I don't know how to lose weight the right way...

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strongandsore
strongandsore Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
The last 18 months of my life I've spent restricting, binging, and purging. About 50 days ago, I decided that I wanted to attempt to change my life around. I shot up from 108 lbs to 128 lbs where I am today. The weight gain has been rather steady and gradual and I am not able to fit into any of my clothes. I know its not my metabolsim that is causing my weight gain because I can eat 1500-2000 calories and not gain. But then some days I will binge like mad and I can't seem to recover from it. Even my parents are quite upset about my weight gain and such. I NEED to get back down to 108 lbs then focus on getting toned and satisfied with myself and my image.

How do you lose weight??? That may sound naive but at the moment, I am at a total loss. I would like to lose about 8 lbs in the month of april. Is there anyone willing to spend time with me to help me develop a sustainable plan that will result in steady and permanent weight loss as well as keep me on track.

I am really at a loss right now.

Replies

  • TimeForMe99
    TimeForMe99 Posts: 309
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    Start by speaking with a registered dietician. Your doctor should be able to refer you to one. Recovering from an eating disorder can take a long time and you should address your nutritional issues first before attempting to lose weight. Also, if you are still binging the reason for this needs to be addressed.

    I see no reason why your parents would be concerned about a 20 lb weight gain. Unless you are very short your current weight is just fine. Your body image is the first thing to be addressed and this may require professional help. Most people don't see themselves as they really are and it takes time to learn this skill.

    Your profile mentions that you want to run a 5k again. Why not start training?
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    How tall are you? 128 pounds isn't necessarily overweight for you, even if you don't want to be said weight. I find it a little disturbing that your parents are upset about your weight gain, instead of supportive that you're trying to stop binging and purging.

    Here's the advice you'll get: eat at a deficit. Find out how many calories you burn a day with a TDEE calculator: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html. I set my TDEE as sedentary because I have a desk job, and then I manually log how much I burn when I work out on the MyFitnessPal exercise log. Be careful, because they overestimate a little.

    Because you're only losing 20 pounds, don't set yourself to lose 2 pounds a week. That's really fast weight loss, and you'll have to go lower in calories. Try doing a pound a week for the first ten. Don't get impatient; losing weight takes time. You may end up losing a little faster, but if you lose slower, don't get discouraged. Don't net below 1200 calories. If you're set at eating 1300 calories a day and then work out and burn 400 calories, make sure to eat 1700 so that your body is getting a minimum of 1200 just for daily functions like breathing, blinking, thinking, general moving, etc. Try setting yourself at maybe 1300-1400 calories a day. Make it sustainable.

    Be patient. If you're eating at a deficit, you're probably losing fat. Some days the scale may be up due to various things like water retention or maybe you just have to poop. As long as you aren't eating more calorie than you burn, it's not likely you're gaining any fat. Also, keep in mind that the scale is an arbitrary number. If you work out right with cardio and weight lifting, you may end up weighing more than 108 pounds but being perfectly healthy and happy with the way you look. Don't focus on just one number.

    ETA: I agree with the above poster that speaking to a registered dietician or maybe a counselor would be a good thing for you. Especially since you binged and purged for so long.

    Also, if you accidentally overeat one day, don't punish yourself for it. Don't purge, don't restrict yourself the next day. As soon as you make your mistake, just pick it up and there and move on. I find that punishing yourself for overeating is very discouraging and makes you feel crappy.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
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    The last 18 months of my life I've spent restricting, binging, and purging. About 50 days ago, I decided that I wanted to attempt to change my life around. I shot up from 108 lbs to 128 lbs where I am today. The weight gain has been rather steady and gradual and I am not able to fit into any of my clothes. I know its not my metabolsim that is causing my weight gain because I can eat 1500-2000 calories and not gain. But then some days I will binge like mad and I can't seem to recover from it. Even my parents are quite upset about my weight gain and such. I NEED to get back down to 108 lbs then focus on getting toned and satisfied with myself and my image.

    How do you lose weight??? That may sound naive but at the moment, I am at a total loss. I would like to lose about 8 lbs in the month of april. Is there anyone willing to spend time with me to help me develop a sustainable plan that will result in steady and permanent weight loss as well as keep me on track.

    I am really at a loss right now.

    I find it incredibly sad that a parent would be upset over their daughter weighing 128lbs.
  • carebear7951
    carebear7951 Posts: 404 Member
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    Since you have had disordered eating....it sounds like maybe you need to look at why. :( Why are your parents upset that you weigh 128?? It's for YOU not for them. I think you should get some counseling....start at your dr if you don't know of a counselor....to get a healthier view of food and weight. :)
    Best wishes!
  • strongandsore
    strongandsore Posts: 5
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    Thank you so much for all for all of that advice! I forgot to mention that I am 5'5 so I'm still in the healthy weight range. My tdee is around 1770 so I'll aim to net around 1270 calories a day.
  • missjeanlouise
    missjeanlouise Posts: 80 Member
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    Thank you so much for all for all of that advice! I forgot to mention that I am 5'5 so I'm still in the healthy weight range. My tdee is around 1770 so I'll aim to net around 1270 calories a day.

    Wow. Then your parents need to back the frig off. And you don't actually need to lose weight.

    Sorry, that's harsh but this gets me dander up. Do they know that you struggled with bingeing and purging and restricting? I would much rather my daughter be overweight (which you are NOT) than be struggling with bulimia and anorexia. I say that as someone who struggled with each of those for years and thought I would die with my finger down my throat.

    I'm so sad and furious on your behalf about this. 108 was probably too low for you. You need some grace time, not to jump right back into restricting. You need a registered dietitician and a therapist and family therapy.

    Just My Humble Opinion from my soapbox, of course. I'm sorry if I sound bossy and disrespectful, but you need to be gentle with yourself and your parents need to be supportive if you're going to get off the ED roller coaster.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Start by speaking with a registered dietician. Your doctor should be able to refer you to one. Recovering from an eating disorder can take a long time and you should address your nutritional issues first before attempting to lose weight. Also, if you are still binging the reason for this needs to be addressed.

    I see no reason why your parents would be concerned about a 20 lb weight gain. Unless you are very short your current weight is just fine. Your body image is the first thing to be addressed and this may require professional help. Most people don't see themselves as they really are and it takes time to learn this skill.

    Agreed.
  • mjh0311
    mjh0311 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you so much for all for all of that advice! I forgot to mention that I am 5'5 so I'm still in the healthy weight range. My tdee is around 1770 so I'll aim to net around 1270 calories a day.

    At 108 you'll be underweight for your height. Your parents should be happy you worked on getting healthier :(
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Thank you so much for all for all of that advice! I forgot to mention that I am 5'5 so I'm still in the healthy weight range. My tdee is around 1770 so I'll aim to net around 1270 calories a day.

    1270 sounds ok, though you could do a little higher and will probably lose weight just as quickly. I used to do 1200 and when I upped to 1350, lost at the same rate. And was a lot less crabby since I was eating more. =)

    And I agree with other posters saying that 108 for someone 5'5'' is on the low side. Some people are naturally veeeerrrrrry slender, but it seems like you were at that weight when you were binging and purging all the time. Why not set your goal at 120 and then see how you feel? You can take it from there. And quite frankly, I recommend not sharing your weight with your parents at all.

    ETA: Obviously you're still in the healthy range now. I just recommended 120 since you're somewhat used to being in the lower half of the BMI scale.
  • amontanye
    amontanye Posts: 36 Member
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    wow. As a parent, I would never do that to my child. For your height, your current weight is actually normal. As others have said, I'd recommend a dietician/nutritionist and counseling about the food disorder. Getting to the root of why you did that- will help in liking your self-image now and help prevent you from going back that direction.

    I might suggest rather than trying to "lose" weight, maybe work on some strength training in addition to whatever exercise you are currently doing- so that you can tone what you currently have. You will probably still drop some weight in the process.

    Be happy with the progress you have made so far and congratulations for making the step to a healthier you!

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