Hello from Paris!

Joyounette

Hello everyone!
I'm a 19 year-old lebanese student currently living and studying in Paris. The two last years have been tough emotionally, intellectually and physically and I've turned to food for comfort over and over again. Most of the times, I used to suddenly decide I wanted to quickly lose the weight and eat nearly nothing for a week or 2, then whenever I'd get upset, I'd binge horribly... I've gained a total of 15 kg, reaching 72 kg for 1m74. I've managed to lose some of the weight by drastically lowering my calorie intake, but the last 6 kgs to go (my goal weight is 60) seem impossible to lose, I've been plateauing forever.
And then I've started to read about lowering metabolism, and that dieting can actually make you lose weight. So I thought: hey, maybe my drastic fasts and my strict "one meal a day" policy are the problem. And I've also thought, maybe I should give sports a try, maybe it's not a urban legend after all.

So hear I am, trying to have a healthy food intake and exercising daily. I've never thought that my main weight-loss challenge would be to get enough calories for my body to function... I've always seen myself as an over-eater. The thing I've realized about myself is this: it's either I'm perfectly aware of what I eat and eat too few amounts, or I just binge and eat uncontrollable quantities and just go crazy. My challenge is to keep away from that crazy pattern, and this site have been a huge help: it forces me to remain conscious of everything I eat, and I've not been binging because I know I'm gonna have to write down what I have eaten in my diary and feel guilty as I see the total calorie count go up and up...
I'm currently trying to have more than 1 000 calories a day... It's not easy but I'm slowly getting there.

So here is my entire weight loss history! I'm sorry if I'm rambling....

Looking forward to meet weight loss friends

apexigod

Hey welcome to my fitness pal....I'm new around here as well, only my 2nd day but good luck with your journey!!!

chi18

Welcome! Feel free to add me if you're looking for an old lady friend. I know what you mean, I have always been a big comfort food eater and in the past tried to be really "good" by not eating anything "bad" only to wind up a few days later eating a bunch of really nice cheeses and feeling guilty. That's the nice thing about this site - I can have a little cheese or a little bit of dessert and log it and make room for it in my calories. I am finding it to be much easier this time around because I can see exactly what I'm eating and I'm not trying to deny myself everything every day. It's still tough walking past my favorite bakery and not going in every time, but it makes it that much more of a treat when I do go in.

Good luck to you!

KetoBella

Welcome,

Take heart, it sounds like you have figured out what it has taken me years to figure out. I also do best by keeping track of my calories every day rather than try to deny myself because I am on a diet. I have a calorie budget and I know just like with money you can't spend all your calories on junk and expect to feel good but just like you allow yourself to buy a new bracelet or take a little trip now and then you can still have the odd treat if you save up for it.

Promise yourself you will keep up with tracking, don't focus so much on the fact you did or did not meet your calorie or fitness goals because when we feel like we screwed up we seem to give up. Just tell yourself by keeping the food and fitness journal you are keeping your promise to yourself. You will be more careful if you do track it. One day I had a huge chocolate cupcake for lunch, normally that would have been the excuse to quit but by writing it down I just though okay not the best decision but I will eat my usual dinner. I logged an extra 800 calories that day and it taught me I can't do that again for awhile. So far in 26 days I have lost 6.5 pounds and I haven't started exercising yet. If you are looking for a friend feel free to add me. It seems like we have some of the same goals.