If you get a heart rate monitor and calibrate it correctly, it will be more accurate than MFP and gym machines. I advise eating back around 80% of your MFP/Gym machine calories, but ,my experience with my heart rate monitor is that I can eat 90-100% of them back (this accounts for possible error, as HRM are the most accurate of the three I've mentioned).

As for the bingeing- that's usually a symptom of not eating enough, but if you've calculated your calorie goal correctly for your gender, height, weight, it sounds like you are eating enough. Try to eat food with more fat while staying in your calorie goal because this will help you stay full longer. However,if you're eating out of boredom, go find something else to do instead of eating. If you feel it's more of a compulsion where you can't stop. you need to seek professional help.

Best of luck to you.

ETA: I just read you are fasting during the week and then bingeing on the weekends. It sounds to me like fasting is not working for you, and that you are actually unconsciously setting yourself up to binge on the weekends. Why not just make sure you are accurate with your entries, eat at a moderate calorie deficit each day, and learn moderation and self control with food?

Love it! :laugh:

mymodernbabylon

Also, a binge isn't your body rebelling. It isn't even your bodies fault. It is a lack of self control.

That is not true. Your brain sends signals to your body if you severely under-eat which may help trigger a binge. Most people with bulimia actually do try to under-eat and then binge due to severe hunger, not just "lack of control".

mymodernbabylon

And here's my thoughts. I'm trying to lose the last 5 lbs. But I'm hoping to do it over 10-15 weeks as those last five pounds are the hardest to lose. But I also want to eat the way I will for life. Fasting is a fast way to an eating disorder...take it from someone who has been there. Don't do it. Measure everything you eat, check out the TDEE/BMR info that is EVERYWHERE on this forum and eat just a little less in your day. (But also check and see if 5 lbs is worth losing...cause you may already be underweight).

establishingaplace

The usual advice: set a calorie deficit appropriate to how much weight you want to lose, weigh/measure/log everything you eat and drink, and do this consistently for a month to see if your body is changing the way you want it to. Weigh yourself, take measurements, and take progress pictures.

That said, it sounds to me like you have a mental roadblock that you need to deal with. Is it possible that you see any calorie deficit as deprivation, and you're rebelling against the deprivation? I will say that I dropped my calories just a bit recently, and even though it was a small drop, I felt like it was huge and that I was going to be hungry all the time and fail miserably. I made it out to be this big thing in my mind, but it really wasn't a thing at all once I started.

Kitteneyes01

I don't see it as a roadblock at all. I WANT to lose this weight. It's so little and I'm not really over weight or under. I'm still in a healthy BMR, if a bit on the high side of that BMR range. But I prefer the middle range to the low or the high one. That's why I have so little to lose. I do think I have a lack of self control. I tend to think about food and when I think of it I want it. Hungry or not. This all started when I went on vacation with my family. They all think I'm fine and don't need to lose weight and they tell me I don't need to count calories. I don't need to be so strict. And that's I think where most of my problems started. I gained a few back on that vacation and have been trying to lose it for months but I can't seem to get back my self control I had before that. At first it was all planned. And now it's becomed unplanned mindless eating. I'm not bulimic or anything but really I worked hard to lose 20 kilos and I'd like to keep them off. :-/ Somehow.

LoupGarouTFTs

Also, a binge isn't your body rebelling. It isn't even your bodies fault. It is a lack of self control.

That is not true. Your brain sends signals to your body if you severely under-eat which may help trigger a binge. Most people with bulimia actually do try to under-eat and then binge due to severe hunger, not just "lack of control".

People with bulimia do not binge solely because they undereat. People with bulimia have a mental disorder that, in part, makes them desire to have absolute control over their bodies and the food they put in it or the calories they remove from it. When a person who does not have bulimia refers to a "binge" it typically means that they've eaten lots and lots seemingly despite themselves--which indeed implies a lack of control.

SLLRunner

Also, a binge isn't your body rebelling. It isn't even your bodies fault. It is a lack of self control.

Most people with bulimia actually do try to under-eat and then binge due to severe hunger, not just "lack of control".

This is not all that accurate. I went through treatment for bulimia several years ago, and when I was an active bulimicI did not binge and throw up due to severe hunger but because I was stuffing my feelings and then trying to get rid of them. I wasn't under-eating at all at any time.

That said, Yes, of course bingeing can be caused by someone eating too little food, but it can also be caused by lack of self control.

SLLRunner

And here's my thoughts. I'm trying to lose the last 5 lbs. But I'm hoping to do it over 10-15 weeks as those last five pounds are the hardest to lose. But I also want to eat the way I will for life. Fasting is a fast way to an eating disorder...take it from someone who has been there. Don't do it. Measure everything you eat, check out the TDEE/BMR info that is EVERYWHERE on this forum and eat just a little less in your day. (But also check and see if 5 lbs is worth losing...cause you may already be underweight).

While I agree with the rest of what you said, the bold part is a scare tactic. Maybe for you it triggered an eating disorder but this is not true for everyone who does a fast. If you read through the forums, there are plenty of people who do a 5 in 2 fast and other types so that they work out in a fasted state.

SLLRunner

Also, a binge isn't your body rebelling. It isn't even your bodies fault. It is a lack of self control.

That is not true. Your brain sends signals to your body if you severely under-eat which may help trigger a binge. Most people with bulimia actually do try to under-eat and then binge due to severe hunger, not just "lack of control".

People with bulimia do not binge solely because they undereat. People with bulimia have a mental disorder that, in part, makes them desire to have absolute control over their bodies and the food they put in it or the calories they remove from it. When a person who does not have bulimia refers to a "binge" it typically means that they've eaten lots and lots seemingly despite themselves--which indeed implies a lack of control.

Absolutely.

establishingaplace

I don't see it as a roadblock at all. I WANT to lose this weight. It's so little and I'm not really over weight or under. I'm still in a healthy BMR, if a bit on the high side of that BMR range. But I prefer the middle range to the low or the high one. That's why I have so little to lose. I do think I have a lack of self control. I tend to think about food and when I think of it I want it. Hungry or not. This all started when I went on vacation with my family. They all think I'm fine and don't need to lose weight and they tell me I don't need to count calories. I don't need to be so strict. And that's I think where most of my problems started. I gained a few back on that vacation and have been trying to lose it for months but I can't seem to get back my self control I had before that. At first it was all planned. And now it's becomed unplanned mindless eating. I'm not bulimic or anything but really I worked hard to lose 20 kilos and I'd like to keep them off. :-/ Somehow.

You said that you can't stick to a calorie deficit, even a small one. Why do you think that is?

Kitteneyes01

Sigh I don't know. I guess after reading all the opinions here I'm realizing that it might have to do with mindlessness. I do zone out a lot these days. But I don't know how to improve on my alertness.
:-/ I'm not always aware of the present or of what I'm doing.

AustinJ12

This is happening because your blood sugar has dropped. I've had it happen to me so many times that I started testing my blood sugar- what I found is right before the "binge" my sugar dropped around 30-40 points. To stop this you will have to keep your blood sugar even. This also means not eating sugary foods or drinks because your sugar will spike and then drop off. Eat about every 2 hours, 200 calories with lots of protein to help maintain that level. Do not fast- it IS your body fighting back because of your blood sugar levels.

MelodyandBarbells

What are your maintenance calories set to? You seem fairly sure you try to eat 100-250 calories below it. Do you have and use a food scale to measure your intake? What are these foods that put you over your calorie target? Are they any different from the foods you eat all day, or during the days you are successful?