BEGINNING FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME

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xochimoche
xochimoche Posts: 5 Member
in Getting Started
I've been struggling with weight gain for the past year and a half. I've tried dieting and working out several times this year and nothing sticks. Working out is t my main issue. For the most part I can get myself up for a nice workout. My issue is food. I've found that the healthier I try to be the more I binge. I've gained 7 pounds in the past month and half. None of my clothes fit me anymore. I feel absolutely disgusting and ugly. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the motivation or healthy habits to stick? I've done this once before and lost 35lbs in 2 months and kept it off for over 2 years. I just can't seem to find that motivation. Maybe I haven't hit rock bottom yet?

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  • Firefly0606
    Firefly0606 Posts: 366 Member
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    Perhaps you have hit rock bottom, that's why you can't go any lower.
    35lbs in 2 months? Wowzers. That sort of weight loss looks like success on the outside, but what did you do to your insides by dropping weight that quick?

    You are going to find it impossible to find that motivation you are looking for, if that motivation means over exercising and starving. And your body is smart - maybe you are finding it so hard because you have tortured yourself in the past and you don't really want to torture yourself again? If your goals are too aggressive, body will say "nope".

    You can be healthy but stop "dieting". There's also no need to be so hard on yourself. Find your maintenance calories and then eat a little bit less than that to lose weight.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 657 Member
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    If you were losing almost 4 pounds a week then you were WAY too aggressive. No wonder you gained it all back. Give your body a chance to catch up to your weight loss. 1-2 pounds a week is how you make changes you can stick with for life without the crazy calorie drops.
  • sebedina
    sebedina Posts: 161 Member
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    When I was in my 20s I remember I once lost 7 pounds in one week by cutting out the fact and going swimming 3 times in a week. Now, I am much older and I am obese.

    I have found it impossible to stick to any diet plan. However, I think I have a gluten/wheat/yeast intolerence that sabotages my calorie counting. I went to a holistic therapist who identified this and I sort of knew it because of how I felt after i had eaten wheat/gluten/yeast.

    Today I am starting again. A wheat free day. Taking one day at a time and trying to stick to 1,500 calories. Going to see how today goes. Don't give up hope. You can do it. You have done it before.
  • sebedina
    sebedina Posts: 161 Member
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    cutting out FAT not FACT !
  • xochimoche
    xochimoche Posts: 5 Member
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    To everyone assuming I was starving myself, I wasn't. I was 175lbs and got down to 140. I kept it off for two years by eating healthy and working out. Nothing crazy, just rubbing a few miles every other day. I used to eat out everyday and I only ate terribly unhealthy food. I started cooking at home and running 1.2 mi every morning and I would hike 4 miles 4 to 5 times a week on very steep trails. I did not starve myself. I cut out most starchy foods and doubled up on veggies. I only ate lean meats like chicken and turkey. I never felt hungry. I think I lost the weight so fast because I was never ever an active person and I changed my diet dramatically.

    I still don't starve myself. I'll eat decent portions and I snack between meals on healthy food. My issue comes from no self control. I binge at nights when I get home from work. I think it's a stress problem. But thank you for all your concerns but I could and would never starve myself.
  • Scarlett_S
    Scarlett_S Posts: 467 Member
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    My problem has always, always been the evenings. I can find motivation to work out in the early morning and eat healthy and drink water all day at work....then evening rolls around, my guard goes down and even if I eat healthy I eat too much. So...my solution? I don't eat dinner anymore. At all. I guess I'm an all or nothing person? I get all my calories in between 8 am and 5 pm five days a week. (Little more lax on the weekends). I cut out alcohol Monday - Thursday. If I do slip up and eat over calories then I make myself exercise that much more to negate it. Its hard, I let myself regain 30 lbs after a 100 lb weight loss, and I was truly "in the zone" when I lost that 100 lbs. I'd like to have that determination back but I'm settling for a 1.5 loss per week, and I know in a few months I'll be in a much better place weight wise.
  • mcata
    mcata Posts: 1 Member
    edited October 2017
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    I'm beginning today (yet again) too. I like the advice from sebedina of just sticking to the plan/calories and taking one day at a time. A friend of mine has lost 50 lbs since January using the app and sticking to his calorie count as much as possible. He doesn't log exercise so that he doesn't feel like he can eat more. Xochimoche, you may very well have summed it up for many of us - overeating can be stress related. For me, I think when I eat something I really like or really want to enjoy, I need to remember to be mindful and present so I can truly enjoy a normal portion. Overall, I do think we can lose more pounds and more quickly by cutting out those refined carbs as well as added sugar. Good luck, xochimochi, as I think a wheat-free diet can yield higher losses, lift the brain fog and the bloated feeling and therefore boost motivation.
  • shipleyamye
    shipleyamye Posts: 54 Member
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    Binge eating isn't something that you can just turn off. I think that you need to figure out why you are turning to binge eating and try to find solutions for that issue. You mentioned you thought it was stress, as a tactic I would find ways to deal with stress, like meditation, journaling etc... If you can reduce the triggers that lead you to binge you will find that you are turning towards bingeing less and less.

    Dr Christopher Fairburn wrote a book called overcoming binge eating that is really helpful and uses principles of cognitive behavior therapy.

    I would suggest you take a look at your local library and see if you can find that book because it really will help to identify why you are bingeing and help you to create strategies to manage the behavior.

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