Worried I'm going to be on a diet forever.

DiamondRubyMom

I agree with asugar. You sounds close to an eating disorder. I would suggest focusing on getting healthier and not so much on weight loss. It's about life style changes not temporary changes. Maybe even try to stop loosing weight for a week and just maintain to prove to yourself you won't immediate gain it all back.

beeny83

I really don't know how to reply. I never though of it as a budding eating disorder. I think I need to take a step back and rethink what I'm doing. Thank you all so much.

asugar

Good Idea Beany. If you are constantly thinking about calories, food, what you are going to eat, what you can't eat, or where you can't go because of the food, or what you will eat if you go out etc. then you may have a problem.

asugar

TWOLILBEANS:I found that I feel much better on this kind of eating but find it very hard to maintain! How do you do it? I start out and then I get really hungry and I miss rice, bread, pasta etc. Any suggestions?

beeny83

Ok I have just opened my diary for everyone to see. And as you can see I have gone over the 1200 a couple of times. I have been living off mostly salad and I do give myself treats. I upped my calorie allowance a few weeks ago from 1200 to 1450 to slow down my weight loss but still can't seem to eat that much in fact I can't get anywhere near it, not because I'm not hungry but because the guilt kicks in. I find myself telling myself I'm going to go over today and eat what ever I want then I get half way through a meal and just have to stop even though I want more but the fear is too much for me to keep going. Like the other day I really wanted to eat a fredo frog chocolate and it took me about an hour of looking at it before I could convince myself that it wasn't going to undo my hard work.

rucks20

I really don't know how to reply. I never though of it as a budding eating disorder. I think I need to take a step back and rethink what I'm doing. Thank you all so much.

I'm glad to hear you say that. I've been worried about you, but afraid to upset you with posting on your diary with the low calories daily since your post about people saying stuff about your diary. You received lots of helpful advice from folks on here so I won't repeat what they have already said. Just know, I'm here to support you!!

snkeller24

Try making it a game ... make some different choices; almonds or really any nut. Fresh fruits/vegetables. Have you tried to supplement in a protein shake? You're really doing yourself a disservice by eating so little. It's time to start teaching yourself that making good choices, life long, isn't going to cause you to put all the weight on. You're body needs food/fuel to replish itself through out the day.

Since you seem to present it as a mental block, that is the first step. As you're eating think about how great it tastes, or smells. It seems silly but it works. Take the time to enjoy your food and telling yourself that you're fueling your body and you want to have energy to do the daily things, like playing with your children

Also, make sure you're taking a good multi-vitamin every day.

lambeas

I think you need to breathe and realize how far you have come, there is NO way you are going to slip back into your old habits... plus you have a young family that will keep you busy enough to burn it off without really having to try

Try building on the base you have made... so you have mastered the calorie intake control which is AWESOME. So now that calorie control is done, try making sure at least twice a week you hit your 1200 cal goal. The next week, try for three days... and see how that feels.

Give yourself credit for mastering the calorie goal, but try not to let it become a permanent fixation... you are doing awesome!!

kemptonc

Helloitsdan is the smartest comment. He has it right and to the point. Reread it several times.

kgs0201

I thought this when I reached my goal at first (back in June) and over the summer I was still pretty strict on myself but after a few months I increased my calories from 1200 to 1500 and I've been maintaining well. I think the main thing is making sure you continue to exercise. Having a fit body (not just skinny) is going to keep you feeling healthy and hopefully you won't feel as guilty letting yourself eat some of the things you used to. Just give it some time. The feeling went away for me as I finally accepted that I was now "skinny". I am aware of what role eating plays in my life and the different calorie values in items. So while I may have thought tonight "well the cheeseburger sliders aren't that healthy"... I also thought to myself, yeah but you've had a pretty good week and you've been active. The main thing is continuing to recognize the calories in items. It's when you stop thinking about the calories that you are going to go backwards.

beeny83

Diet=way of life

Food=fuel

Guilty?
Really?
Dont buy crap and eat it!
It's simple!

I don't eat crap!!

DesertSunsetRain

Diet=way of life

Food=fuel

Guilty?
Really?
Dont buy crap and eat it!
It's simple!

It's not that simple. I have times where I feel guilty for eating over a certain number of calories... and usually what I eat is yogurt, veggies or some kind of fruit. When you're afraid of gaining weight, it's not what you eat... it's any kind of calories.

I would suggest getting some kind of help. Talk to a nutritionist and a therapist, or talk to SOMEONE. You're going into some very dangerous territory. I have been there, and I got really sick... it's not fun. Please get help from someone, it's not going to get easier unless you really force yourself to get over that fear that food = weight gain/fat/failure. It helps to have a support system to get you back to a healthier mind set.

wildestian

Try upping your calories slowly until you get to your maintenance calories, that way you can have control and get to know if you gain or not. That's what i'm planning to do when I get there, I'm a bit worried about it too.

Helloitsdan

And you should be having 1200 cals a day MINIMUM...dont go under!

This is crap advice.
Have your numbers run and only cut 20% from maint for safe weight loss.
1200 is for people who like to starve.

1200 is a great number if you have very low body fat and stand about 5foot tall!

lmelangley

Staying under 1200 calories day after day isn't good for ANYONE! You start risking your health - it's very difficult to get proper nutrition if you eat under 1200.

Try to stop looking at this as a "diet" and start looking at what you're doing as a way to be the healthiest you can be. Food is fuel, nothing more. Your body really is a machine - albeit a living machine - and the only way to keep it properly running is to eat food. If you seriously feel guilty for every little nibble, you may want to talk to some type of counselor.

snkeller24

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.


Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Helloitsdan

I suggested body recomp and offered to run numbers but I dont think she understands what it all means.
*shrugs*

Its like buying additional gear for your car to make it beautiful, installing the gear but never painting it!
You have lost the weight now let us turn you into a SEXY BEAST!!!!!
*fistpump*
BRING ON THE BEAST!
BRING ON THE BEAST!
=D

muffyjog

There was a time in the 1950s when the word "diet" meant the kind of food that was eaten. Monkeys have diets, polar bears have diets and we have diets. The word has been morphed into something that means "a means of loosing weight" or in some cases "a means of adding muscle". I'd say, lose the word. It's getting in the way of what you want.

You want a healthy body that feels good to be in. You want to give it the fuel it wants and needs to keep it running well. That means you need to feed it. Every day. Preferably a minimum of three times...I'm in favor of the grazing method, myself. Losing weight is easy, it's a numbers game. If you want to keep this off, learn more about healthy food and how awesome it is. Choose to eat MORE food..like leafy greens and veggies.

Celebrate food instead of fearing it. You can't live your life fearing the thing you need most to keep living. You know that or you wouldn't be posting the question.

With or without the weight, you are still you. Own your space, own your life, don't hold the weight responsible for everything bad in the world. It's just not that powerful. That's all TV melodrama if you believe it.

In with the good air, out with the crazy air.

Best wishes,

Muffyjo

Cathleenr

if you are to the point of measuring weight loss in grams, its time to take a break. Just focus on eating whole grains, lean protein and veggies. I hope that most of your weight loss came from healthy exercise and not just dieting. If you can't shake the feeling of obsession, try finding a local nutritionist to help you out.

actually, most of any weight loss or gain should be from what you eat, not how much exercise you do.
and many people, myself included, often have to experience the success of eating on maintainence, which means more calories and perhaps a wider range of foods than they they have previously experienced.

when i was training a few weeks ago, i was at 1223 calories a day and got very comfortable eating that way, but i had fat to lose and short amount of time to do it.
now however, i find myself with more calories (1400) but still losing 2 1/2 pounds in a week.
its hard to get it into the mindset to eat more...or put back into your nutrition what you were told to take out.
i did it before and now, since i've actually lived through the experience. i know i can lose it again. i know the formula and what it feels like and it doesnt scare me. i hired a nutritional coach and when i start training again in about 6 weeks, we will focus on maintaining muscle and losing the little fat that i need to without going all crazy with the cheese whiz. (there is even the possibility i might get ICE CREAM too!)
OP, be deliberate in what you eat and analytical in how you react to the changes, whether they are what you want to see or are opposite of that. make small adjustments in your macros, tweak your cardio til you get the results you want. allow yourself time to succeed and revel in it. its very powerful.

echoica

These thoughts are teetering on eating disorder territory. Careful.

^^ this