Really need some help

25stnomore
25stnomore Posts: 3 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not really sure where to start. I have over 10 stone to lose and I just can't seem to get started. In January I saw my gp and asked for help. I am on a waiting list to join a 1-2-1 diet session every fortnight for 12 weeks been waiting since January for this. I've also been given 12 weeks free gym membership which started a few weeks ago and I have made use of.
My biggest downfall has been weighing myself daily. I got so disheartened in 12 weeks I lose a stone and a half which I know is slow and steady but given my weight I thought I would get 2 stone off at least. The constant weighing got me so down and I went off track and put all the weight back on. I've finally thrown out my scales I know for me this is the best decision but I can't seem to stop binge eating. I have my diet planned out for the day but come dinner I just overeat and binge on ice cream and chocolate. Ive tried following the 1,950 mfp sets me that worked for the first 12 weeks but the scales were my downfall I tried 1,200 (all veg apart from potatoes I didn't count) again a week on that and only 2lbs down I gave up. Any tips or advice would be very appreciated. I notice that when I workout I always have a good eating day but that working out everyday is too much and my legs gets tired so I try to workout every 2-3 days. I enjoy exercise but my addiction to food is making me so unhappy and I don't know how to stop!

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Patience is your friend. If you expect to lose all your weight in a week it just isn't going to happen. Follow the 1950 - log everything. If you have a bad day just keep doing. Make sure you're getting enough protein, fat and fiber during the day so you're not starving in the evenings and grabbing everything in sight.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Overeating is your problem. Not the weighing NOR the scale.

    Until you can be honest and admit this ... failure is the only outcome possible.

    Throwing out the scale is actually just about the worst thing you can do. Even for you.

    Plus: Unrealistic expectations much? A pound or two a week is right where you want to be.
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
    I found (for me) daily weighing was driving me crazy. I weigh weekly and definitely not on Mondays. :)

    You can do this!

    Also, I might consider seeing a therapist about your relationship with food. They might be able to give you some tools to cope. I have been to therapy (for other issues) and found it helped immensely.

    Good luck! Feel free to add me if you'd like.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Can you open your diary?
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    You're down 21lbs in 12 weeks, and are currently still losing at 2lb/week?

    Sounds like you're completely on track to me, and have done awesome so far.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    25stnomore wrote: »
    I'm not really sure where to start. I have over 10 stone to lose and I just can't seem to get started. In January I saw my gp and asked for help. I am on a waiting list to join a 1-2-1 diet session every fortnight for 12 weeks been waiting since January for this. I've also been given 12 weeks free gym membership which started a few weeks ago and I have made use of.
    My biggest downfall has been weighing myself daily. I got so disheartened in 12 weeks I lose a stone and a half which I know is slow and steady but given my weight I thought I would get 2 stone off at least. The constant weighing got me so down and I went off track and put all the weight back on. I've finally thrown out my scales I know for me this is the best decision but I can't seem to stop binge eating. I have my diet planned out for the day but come dinner I just overeat and binge on ice cream and chocolate. Ive tried following the 1,950 mfp sets me that worked for the first 12 weeks but the scales were my downfall I tried 1,200 (all veg apart from potatoes I didn't count) again a week on that and only 2lbs down I gave up. Any tips or advice would be very appreciated. I notice that when I workout I always have a good eating day but that working out everyday is too much and my legs gets tired so I try to workout every 2-3 days. I enjoy exercise but my addiction to food is making me so unhappy and I don't know how to stop!

    You need to log everything you eat. Potatoes have calories (sometimes a lot, depending on serving size and what is put on/in them), and you could easily be eating more than you think by not logging them. Buy a food scale, and weigh all of your solids if you aren't doing that already.

    You are losing at a good pace. Don't get discouraged. 21 lbs is still a great loss over 3 months. You didn't put this all on quickly, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't shed quickly. If you are struggling with binge eating, meet with a therapist who works with people who have problematic relationships with food, and learn your triggers and how to react properly to the urge to binge.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited June 2015
    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Overeating is your problem. Not the weighing NOR the scale.

    Until you can be honest and admit this ... failure is the only outcome possible.

    Throwing out the scale is actually just about the worst thing you can do. Even for you.

    Plus: Unrealistic expectations much? A pound or two a week is right where you want to be.

    Harsh reality: the above is truth and truth you need to start to accept.

    Your goals are too aggressive. 2 pounds per week is an excellent rate of loss. I know you're impatient and you want it to happen faster but do you really want much of your loss to be muscle instead of fat? And then end up with a slower metabolism and lots of loose skin? Slow and steady wins the race! Besides, if you lose in a sustainable way you have a better chance of learning how to eat to maintain that loss.

    I think you're over-complicating things with all of these different plans you're trying. MFP is set up to make it easy, so trust the system. For now.

    Set your goals in MFP. Tell it how much you weigh now, how much weight you want to lose each week and your activity level. It will give you a daily calorie goal that already has the calories you need to eat on a daily basis to lose the amount of pounds you want to lose each week. In other words, that deficit is already built in for you.

    Part of this process, however, is setting realistic goals:

    Pound per week goals:
    75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

    Stick to the calorie goal MFP sets for you and be sure you're logging everything you're eating; that includes all of your veg. Your binge eating is something you'll need to work on. See a therapist if you have access to one but it's very possible that just letting loose some of the stress you're creating around this whole process will help.

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    My dietitian asked me to stop weighing daily, but to do it once a week. Graphing your gains and losses on something like www.weightgrapher.com can be an eye-opener. Weight naturally goes up and down every day and can drive you crazy, but loss trend lines are always good to see.
  • 25stnomore
    25stnomore Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for all your replies. I know that throwing out the scale is the best thing. If I had never got on them all this mornings when I woke up feeling great I would be none the wiser. My clothes felt looser, I had tons of energy I know for me I should stick to weighing every 4 weeks or so. I agree 2lbs a week is what I should aim for no more than that. Just to clarify I'm 7lbs down in total from where I started now hopefully in 4 weeks time that will be 15lbs!
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    25stnomore wrote: »
    I'm not!

    Sounds like your expectations are too high or too unrealistic

    Did you put all that weight on overnight? You got to stick with it. Have willpower.

    If you can't control yourself around ice cream stop buying it, having it in the freezer.

    Not sure what a stone is, about 16 pounds isn't it? You going to have to stick with a steady weightloss for 1.5 to 2 years to lose a lot of weight.

    No one can do this for you. You have to do it yourself. When your alone you can't sneak a bowl of icecream because no one will know. Your only hurting yourself doing that.

    Make sure your weighing and logging everything and don't try to making it happen faster by starving yourself on 1200 calories.

    Follow mfp and stick to it for a few months. At first you might feel hungry but it should get better over time.
  • heartsstarspll
    heartsstarspll Posts: 47 Member
    Like others have said, 2 pounds a week is great! I also have a lot to lose, even more than you and I'm averaging about a pound a week. Down about 15 pounds and in my 14th week. I even went a whole month in there bouncing up and down 2-3 pounds with no actual progress. lol So if you can lose 2 pounds a week that is amazing! :)

    It sounds like the problem you are having is with binge eating. So I'd say the best thing to do is log what you are eating like everyone has said and don't be too hard on yourself, eat what you like within your calories and it's probably a good idea to figure out what foods you always binge on and either cut them out for a while or cut back to control your intake of those foods. If you just binge on all foods, that will be harder, but if there are certain foods you could definitely figure out how to moderate. :)

    Good Luck! :)
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    A stone is 14lbs. At 2lb a week loss, that is only 7 weeks. So if you look at it... It's probably going to take around 1.5 years to lose the 10stone you want to lose if you stick to the programme and do things right.

    Think about that 1.5 years. How much MORE weight you could put on if you don't make this change and make it happen. You could be 1.5 years down the line and easily another 1-2 stone heavier. Is that something you'd want?

    Find your motivation. That ONE thing that drives you to lose this weight. Lose the weight in a SAFE and steady way. There are some really great posts in the stickied post at the top of this forum. Some of them are not so great but you'll know which ones are informative and helpful.

    Weigh ALL your food on a food scale. Weigh or measure any liquids you drink other than water. Be honest with your logging. If you binge LOG it. Own it, accept it and move on.

    I was an Ostrich for about 4 years. Hid my head in the sand, blamed everything from birth control to my PCOS and even comfort ate because I was fat and hated it.
    I woke up. I dedicated myself to losing the 3 stone of blubber I had amassed and I am 10lbs away from my goal. By weighing, logging, accepting and moving on.

    Don't weigh yourself every day. It clearly does you no favours at the moment as you still have a remarkably unhealthy relationship with food. Weigh once a week, in a morning, naked and after using the toilet. Keep the circumstances the same. If even weekly upsets you massively... go once a month.

    Gaining weight doesn't happen over night. Neither does losing it. You have to undo all the bad work and replace it with achievements.

    If you find visual rewards a good motivator... Find yourself 140 somethings, be it pebbles, marbles or buttons. Get two glass jars or pint glasses... and put 140 in one glass. As you lose weight move them over. See that "pounds lost" jar get more full as the weeks go by. It really does keep you going.

    You can do this. If you genuinely want to shift that 10 stone. You need to commit to it. :)
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