Do you have an "eat anything" weight?

BirdieNYC

So, I was at my all time high weight but had been at this weight for, like a year. It was my "eat anything" weight. I'm talking bacon-egg-cheese on a roll for breakfast (with a donut on the side), a massive lunch (usually a very unhealthy sandwich which prominently featured bacon and mayo, and a creamy, pasta-rich dinner with tons of meat and cheese. This was, naturally, followed by sometimes a pint of Ben and Jerrys. There were many snacks sprinkled in between all of these massive meals.

I ate and ate and binged and ate, and finally I hit this weight and it never really went up from there. I'm petite and so this was a big size for my tiny frame (and it was so embarrassing that such a little girl could eat so much food, so I usually binged in private).

I've been restricting and being very careful about what I put in my mouth now with MFP- only clean foods, with variety for nutrients, and I feel like just the diet adjustment alone should have washed these pounds away quickly. But I'm only 8 pounds down after 2 months (with exercise) and I feel like I was having so much more freedom before when I didn't watch the scales.

My question is-

Does anyone else have an "eat anything" weight or have experienced a weight gain plateau? Or would I have just kept creeping up and up in weight after a while? I guess I kind of need some motivation. Feels weird since I'm halfway to my goal to start having these doubts. I just wonder if for all this obsessiveness, is it worth the 8lbs, when before I could just go to dinner with friends and eat without consequence. I think I'm just having a weird moment of weakness.

Tilran

I'm really confused with your question. Can you ask it again but be a little more clear?

I THINK you are asking if anyone here can eat as much as they want and not gain weight? Umm what?

Golden rule: Eat at a defecit - lose weight | Eat at a surplus - gain weight


It really is pretty simple.

bulbadoof

I never hit an "eat anything" weight. I wish I had!

sarahrbraun

I fluctuated within about 5lbs of my highest weight for about a year. Before I got serious about losing weight, the only time I lost weight was when I had 2 surgeries in 1 week which required me to be NPO for most of the day.

you've lost 8 pounds in 2 months...it took me 3 months of busting azz in the gym ( 90 minutes 3-4x a week) to lose 7lbs. I wanted to quit...but I wanted to lose weight MORE. I tweaked my diet some, and lost another 21 pounds in 5 months. I've been stalled for the last 2 weeks, but I am hoping to see the scale move again tomorrow.

albinogorilla

265
i would fluctuate between 265 and 250 eating 5-6000 calories most days...........but didn't gain

I am 80lbs lighter now though, if it was only 16 odds are i would go back to eating whatever i wanted though.................

Molly_Maguire

So is your question "do you have an 'eat anything' weight", or is it "have you experienced a weight gain plateau"? And i don't really get what you mean by "eat anything weight" anyway...you're not being very clear, sorry.

Side note: 8 pounds down in 2 months is very good. A pound a week is optimal. If you lose much faster than that, you risk developing loose skin, and looking saggy. Keep what you're doing, it sounds like it's working!

joecollins9385

i generally eat whatever i want (bacon egg and cheese sandwich is my fav breakfast) and i am under my calories on most days. i usually eat healthy and exercise a lot and have a physically demanding job so im sure that plays into the equation also. im sure i would have more success...well maybe faster results is a better way to say it, if i was more strict with my diet but i am happy doing this my way.

BirdieNYC

Haha sorry, I realize my question wasnt too clear!! I guess I just feel like I'm working my butt off and just assumed the weight would come off faster. Yet when I was eating anything I wanted, I sort of plateaued at a certain weight and didnt gain much more from there.

But you're right, if I lose any faster, I don't want saggy skin! No!

Ok thanks!

mfpcopine

I'm not sure I understand the question, but I don't think there's an "eat anything weight" for people who want to maintain their weight. Sure, you could have some bacon here and there, or some ribs, or some ice cream, but there are certain foods that you can never again eat in large quantities on a regular basis.

When they say it's a lifestyle change, they mean for life.

If you're working out like an Olympian, that might be different. Most of us aren't.

UCFLauren

I understand what you mean - a weight gain plateau.

Yeah, my weight high was hovering around 290 lbs. I would eat fast food every single day, sometimes twice, because I was always on the go - working 10-12 hours 5-6 days a week. So I think I was JUST barely burning enough calories standing/walking at work so much that it kept me from gaining any more weight. I hovered around this weight for a good year, until 3 weeks ago, when I decided enough was enough.

capergrrl

I "maxed out" at 190ish... i'm assuming this was my weight because I refused to get on the scale after I hit 185 and I know I gained weight after that.

enewsome2

I've never gone over the 160's, if that's what you mean. And I've gone through periods of life where I didn't frankly give a crap and "ate everything". Usually I get depressed, though, and will at least plateau in the 160's or start losing.

Although I vow to never get back there again.

It's happened twice now.

However, I'm sure if I didn't start trying to lose weight at that point, I could go up forever. My whole family has "bigger bone" genes.

MariaMariaM

My maintenance calorie is around 1900 - 2000 calories and I could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight as long as I hit that number. If I eat more than that, I will gain and lower calories I will lose.
Do I choose to stuff my face with anything I see? No, because while I won't gain weight, it will impact my body composition plus it will make me feel sick.
There are many occasions where I go way over but that doesn't worry me since it is not a habit. If this is the question you are asking, then yes, I have hit that weight. I have been doing it for about 5 months

BirdieNYC

I've never gone over the 160's, if that's what you mean. And I've gone through periods of life where I didn't frankly give a crap and "ate everything". Usually I get depressed, though, and will at least plateau in the 160's or start losing.

Although I vow to never get back there again.

It's happened twice now.

However, I'm sure if I didn't start trying to lose weight at that point, I could go up forever. My whole family has "bigger bone" genes.

So this is EXACTLY what I mean! OK I thought I was crazy. Yes, it's like you can hit a weight gain plateau. But you're right, you feel like total *kitten*. You actually like stop craving foods bc you're constantly eating.

mehaffeymk

i totally understand what you mean, but i never hit my eat anything weight plateau. i WAS indeed eating everything, but my weight was still creeping up, although it took a year of eating everything to get high enough to where i wanted it to stop. i wish i had maxed out way lower but then i probably wouldnt have started changing my lifestyle at all.

slkehl

8 pounds in two months is great! I wish I could lose that fast.

HeinzPrincess

Between 190 and 200. I completely understand what you are saying just because it happened to me. Got married, packed on a bunch of weight and then...stayed there. Had 2 kids, lost the pregnancy weight each time without a problem, but I could easily stay in the 190-200 range while eating whatever, whenever.

Tilran

Golden rule: Eat at a defecit - lose weight | Eat at a surplus - gain weight

Hate to quote myself here lol BUT....what you guys are talking about isen't a weight gain plateu. Its not that once you hit a certain weight you cant gain anymore...its that what you are eating is your maintenance intake for that weight. If you are 290 and "eating whatever you want and not gaining anymore" its because you are not eating over the maintaince intake for 290. Same if you are 200, 140, 100. It doesnt matter. See my quote above. If you eat at a surplus, you will gain...defecit? You will lose!

I could go pound down 5000 calories a day right now until I was 260-270 and not gain anymore unless I started doing more then 5000 a day. If I droped from 5000? I'd lose. Pretty simple


EDIT: For a few grammer errors.

nerolimoon

My "eat anything" weight was around 13st 9lbs - that is to say, I guess I maintained that weight because the massive amounts I was eating every day were sufficient to maintain this weight. I hadn't even been on the scales for years before I got on them on 4 May 2011, found out what my weight actually was, and decided to do something about it.

From the start I decided I was going to cut back to what I thought I could eat without starving myself, on an ongoing basis, forever - and that when I stopped losing weight on eating at this level, then that was what my new weight would be. So far I haven't hit the plateau, but I'm 9st 3lbs now, so I don't think it is far off now. (Although MFP has put me on 1200 cals a day I almost always exceed this, and on Fridatys and Saturdays I'm usually ove 2000).

pallypunch

I second Tilran . . ..

I am new to this "eating healthy" thing, but i went into knowing that it was a lifestyle change, and not a diet. I have focused on portion control and learning how much I am supposed to eat/need to eat vs. how much I would like to eat. And I haven't taken drastic steps (why bother, I couldn't maintain it and know that I would eventually go back to the food I love and just gain all of the weight back, plus some. Also, why? Food and drinks are just too tasty to give up). So, I still eat pizza, cupcakes, and drink beer and wine- but I just try to cut back on often I do this- and how much I have in one sitting. And if I have pizza for lunch, I try to have a healthier, lower calorie dinner. This is manageable for now and is necessary for me to loss weight (for now)- and to eventually maintain a healthy weight.

And I think I did hit my "maximum" weight. But, as Tilran mentioned, when you are around a certain weight (let's say 230), the caloric intake needed to maintain that weight is also VERY HIGH. So, me eating 3,000 plus calories certainly didn't allow me to lose weight, but I was easily able to maintain being large and not gain a lot of weight/or any at my maximum weight. . . but really, that wasn't a good thing.

So, for the rest of my life, I am going to watch my portions, get the most bang-for-my-buck with whole foods so that I am not hungry at random times during the day, and stop eating when I am full.