Giving Up Calorie Counting After 5 Years?
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Thank you everyone for the suggestions
I definitely am gonna work out & get a personal trainer, but I'd like to tackle my eating first because it's both the root of the problem & extremely important for my weight. After all, it's 80% diet & 20% exercise I'm thinking of going vegan, & making a huge effort to eat less without paying attention to calories. Any other recommendations? 1 -
seashellbabe wrote: »Thank you everyone for the suggestions I definitely am gonna work out & get a personal trainer, but I'd like to tackle my eating first because it's both the root of the problem & extremely important for my weight. After all, it's 80% diet & 20% exercise I'm thinking of going vegan, & making a huge effort to eat less without paying attention to calories. Any other recommendations?
Please don't eat less, you are already under-nourishing your body
. Going vegan for this reason is just another way of enabling your restrictive behaviour. 12 -
Are you able to make an appointment with a dietician?3
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seashellbabe wrote: »Thank you everyone for the suggestions I definitely am gonna work out & get a personal trainer, but I'd like to tackle my eating first because it's both the root of the problem & extremely important for my weight. After all, it's 80% diet & 20% exercise I'm thinking of going vegan, & making a huge effort to eat less without paying attention to calories. Any other recommendations?
At 1400-1500 calories you need to eat more calories per day, not less. Under-eating can trigger binges for sure.
I'm 6 inches shorter than you, 31 years older, and female, and I lose weight netting 1500 calories per day.3 -
What does you doctor say about your weight? Are your other stats normal? (Blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol?)0
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Going vegetarian or vegan doesn't necessarily mean you lose weight. It's restrictive, and that generally makes a way of eating less sustainable. Obviously some folks are successful vegans and vegetarians, but in general, it is more work. E.g. you have to think harder/plan more for getting enough protein, and protein is filling for most people, so getting enough really helps stabilize your eating pattern after being stuck in a restrict-binge cycle. One friend became vegetarian for ethical reasons but eventually gave it up because she kept gaining weight and decided maintaining her weight was a higher priority to her.
If addressing the binge-restrict eating pattern is your first goal, I'd say the strongest first step is to eat at an appropriate calorie level -- not more or less, and do it consistently. Experiment to figure out the macro MINIMUMS you need to feel energetic and satisfied all day. E.g. for me, a 115 lb woman, I feel best with AT LEAST 25g fiber, 50g fat and 100g protein daily on average. That may be difficult if counting is a trigger for you, but seriously, undereating is a binge waiting to happen for almost anyone.3 -
Try determining what your maintenance calories are (odds are it's far higher than what you've been eating). Eat at that for about a month and see how you're doing. Your low calories may be triggering your binge eating, I know I tend to eat more if I'm not eating regularly for me (I like eating 3 meals a day, it works for me) and eat things that satisfy me. When I'm getting good balanced meals in, I'm not drawn to overdo it. If you're looking for more help on what to eat and such, get a recommendation to a dietician.0
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I was doing the same thing. I upped my general calories and am much much better. I get more food in the day and not feeling as deprived, thus curbing binge episodes. I'm finding that slower weight loss for myself is better due to the binge cycles that were happening.
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seashellbabe wrote: »My mental health has deteriorated a LOT because of this but I'm simply not the type to lay around moping all day & I'd really like to find a way to end this cycle I'm thinking of going vegan as one possible alternative to lose the weight. I'm 6 foot, 165-170 pounds, and a 19 year old man. I definitely would like to build some muscle because I have a lot of flab, but right now diet is my main concern.
I think most of us are suggesting you start lifting weights because you said you have a lot of flab. Since you're a young man, why not have a lot of muscles? You've got the "lose weight" thing down. If you get into lifting weights that will get you into eating more protein, and eating more to build muscle. For me, I didn't recommend it as "exercise to lose weight" but rather as an activity that you could do that will teach you about proper nutrition so that you can build a strong and trim body. Use a trainer for awhile and go onto the Fitness boards and check out the great posts there.
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fiddletime wrote: »seashellbabe wrote: »My mental health has deteriorated a LOT because of this but I'm simply not the type to lay around moping all day & I'd really like to find a way to end this cycle I'm thinking of going vegan as one possible alternative to lose the weight. I'm 6 foot, 165-170 pounds, and a 19 year old man. I definitely would like to build some muscle because I have a lot of flab, but right now diet is my main concern.
I think most of us are suggesting you start lifting weights because you said you have a lot of flab. Since you're a young man, why not have a lot of muscles? You've got the "lose weight" thing down. If you get into lifting weights that will get you into eating more protein, and eating more to build muscle. For me, I didn't recommend it as "exercise to lose weight" but rather as an activity that you could do that will teach you about proper nutrition so that you can build a strong and trim body. Use a trainer for awhile and go onto the Fitness boards and check out the great posts there.
This.
We are a community that is trying to promote health, not weight loss exclusively; if you can't think of anything else but weight loss then you probably won't be able to see progress regarding overcoming your binging.
OP, multiple people here expressed concern with your perception that you're too heavy, plus with your calorie intake (I'm 5' tall and female and older and weigh less than you did at your skinniest and I still eat more than you and still lose weight). Starving makes mental health issues worse, so if you're not feeling well eating less will not be helpful. Google ways people tackled depression and anxiety with lifestyle interventions. (And this is speaking from experience too; I remember once slipping into 500cal a day and I was miserable; one day I had nothing but a black coffee til 4 and ate a tiny square of chocolate that came with my coffee and then went and cried because I'd slipped up... our brains don't work without fuel, surprisingly.)
Please come up with a different goal for yourself. Weight is not a bad thing to have; weight is your body, alive and present. Do you want to improve your mental health? Do you want to feel more energized? Do you want improved focus and stamina? What are you good at? What will you contribute to the world?
Veganism or no, calorie counting or no, taking care of ones body starts with the mindset. Orthorexic behaviors will only kick the can down the road. And if for all our recommendations, you still can only think about losing weight, you'll stay stuck in a binge/undereating cycle for a long time.
Sending you lots of hugs.5 -
Undereating always leads to overeating.
I personally enjoyed counting calories, but I never had a goal to undereat and/or become underweight. I actually learnt to eat properly, which means not eating too much, but also not eat too little, and find ways to make eating appropriately enjoyable. Now I use that knowledge to plan meals in a spreadsheet, and I mostly stick to that plan - because it's enough food, and enjoyable to eat.
I also weigh myself daily, but I don't attach emotions to the number on the scale, which is only a snapshot, I just use the row of numbers as slow but reliable feedback to stick to my course and if necessary, adjust it.
I would advice you NOT to try going vegan to lose weight. Not only are you at a healthy weight for your height, your mindset is also restrictive enough as it is. What you need now is to get into a habit where you feed yourself sufficiently and reliably, and get rid of the fear. HOW to do that, depends on what will speak to you. I had a difficult relationship with food, and got what I needed just from counting calories and reading and discussing and thinking and paying attention and exprimenting. But you may be needing some additional help, like a dietician and/or psychologist. It's good that you're getting help. But you are the one who'll be doing the hard work - in your case, that will be facing the fear of eating enough on the daily, and learning to accept and love your body.5 -
Dieting is the leading cause of binge eating, it's a fact. Please read Brain Over Binge by Kathryn Hansen and check out Life With Lydia on You Tube. Good luck, you can overcome this.1
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You're binging because you're starving yourself. It has nothing to do with calorie counting IMO. Does your counselor know how little you are eating? If you pick a REASONABLE goal, you'll be much less likely to go over and end up in the 'I've screwed up anyway, whatever' mentality.1
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That needs nuancing. Dieting is just willfully eating less with the purpose of losing weight. It can be done healthily and unhealthily. Many people diet irresponibly, by eating too little. Eating too little is starving. Starving oneself is always unhealthy. Starving always leads to binging.AudreyJDuke wrote: »Dieting is the leading cause of binge eating, it's a fact.3 -
seashellbabe wrote: »emailmehere1122 wrote: »How many calories do you allow yourself?
Are you working out...and if so are you eating those calories back?
1400-1500, and no I'm not working out but I applied for a gym membership. I think in a lot of ways I'm scared of working out because I don't want to see the scale go up, even if it's muscle. It's irrational and makes little sense
I'm roughly the same size as you, 6' 175lbs, and I'm eating at least 2,500 net calories per day (I'm also 47, so my metabolism is (allegedly) slower)! I don't know if abandoning calorie counting would be the best long term solution, because ultimately, having complete control over your calories and macros should lend to a comfort zone with your eating and the confidence to eat a reasonable amount without fearing that you will lapse back into gaining unwanted weight again.3 -
Thank you everyone for all of the amazing feedback. I really appreciate so much genuine support & knowledge rather than just screaming at me to "get help." I am fully aware of the dangers of mental health disorders, it's actually something I'm involved in (in high school I started a human rights/youth empowerment group that focused on mental health) so I definitely have been trying to take advantage of the resources & knowledge I've obtained. I had a session with my therapist this morning, and I came up with a few ideas that take into mind what I know will work for me/not trigger me, what my therapist said, and some of the ideas on here:
1. Working Out: I got a muscle building gym guide from my buddy so I'll start that as soon as possible once I can get a gym membership (I just moved to a pretty small city so I'm trying to explore the area & find a gym). Once I find somewhere, I will be getting help from a personal trainer.
2. Food Journal: So this is strange, but one of the big triggers of calorie counting, at least for me, is the app itself. Mainly three things: the fact that certain foods weren't in it so it gave my brain uncertainty if I ate those foods, the calorie "goal" for the day and if I surpass that goal I know I'd binge, and how attached I became to it. I deleted the app and I've instead been writing everything down with good old pen & paper & so far I really like. I feel much more in control.
I'll be updating this thread on how this goes, and if anyone has any other recommendations please leave them. I'm not the type to just log on and beg the world for pity over my issues, I'd rather actually fix them (I'm trying to get into Cal Poly for the political science program, I don't have time to cry about my weight
) so once again thank you for trying to help me achieve my goal 4 -
seashellbabe wrote: »Thank you everyone for all of the amazing feedback. I really appreciate so much genuine support & knowledge rather than just screaming at me to "get help." I am fully aware of the dangers of mental health disorders, it's actually something I'm involved in (in high school I started a human rights/youth empowerment group that focused on mental health) so I definitely have been trying to take advantage of the resources & knowledge I've obtained. I had a session with my therapist this morning, and I came up with a few ideas that take into mind what I know will work for me/not trigger me, what my therapist said, and some of the ideas on here:
1. Working Out: I got a muscle building gym guide from my buddy so I'll start that as soon as possible once I can get a gym membership (I just moved to a pretty small city so I'm trying to explore the area & find a gym). Once I find somewhere, I will be getting help from a personal trainer.
2. Food Journal: So this is strange, but one of the big triggers of calorie counting, at least for me, is the app itself. Mainly three things: the fact that certain foods weren't in it so it gave my brain uncertainty if I ate those foods, the calorie "goal" for the day and if I surpass that goal I know I'd binge, and how attached I became to it. I deleted the app and I've instead been writing everything down with good old pen & paper & so far I really like. I feel much more in control.
I'll be updating this thread on how this goes, and if anyone has any other recommendations please leave them. I'm not the type to just log on and beg the world for pity over my issues, I'd rather actually fix them (I'm trying to get into Cal Poly for the political science program, I don't have time to cry about my weight ) so once again thank you for trying to help me achieve my goal
Okay, this sounds good, Trevor. I'd like to know that you are going to try to eat a healthy amount too though. You are honestly going to feel so much better mentally with proper nourishment. Undereating to the extent you have been really messes with your mind (again, I know of what I speak!).
Re the MFP calorie goal, I have always maintained that the fact it turns red the instant you go one calorie over is f'ing triggering for many people who have a history of eating disorders, so good for you for recognising that that's an issue for you
Also, you can start your muscle building at home with body weight exercises (check out Nerd Fitness beginners bodyweight, You Are Your Own Gym, etc), or my personal favourite overall body conditioner - yoga! This is my favourite Youtube yogi: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA If you've never done yoga before, start with the beginners practices (under playlists).2 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Okay, this sounds good, Trevor. I'd like to know that you are going to try to eat a healthy amount too though. You are honestly going to feel so much better mentally with proper nourishment. Undereating to the extent you have been really messes with your mind (again, I know of what I speak!).
+1.
Your current "goal", is, in all probability, a good 1000 Cal deficit for a healthy 19 yo 6ft male. 1000 Cal deficit. That is a huge deficit. ED type ideation CAUSED by the DEFICIT is entirely possible.2
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