new here pls help :)

So for 2 years ive eaten like 1200 or less... somehow last summer i binged badly....gained 10 kg... started eating at 1300 , scale is stuck... upped to 1800 which is 20 % from tdee.... i hope things get moving again... every time i eat something i seem to gai fat immediatly and when i drop cals i wont lose... im very frustrated

Replies

  • rlw0031
    rlw0031 Posts: 88 Member
    Join the club I am in the same boat! I also ate at 1200 for a few years and am now really regretting it. Only advice I can give is to do the smallest deficit you can. 15% may be better. Small difference but they say it helps.
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    Sounds like you could definitely benefit from a metabolism reset - take the time and do it right, right from the beginning. Personally, I would work my say slowly up to TDEE and stay there until your weight stabilizes (plan on at least 12 weeks, in my opinion...) You really want to get your metabolism revved up and reminded of what "normal" is...

    Remember, if you have been eating low cal for a long time (which you have) be prepared for some weight gain as your body adapts. You may be able to minimize this by increasing your calories slowly.

    By going all the way to TDEE and not right to that cut, you will be "training" your metabolism and reminding it of what "normal" is. By going to cut, you risk teaching your metabolism that your cut is TDEE.

    Personally, I would work my way up to TDEE slowly and stay there for several months and then when everything is stable, then start a moderate 15% cut. EM2WL does not recommend a cut as steep as 20%. Keep it moderate and try to lose weight while eating as much as possible.

    Hang in there and don't be discouraged if you see an increase on the scale as you begin to increase your calories - it's all a part of the process...
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    So for 2 years ive eaten like 1200 or less... somehow last summer i binged badly....gained 10 kg... started eating at 1300 , scale is stuck... upped to 1800 which is 20 % from tdee.... i hope things get moving again... every time i eat something i seem to gai fat immediatly and when i drop cals i wont lose... im very frustrated

    How do you know you gained fat immediately?

    Have you done the math to know what is required to gain fat?

    You would have to eat 250 calories extra every day for 2 weeks to gain 1 lb of fat, if you did no weight training that would use the extra calories for muscle.
    That is 250 over maintenance, or TDEE, not current diet level.

    Depending on your definition of immediately, you didn't gain fat.

    Remember this as you follow the advice above.

    For instance, if you increased calories that 100 extra daily for a week, and gained 1 lb - did you really eat 500 calories over maintenance each and every day of that week to cause that to be fat weight?
  • believe me even clothing nothing fits. i feel i can never eat normally again
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    believe me even clothing nothing fits. i feel i can never eat normally again

    That's emotion talking.

    Are you aware fat is not the only thing that can increase inches?

    How much weight did you gain, in how long a time span, and how much more were you eating?
  • i ate 900 - 1200 for 2 years... i couldnt help it and i binged constantly... i gained 10 kg in a year... last 5 kg from summer. now whatever i do cant seem to lose
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    believe me even clothing nothing fits. i feel i can never eat normally again

    If you have been eating low cal for a long time (which you say you have) it may take quite a while until your metabolism gets back up and running where it should be. Obviously, eating at that level was not successful, so now you will need to take the time to re-train your metabolism.

    Through this process, you may gain some scale weight, and you may feel "fluffy" and bloated as your body adapts to the increased intake. That is all a part of the process, unfortunately... Just commit to giving the process the time that it needs - one day you will be happy you did. After all, what is the other alternative? Eating less? Exercising more? Those may work short-term, but they are not maintainable (or fun) lifestyles...
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    i ate 900 - 1200 for 2 years... i couldnt help it and i binged constantly... i gained 10 kg in a year... last 5 kg from summer. now whatever i do cant seem to lose

    After a history like that, it may take your body quite a bit of time to trust you. Remember, it has had no consistency whatsoever over the past 2 years. You will need to feed it consistently in order for it to not think this is another one of those cycles. Just relax and eat healthfully - it did not take you a month to get where you are, and chances are, it will take you longer than a month to get out of it (but, the good news is that it IS do-able!! :-)
  • so true and not to mention i have a very bad relationship with food now... and mentally im all over the place
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    so true and not to mention i have a very bad relationship with food now... and mentally im all over the place

    Please feel free to send me a friend request if you would like, and I will be more than happy to help you through the process :-)
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    so true and not to mention i have a very bad relationship with food now... and mentally im all over the place

    As you gradually increase your calories and eat at TDEE, you will probably find that those urges to binge all but disappear. When you stop restricting so much, your body will stop craving those foods...

    Just commit to eating at TDEE until your body stabilizes - consider it an investment in YOU! Through the re-set process, you may feel bloated, and like you will never get to your goal, but remember, your body has been through a lot of abuse and it needs to be treated with respect now. Give it the fuel it is craving, concentrate on eating whole foods, keep the processed stuff to a minimum (at least for me, that helped to reduce the cravings even more) and give it the time it needs to heal - it is not a short road, but it is so worth it!

    (and if you are not doing any weight training, there is no time like when you are eating at TDEE to try to put on some muscle and really shape your body. That muscle will also help to speed up your metabolism!)
  • i really appreciate your advice. it makes sense to me. I just have to trust the program. its not easy after trying one thing after the other without success. im also tired of not being able to enjoy my life. postponing lunches with family, its ridiculous!
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    i really appreciate your advice. it makes sense to me. I just have to trust the program. its not easy after trying one thing after the other without success. im also tired of not being able to enjoy my life. postponing lunches with family, its ridiculous!

    So true! EM2WL is a little bit scary when you first start, but do just a little bit of research so that you know what to expect when you start. You certainly don't want to run for the hills if you see the scale go up a pound or two as your body adapts!

    The nice thing is that once you have done the metabolism re-set, you WILL be able to enjoy those family functions! You will have enough calories each day that you can easily fit those things in to your daily life! Once your metabolism is "healed" my guess is that your cravings to binge will go away too...

    When I did my re-set, it actually took me close to a YEAR to get from where I was eating 1,000 calories, doing crazy cardio and NOT losing, to now where I can comfortably eat 2,100 - 2,200 calories and maintain (with almost no cardio...) I took it slow increasing my calories (just because I was scared at that point). I went up by 100 calories a day and kept it at that level until I completely stabilized before pushing forward with another 100 calories a day. By doing it slowly, I finally got my metabolism back up and running where it should be, and managed to make it through the process without gaining any weight. But, remember, it took me close to a year!

    Now I can maintain while eating lots of healthy foods, my desire to binge is completely gone, and I am free to enjoy life! I don't stress about parties or restaurants, and know that if I go a bit over one day I won't gain 10 pounds! In fact, my relationship with food has gotten so healthy, I don't even track on MFP any more. I sort of add things up in my head as I go through the day, but nothing more. I eat as clean as I can, eating tons of healthy whole food,s and keep the processed stuff to a minimum. I am rarely hungry and have never felt better (or stronger!)

    Trust the process - it works!
  • Wow good job to you! Hard work payed off :) Thanks for the enouregment will deffinetly start upping cals. thankyou so much
  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
    :-)
  • jaeone
    jaeone Posts: 649 Member
    Hi Butterpecan! I came in to help, but Anitra summed it up very well! Team EM2WL is here to help and support you you! Feel free to add me as a friend also.

    Great job deciding to up calories! Join EM2WL.com a read about lots more women how have or are experiencing what you are going through now!
    Yep trust the process!
  • Thankyou so much. after upping from 1300 to 1800 i lost 0.3 kg,.. will see how it goes ill try upping slowly now
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    i ate 900 - 1200 for 2 years... i couldnt help it and i binged constantly... i gained 10 kg in a year... last 5 kg from summer. now whatever i do cant seem to lose

    So see, to assure the mind, do the math. Always do the math.

    5 kg from summer gained, say 6 months, 26 weeks.
    5 kg if only fat gain x 7700 cal per kg of fat = 38500 truly surplus calories / 26 weeks = 1481 surplus weekly / 7 = 211 surplus daily on average.
    Now some of that was likely water weight too, but that is realistic number actually.

    But you didn't eat 900-1200 average for 2 years, did you, you binged constantly. So unless you were decently accurate on your binges, you don't know how much you actually ate. You know the goal you attempted though.

    And since almost likely a suppressed metabolism, anything eaten in excess is going to be stored as fat.
    So if you suppressed yourself to say 1200 TDEE, and then you ate an extra 1481 just 1 day a week (1 avg Chipotle burrito and bag of chips btw), you would indeed cause that gain in that amount of time.

    But if you'd literally been eating say 1411 weekly, not nearly as suppressed metabolism, more than likely not feeling the need to binge, and even if you did, not nearly the amount of surplus since TDEE is higher.

    So just number encouragement to stick with it, since as been mentioned several times, current plan was going no where except making compliance impossible, and making body fight you, and causing food issues.