Getting back on the wagon

jayz_gal2004
jayz_gal2004 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have always had an extremely unhealthy relationship with food. I use food to comfort me no matter the emotion. Furthermore, I have battled with eating disorders in the past. Back in 2010, I lost 50 pounds (180 to 130) using MFP and counting calories. I became sooo obsessed with calorie counting that no one wanted to dine with me. Then in 2011, I became pregnant with my daughter. I was VERY sick for 9 months and could hardly keep anything down. I remember praying to God that if he would make me well, I would never view food as an enemy again. Since the birth of my daughter, I have gained back ALL of the 50 pounds that I had lost. My hope is to find a healthy balance and get the weight off without becoming a calorie counting, food psycho. Any tips or advice are GREATLY appreciated!

P.S. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by May 30th

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I wish I could help you. As soon as I stopped being so restrictive and obsessive about calorie counting, I gained 15 lbs back (ok, it took 3 years, but still). Bottom line is that I HAVE to watch my diet like a hawk if I want to lose/maintain, and it's not fun for anyone, and dining out and hanging out with friends sucks (I'm too hungry all the time to even consider banking calories).

    I'm still trying to figure out if it's not better for my mental health to stay a bit chubbier, to be honest.
  • mrsjosephinehall
    mrsjosephinehall Posts: 21 Member
    Me too!! A million of us cry out. I’m just back myself after a weight gaining break. But I am serious about making progress and like minded friends do help so feel free to add me as a friend. Good luck
  • pocntasha
    pocntasha Posts: 19 Member
    I understand all of these posts! Here is what I am trying. You have to watch your diet, you have to count your calories, but not everyone has to know. Make your choices in your mind, but you don't have to speak it. Pre-pare your food ahead of time that works with knowing what to eat and when!
  • livsindublin
    livsindublin Posts: 2 Member
    Hey there,
    not sure it'll help (depending what you are looking for)....
    it depends on what you are looking for really, health or weight loss, advice or motivation.

    A trainer told me that anything industrialized is bad food wise (it includes to many fats and insidious calories and not meant to be eaten by humans), it may taste good but it is not meant to be digested by humans (thus the weight gain if you only eat that way).

    so maybe consider trying to make your food based on that for a while, cooking everything from scratch and avoiding cookies/sugary thing (as row sugar does not exist in nature). It does help (and it helps the earth too).

    another thing she said to me, was allow yourself a treat (i am addicted to chocolate) but only one piece and not the pack and once a week not every day...

    Another thing i thank my friend (who's slim) to have told me is:
    It takes time and effort for me to look like this (and since then i realised most of my friends are that way but do not say it, actually they say the opposite most of the time)

    I eat reasonably well and small portionned every day, i do sport 3 times a week and watch my drinking amount.

    that helped me cos i always heard "oh i eat what i want", "i never count i'm lucky that way" but once i started looking at what they actually ingested (while we were out for instance) they actually always had lots of vegetables, never more that two drinks (sugary/alcohol) a night etc... so i realised that it is easy to stay slim if you are eating the right way and convince it is your taste (and not an effort).
    in short my advice is find healthy food you can eat as much as you want (mainly veg) and enjoy it... cut the rest to half and you'll see progress :p
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    pocntasha wrote: »
    I understand all of these posts! Here is what I am trying. You have to watch your diet, you have to count your calories, but not everyone has to know. Make your choices in your mind, but you don't have to speak it. Pre-pare your food ahead of time that works with knowing what to eat and when!

    Yes. But... sometimes you don't have the choice... when your friends order pizza or make pasta for dinner, for example. And don't tell me 'just have a slice', it's not fun to have a 300 calorie slice and still be starving afterwards.. I suppose you could always just not eat and eat later but then you still have to answer questions. Or just not go, but then you have no social life...

    Really, it's when I met my friends that I ended up gaining back 15 lbs. And I DO pass on some stuff. But I have less control over my meals because I don't want to be that PITA friend (or that friend who says no to the homemade cookies brought especially for me).
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    pocntasha wrote: »
    I understand all of these posts! Here is what I am trying. You have to watch your diet, you have to count your calories, but not everyone has to know. Make your choices in your mind, but you don't have to speak it. Pre-pare your food ahead of time that works with knowing what to eat and when!

    Yes. But... sometimes you don't have the choice... when your friends order pizza or make pasta for dinner, for example. And don't tell me 'just have a slice', it's not fun to have a 300 calorie slice and still be starving afterwards.. I suppose you could always just not eat and eat later but then you still have to answer questions. Or just not go, but then you have no social life...

    Really, it's when I met my friends that I ended up gaining back 15 lbs. And I DO pass on some stuff. But I have less control over my meals because I don't want to be that PITA friend (or that friend who says no to the homemade cookies brought especially for me).

    Sounds like they aren't very good friends if they're constantly sabotaging your WOE.

    Or you're not planning effectively for time with friends.

    Over the Holidays, I managed to squeeze in a pizza Party and BDubs without going wildly over my daily calories.... and without "starving.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited January 2018
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    pocntasha wrote: »
    I understand all of these posts! Here is what I am trying. You have to watch your diet, you have to count your calories, but not everyone has to know. Make your choices in your mind, but you don't have to speak it. Pre-pare your food ahead of time that works with knowing what to eat and when!

    Yes. But... sometimes you don't have the choice... when your friends order pizza or make pasta for dinner, for example. And don't tell me 'just have a slice', it's not fun to have a 300 calorie slice and still be starving afterwards.. I suppose you could always just not eat and eat later but then you still have to answer questions. Or just not go, but then you have no social life...

    Really, it's when I met my friends that I ended up gaining back 15 lbs. And I DO pass on some stuff. But I have less control over my meals because I don't want to be that PITA friend (or that friend who says no to the homemade cookies brought especially for me).

    Sounds like they aren't very good friends if they're constantly sabotaging your WOE.

    Or you're not planning effectively for time with friends.

    Over the Holidays, I managed to squeeze in a pizza Party and BDubs without going wildly over my daily calories.... and without "starving.

    It's a lot of last minute stuff so no, there's not much planning involved.

    But when you already have a hard time maintaining a small deficit without being hungry or feeling too deprived, as I said above, it's hard to bank calories for every time you see your friends too. That being said... most people can probably get away with one slice of pizza or a tiny portion of lasagna for dinner and not be hungry. I'm just not one of those people.
  • tigger4246
    tigger4246 Posts: 3 Member
    My biggest problem is not realizing what I'm eating so - I started writing down what I was going to eat BEFORE I take a bite. Write and then bite. It seems to be helping as well as reading these posts and realizing I'm not alone.
  • 2011rocket3touring
    2011rocket3touring Posts: 1,346 Member
    I don't like the concept of a "goal" as it implies an endgame. Which there isn't (except death). Focus instead on the process of better eating and being fitness minded.
    Counting calories is honestly liberating, takes the guesswork out of eating.
  • pocntasha
    pocntasha Posts: 19 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    pocntasha wrote: »
    I understand all of these posts! Here is what I am trying. You have to watch your diet, you have to count your calories, but not everyone has to know. Make your choices in your mind, but you don't have to speak it. Pre-pare your food ahead of time that works with knowing what to eat and when!

    Yes. But... sometimes you don't have the choice... when your friends order pizza or make pasta for dinner, for example. And don't tell me 'just have a slice', it's not fun to have a 300 calorie slice and still be starving afterwards.. I suppose you could always just not eat and eat later but then you still have to answer questions. Or just not go, but then you have no social life...

    Really, it's when I met my friends that I ended up gaining back 15 lbs. And I DO pass on some stuff. But I have less control over my meals because I don't want to be that PITA friend (or that friend who says no to the homemade cookies brought especially for me).

    If they order pasta and pizza, you can always eat the pasta skip the pizza or vice a versa, maybe throw in a workout post dinner, or add onto your workout the next day. You can also cut back on calories for the next day.

  • DmaMfz
    DmaMfz Posts: 125 Member
    edited January 2018
    You’re not a psycho because you monitor your calories.

    Ever thought about looking at your calories over the course of the week? In situations like this when you want to partake DO!, but it doesn’t mean you have to lose control either. Eat a satisfactory amount, and fit it into your weekly goal. Just one of the many options to make this a lifestyle.

    If you don’t allow flexibility than you’re preventing this from being successful in the long run.

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