Bad day.... Losing faith

bethad5

I'm losing faith and I need some guidance or I'm going to go right back to undereating and overexercising.

My TDEE is 2655. I started the reset Sunday. Sunday and Monday were difficult for me because I was so full each time I ate - but immediately after eating I'd instantly feel hunger again. However, the last two nights (especially last night) were awful. I've been having issues with my macros (too many carbs, not enough protein/fat) and yesterday I was finally close to my carb goal, and closer to protein/fat, and right where I should have been with calories. and then, right before bed, I went into the kitchen to get a drink and ended up in the pantry, eating handful after handful of dry cereal like they were potato chips. I didn't log it because I was so ashamed but I definitely went WAY over on my calorie and carb goals. Probably by several HUNDRED calories and who knows how many carbs.

I feel especially bloated, fat, and disgusting today. All I want to do is go to the gym both before and after work to compensate. I'm just so unsure about all of this. I initially started MFP with 3 pounds to lose and, since upping my calories in May, I now have 10 to lose. I haven't weighed myself since started the reset but I don't even want to know.

I thought eating 2655 would stop my binging - and I still binged last night. What do I do today to counteract it? Because everything I've ever known about dieting says to cut back on eating today and increase exercise. Please help me!

graysmom2005

Big HUG from a serial cereal eater at night. I always fall asleep on the couch, and then in a daze will go straight to the cereal for a handful before I head upstairs. I don't know why....I feel your pain. I'm sure others will give you some good advice as I'm not in a great place either right now. I'm not doing the reset, and I probably should...but I'm too chicken. So good for you for going for it! Just chalk it up to one day though. Those munches of cereal aren't going to help you lose weight...but you won't gain weight either. Just leave it behind and start a new day!:flowerforyou:

donna9089

Hi Beth. I suffered from the same thing and I think I am beginning to figure it out. I am a carboholic too and would be seriously over in my carbs and not high enough in protein. I have begun to try to pack in the protein earlier in the day with less carbs so that when I get home at night I can eat the higher carb items without totally wrecking my macros. My diary is open if you want to take a peek. I might not be much help, but know that you are not alone. I never in the world thought I would be able to eat 2100 which is my cut. I am not brave enough to jump to the 2500 TDEE as you are. Hang in there. We will make it!!!:flowerforyou:

kmcnulty05

Don't give up...you've got this! We all have our bad days, the important thing is to not let it own you. Just make today a better day :-) One thing that has worked for me is drinking a TON of water. I just upped to my TDEE this week for the reset and am now eating 2400 cals a day...did okay calorie wise the first few days, but was over on fat and under on protein. Last night I was a good amount over on calories and fat (just got really hungry after my workout). But, I drink about 12 cups (96oz) of water a day and that really seems to help combat the bloated/puffy feeling. Maybe try upping your water? It may help a bit. Also, if it will help you feel a little better by sneaking in a little exercise today, I don't think that's a bad thing...just do something light (maybe a walk or short jog?).

bethad5

Don't give up...you've got this! We all have our bad days, the important thing is to not let it own you. Just make today a better day :-) One thing that has worked for me is drinking a TON of water. I just upped to my TDEE this week for the reset and am now eating 2400 cals a day...did okay calorie wise the first few days, but was over on fat and under on protein. Last night I was a good amount over on calories and fat (just got really hungry after my workout). But, I drink about 12 cups (96oz) of water a day and that really seems to help combat the bloated/puffy feeling. Maybe try upping your water? It may help a bit. Also, if it will help you feel a little better by sneaking in a little exercise today, I don't think that's a bad thing...just do something light (maybe a walk or short jog?).

I work out 5/6 days a week and had a rest day Tuesday, so I had planned on going to the gym this morning - but I'm type 1 diabetic and the cereal binge left me waking up with a blood sugar of 316, which is too high to work out. So instead I've spent the morning crying and feeling sorry for myself that I am STILL binging even now that I'm eating 2600 calories. No wonder I've gained this weight.

techmom29

You can take a look at my diary, too. We all have bad days where our macros are off...that's life. Last week I was redoing my kitchen and ate horribly. But there wasn't much I could do about it. This week life is more normal and I can focus a bit more. Try to take off days in stride. Life goes on.

I like cereal, too. I have been buying Special K Protein Plus...it's good! and has a decent amount of protein.

HTH

kmcnulty05

Don't give up...you've got this! We all have our bad days, the important thing is to not let it own you. Just make today a better day :-) One thing that has worked for me is drinking a TON of water. I just upped to my TDEE this week for the reset and am now eating 2400 cals a day...did okay calorie wise the first few days, but was over on fat and under on protein. Last night I was a good amount over on calories and fat (just got really hungry after my workout). But, I drink about 12 cups (96oz) of water a day and that really seems to help combat the bloated/puffy feeling. Maybe try upping your water? It may help a bit. Also, if it will help you feel a little better by sneaking in a little exercise today, I don't think that's a bad thing...just do something light (maybe a walk or short jog?).

I work out 5/6 days a week and had a rest day Tuesday, so I had planned on going to the gym this morning - but I'm type 1 diabetic and the cereal binge left me waking up with a blood sugar of 316, which is too high to work out. So instead I've spent the morning crying and feeling sorry for myself that I am STILL binging even now that I'm eating 2600 calories. No wonder I've gained this weight.

Aww...sorry you're having such a bad start to today...I understand how you feel. One thing I've noticed lurking around the EM2WL boards is that once we up our calorie intake to where it should be, we seem to "wake the beast" so to say. Looks like everyone experiences days where, even with eating extra calories, they still feel hungry and sometimes eat more...I think I'm starting to hit that point myself...I was hungry all day yesterday, even though I was eating all day! It sounds like that's just part of our bodies adjusting to the change and our metabolisms reconfiguring themselves. I keep seeing the posts from all those who are coming out the other side and that keeps me going...they too have experienced these days...the puffiness, bloat and bingeing and have moved past it and are seeing success. We will get there too! Don't beat yourself up. Your blood sugar will come back down and you can go from there. Most of my family are diabetic, so I understand how hard that can be.

ANewLucia

I'm losing faith and I need some guidance or I'm going to go right back to undereating and overexercising.

My TDEE is 2655. I started the reset Sunday. Sunday and Monday were difficult for me because I was so full each time I ate - but immediately after eating I'd instantly feel hunger again. However, the last two nights (especially last night) were awful. I've been having issues with my macros (too many carbs, not enough protein/fat) and yesterday I was finally close to my carb goal, and closer to protein/fat, and right where I should have been with calories. and then, right before bed, I went into the kitchen to get a drink and ended up in the pantry, eating handful after handful of dry cereal like they were potato chips. I didn't log it because I was so ashamed but I definitely went WAY over on my calorie and carb goals. Probably by several HUNDRED calories and who knows how many carbs.

I feel especially bloated, fat, and disgusting today. All I want to do is go to the gym both before and after work to compensate. I'm just so unsure about all of this. I initially started MFP with 3 pounds to lose and, since upping my calories in May, I now have 10 to lose. I haven't weighed myself since started the reset but I don't even want to know.

I thought eating 2655 would stop my binging - and I still binged last night. What do I do today to counteract it? Because everything I've ever known about dieting says to cut back on eating today and increase exercise. Please help me!

Hey hun, first of all remember this is a life journey, you are doing what you haven't done before and your body is waking up from a low cal induced slumber.

To help get ahead of the "beast"...lol, think about preplanning your meals for the day and making sure to really focus on the protein number because usually when you hit that number all else kind of falls in line. I tell you even now, if I don't get in my protein, my eating is just off...way high on the carbs. It may seem amusing but I literally keep my protein powder and my organic beef jerky with me everywhere I go. I carry around this bag that has my essestials and where I am, that bag is with me. That helps big time to not stop to get junk food, to never be hungry, and if I feel peckish I grab my beef jerky. Every meal I eat, it has all three macros and usually the protein is no less than 30gr per meal. Please feel free to check out my diary for some ideas.

Secondly, don't beat yourself up...the good thing with getting your metabolism revved up, is that it will burn up the fuel you are giving it. Relax in the process and learn from each experience. :flowerforyou:

Lucia

Noor13

Oh I am sorry to hear that you had such a rough day.

But don't let it get to you. it was yesterday and you can't change it any more. Focus on the new day and as Lucia said-plan your day ahead. I log everything straight in the am what I am planning to eat. And I always focus to get the proteins in first.

When I hit my protein levels I usually don't crave carbs at all.
Get some protein bars and powder and take it with you.
You can do it

bethad5

I had a protein shake yesterday (my boyfriend uses protein powder). I think I'll incorporate these more into my diet. Especially because I was closer to my protein goal yesterday than I've ever been - likely thanks to the protein powder - but it just scares me that on the ONE day I was close to my macros I completely blew it with a cereal binge. When I was taking my birth control pill, though, I realized that my period starts Sunday - which might explain some of the bloated, crappy feelings. But still. It's just so frustrating. And I just read a thread about a girl who gained 23 pounds doing the reset and I almost had a panic attack. My friend is getting married July 28 and if I go back home for this wedding looking like the girl I used to be (although that girl used to be 205 pounds, and even at 154 last time I weighed, I don't think I could possibly get up to 205 in 6 weeks) I am going to be in such a bad place. I just don't want to be a disappointment.

I did have a question about carbs/calories. Right now my heaviest meal is breakfast - both yesterday and today were about 700 calories, 90 carbs. I make 'overnight oats', so 1/2 cup raw oats, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 3/4 cup almond milk, and stir it up and let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning I add berries and PB2 and have lately gotten in the habit of adding cereal. This morning I also stirred in chia seeds. Is 90 carbs too much for breakfast? I just find myself in a rut of eating the same 'safe' foods over and over & I don't know how to break the rut.

Thank you all for your support. I'm not in full meltdown mode anymore but still just don't feel well overall. I feel so bloated and worn down/heavy that it's affecting my workouts. I am also 100% exhausted. Are these normal happenings?

bethad5

Crap. I thought I was doing relatively well today, but just checked my macros - I only have 15 carbs left for the day and am still at work and haven't been to the gym yet. So the banana I eat before going to the gym will take the rest of those carbs. And then I have dinner left...

I still have quite a bit of protein left, so I figure at least one protein shake is in my future tonight. Maybe a second for a snack since everything is pushed back so late (I usually workout in the morning, get off at 5 and eat dinner around 6:30. I couldn't work out this morning because of my blood sugar and today is my late day at work, meaning I'm here until 6, so won't get home untl about 7:30). I hate eating so much at night - I reaaaally need to spread my days out better!

meggyh20

Could you change up your overnight oats recipe and mix in protein powder somehow? A lot of the things in the oats already have protein, but that might help frontload your day with protein so you're not trying to make up for it the rest of the day. I think increasing your protein intake should also help keep your blood sugar in check. I almost have to have a protein shake or two to meet my macros. What other things do you eat throughout the day? Perhaps we could give suggestions for substitutes if there's something that's keeping your carbs higher. My diary is open and I usually do a decent job with macros, so feel free to check it out.

bethad5

Could you change up your overnight oats recipe and mix in protein powder somehow? A lot of the things in the oats already have protein, but that might help frontload your day with protein so you're not trying to make up for it the rest of the day. I think increasing your protein intake should also help keep your blood sugar in check. I almost have to have a protein shake or two to meet my macros. What other things do you eat throughout the day? Perhaps we could give suggestions for substitutes if there's something that's keeping your carbs higher. My diary is open and I usually do a decent job with macros, so feel free to check it out.

I opened my diary to friends only and added you as a friend. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables which seem to add up! It's interesting, though - before I added my exercise in I had 15 carbs remaining, but adding in exercise allows me more carbs. Except I won't be eating the full allowance because obviously I won't be eating my exercise calories back. so do I need to make sure to pay attention to the numbers prior to entering exercise to make sure my macros are right?

cramernh

Im going to mirror Lucia's suggestion of better meal planning...
If you find yourself diving into the poor-choices of carbohydrates during that 'fiendish takeover', you will find the problem lies within what you had consumed that day.. there was an imbalance somewhere, not enough of this vs that, etc.

One of the things that is a definite, and this is what we inform our patients of here at work: be very careful even with fruits. Not all fruits are the same. Some are just as bad as the poor carb-ridden foods that most cereals are, processed foods are...

I dont dare eat oatmeal, it sends an automatic surge of insulin and my pancreas has a very hard time 'shutting off'... We have patients who are just like myself - matter of fact a test group that I helped to run and participate in from a Dermatological angle, we found that the first meal of the day greatly influenced our eating-related behaviors for the remainder of that day. The group that had a heavier carb-load stemming from the bread/grains/cereals group actually was more hungrier, more irritable, felt the uncontrollable troll-of-treats take over and just had a hard time stopping from the binging they did on foods known for poor-carbohydrates. They didnt have enough of protein or fat at all.

Opt for carbohydrates found in vegetables in your morning breakfast. It doesnt have to be an omelet every day with tons of rabbit food... you could easily have a wild-green salad, a few strawberries, chopped almonds or walnuts in place of croutons for the need to 'crunch' on something, add plenty of good protein: fresh tuna, roasted chicken, salmon, steak tips - whatever you want. Dont be afraid to have a full-fat dressing. I often make a Lemon-Dill vinaigrette on-the-fly that goes SOOOOOO WELL with a nice Greek-style Feta-chicken salad. So good!!!!

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists refer to the belief that through blood work, previous history, current history helps them to determine what is the right intake of dietary carbohydrate intake per meal. Perhaps for you, your body (from the sound of things) may be very carb-sensitive thus the hunger-monger situation comes around.

Im on a 120g total carbohydrate limit, but they must be 90% vegetables, 5% fruits, 5% low-carb option bread types. I stick to this like a fly to...... well, you know what Im talking about! LOL!!!! I can easily go without the Joseph's low-carb bread, it doesnt bring that hunger-attack on if I dont have it in my daily intake.

Just my two cents

bethad5

Im going to mirror Lucia's suggestion of better meal planning...
If you find yourself diving into the poor-choices of carbohydrates during that 'fiendish takeover', you will find the problem lies within what you had consumed that day.. there was an imbalance somewhere, not enough of this vs that, etc.

One of the things that is a definite, and this is what we inform our patients of here at work: be very careful even with fruits. Not all fruits are the same. Some are just as bad as the poor carb-ridden foods that most cereals are, processed foods are...

I dont dare eat oatmeal, it sends an automatic surge of insulin and my pancreas has a very hard time 'shutting off'... We have patients who are just like myself - matter of fact a test group that I helped to run and participate in from a Dermatological angle, we found that the first meal of the day greatly influenced our eating-related behaviors for the remainder of that day. The group that had a heavier carb-load stemming from the bread/grains/cereals group actually was more hungrier, more irritable, felt the uncontrollable troll-of-treats take over and just had a hard time stopping from the binging they did on foods known for poor-carbohydrates. They didnt have enough of protein or fat at all.

Opt for carbohydrates found in vegetables in your morning breakfast. It doesnt have to be an omelet every day with tons of rabbit food... you could easily have a wild-green salad, a few strawberries, chopped almonds or walnuts in place of croutons for the need to 'crunch' on something, add plenty of good protein: fresh tuna, roasted chicken, salmon, steak tips - whatever you want. Dont be afraid to have a full-fat dressing. I often make a Lemon-Dill vinaigrette on-the-fly that goes SOOOOOO WELL with a nice Greek-style Feta-chicken salad. So good!!!!

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists refer to the belief that through blood work, previous history, current history helps them to determine what is the right intake of dietary carbohydrate intake per meal. Perhaps for you, your body (from the sound of things) may be very carb-sensitive thus the hunger-monger situation comes around.

Im on a 120g total carbohydrate limit, but they must be 90% vegetables, 5% fruits, 5% low-carb option bread types. I stick to this like a fly to...... well, you know what Im talking about! LOL!!!! I can easily go without the Joseph's low-carb bread, it doesnt bring that hunger-attack on if I dont have it in my daily intake.

Just my two cents

Well- I don't mean to be glib here, but it isn't my pancreas having a hard time 'shutting off'. My pancreas hasn't worked since I was 12 I'm type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. Prior to my pump, I was on a diet of 30 carbs at breakfast, 60 at lunch, 90 at dinner, and 45 as an evening snack (I never ate breakfast prior to my diagnosis so breakfast was my lightest meal of the day). so even that totals 225 carbs a day. I was also 12 at the time, so obviously my body's needs have changed, but still.

cramernh

I was speaking for myself.
Ill be sure not to contribute anything anymore where you seem to come across as ungrateful....

EDIT: I will point out though, you failed to mention anything about an insulin pump previously...

bethad5

I was speaking for myself.
Ill be sure not to contribute anything anymore where you seem to come across as ungrateful....

EDIT: I will point out though, you failed to mention anything about an insulin pump previously...

It wasn't my intention to come across as ungrateful and I'm sorry if that's how it sounded. I just know for a fact that, for me, it has nothing to do with my pancreas. Believe me, I wish my pancreas worked!

cramernh

Well- I don't mean to be glib here, but it isn't my pancreas having a hard time 'shutting off'. My pancreas hasn't worked since I was 12 I'm type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. Prior to my pump, I was on a diet of 30 carbs at breakfast, 60 at lunch, 90 at dinner, and 45 as an evening snack (I never ate breakfast prior to my diagnosis so breakfast was my lightest meal of the day). so even that totals 225 carbs a day. I was also 12 at the time, so obviously my body's needs have changed, but still.

It wasn't my intention to come across as ungrateful and I'm sorry if that's how it sounded. I just know for a fact that, for me, it has nothing to do with my pancreas. Believe me, I wish my pancreas worked!

No where in my post did I say it was your pancreas so I dont know where you are getting that from my post. At all.

Try re-reading my post again - it clearly does not say anything about you and your pancreas.....


I give up.....

TripleJ3

Before EM2WL I was (am?) a binger. Usually its at night. Yes, sometimes it was me being angry for yet another gain or no loss after strict eating and tons of exercise and I wanted to punish myself. Sometimes I was just so dang hungry and I would think, Oh I'll just have a few....but the motions of eating (yes, always carbs!) would be so soothing that I would just keep going. Then in my mind I would think, well, now that I have screwed that up I might as well finish this out with a bang!

Even when my binges started out as hunger, they all always ended emotionally. When I started EM2WL it didn't matter to me if it worked or not. I was so ready to give up and just try to live normal. I am going to be 35 this year, and while I don't feel old....I am definitely more in the mindset of I am not getting younger and time flies so fast that I am so over wasting what time I have on killing myself to fit into a size smaller.

I am on reset, and last week I ate over TDEE almost everyday and I mean by hundreds! I was actually hungry but it felt like what I like to think of as my old binge days. Pretty scary when you know how dark binging can be and how you never want to get sucked back in.:noway:

My macros are always off. I am always aiming to keep protein up, hit my TDEE, keep sodium in check and at least within my carbs! Driving myself crazy! Its definitely a learning process. I am now looking at this reset as my practice. This is where I am suppose to make my mistakes and get my butt in gear then when I feel I have got it, then I can reward myself with a 10% cut. Mainly I am trying to work on my mindset the most. So I am loosening up on having perfect macros. Still always trying but not stressing so much about it either.

So my point being is your not alone. EM2WL can help you drop the binging, just maybe not overnight. And thats ok. The whole point of EM2WL is its going to be a long journey. Things will be slow, so embrace it and slow down with it. Just work on doing better today than you did yesterday. If that means 10 more grams of protein today, then thats awesome! We are all going at it slow right with you. :flowerforyou:

HeidiHoMom

Hi Beth, what has worked for me is only worrying about the protein macro and i try my best to meet the rest, especially the fat. I am almost always over in my carbs but it hasn't affected my weight loss. Just meeting the protein goal has really helped me in avoiding binges. Are they still going to happen? Absolutely, and maybe it is your body just saying it's hungry.

Hope you're having a better day today!

graysmom2005

Before EM2WL I was (am?) a binger. Usually its at night. Yes, sometimes it was me being angry for yet another gain or no loss after strict eating and tons of exercise and I wanted to punish myself. Sometimes I was just so dang hungry and I would think, Oh I'll just have a few....but the motions of eating (yes, always carbs!) would be so soothing that I would just keep going. Then in my mind I would think, well, now that I have screwed that up I might as well finish this out with a bang!

Even when my binges started out as hunger, they all always ended emotionally. When I started EM2WL it didn't matter to me if it worked or not. I was so ready to give up and just try to live normal. I am going to be 35 this year, and while I don't feel old....I am definitely more in the mindset of I am not getting younger and time flies so fast that I am so over wasting what time I have on killing myself to fit into a size smaller.

I am on reset, and last week I ate over TDEE almost everyday and I mean by hundreds! I was actually hungry but it felt like what I like to think of as my old binge days. Pretty scary when you know how dark binging can be and how you never want to get sucked back in.:noway:

My macros are always off. I am always aiming to keep protein up, hit my TDEE, keep sodium in check and at least within my carbs! Driving myself crazy! Its definitely a learning process. I am now looking at this reset as my practice. This is where I am suppose to make my mistakes and get my butt in gear then when I feel I have got it, then I can reward myself with a 10% cut. Mainly I am trying to work on my mindset the most. So I am loosening up on having perfect macros. Still always trying but not stressing so much about it either.

So my point being is your not alone. EM2WL can help you drop the binging, just maybe not overnight. And thats ok. The whole point of EM2WL is its going to be a long journey. Things will be slow, so embrace it and slow down with it. Just work on doing better today than you did yesterday. If that means 10 more grams of protein today, then thats awesome! We are all going at it slow right with you. :flowerforyou:

This makes me feel a little less alone. Thank you for writing this. I too would have serious binges maybe once a week? Usually an Ambien was involved. But I'd eat like 3-4 bowls of cereal. I couldn't get enough. It was always carbs and I would eat a bomb! You do feel so ashamed the next day when you wake up. Like you can't believe you did that.

bethad5

Well- I don't mean to be glib here, but it isn't my pancreas having a hard time 'shutting off'. My pancreas hasn't worked since I was 12 I'm type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. Prior to my pump, I was on a diet of 30 carbs at breakfast, 60 at lunch, 90 at dinner, and 45 as an evening snack (I never ate breakfast prior to my diagnosis so breakfast was my lightest meal of the day). so even that totals 225 carbs a day. I was also 12 at the time, so obviously my body's needs have changed, but still.

It wasn't my intention to come across as ungrateful and I'm sorry if that's how it sounded. I just know for a fact that, for me, it has nothing to do with my pancreas. Believe me, I wish my pancreas worked!

No where in my post did I say it was your pancreas so I dont know where you are getting that from my post. At all.

Try re-reading my post again - it clearly does not say anything about you and your pancreas.....


I give up.....

You never said anything about my pancreas. In your original post, you talked about how YOUR pancreas has trouble 'shutting off' after you eat higher carb amounts. And then you said something about how you would never dare eat oatmeal because of this. So my comment was to say that I do not and cannot possibly have that issue because MY pancreas doesn't work.

I'm happy that, for you, eating 120 carbs a day (and mainly from vegetables) works. Everybody is different. I do a lot of cardio and need carbs to fuel my workouts. Again, though, I never intended to sound ungrateful or rude in response to your post.

bethad5

Before EM2WL I was (am?) a binger. Usually its at night. Yes, sometimes it was me being angry for yet another gain or no loss after strict eating and tons of exercise and I wanted to punish myself. Sometimes I was just so dang hungry and I would think, Oh I'll just have a few....but the motions of eating (yes, always carbs!) would be so soothing that I would just keep going. Then in my mind I would think, well, now that I have screwed that up I might as well finish this out with a bang!

Even when my binges started out as hunger, they all always ended emotionally. When I started EM2WL it didn't matter to me if it worked or not. I was so ready to give up and just try to live normal. I am going to be 35 this year, and while I don't feel old....I am definitely more in the mindset of I am not getting younger and time flies so fast that I am so over wasting what time I have on killing myself to fit into a size smaller.

I am on reset, and last week I ate over TDEE almost everyday and I mean by hundreds! I was actually hungry but it felt like what I like to think of as my old binge days. Pretty scary when you know how dark binging can be and how you never want to get sucked back in.:noway:

My macros are always off. I am always aiming to keep protein up, hit my TDEE, keep sodium in check and at least within my carbs! Driving myself crazy! Its definitely a learning process. I am now looking at this reset as my practice. This is where I am suppose to make my mistakes and get my butt in gear then when I feel I have got it, then I can reward myself with a 10% cut. Mainly I am trying to work on my mindset the most. So I am loosening up on having perfect macros. Still always trying but not stressing so much about it either.

So my point being is your not alone. EM2WL can help you drop the binging, just maybe not overnight. And thats ok. The whole point of EM2WL is its going to be a long journey. Things will be slow, so embrace it and slow down with it. Just work on doing better today than you did yesterday. If that means 10 more grams of protein today, then thats awesome! We are all going at it slow right with you. :flowerforyou:

Thank you so much for posting this. I teared up when I read it. I am exactly like you- I was so strict for so long, always diligently working out, always diligently eating 1500-1600 calories a day. And suddenly, that stopped working - and I'd see a gain on the scale - and immediately find comfort in a cereal box or a jar of peanut butter. It is like a bad habit I cannot break. I frequently fall asleep on the couch at night, wake up in a daze, and find myself eating cereal straight out of the box like it's potato chips before going to bed. I will frequently eat an entire box of cereal in a 24-48 hour timespan. Or I'd sit and dig out peanut butter by the fingerful and suddenly half the jar would be gone. My body is so screwed up that, until this week, I honestly couldn't remember what a hunger cue felt like. I was so used to ignoring my hunger cues that for several months I've just eaten because it's time to eat. It's just that since I started increasing my workouts, and seeing gains on the scale, that I've started binging. My weight loss journey started 2 years ago and I hit 144-146 and remained steady there throughout several months of eating (not netting) 1500-1600 calories and 3-4 days of exercise a week. I had to take a break from workouts starting last August due to foot injury and wasn't able to get back to the gym until January. While my foot was broken, I lost 12 pounds in 3 months. so I thought to maintain that low weight, the lowest I've ever seen as an adult, I had to work out more than 3-4x a week. First it was 5, for 45 minutes on the elliptical. Then 7 days for 45 minutes. And then it was an hour a day, every day, sometimes more than once a day. And throughout all of this, my weight kept creeping up, creeping up. I think my first binge was in February or March and it was a jar of peanut butter. For so long I've stayed away from peanut butter because it's so 'bad' - high calorie, high fat, not one of my 'safe' foods - and then one day the scale was up, I was worn out, and I had half the jar. And even with a TDEE of almost 2700, I go over almost every day. Part of it is because now I finally feel hunger and let myself eat, when before I'd squish the feeling until it was 'time' to eat. But part of it is because of nightly cereal binges. Or just random, go into the pantry and have some handfuls of granola or raw oats, moments splattered throughout the day. and then I feel even worse about myself because even at almost 2700 calories I still can't control myself.

The last time I weighed myself I was 153.8 pounds. I haven't since. I started eating at full TDEE on Sunday, so it hasn't even been a full week yet. I feel inflated, bloated, and awful, but I'm not sure how much of it is mental and how much of it is truly 'seen'. I keep squashing the urge to go to the gym to make up for eating over my TDEE. But my time at the gym this week has been awful - my legs feel heavy as lead, it feels like I can barely move them, and I'm worn out within 10 minutes of starting. But now it's almost a new compulsion - that I HAVE to work out to meet my '5-6 hours of strenuous activity' level so I can continue eating 2655. I have a 5k on Sunday that I'm dreading because I just feel so heavy that I know it isn't going to go well. Did anyone else experience this when they first started eating at TDEE? How long does this last??

Also, TripleJ3 - have you stepped on the scale since eating at full TDEE/while you ate over your level for the week? I'm trying to tell myself I won't weigh myself until July 1 because my mentality totally revolves around the number. I feel like if I stepped on the scale right now I'd easily weigh 160. My period is also due to start tomorrow, so I think waiting until July 1 is probably the best thing I can do...

bethad5

Hi Beth, what has worked for me is only worrying about the protein macro and i try my best to meet the rest, especially the fat. I am almost always over in my carbs but it hasn't affected my weight loss. Just meeting the protein goal has really helped me in avoiding binges. Are they still going to happen? Absolutely, and maybe it is your body just saying it's hungry.

Hope you're having a better day today!

I am having a better day today, thank you! It's just hard because when i was eating VLC, I'd 'save' my calories - just in case I had a big dinner or whatever. So now, eating at TDEE (2655), I *have* to space it out during the day. Right now I'm around 1800-1900 and I haven't eaten dinner yet, and that worries me, because it's comforting to know I could have a 600 calorie dinner and a snack after but tonight I can't do that. This only my first week of eating at TDEE, so I'm hoping this 'saving calorie' mindset starts diminishing.

Are you doing a reset or eating at your cut? How long have you been at it and what's your weight gain/loss been like?

HeidiHoMom

I am doing a cut right now but I plan to do a reset after the summer.

I started at the very beginning of may and I have lost 6.5 lbs so far and feel fantastic.

bethad5

I am doing a cut right now but I plan to do a reset after the summer.

I started at the very beginning of may and I have lost 6.5 lbs so far and feel fantastic.

That's awesome!! Did you see any initial weight gain or have you been losing the whole time? when I first started eating at MFP's recommended 1640 and then eating my exercise calories back, I started slowly gaining. I'm up about 6-7 pounds from then. Once I did the TDEE calculations, I think during that time (eating back exercise cals) I was eating my TDEE -15%... so I'm hoping increasing to full TDEE was the right way to go

TripleJ3

Also, TripleJ3 - have you stepped on the scale since eating at full TDEE/while you ate over your level for the week? I'm trying to tell myself I won't weigh myself until July 1 because my mentality totally revolves around the number. I feel like if I stepped on the scale right now I'd easily weigh 160. My period is also due to start tomorrow, so I think waiting until July 1 is probably the best thing I can do...

No way! No scale for me! I would let that number get me down too much! What I know logically still isn't louder than the voice that would probably send me over the edge!

I am pretty sure I will step on the scale when I need to re-calculate my numbers. My last week of reset I plan on doing a full rest so I will need to know what my TDEE will be then I will do it again to find my cut! I wish someone else could figure my numbers for me so I didn't even have to look at the scale at all!:laugh:

I am excited to do the cut since that means I will start to see some great changes! But I feel the same about my level of working out. I like eating this much and I am hungry for it but there are times where I work out just so I can keep my current numbers! I don't want to lower my TDEE with less workouts but still be so hungry! I went over on TDEE most days last week so I feel like being super careful since I can see in my belly and clothes that it caught up with me.

I started EM2WL eating at cut. Then 3 weeks into it went up to reset and have been doing that for 20 days. Lately I have been feeling that heavy feeling. My legs are like lead when I run. I have a 7 mile race the end of July that I am getting ready for and while I do it for fun because its such a huge party I want to run most of it! I don't mind walking some, theres many many steep hills and one hill at the beginning that feels like it will never end:sad: but my run time now definitely isn't good.

We have very similar feelings and I think theres more like us in the EM2WL family so you are not alone and have people here who know how you feel because we lived or are living it!

TripleJ3

@Graysmom

Yes! Its such a trance while binging! I hate when people say, just remember how you felt next time.....Oh I definitely told myself many times during a binge how I was going to regret it and remember how crappy you will feel in the morning but most of the time I ignored it, I didn't care at the time. I HAD to do the binge!

My stomach was such a black hole, I couldn't believe how much I could eat in a sitting yet not ever feel sick or too full. Then wake up hungry the next day!