Omggg

TavistockToad

Just stick with it make it a game. It's kind of like golf lowest score (calorie intake) wins it's you against MFP. If you don't win today try again tomorrow! good luck

This has got to be some of the worst advice I have seen in a while.... Severely restricting calories is NOT a 'game'!!

llkilgore

How much are you eating on the days you're on track? Not enough, I suspect, if you're waking up in the middle of the night needing to eat. And how old are you really? MFP can't calculate an accurate calorie budget for you if the software thinks you're 100 years old.

tracieangeletti

No offense, but I warned you last year about the risks involved when pursuing an aggressive calorie deficit considering your exercise volume and amount of fat you wanted to lose. What were these risks?

-Disproportionate loss in lean body mass relative to fat mass.
-Disproportionate reduction in Resting Metabolic Rate relative to weight lost.
-Significant reduction in serum leptin concentration levels and/or impairment of the receptors that assess leptin levels.

Judging by your posts, and pictures, it seems all three have resulted from your rapid weight loss.

You lost a substantial amount of lean body mass because you restricted calories too much. As I explained many months ago, we all have a limit to how much fat can be oxidized in a 24-hour period. Think of this as a maximum deficit. The closer you get to that maximum deficit, the more lean body mass is used for fuel instead of fat mass. If you exceed this deficit, fat is no longer oxidized and any further energy demands are met strictly from lean body mass. Although you may not have reached that max deficit, the degree of restriction led to a ratio that favored a disproportionate amount of lean body mass to be used as fuel.

This restriction caused serum leptin levels to plummet and/or impairment in the receptors which aid in regulating satiety and energy balance. This means your body was receiving false confirmation that you were meeting energy needs by eating enough when you truly were not.

Because you were receiving incorrect feedback, and you continued to restrict to the tune of 1300 calories, your total daily energy needs lessened greatly. Thus, you can see the reciprocal relationship leptin has with energy balance. The wacky hunger signals you are getting are a result of this.

Why is your body presently responding the way it is? Because you decided to lose weight using extreme measures. In turn, your body wants to replace the weight you so rapidly lost. Although you lost a significant amount lean body mass during restriction, you shall only recover a very small amount during this "weight recovery." This, and the above, is why people who quickly lose weight via a VLCD gain a lot of the weight back and end up at a higher body fat percentage than what they had during their original weight. So if you were originally 140 lbs at 28% body fat back then, and you gain all the weight back, you could have a body fat percentage far greater than 30%.

What should you do?

-Keep lifting weights so more of the weight you regain is recovered lean body mass.
-See an endocrinologist or a metabolic testing center and assess your RMR to gauge how low your TDEE has adjusted.
-Slowly increase calories until your weight stabilizes and maintain eating that amount for several months.
-Only after that can you attempt to reduce fat mass again, but use a much smaller deficit.

THIS!!!!!! Sticky it, print it, do whatever you need to do to read it everyday so you can use it as a reminder as to why you need to eat and nourish your body so you don't go off the deep end! I worry about every single morsel I put in to my mouth so much so that the worrying itself has become unhealthy. I too have been undereating way too much especially since I workout a lot. It was making me depressed and starving ALL OF THE TIME but I wouldn't eat more because I didn't want to gain. I started reading the threads and kept reading about eating more to lose more. I went to FAT 2 Fit Radio.com and punched in the numbers it asks for and found out just how much I was undereating and read a thread on here called In Place of a Road Map vol. 3 ( go to the search button and look for it) which helps to explain just what not eating enough can do to your body and how it HINDERS weight loss. I go to the Fat 2 Fit site everyday and look at my numbers everyday to help assure myself that I'm SUPPOSED to take in those calories to remain healthy and still LOSE weight. I'm trying to retrain my brain to look at food differently and not like the enemy I have made it in my mind. I really think that the only way that this is going to become a sustainable lifestyle is to do it this way. You can't walk around feeling hungry and deprived all the time. You will fail plain and simple. I know because I have done it over and over again. Another thing I can't stress enough is patience. Losing the weight safely and healthfully takes time. LOTS of time. Rushing and forcing yourself to lose weight quickly just doesn't work, not for the long haul. Love yourself, EAT, workout and be patient. It WILL happen!! Good luck to you!!

wllwsmmr

No offense, but I warned you last year about the risks involved when pursuing an aggressive calorie deficit considering your exercise volume and amount of fat you wanted to lose. What were these risks?

-Disproportionate loss in lean body mass relative to fat mass.
-Disproportionate reduction in Resting Metabolic Rate relative to weight lost.
-Significant reduction in serum leptin concentration levels and/or impairment of the receptors that assess leptin levels.

Judging by your posts, and pictures, it seems all three have resulted from your rapid weight loss.

You lost a substantial amount of lean body mass because you restricted calories too much. As I explained many months ago, we all have a limit to how much fat can be oxidized in a 24-hour period. Think of this as a maximum deficit. The closer you get to that maximum deficit, the more lean body mass is used for fuel instead of fat mass. If you exceed this deficit, fat is no longer oxidized and any further energy demands are met strictly from lean body mass. Although you may not have reached that max deficit, the degree of restriction led to a ratio that favored a disproportionate amount of lean body mass to be used as fuel.

This restriction caused serum leptin levels to plummet and/or impairment in the receptors which aid in regulating satiety and energy balance. This means your body was receiving false confirmation that you were meeting energy needs by eating enough when you truly were not.

Because you were receiving incorrect feedback, and you continued to restrict to the tune of 1300 calories, your total daily energy needs lessened greatly. Thus, you can see the reciprocal relationship leptin has with energy balance. The wacky hunger signals you are getting are a result of this.

Why is your body presently responding the way it is? Because you decided to lose weight using extreme measures. In turn, your body wants to replace the weight you so rapidly lost. Although you lost a significant amount lean body mass during restriction, you shall only recover a very small amount during this "weight recovery." This, and the above, is why people who quickly lose weight via a VLCD gain a lot of the weight back and end up at a higher body fat percentage than what they had during their original weight. So if you were originally 140 lbs at 28% body fat back then, and you gain all the weight back, you could have a body fat percentage far greater than 30%.

What should you do?

-Keep lifting weights so more of the weight you regain is recovered lean body mass.
-See an endocrinologist or a metabolic testing center and assess your RMR to gauge how low your TDEE has adjusted.
-Slowly increase calories until your weight stabilizes and maintain eating that amount for several months.
-Only after that can you attempt to reduce fat mass again, but use a much smaller deficit.

You might find this harsh or not something you'd subscribe to because 'you will never lose weight by eating xxxx cals' but let me say that I second his advice based on PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. I have restricted A LOT, and at that time I felt so in control, and then came the uncontrollable binging, because your body eventually WILL respond and retaliate. You binge and binge and no longer feel full. You feel sad and mope and binge more and then it is just a vicious binge streak with no end.. TIll you gain back all your weight AND EVEN MORE. I'm not saying that might happen to you, but that was what happened to me. SO MANY TIMES. I keep doing it the unhealthy way, and yo-yo weighted COUNTLESS OF TIMES. And I am only 19 years old. I have now picked up the habit of binging and overeating and being utterly OBSESSED with calories. I also emotionally eat because since I was depriving myself (be it calories or the types of foods), eating became comforting, and sad to say certain unfortunate events happened and that led to so many binge streaks that led me to more and more misery. I screwed up my metabolism and my health, and spent way too much money on binging too.

This time I am finally putting my feel down and doing it the healthy way. I am sad to say that binging is now going to be with me for life, after years of doing it. And the obsession with calories and food? I sure hope it dissipates. BUT I am not going to rush it. It is all a result of my refusal to stop the severe restricting, the crazy exercising etc. It was all very tiring and draining mentally too. Whatever changes you make to your eating/exercise, to maintain your weight you'll have to keep those changes and habits FOR LIFE. That is why people advocate patience! Slower weight loss is more sustainable and less overwhelming.

My worst binge streak of at least 10000cals of junk per day for about a month after severe restriction led to a rapid weight gain of 10kg, and I felt like I'd never get out because I was never full, and even when I felt sick from all the food I couldn't stop eating. I dreamt of going back to being able to eat 500cals a day with 1hour of intense exercise and feeling lean and skinny. But then I felt like I 'failed' because I couldn't get back to that amount of restriction. And that only led to 'screw it i'll just binge my life away since I failed' and was pointless. I then tried to stay positive and take things slow... 6000cals a day? Heck it IS an improvement from 10000cals aint it?! Then I aim to do even better the next. EVERY EFFORT COUNTS.

What I found helped to reduce my calories is to NOT EAT JUNK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE initially. I bought A LOT OF HEALTHY STUFF, and ate all of that first and made myself exercise EVERYDAY, without overdoing it regardless of how much I intake, because I want to control my eating and not let overexercising make me even hungrier! Yes the first few days were HELL and I felt like I NEEDED junk. Just force yourself to go cold turkey. And yes I still slip ups but it certainly made transition easier and also lowered the calorie intake by a mile.

I used to be the most negative person ever and never believed in 'positive reinforcement' and found it silly and stupid. This time I tried. I reminded myself that I was worth it, and I want my life back. That I was going to fake it til I make it. Smile and laugh a lot. Face everything in life with a calm and happy heart. Yes I get tired and sad at times but I try to not let the moping drag on. One day and that's it. Pick myself back up, and stay positive. A happy day or a sad day is still a day passed. You choose how you want to feel. And the more days I am positive, the more positive I have become. Yes I MYSELF am in disbelief how it actually worked!

While I'm still struggling with binging, I am going to continue to stay positive because positivity doesn't cost a thing. And it spurs me on. I try to celebrate every little thing in life.

Read this in a forum and it really spoke to me, "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you're right". - Henry Ford

Melo1966

Sometimes a "Diet Break" is what you need. You need to remember why you want and need to lose the weight and make a new game plane. Do not cut your calories too low so you can fit in yummy food. Weigh, measure and log everything and be completely honest in your diary. Log things BEFORE you eat them. Fitting in yummies will help with binges. Like yesterday I had 140 extra calories and had hit my my protein and fiber macro goals so I could eat anything. I could have 2 Girl Scout cookies or weigh out chocolate covered almonds. Measure out ALL snacks and put in individual bags. I chose the almonds.
Good Luck on the Next Chapter of Your Journey. :flowerforyou:

elisa123gal

You don't have to eat at a deficit or count calories to be a good person. It is okay to take a break from "dieting." Just try not to regain. How about maintain where you are until you feel your dedication coming back. This isn't a race.. You know what to do to lose and you will when you're ready.

geekyjock76

I actually forgot to list what I feel is the most damaging result of adhering to a VLCD - an irrational fear of increasing calories closer to or back to true maintenance. If not addressed, it can lead to disordered eating and even an eating disorder. Before you began restricting, you engaged in an eating disorder - binge eating. Thus, it was unwise to engage in rigid restriction since you'd be adding another unhealthy behavior which would negatively affect your mental state.

You can recover the lean body mass you lost and reduce the extra fat mass you gained. You can increase RMR and leptin values back to optimal levels. Your leptin receptors may once again be capable of accurately assessing leptin values. However, recovering from the psychological damage incurred by adhering to an overly aggressive fat loss strategy is far more difficult and problematic. I've seen so many posts from people following VLCDs who are scared to increase calories even slightly - this fear is not healthy and can evolve into paranoia if not countered quickly.

khall86790

Stop posting and complaining about it and do something about it.
You know how, you've already lost weight.
Just stop eating ****ty foods and get back to being healthy again.

lithezebra

Like most things, getting back on track gets easier with practice.

snoopydee

I know the feeling! I said that I wanted to just "maintain" during the winter. And I was doing really good until about a month ago and I just seemed to lose all of my motivation! I hiked my weight off and I the weather hasn't permitted me to get back into the woods yet. At this rate, I will gain all of my weight back before the weather breaks. I had lost 36 lbs, but have gained 6 lbs back in the last 5 weeks. NOT GOOD!!! The thought of having to struggle with my weight, day in and day out, for the rest of my life is overwhelming!

Emilie04444

No offense, but I warned you last year about the risks involved when pursuing an aggressive calorie deficit considering your exercise volume and amount of fat you wanted to lose. What were these risks?

-Disproportionate loss in lean body mass relative to fat mass.
-Disproportionate reduction in Resting Metabolic Rate relative to weight lost.
-Significant reduction in serum leptin concentration levels and/or impairment of the receptors that assess leptin levels.

Judging by your posts, and pictures, it seems all three have resulted from your rapid weight loss.

You lost a substantial amount of lean body mass because you restricted calories too much. As I explained many months ago, we all have a limit to how much fat can be oxidized in a 24-hour period. Think of this as a maximum deficit. The closer you get to that maximum deficit, the more lean body mass is used for fuel instead of fat mass. If you exceed this deficit, fat is no longer oxidized and any further energy demands are met strictly from lean body mass. Although you may not have reached that max deficit, the degree of restriction led to a ratio that favored a disproportionate amount of lean body mass to be used as fuel.

This restriction caused serum leptin levels to plummet and/or impairment in the receptors which aid in regulating satiety and energy balance. This means your body was receiving false confirmation that you were meeting energy needs by eating enough when you truly were not.

Because you were receiving incorrect feedback, and you continued to restrict to the tune of 1300 calories, your total daily energy needs lessened greatly. Thus, you can see the reciprocal relationship leptin has with energy balance. The wacky hunger signals you are getting are a result of this.

Why is your body presently responding the way it is? Because you decided to lose weight using extreme measures. In turn, your body wants to replace the weight you so rapidly lost. Although you lost a significant amount lean body mass during restriction, you shall only recover a very small amount during this "weight recovery." This, and the above, is why people who quickly lose weight via a VLCD gain a lot of the weight back and end up at a higher body fat percentage than what they had during their original weight. So if you were originally 140 lbs at 28% body fat back then, and you gain all the weight back, you could have a body fat percentage far greater than 30%.

What should you do?

-Keep lifting weights so more of the weight you regain is recovered lean body mass.
-See an endocrinologist or a metabolic testing center and assess your RMR to gauge how low your TDEE has adjusted.
-Slowly increase calories until your weight stabilizes and maintain eating that amount for several months.
-Only after that can you attempt to reduce fat mass again, but use a much smaller deficit.

I agree with this completely. I have been there myself when I lost weight years ago eating 1200 cals/day. It took all of the willpower in the world to lose it and maintain that. Once I became depressed, my diet was the last thing on my mind. So I ate and ate and gained it all back and more. I used to say that if you lose weight and start gaining it back, there is always a point where you can stop and go back in the right direction before all is lost. But I don't think that way anymore, especially when you have a disordered relationship with food. Now that I am losing weight again, I average 17-2000 cals, no food is off limits, I exercise, eat healthy, and if I eat "bad" foods it doesn't lead down the bad road because I wasn't heavily restricting in the first place. And I am losing weight at a much slower rate, but if I binge on pizza and crap for a few days (though I try to avoid that) everything doesn't come back, because I am not in the mental state that all is loss because I ate 3500 calories at one meal and my body isn't crying for nutrients. That kind of all or nothing thinking made me gain weight fast

I say reevaluate the way you look at food and exercise. It isn't about all about the scale so I would take a break.

carlysuzanne85

No offense, but I warned you last year about the risks involved when pursuing an aggressive calorie deficit considering your exercise volume and amount of fat you wanted to lose. What were these risks?

-Disproportionate loss in lean body mass relative to fat mass.
-Disproportionate reduction in Resting Metabolic Rate relative to weight lost.
-Significant reduction in serum leptin concentration levels and/or impairment of the receptors that assess leptin levels.

Judging by your posts, and pictures, it seems all three have resulted from your rapid weight loss.

You lost a substantial amount of lean body mass because you restricted calories too much. As I explained many months ago, we all have a limit to how much fat can be oxidized in a 24-hour period. Think of this as a maximum deficit. The closer you get to that maximum deficit, the more lean body mass is used for fuel instead of fat mass. If you exceed this deficit, fat is no longer oxidized and any further energy demands are met strictly from lean body mass. Although you may not have reached that max deficit, the degree of restriction led to a ratio that favored a disproportionate amount of lean body mass to be used as fuel.

This restriction caused serum leptin levels to plummet and/or impairment in the receptors which aid in regulating satiety and energy balance. This means your body was receiving false confirmation that you were meeting energy needs by eating enough when you truly were not.

Because you were receiving incorrect feedback, and you continued to restrict to the tune of 1300 calories, your total daily energy needs lessened greatly. Thus, you can see the reciprocal relationship leptin has with energy balance. The wacky hunger signals you are getting are a result of this.

Why is your body presently responding the way it is? Because you decided to lose weight using extreme measures. In turn, your body wants to replace the weight you so rapidly lost. Although you lost a significant amount lean body mass during restriction, you shall only recover a very small amount during this "weight recovery." This, and the above, is why people who quickly lose weight via a VLCD gain a lot of the weight back and end up at a higher body fat percentage than what they had during their original weight. So if you were originally 140 lbs at 28% body fat back then, and you gain all the weight back, you could have a body fat percentage far greater than 30%.

What should you do?

-Keep lifting weights so more of the weight you regain is recovered lean body mass.
-See an endocrinologist or a metabolic testing center and assess your RMR to gauge how low your TDEE has adjusted.
-Slowly increase calories until your weight stabilizes and maintain eating that amount for several months.
-Only after that can you attempt to reduce fat mass again, but use a much smaller deficit.

I agree with this completely. I have been there myself when I lost weight years ago eating 1200 cals/day. It took all of the willpower in the world to lose it and maintain that. Once I became depressed, my diet was the last thing on my mind. So I ate and ate and gained it all back and more. I used to say that if you lose weight and start gaining it back, there is always a point where you can stop and go back in the right direction before all is lost. But I don't think that way anymore, especially when you have a disordered relationship with food. Now that I am losing weight again, I average 17-2000 cals, no food is off limits, I exercise, eat healthy, and if I eat "bad" foods it doesn't lead down the bad road because I wasn't heavily restricting in the first place. And I am losing weight at a much slower rate, but if I binge on pizza and crap for a few days (though I try to avoid that) everything doesn't come back, because I am not in the mental state that all is loss because I ate 3500 calories at one meal and my body isn't crying for nutrients. That kind of all or nothing thinking made me gain weight fast

I say reevaluate the way you look at food and exercise. It isn't about all about the scale so I would take a break.

Could not agree more with both of these posts. I have been right where you are in the past and both of these posts are right on for getting through to the other side without being miserable and unhealthy and constantly hungry. I still struggle and slip up too but I just keep right on going because I'm not dieting, I'm establishing a heathy lifestyle that I can live with and be happy with for the rest of my life. I also eat about 1800-2000 calories a day now instead of 1200-1300 and it has made a huge difference--I binge a lot less, I'm much happier, I'm losing inches, I have energy, etc. I'm losing weight slowly but am having a much better time doing it

One thing that helps me when my motivation is waning (which happens to everyone--I don't think anyone is 110% gung-ho all the time): I think about all of the reasons why I'm doing this in the first place and I think about how much better I feel now than I did when I was unhealthy (both unhealthy with eating too much/not exercising and when I was unhealthy by eating too little/exercising too much). You have to be patient with yourself and know that it takes time to improve these things. Be kind to yourself, fuel your body, and don't give up.