Too confused to start over :( please help!

manoozo
manoozo Posts: 156 Member
in Motivation and Support
It might be a long story..please bear with me:(
4 years ago I was 332lbs, I made the desicion and within a year of clean eating and working out I became 230 lbs .
I was so happy and confident and felt healthy..you know...
But then I hit a plateau ,I decided I won't give up and I tried adding weight lifting to my workouts... I was addin g muscles but not losing weight or inches. I tried decreasing my calorie intake ( but when I bought a food scale it turned out I was eating more than I thought) . but it less than I ate before... Still.. No results.
I tried to do more vigrous workouts and longer ones , I tried intermetint fasting .... 2 years went by and I had no results .
Still I don't don't give up ,but I knew their was something wrong with my diet so ,I read about Atkins diet and I gave it a try ... Even though it was hard but I actually lost 15 lbs and at that point I was sooooo happy and I thought my problems will come to an end ...
Atkins diet was very expensive for me because it was based on fat and proteins ,and even though I was taking the recommended multivitamin I still had horrible muscle cramps and I was constipated ... Any way ,life was hard and I couldn't afford to live on Atkins ... So I had to eat carbs again ... And I gained 7 lbs per week ....
I was depressed ,I ate in an unhealthy way and I was gaining weight everyday . I tried to get back on track so many times but I ended up falling into depression again. :'(
Now I'm 240 lbs and I want this to stop... I don't know what to eat or what to do .
I look at food and I hate myself for thinking I'm hungry. I end up not eating through the whole day then I binge eat at night .... I hate myself... I want to help myself but I don't know how ..
I'm afraid I will gain all the weight back ...I don't want to get back to that time.
I know my body doesn't process carbs very well but I don't want to stop eating carbs... And I'm too confused about what I should be eating ... I'm just in the middle of nowhere...

Thank you for your time .

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Don't be all over the place at once. You are spinning your wheels. Just do something that works, and do it consistently. Lose the fluff. Don't go on special diets, don't cut out food groups, don't buy into any more hype. Just settle for a reasonable calorie goal and macro split. Set your goal to 1800 calories per day and protein to 25%, fat to 35% and carbs to 40%. Eat food you like and can afford. Weigh everything you eat, log it, and aim to hit goal every day. Exercise if you want to. Weigh yourself regularly, under same conditions every time. Readjust calorie goal when you have lost some weight and loss starts to slow down.
  • mchim76
    mchim76 Posts: 4 Member
    Do what works for you with cardio, stretching and weight training. We all hit plateaus but just continue what you are doing and maybe change it up a bit by taking a class or working out along with a YouTube video. At one point I was the weight I am now at 280. That was 10 years ago. I lost 75 pounds and unfortunately I ate my way thru a bad marriage and divorce. Now I am getting back in the saddle to do this right. I know all about hitting those plateaus but we will all get through them together. One of my issues is being completely honest when tracking my food and thinking about what I all added while cooking. Take a deep breath we will all get through this.
  • manoozo
    manoozo Posts: 156 Member
    Every time I restart I remember my plataeu ... At that time I was super committed ...but at the end of the week I get disappointed ... Now I always have his voice in my head telling me I will never lose weight again no matter what I do ... I'm always afraid I'll fail this time like all these previous times ...for 3 years I've been living in this never ending nightmare ...I'm so tired of getting all pumped with hope onbly to get disappointed ....
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    Enter your information into MFP. Select sedentary as your activity level. Select the amount you want to lose each week.

    MFP will give you a maximum number of calories you can consume to make that goal happen.

    Eat those calories. Just don't go over.

    And stick with it for a month.


    If you exercise, and exercise is good, log it realistically low, and then eat 50% of your exercise calories back.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    You are eating at maintenance for 230 or so lbs. Which is obviously less than you were eating when you were 100 lbs more, so you have lost weight. However, it is still way more than you need to get to ahealthy weight. If you feel you are not eating these many calories, then time to restart and reevaluate your logging. Your diary has a goal of 1500 or so. You have not logged anything these last days, but to maintain, you probably eating at least 500-1000 calories more than this goal on average. Tighten your logging.
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    Agree with the above commenters. A daily calorie defecit is what is most important. You need to honestly and vigorously count calories, at least for a few months until you learn how to eat within your goals. Eating a lot of protein, fat, and fiber makes calorie defecits easier because they help keep you feeling full and energized. Eating a lot of starch and sugar is what keeps us fat and hungry. Use the food diary here on MFP. You need to make the decision to make this long-term lifestyle change. Your future self will thank you for what you are starting today. :)
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    I empathize completely. I will give you a summary of my story.

    I decided to make a change when I hit 316 at the doctors office. I had no idea I'd gotten that big, last time I'd weighed myself I was in the 270's.
    First I did Atkins, lost 50lbs quite quickly. The started exercising over an hour a day, got down to 100lbs lost then had major life changing surgery. Dropped about 15lbs in 6 weeks but never counted it as it was from eating almost nothing at all.
    Once I was done with my full recovery and could eat solid again, I realized Atkins wasn't a life long plan for me and started counting calories. But then my relationship got serious, my job was absolutely destroying my soul, and I had to move back home with my parents. I do not do well in their home, and that's where I gained back up to where I am now: 264. Again.

    I spent a very long time crying, sobbing, hating myself, and feeling so incredibly powerless. I maybe toyed with calorie counting for 6 months and kept on succeeding for a few days then failing, over and over. I got so frustrated I decided what I needed was a break to figure out what I *could* stick to for life.

    Right now my calorie goal is 1900, plenty of food. Absolutely tons of room for chocolate Luna bars and pizza and wine, just not all in one day. It's not all or nothing, it's about finding YOUR balance. I would suggest going to your settings, pick sedentary and lose half a pound a week for however long it takes for you to feel good about it. Be honest, weigh foods if you can (I only weigh the more calorie dense foods, like meats cheese sour cream and pasta/rice).
    This is how I have gotten myself started on a positive path toward health. Slow, easy, not too restrictive. You can always adjust later to lose faster once you feel GOOD about your way of eating.

    I haven't added friends up to now, but if you'd like go ahead and add me! Life is too short to feel so low, and you have all the tools and power to make a good change for yourself.
  • manoozo
    manoozo Posts: 156 Member
    bump
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    manoozo wrote: »
    Every time I restart I remember my plataeu ... At that time I was super committed ...but at the end of the week I get disappointed ... Now I always have his voice in my head telling me I will never lose weight again no matter what I do ... I'm always afraid I'll fail this time like all these previous times ...for 3 years I've been living in this never ending nightmare ...I'm so tired of getting all pumped with hope onbly to get disappointed ....

    The voice in your head is your problem. It is giving you all the excuses that you need for stopping your diet. You need to keep working. You need to get your mind focused on your goal instead of failing, because if you eat right and exercise you WILL lose weight. Results happen gradually with small changes that you make and repeat every day! Everybody has plateaus. Your body is adjusting. Give your plateau a couple of WEEKS -- focus on maintaining what you are doing, maintaining at this plateau. Giving up will put you right back to your starting weight. Wouldn't you rather stay at your plateau than back to start? You have lost 100 lbs! That is awesome!!! Maybe it is time to re-evaluate your daily calorie goal and maybe lower it by 100 calories or so. Maybe it's time to up your exercise game. Really, those are the only 2 things you need to focus on. Calories and exercise. Trust the plan, and when you get disappointed, get right back up and keep going. You will be successful if you do not stop. The plateau is not a brick wall.

    Eat enough fiber to not be constipated. I eat chia seeds pretty much every day, just for the easy fiber. Lentils and beans have tons of protein AND fiber. Raspberries. All the veggies. Use the MyFitnessPal's food tool to see how much fiber you are getting. Look at some "Cooking Light" recipes for healthy things to eat. Whole30 recipes. Paleo. All you need to do is eat real foods. Whether you do Atkins, the Zone, or Paleo, you'll be filling your plate with vegetables and adding some protein and fat. Stuff yourself with broccoli and spinach and kale greens. Limit potatoes and rice and bread. Eat chicken and fish a lot more than beef and pork. Stay within the MyFitnessPal's calorie and macro recommendations for your ideal weight and you will beat this.

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