PLAESE HELP!

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i have a number of questions i just dont know the answer to. if anyone replies it would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, i have reached the weight i first set out to achieve; I'm am just slightly over 7st. My friends and family see a change and say I've become slim however although i do see a difference (my start weight was around 8st albs) i don't feel that slim nor do i feel as slim as i thought i would when i did achieve it. Is this normal? I know i wasn't fat at the start but i started a 'healthy' lifestyle and the weightloss has come as a result of that.
My goal calorie intake suggested by MFP was been around 1,500 but truthfully rarely come close to eating that much daily. I have been eating anything from 700-1000 calories a day plus exercising twice a week at the gym as well as little cardio seasons everyday (excluding saturdays) since just before april time.
I take it my 'healthy' lifestyle wasn't as healthy as i thought as i haven't had a proper period since around april. I take it this is due to my lack of calories daily? I am too afraid to eat anything more that what i had been because i didn't want to ruin the progress i'd already made. I am so much more confident in myself now so how do i go about maintaining my weight instead to losing weight? do i exercise less, eat more or do i have to keep everything the same to maintain it? if i up my calorie intake will this cause weight gain? i am so much more confident in myself now. I want to stay this way. how?
Also if i go from losing to maintaining will my period come back. will my period come back ever? how?
any replies will be great thank you

Replies

  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
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    Judging by this and your other posts you do not see yourself as other see you and you are pushing too hard (possibly body dysmorphia) and I don't want to be the one who cries eating disorder but it sounds to me like you don't have a great relationship with your body. I would advise you see a doctor as soon as possible.

    It doesn't matter if you don't work out for a week. You should DEFINITELY be trying to hit at least 1500 and 7 stone is not enough for someone to weigh unless you're shorter than 5'1.

    You are running your body into the ground by working out every single day and not eating enough. Yes your period has likely stopped because you're not eating enough. You should check with your doctor but it should return when you start eating again. You haven't made any "progress" to counter act by upping your calories... you've probably just made yourself ill, please seek help.
  • AlyssaLoflin
    AlyssaLoflin Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm sorry to tell you that you are in a state of starvation which will keep you from losing weight, cause physical changes like your missing period (ammenorrhea) and mental changes such as seeing yourself in a negative way, frustration, anger, memory loss. It would be most beneficial for you to go visit your doctor and consult with him/her about your eating and exercise habits. You should never ever eat less than 1200 calories while attempting to lose weight and 1200 is generally too little for most people. 1500 calories is a good number to aim for. Your missing period could also be due to having too little body fat. I don't know how tall you are but 7 stone at an adult height is very very small and likely not enough for your body to function properly. You are correct that what you are doing isn't healthy and if you continue eating too few calories and working out excessively you will go through worse changes. I know that you feel like you've worked very hard to get where you are and are afraid of gaining weight and that is a very difficult feeling to overcome. Part of the reason it is so hard is because without enough calories your brain becomes chemically imbalanced and your hormones fluctuate in ways they aren't supposed to. Try eating a little more each day even if its 50 more calories per day and exercise at least 10 minutes less per day until you reach a goal of 1500 calories per day with only 30 minutes of mild exercise daily or 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 to 5 times per week with rest days. Those are small doable changes that you can make and eventually you will feel better and while it may take a few months your period should return. If you can handle adding more calories per day and a little less exercise then that would be wonderful. If you can handle removing your scale from sight or from the house entirely that would be great too, but if not try to weigh your self less and less often and start using signs of health as your health gauge (period starting back, hair and nails remaining thick and strong, memory working, emotions stable, able to look say something positive about yourself). Once you are at the point that you have reached it is a difficult journey back to health because you must fight all the negative thoughts that you have about your body and learn to love yourself enough to get healthy. I wish you the best of luck in your fight to wellness.