Why am I doing this to myself?

Emmi223
Emmi223 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m having such a horrible time lately trying to lose weight. I haven’t lost any weight since April and I know exactly the problem. I stick to my 1200 calories a day all week long and then come weekend I have a huge binge and gain any weight that I lost during the week. I’m so sick of going on a binge and then having to take a whole week to lose it again. I’m almost 5’4” and 115 pounds looking to get to 105. I lost 40 pounds before MFP at 1200 calories a day, took a year off, gained 10 pounds back, and here I am with a new account. I lost the 10 pounds I gained back but now I’m looking to lose a bit more. I’ve upped my exercise recently and bought a HRM. I typically do at least 30 mins per day up to 90. I know 1200 calories a day is not a lot for a 19 year old but I maintain my weight around 1400. I can’t even imagine eating the 2000+ calories some calculators tell me I can eat to maintain my weight. I gain weight at 1600! I’ve been doing less than 1200 calories sometimes but the weight doesn’t seem to come off any faster. Why do I feel this need to ruin my work during the week in one single meal?

Also I'd like to add that this binging only happens at night. Today I was good with my calories but after dinner I just couldn't stop myself from eating a bunch of chocolate and high calorie sugary foods!

Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    According to your TDEE on sedentary, you should be maintaining at 1632 calories a day. If you really feel like you maintain your weight on 1400 calories a day, then perhaps you need to see a doctor.

    Eating more 1 day and weighing yourself the next does not mean you gained a bunch of fat over night. I think maybe you need to give it some more time to determine if you're actually gaining fat eating 1600 net calories.

    I know a lot of people don't put a lot of stock in BMI, but you should know that you are on the very low side of normal and that the weight you are aiming for is technically underweight. Please reconsider your goals.

    Eating less than 1200 net calories is not considered safe. The more you eat under your BMR, the more lean muscle mass you lose, lowering your metabolism.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    Because 1200 is not a sustainable diet for you. Figure out how much you really need to eat and try it for longer than 2 weeks. Yes, you may gain weight at first... but once your body gets used to getting enough food all the time, you will lose it, and lose steadily.

    www.fat2fitradio.com

    Good luck.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    Also, you may want to think about switching to maintenance and beginning a lifting program instead of the cardio you probably do every day. It's not really weight you need to lose, just body fat, I'm guessing. Maintenance calories + lifting will get you there.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    You are probably binging on the weekends because you are so hungry from under eating all week. Also, you are not doing very intense exercise. Bump up the cardio and add some strength training. This will allow you even more calories to eat. Make sure you get enough protein. But, you should probably change your daily goal to at least 1400. I found that the closer I got to my goal weight, the closer my calorie goal needed to be to maintenance, or I am just crazy hungry:)
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    According to your TDEE on sedentary, you should be maintaining at 1632 calories a day. If you really feel like you maintain your weight on 1400 calories a day, then perhaps you need to see a doctor.

    Is it bad that I maintain at 1400? I think I just have a slow metabolism.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    According to your TDEE on sedentary, you should be maintaining at 1632 calories a day. If you really feel like you maintain your weight on 1400 calories a day, then perhaps you need to see a doctor.

    Is it bad that I maintain at 1400? I think I just have a slow metabolism.

    Yes, it's not normal. If you truly believe your metabolism is slow, you should probably find out from a medical professional. It could be from a more serious condition like your thyroid, which will need medication.
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8

    Yes, it's not normal. If you truly believe your metabolism is slow, you should probably find out from a medical professional. It could be from a more serious condition like your thyroid, which will need medication.

    I actually recently had a doctor's appointment where I had them check my thyroid because my Mom has thyroid issues and I'm fine. They also did various bloodwork and I'm all good. Have I messed up my metabolism by eating 1200 calories for the last 3 years?
  • larsensue
    larsensue Posts: 461 Member
    I am 5'4" and would never think of 105lbs as heavy for my height. the normal/healthy weight for a person your height is around 120lbs NOT lower than 105lbs.
    you might want to talk to your doctor about healthy weight range and get a second opinion but I can bet Dr will say the same...
    Sorry, but I would not feel right if I did not say this and left you thinking you needed to lose more weight.,,,,
  • BorderCollieBuddies
    BorderCollieBuddies Posts: 1
    Hi,

    I know the feeling I do the same thing.... I do well all week and one meal can set me on a downward sprial eating junk food for several days. :-( I do agree you shouldn't go below 1200 and adding weight training does make a difference and least for me :-)
  • therunninghippie
    therunninghippie Posts: 53 Member
    If you start eating more, your metabolism will sort itself out. I'm 19 and I lost 20 pounds in about 3 months eating approx. 2100-2500 calories a day and working out :) I've maintained and improved my fitness for the last nine. And I used to eat 1200 a day! The metabolism and the body are resilient :)
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member

    Yes, it's not normal. If you truly believe your metabolism is slow, you should probably find out from a medical professional. It could be from a more serious condition like your thyroid, which will need medication.

    I actually recently had a doctor's appointment where I had them check my thyroid because my Mom has thyroid issues and I'm fine. They also did various bloodwork and I'm all good. Have I messed up my metabolism by eating 1200 calories for the last 3 years?

    It's definitely possible, the way to fix it isn't to continue to eat less. Maybe you could try to search for forum posts where people are trying to repair their metabolism so you can get some type of idea how to go about that and how long it might take. I'm going to guess that you probably don't want to have to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life.

    The usual way people go about repairing their metabolism is eating slightly above maintenance calories and getting involved in a lifting program to rebuild all the lean muscle mass they lost eating too few calories. Do this for at least 6+ weeks. Once they gain muscle and a little fat, they do a small cut, TDEE-10% and lose the fat they gained slowly so they can maintain all the muscle. Depending on how long someone under eats, it can take a long time to repair.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    How long did you eat 1400 calories before deciding that it was maintenance for you? Was it longer than a month?
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    Thanks for all the advice. I’m getting so tired of this cycle. Literally tonight I told myself I would have one bite of icecream and ended up eating so much until I felt ill. It’s as if one bite is enough to send me into a tailspin of uncontrollable eating. I have a serious addiction with sugar and that is all I eat when I binge. I’d really like to work on upping my calories because I know 1200 isn’t sustainable for life but it’s really hard for me to accept that.
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    How long did you eat 1400 calories before deciding that it was maintenance for you? Was it longer than a month?

    Yes it was a little over 2 months actually. That's why I decided to lower my calories to 1200 again which is still not really working because of my binges.
  • VeinsAndBones
    VeinsAndBones Posts: 550 Member
    in fur de eat moar posts
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I’m getting so tired of this cycle. Literally tonight I told myself I would have one bite of icecream and ended up eating so much until I felt ill. It’s as if one bite is enough to send me into a tailspin of uncontrollable eating. I have a serious addiction with sugar and that is all I eat when I binge. I’d really like to work on upping my calories because I know 1200 isn’t sustainable for life but it’s really hard for me to accept that.

    The biggest problem with the 1200 calorie diet is that people tend to binge because they simply aren't eating enough. Calculate your TDEE and subtract a deficit from there. I promise you that it is much easier and will help you control the binge cycle.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I’m getting so tired of this cycle. Literally tonight I told myself I would have one bite of icecream and ended up eating so much until I felt ill. It’s as if one bite is enough to send me into a tailspin of uncontrollable eating. I have a serious addiction with sugar and that is all I eat when I binge. I’d really like to work on upping my calories because I know 1200 isn’t sustainable for life but it’s really hard for me to accept that.

    I feel you, I have had trouble with binge eating in the past, and while I don't think I'm "cured", it's been over a month since I've binged. A lot of people don't understand. I truly believe that if you can stop the under eating during the week you can stop the binging, it's a vicious cycle. Do a lot of research and trust in the science/numbers, the more educated we are about our bodies, the more power we have.
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    I feel you, I have had trouble with binge eating in the past, and while I don't think I'm "cured", it's been over a month since I've binged. A lot of people don't understand. I truly believe that if you can stop the under eating during the week you can stop the binging, it's a vicious cycle. Do a lot of research and trust in the science/numbers, the more educated we are about our bodies, the more power we have.

    Thank you for all your help. I hit a low this week and ate about 2,600 calories on Wednesday and then for the last 3 days I only ate about 800. I'm beginning to think that by doing that I led myself to binge because I was feeling deprived. Tomorrow I'm going to try to at least reach 1200 and then I need to work on eating more than that.
  • theresa2097
    theresa2097 Posts: 1 Member
    Some people, myself included, are very carb sensitive. An overload of carbs in the morning is enough to send me into a sugar fit and carb frenzy for the rest of the day ( happened twice this week, don't even ask what I ended up taking in). What helps me is trying to eat things that are more filling like apples, whole grain breads, eggs and limit sugars of all kinds. I do allow myself 2 cookies ( oreo size) at lunch - no other sweets. I have breakfast and a snack. Lunch, then a snack at 3. Dinner by 7 and if I really have to have it a small snack at bedtime. Keeps me from being hungry and since I eat the cookies at lunch, I do not feel deprived. As much as I would love to weigh 120 lbs again, trying to lose over a 100 lbs in a year is not realistic for me (dealing with health issues that keep me from doing aerobics). I figure 2 lbs a week is good. Good luck and Don't quit - it will only make you fell worse.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I am 5'4" and would never think of 105lbs as heavy for my height. the normal/healthy weight for a person your height is around 120lbs NOT lower than 105lbs.
    you might want to talk to your doctor about healthy weight range and get a second opinion but I can bet Dr will say the same...
    Sorry, but I would not feel right if I did not say this and left you thinking you needed to lose more weight.,,,,
    I second this^^ and if you are having that much trouble, not eating enough and binging, then you might want to speaks to a specialist in ED. Meanwhile, if you are here then consider following the advice given to you - eat more, fill up on good proteins and carbs, keep the junk food out of the house ( you can't east what isn't there), exercise ( cardio plus strength) and log log log
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    I am 5'4" and would never think of 105lbs as heavy for my height. the normal/healthy weight for a person your height is around 120lbs NOT lower than 105lbs.
    you might want to talk to your doctor about healthy weight range and get a second opinion but I can bet Dr will say the same...
    Sorry, but I would not feel right if I did not say this and left you thinking you needed to lose more weight.,,,,

    I don't think 105 is heavy at all. I don't think where I am at 115 is heavy either but I would like to lose a bit more. Also I'm technically not quite 5'4" so I think 105 would be about as low as I would go.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I’m getting so tired of this cycle. Literally tonight I told myself I would have one bite of icecream and ended up eating so much until I felt ill. It’s as if one bite is enough to send me into a tailspin of uncontrollable eating. I have a serious addiction with sugar and that is all I eat when I binge. I’d really like to work on upping my calories because I know 1200 isn’t sustainable for life but it’s really hard for me to accept that.

    I feel you, I have had trouble with binge eating in the past, and while I don't think I'm "cured", it's been over a month since I've binged. A lot of people don't understand. I truly believe that if you can stop the under eating during the week you can stop the binging, it's a vicious cycle. Do a lot of research and trust in the science/numbers, the more educated we are about our bodies, the more power we have.

    I agree.

    OP, when you were on 1400, did you still have occasional binges or were you okay?
  • Emmi223
    Emmi223 Posts: 8
    I agree.

    OP, when you were on 1400, did you still have occasional binges or were you okay?

    Yes I did but it was not quite as often. It's happening to me about once a week now whereas before it was only on special occasions.
  • merryberry99
    merryberry99 Posts: 350 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I’m getting so tired of this cycle. Literally tonight I told myself I would have one bite of icecream and ended up eating so much until I felt ill. It’s as if one bite is enough to send me into a tailspin of uncontrollable eating. I have a serious addiction with sugar and that is all I eat when I binge. I’d really like to work on upping my calories because I know 1200 isn’t sustainable for life but it’s really hard for me to accept that.

    The biggest problem with the 1200 calorie diet is that people tend to binge because they simply aren't eating enough. Calculate your TDEE and subtract a deficit from there. I promise you that it is much easier and will help you control the binge cycle.

    ^^^ He's right! I tried 1200 for a while and had quite a few successful days; however, more often than not, I was hungry. Some days were worse than others. When I would treat myself to a mini candy bar every once in a while, the cravings would go crazy and I'd eat dozens. It was like I had no control! Since I've upped my calories, I'm a new lady. I don't feel starved and, although sometimes I do eat unhealthy, I don't binge anymore. I also like knowing I can EAT during the day and not have to be so knit picky -- for example: I really want a banana, but it has more calories than this apple. I could eat 2 apples, but I really want this banana. I was thinking numbers all of the time! Now I can have a banana and, if I want an apple later, I have an apple.

    Most importantly, I FEEL better. I have more energy and don't think about what I can afford to eat during the day.
  • NanaWubbie
    NanaWubbie Posts: 248 Member
    Sounds to me like you know what to do....just gotta do it. (Or NOT do....stay on the plan more than 5 days a week......) It's just simple math.
  • sophisli
    sophisli Posts: 41 Member
    You sound a lot like me. I am sugar-crazy and I have issues with bingeing as well. For me 1200 was too low and my body would resist dropping weight at that deficit so I increased it to 1400. On good days I never go beyond that and I feel significantly less deprived. Also, I have to echo what others have said about leaving trigger foods out of the house. It is so hard to do but having a logistical barrier between you and those things you crave makes a huge difference. I still do eat sweets but it's usually small, moderated, and I try to eat healthier sweets like fruits (I love those things).

    Hang in there. It's tough but you're worth it.

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