On the struggle boat losing weight - binge eating

missesquinlan
missesquinlan Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I've had MyFitnessPal for awhile, but I have not been faithful to it (and hope to change that). I'm having serious trouble eating healthy and losing weight. I'm 24 years old, 5'1, and weight almost 175 lbs. I've gained 20 lbs since my wedding, which was in Sept. I'm having A LOT of trouble finding my way to a healthy lifestyle.

I am in this cycle of binge-guilt-regret-go awhile without eating - binge. I am embarrassed to see my old friends and for the first time have stretch marks. How do you reverse this cycle? I feel like it's just as much emotional as it is physical. I am a news writer and I'm always on the go, I rarely make time for me. Can any one else relate or offer advice? I am willing to try anything, I just have to get my morale high enough and not give up on myself. Easier said than done ;)

Replies

  • JossFit
    JossFit Posts: 588 Member
    My first inclination is to ask you how much you are aiming to eat, what your TDEE is, etc.

    If you are in a yo-yo cycle of not eating after binges, only to binge again, the logical conclusion would be that you need to stop restricting your intake, as that is undoubtedly leading to continued binges.
  • missesquinlan
    missesquinlan Posts: 2
    I am supposed to be eating 1300 calories a day or less. I think eating several smaller, healthier meals would be much better for me than 3 meals - I just have trouble following through with it. I also go through phases where I'll be extremely active - doing yoga, zumba and walking - and then go weeks not doing anything. It's a very emotional cycle and it's hard to break so far :/
  • kyliethesilly
    kyliethesilly Posts: 4 Member
    Have you considered seeing a counselor? That, along with following up with my doctor, has helped me tremendously in finding out what my binge eating triggers are and how to manage them.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    If it makes you feel any better, most of us are in, or have been in, the same boat.

    For me, I've done my best to have 250-450 calorie meals sort of on call as needed so I know I'm just a few minutes away from nutritious filling food instead of just cramming whatever junk I can find, or buy, into my mouth. While a bag of chips or cookies would leave me feeling sort of dejected and hopeless, binging on a turkey wrap does not seem to provoke much of a shame spiral for me.

    I find having a schedule works pretty well for me. On the days I stick to it, I'm full and happy. Exceptions happen (had to go out with the inlaws for dinner the other night and I ate two days worth of food at the BBQ joint) but so what? Einstein said stupid stuff sometime. Olympic athletes suck at some sports. Supermodels get airbrushed. No one is perfect.

    The motivation can be hard to come by somedays but over time you sort of do your best to increase the threshold of what lazy is. For me, it used to be sitting on my butt all day everyday, now it's going for a ten mile bike ride instead of twenty.

    If I were you, I would personally focus on finding a healthy diet that works well for you and then start trimming down the calories. 1300 a day might be too much of a shock to your system so ease into it. When I started logging I was about 2200-2400 a day already trying to eat healthy. As I've tweaked things, found foods that keep me full longer and not feeling deprived it's down to 1700-2000 a day now and I'm up and burning calories now instead of just sitting.

    Anyway, just stick to it and don't go too heavy on the shame, its no fun to feel bad about something as natural as eating.

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