struggling to maintain in my late 40s

brigm1
brigm1 Posts: 7 Member
hello!

i am a 46 (nearly 47) year old woman who has battled binge eating and probably will all her life. but i have for many years been able to live with it. in my early 40s i was able to maintain my goal weight. but the last 2 years i have steadily crept up. not a lot, but about 4 lb/year. which, for a woman of 5'2" it's like going up at least a size, if not 2.

i just joined MFP less than a week ago. i am logging religiously; the good and the bad. the good for example, is 3 days of eating within my goal (no more than 1400 calories net). the bad, well that was 2 days ago. i ate 3100 calories or 2700 net. oh, my, goodness! but that is the reality. i have binge days.

i just need a healthier relationship with food.

so i'm hoping for some motivation and words of wisdom!

current: 117.2 lb
goal: 110 lb and making it stick!:smile:

Replies

  • TrishCmfp
    TrishCmfp Posts: 11 Member
    Hi!

    I'm Trish, and I relate to what you're saying.

    I am 46, mum to 3 and I have yo yo'ed most of my adult life,

    I have ADHD (which doesn't help appetite and impulse control in the slightest!) and I have had a love hate relationship with food for pretty much all of my life. I mean - not many people don't enjoy eating!

    I have recently adopted the paleo diet (because of just being diagnosed with borderline hypothyroidism and high blood lipids) and I have taken up daily walking of at least 5 miles and also joined a women's bootcamp which is brilliant. Just about to start week 3!

    What I have immediately discovered on starting the Paleo eating regime is that I have had a major sugar/carb addiction for decades. Paleo makes you cut out sugar, all grains, dairy and legumes, leaving you with meat, fish, veg, fruit, nuts and seeds.

    So it is a low carb regime rather than no carb. But guess what? after 3-5 days of low carb eating, ie only those carbs present naturally in the fresh food I am eating, I no longer felt agitated, I didn't get hungry for ages, presumably because my blood sugar was no longer spiking and crashing. I feel absolutely brilliant.

    I have had two days of bingeing since I started paleo eating. And on both occasions, I had forgotten to take my ADHD meds. Doh! However it was a lesson well learned. So I know for sure that the bingeing on those two occasions was due to the ADHD and not due to the sugar spiking.

    From what you have described, it sounds like you have either deprived yourself too much or you are in the process of adjusting to eating fewer calories but these calories aren't leaving you feeling satiated. It also sounds, like me, that you have a slightly dodgy relationship with food and that you are experiencing emotional deprivation when you are "dieting".

    The best thing for me to conquer this is a) to start believing that I am not the fat girl any more but that my inner athlete is finally being allowed a chance to flourish and take control of my body and b) to recognise that I am in charge of my fate - I can eat for health or I can eat for sickness.

    Either way, it is our choice.

    I think it is brilliant that you are taking action NOW when you have only 8lbs to deal with. I have let myself go and I have probably something like a total of 70lbs to lose! I have lost 12lbs so far and I am so happy :)

    Trish x
  • brigm1
    brigm1 Posts: 7 Member
    hi Trish,

    wow. it sounds like I can learn a lot from you! and I admire your tenacity even with the ADHD to contend with.

    thank you for stopping by. I hope we both are successful. you are already on your way and I am really hoping this time around I am, too.

    keep me posted! ; )

    bri
  • gdog2022
    gdog2022 Posts: 9 Member
    Hi, and welcome to the group. I see you have already met Trish. She is amazing isn't she. Send me a friend request and let's see what we can do to help.
  • Brigm1,

    I went on the diet/workout plan titled "Body for Life". It was a good program. I do not binge eat...I probably have exchanged that for grazing. Not proud but true. One thing that the Body for Life program taught me was that if you reduce certain foods for extended periods...your body begins to crave them and before you know it BAM ! If you can figure out what the "taste or nutrition" of the food you binged on that will really help in your day-to-day calorie reduction. It's not easy...but you can do it !!

    Steve
  • Brigm1, you are on your way too...you are here taking control like the rest of us