Last few pounds: really struggling, overeating, obsessing over food (long post)

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  • artemislav
    artemislav Posts: 10 Member
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    PhilP0wer wrote: »
    I have similar problems quite often. In my experience, it's the extreme lows that trigger the binges. If your tdee is 1600 and you shoot too far beneath that your body will fight you and try to force you back up. You should look at your total calorie intake by week and month. Then the binges will make more sense - it's your body trying to maintain balance. What worked for me was never going more than 200 below my tdee and also going higher fat (30%) and high protein then of course lower carbs. Sugar, and oddly diet soda, triggers my binges atm so I'm trying to avoid them. It's working so far!

    Yeap, I think my body finally got tired of such a big deficit and it's fighting me. That's great that you found what triggers your binges. When I tried going off added sugars for about 2 months, my cravings got worse I think. As for natural sugars, I was never interested in cutting those, because it makes no sense to me and I really enjoy fruit. I will definitely try to increase my fats. It seems that has helped quite a few people.

  • artemislav
    artemislav Posts: 10 Member
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    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    Was the 1350 liveable for you, albeit the loss may have been slow? Your workouts should be something to look forward to. You sound as if your 90-100 min workouts are miserable to you. Can you cut back some?

    @bbell1985 How long did it take you? It is "painful"!

    I stuck to 1300 for 3 weeks, but I was losing very very little weight and at some point none at all, so I went back to 1200. 1300 was a bit better, but I was still feeling light-headed and weak. As for the workout, I don't know, maybe I should do a sport or something instead, but I just haven't found one that I enjoy so far.
  • CTcutie
    CTcutie Posts: 649 Member
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    Did you try changing macros a bit?
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    edited March 2017
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    artemislav wrote: »
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    Was the 1350 liveable for you, albeit the loss may have been slow? Your workouts should be something to look forward to. You sound as if your 90-100 min workouts are miserable to you. Can you cut back some?

    @bbell1985 How long did it take you? It is "painful"!

    I stuck to 1300 for 3 weeks, but I was losing very very little weight and at some point none at all, so I went back to 1200. 1300 was a bit better, but I was still feeling light-headed and weak. As for the workout, I don't know, maybe I should do a sport or something instead, but I just haven't found one that I enjoy so far.

    The key is to find something that you enjoy doing and look forward to. Then you are more likely to stick withnit long term. Walking, cycling, team sport, yoga, pilates, dance, kick boxing ...... there is so much that you can do.
  • EmbeeKay
    EmbeeKay Posts: 249 Member
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    I am 5'4 and about 130 pounds typically. (I've spent the last five years having babies and I'm pregnant with my last one so when I reach my stable non-pregnant body again that's probably where I'll be.) In the past, when I am not pregnant and 130 pounds, I do the same thing that you do. I get too aggressive and then it's like my body says, enough. Anyway, my plan once I reach that stable weight, is to do a recomp- eat at maintenance and shoot to build muscle/gain strength. I've been reading this thread (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1) and it's been very educational and enjoyable. That might work for you. You'd have more calories to work with and less of and impulse to binge, you might enjoy your workouts more, and you would be more focused on other things besides the scale numbers so wouldn't always feel like you're failing.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I change my suggestion.

    I think you should maintain for a bit. You want to feel successful. If you're running yourself down and eating at maintenance anyway, why not purposely do it? I'm 5'4" so I know that at your weight, you probably already look pretty dang good. Plus you'll get to eat more, rejuvenate, even out your hormone and leptin levels. I'm tell you. It will work wonders on mind and body.

    I had to do this as well. I was you, trust me.

    This. You're at at healthy BMI and look good. You need to adjust your thinking to get away from your tendancy to binge, obsess and whatnot. Keep working out but eat to maintain. You can fiddle with macros for satiety and energy level but just aim not to gain.Reassess in a 3-4 months. Your psychology is more important at this point

    Many of us really struggle with the last lbs so you're not alone! Keep well.
  • artemislav
    artemislav Posts: 10 Member
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    EmbeeKay wrote: »
    I am 5'4 and about 130 pounds typically. (I've spent the last five years having babies and I'm pregnant with my last one so when I reach my stable non-pregnant body again that's probably where I'll be.) In the past, when I am not pregnant and 130 pounds, I do the same thing that you do. I get too aggressive and then it's like my body says, enough. Anyway, my plan once I reach that stable weight, is to do a recomp- eat at maintenance and shoot to build muscle/gain strength. I've been reading this thread (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1) and it's been very educational and enjoyable. That might work for you. You'd have more calories to work with and less of and impulse to binge, you might enjoy your workouts more, and you would be more focused on other things besides the scale numbers so wouldn't always feel like you're failing.

    Thanks for sharing that thread; I will definitely take a look. I hope the process is easy for you, it sounds like a solid plan!
  • artemislav
    artemislav Posts: 10 Member
    edited March 2017
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    CTcutie wrote: »
    Did you try changing macros a bit?

    I have tried lowering my carbs and upping my fats in the past, but I mostly focused on the calories and on getting enough protein, fiber, and vitamins/minerals
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    What about changing your goal to maintain where you are right now? Obsess about maintenance for awhile and see what happens? Eat at maintenance (minus a bit because you've likely lowered your BMR a bit) and continue to exercise and see if that allows you to build some muscle
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    artemislav wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I change my suggestion.

    I think you should maintain for a bit. You want to feel successful. If you're running yourself down and eating at maintenance anyway, why not purposely do it? I'm 5'4" so I know that at your weight, you probably already look pretty dang good. Plus you'll get to eat more, rejuvenate, even out your hormone and leptin levels. I'm tell you. It will work wonders on mind and body.

    I had to do this as well. I was you, trust me.

    Well, judging from your photo, it seems like you're in fantastic shape after doing this :)

    I think I will probably either go for just a small deficit (TDEE -200 calories) or recomposition.

    Thank you very much for the kind words and the useful info!

    Well thanks. I also weigh 140-144 in that photo so don't get too caught up with the scale (I need to listen to my own advice there too).

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