problems with finding balance

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healthnewlife
healthnewlife Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I am 5'3 and about 117 lbs last time i check my BF it was 22%. i'm quite active as i play soccer, walk, run, bike and lift weights. I'm pescetarian so i don't eat any animal products except local eggs and wild fish. I have trouble maintaing my diet however. I cant stay consistent with a calorie restriction, low carb, iifym... i always end up messing up. i don't eat unhealthy, if i must use the word clean eating i would say i eat very "clean". i stick to whole foods, veg, lean protein. nuts, seeds, grains, fruit etc.. i always end up over eating to those foods which sounds ridiculous but i have gained 10 lbs in 2 months by basically binging on nut butters and dried fruits..... i was wondering what i should do now. should i go back to measuring everything out and having 1600 calories a day and just keep trying? should i forget about counting? i want to lose 7lbs.

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  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    I hear you. It is really easy for me to overeat healthy nuts when I'm not counting. They save me from sugar cravings, which says a lot, but they exact their own price. When I'm not counting, I probably slip in a few more glasses of wine during the week as well. It all adds up. Hubby and I drink more in the summer months, and with TX triple digit heat I struggle to maintain mileage & intensity, so I typically put on 5lb in Jul-Sep.

    Going back to strict calorie counting, to me, sounds like a good, rational short term plan. I'm really interested in the other responses as well. I am at/below my target weight, but it's hard to maintain without counting.
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    Like your title says, it's all about finding balance. Being super restrictive/obsessively measuring portions isn't healthy, nor is completely letting go and merely eating impulsively, without much thought behind your actions.

    I used to binge on dried fruit and nuts, but what helped me was setting rules of sorts for myself: i'd only have dried fruit 3/4 times a week, and when i did get the fruit, i'd only have one serving. Since the market i get my dried fruit from has the various dried fruits & nuts in bulk, i'd merely weigh out a single portion size (you're charged for the products by pound), and that's that. If you're buying the dried fruit/nuts in places like BJs or Costco though (places that sell items in bulk) i see how that could be a problem. If you buy a container of nuts/dried fruit, perhaps you could grab a handful or two to toss in a ziplock bag, so you're not eating an entire container?

    Regardless, you can measure portion size without being extensive about it. I'm sure we both know what a healthy portion of dried fruit looks like, and we both know that 15 rings of dried pineapple isn't healthy. We may not know the exact serving size, but since being rather 'exact' and compulsive about measuring food/strict about eating healthy doesn't seem to work for you, work on finding that middle ground. Estimating your foods/portion sizes and going by your cravings every now and then is more beneficial/healthy than being strict about your eating, and portion sizes.

    In the end, your body knows what you need, and how to derive your needs from the foods available to you. It's merely a matter of learning how to listen to your body, and respond appropriately to those cues.

    Best of luck!

    PS. Restriction - of any sort - inevitably leads to over-eating or binge eating. So you're better off pursuing moderation, and 'clean eating'/calorie restriction is not the way to go about that since - as you admit yourself - it leads to binges/episodes of overeating. :/
  • healthnewlife
    healthnewlife Posts: 30
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    thanks for replying. buying and separating in a reasonable portion size is a very good idea :)

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