Unhappy while on diet - Unhappy when I feel like I'm getting fat
anewell28
Posts: 79 Member
Ever since I started counting calories on MFP, I have created bad habits and eating problems. Any advice on getting over it?
3
Replies
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Binge eating for multiple days in a row after several weeks of calorie deficit. I am heavier than I was a year ago before I started counting calories. I wish I had never started this. It’s created extremely unhealthy habits. I eat now when I’m not hungry or I don’t eat enough when I’m hungry.8
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Binge eating for multiple days in a row after several weeks of calorie deficit. I am heavier than I was a year ago before I started counting calories. I wish I had never started this. It’s created extremely unhealthy habits. I eat now when I’m not hungry or I don’t eat enough when I’m hungry.
I’m sorry to hear this. This isn’t the first time I’m hearing similar about people who count calories. It can be dangerous and become too obsessive which can lead into an eating disorder if you have some underlying issues. I don’t have much advice just please be careful and take care of yourself ❤️12 -
Binge eating for multiple days in a row after several weeks of calorie deficit. I am heavier than I was a year ago before I started counting calories. I wish I had never started this. It’s created extremely unhealthy habits. I eat now when I’m not hungry or I don’t eat enough when I’m hungry.
When I was trying to stay under an unrealistic calorie goal, I was much more likely to seriously over eat. I would do well for a week or two and then it would blow up.
There were 3 things that worked for me:
1) Increasing my calorie goal. Accepting that the rate of loss would be slower actually made my weight loss more stable, because I could stick with it.
2) Stop being so strict on my food choices. I had myself convinced that I couldn't eat treat foods while losing weight, so after a week or two of eating "diet food" I would go nuts eating all the things that I had been missing during those two weeks. And hey, because I've already blown it, I might as well go ahead and stuff myself with as much as I can. After all, I'll start over again tomorrow.
3) Stop starting over "tomorrow." If I eat something that wasn't in my plan, I log it and just carry on with the day. This took the sense of failure out of my mindset.
These may or may not work for you, depending on what's going on for you.30 -
Without knowing more about your situation, here is some general advice based on common experiences that might be similar to yours:
What is your current calorie goal? We see many people who start at 1200, but this is an overly aggressive goal for most people. Set MFP to lose 1 pound per week unless you have about 20 or fewer pounds to lose. In that case, set it to 0.5 pound per week.
When you say that you are in a calorie deficit, do you mean that you are meeting your MFP calorie goal, or that you are consistently eating less than your goal? You're intended to eat that number of calories, not significantly fewer. Your deficit is already included in that goal.
Are you exercising, and if so, do you eat your exercise calories? MFP intends you to eat your exercise calories, but since many estimates of calorie burn are inflated, we generally recommend that people eat half their estimated exercise calories.5 -
I think the first step you have to do is stop treating as a diet in the classic sense. If you want to lose weight AND keep it off, you have to realize that you can NEVER go back to your old ways. That way of eating is over for good, otherwise you'll definitely regain what you might lose.
Having come to that point, you then need to figure out what kind of changes to your lifestyle/eating habits are sustainable for life. That might take a while and involve some trial and error. Take your time, LEARN TO BE PATIENT - you haven't gained the weight in a month, you're not going to lose it in a month, either. Realize that quick fixes never, ever work in the long run. You have to make conscious choices. Weigh and log everything. And do not, I repeat, do not restrict certain food groups or foods unless you have a medical reason to. That only leeds to binge eating, because you'll always feel like your depriving yourself.
Find an exercise you like. Exercise is good for your health, but - strictly speaking - not necessary for weight loss. For me, I couldn't do without the extra calories I earn by walking every day (I'd "starve" on 1300 calories), though.
Good luck on your journey. Many others have done it before, so why shouldn't you be able to?9 -
^ Both of the above (sarahbums and nutmegoreo's posts) are some very good advice. When I restrict too much, I can guarantee that it will end in a binge. I'd rather lose half a pound a week for four weeks straight than try to lose 2 pounds a week, end up binging before the week is over for several weeks in a row, and end up losing maybe half a pound a month.
Treat yourself. I don't mean have a Snickers at the end of the day every day (I guess you could if you had the calories, so don't count it out, just realize it won't be a daily thing), but plan a treat that you can fit into your calorie allowance. I don't feel deprived, because I have things all the time that I would never have thought I could have while trying to lose weight. I ate homemade chocolate chip cookies (sugar free, 4 cookies for 520 calories) while watching TV with my family on Monday night, and I put away a pint of Halo Top ice cream tonight (320 calories).
And remember that exercise is your friend. You couldn't resist the temptation and ate a couple of Krispy Kremes that someone brought to the office? That's only 400 calories; an hour on the treadmill at a decent pace and incline, and it's like it never happened.5 -
I agree is best not to look at this as a "temporary" diet. If you are significantly over weight the changes you will need to build up are different to those with only a little to loose.
May be, try eating as you regularly did for two weeks and log your intake honestly forgetting creating a deficit. You will see how the pattern you are eating fits the mfp suggestions to follow. If you were to find you were over on sugar and salt say by a very long way try cutting back on the foods which keep these levels really high, make different choices.
Then be honest about your activity levels. If exercise is part of your daily life add it in to the calculator if not you need to eat back, some if not all of your "eared" calories because the level mfp sets is what you need just to function, doing exercise in that situation increases your calorific deficit.
All the best, relax and take care of yourself.1 -
Binge eating for multiple days in a row after several weeks of calorie deficit. I am heavier than I was a year ago before I started counting calories. I wish I had never started this. It’s created extremely unhealthy habits. I eat now when I’m not hungry or I don’t eat enough when I’m hungry.
Are you perhaps unnecessarily restricting yourself when you're on a calorie deficit
How much do you have to lose and what rate of loss did you choose?
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You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?1 -
You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?
When exercise starts to be used as a punishment for indulging in a treat. It feeds into that negative mindset.8 -
I can see that, never looked at it from that perspective. Thanks for pointing that out.2
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I am the same. If I "take a break" I gain, if I diet I lose super slow, feel deprived, obsess. And I need to lose weight for health not just looks. Anyway, in the past week I ordered 310 shakes/supplements (yuck, but low calorie and do control my appetite, which apparently isn't the problem as I'm not satisfied) and order on kindle last night Intuitive Eating. So- a pound down, not happy, and still searching.5
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I am the same. If I "take a break" I gain, if I diet I lose super slow, feel deprived, obsess. And I need to lose weight for health not just looks. Anyway, in the past week I ordered 310 shakes/supplements (yuck, but low calorie and do control my appetite, which apparently isn't the problem as I'm not satisfied) and order on kindle last night Intuitive Eating. So- a pound down, not happy, and still searching.
What period of time are you giving it to see how fast/slow you're losing sounds like maybe patience/expectation might be what's holding you back?1 -
Well.... you get two options. Eat less and move less, or move more eat more. Wanna eat? Be active. I mean running on a hamster wheel is all good and such, but burns so few cals. Move! Take the stairs, park far way from the buildings, wash your own dishes, sweep your own floors. Get out of the "western/ modern" ideas that life is supposed to be made easy. Modern convienances have made us soft. Work with your hands. Small things add up BIG! ENERGY FLUX! I am actually writing this while taking a break from cutting and stacking firewood. Lol6
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I appreciate everyone’s advice on here even though I’m not the OP. I kept hearing that the only way to stop binging was to practice intuitive eating and basically eat whatever, whenever your body tells you and now I need to lose 18 pounds. If I hadn’t been so restrictive at 1200 calories I never would have developed a problem. I found out I can lose weight just as fast on 2k a day, and not feel starving and so deprived that I want to binge.4
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You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?
Exercise bulimia. Punishing self / eating activity with exercise. Exercising every bite eaten. When exercise and food control start negatively affecting quality of life.
Nothing wrong with going for a long walk/run and expending some of the extra energy from that cheesecake on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Something wrong with being out there running for 2 hours at 2am to make up for the midnight slice of cheesecake while your knees hurt and your heel bleeds.
Thus, exercising off your extra food "as if it never happened" only works... in moderation!5 -
Ever since I started counting calories on MFP, I have created bad habits and eating problems. Any advice on getting over it?
There is some great advice here. I'll add just another suggestion. It may or may not fit you (that covers all the bases right?)....
Since you are working on tracking, why not start back with just eating at maintenance while tracking? The habits you gain while tracking will be invaluable, you won't be hungry (or shouldn't be - if you are it'll be temporary), and you won't be gaining weight while you do it. To get good at this, like anything else, you have to learn how and then practice. If you look at this long-term, you will be doing it this way for a much longer than the time you'll spend losing weight because I assume you'll want to keep it off once you've done it.
Once you've gotten comfortable tracking and maintaining (give yourself a month or so, don't rush), then gradually create a deficit. Start slow. Maybe replace the mayo in your sandwich with light mayo. For one tablespoon, you'll save 65 calories. Eat 2 cookies instead of 3. Another 50 calories. Find one or two more like that and just like that, you've got a 250 calorie per day deficit. That's 1/2 pound per week. (Note: I picked mayo and cookies because I eat those almost every day. Even while losing I still ate my chocolate chip cookies. Pick what works for you). As you "ease into your deficit", it won't feel much different and you won't feel the sudden deprivation that comes with dramatic change. You might find that 1/2 pound to 1 pound per week suits you.
If you do this, you might delay your goal by a few months. But do sudden deprivation and go into restrict/binge cycle, it'll take longer or never happen at all.
This is isn't an exercise in punishing yourself for putting on weight. Think of improved health as a reward for informing yourself how to do this and taking it on and for patience in a process that is guaranteed to work - if you do it right and stick with it over the long term. If you eat less than you burn, you will lose fat.
One last benefit to staring with the "eating at maintenance" I mentioned above: when you need to "take a diet break", you'll know how and you won't stress out. Diet breaks are great of ridding the body of the stress created by eating in a deficit long-term. Then ease back into your deficit. No matter how you decide to work this out, you will be in control. So get the tracking and counting part down before you try to change your body overnight. That puts you in control. Then control the deficit/maintenance/surplus or whatever suits you at a given time.
I hope for the best for you.4 -
You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?
Exercise bulimia. Punishing self / eating activity with exercise. Exercising every bite eaten. When exercise and food control start negatively affecting quality of life.
Nothing wrong with going for a long walk/run and expending some of the extra energy from that cheesecake on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Something wrong with being out there running for 2 hours at 2am to make up for the midnight slice of cheesecake while your knees hurt and your heel bleeds.
Thus, exercising off your extra food "as if it never happened" only works... in moderation!
Pav888,
I don't think anyone here is advocating exercise bulimia. The op was complaining when she loses weight she feels deprived and hungry. As a man of your intelligent mind set, you know we have 2 options. The two i listed above. Move more eat more, move less eat less. No one should have food guilt IMHO. If you want the cheese cake, well have it. When trying to live on 1200 cals a day, that is almost nearly impossible. Well, if you had a big hike today and you know you burned 400 cals over normal, well to me, no guilt. Humans by there very nature are consumers. We are built to eat and move. When that cycle is broken, bad things happen. People get the options of moving to eat more, or gaining weight to eat more as tdee goes up. I choose to move. I think you do as well.5 -
psychod787 wrote: »
You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?
Exercise bulimia. Punishing self / eating activity with exercise. Exercising every bite eaten. When exercise and food control start negatively affecting quality of life.
Nothing wrong with going for a long walk/run and expending some of the extra energy from that cheesecake on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Something wrong with being out there running for 2 hours at 2am to make up for the midnight slice of cheesecake while your knees hurt and your heel bleeds.
Thus, exercising off your extra food "as if it never happened" only works... in moderation!
Pav888,
I don't think anyone here is advocating exercise bulimia. The op was complaining when she loses weight she feels deprived and hungry. As a man of your intelligent mind set, you know we have 2 options. The two i listed above. Move more eat more, move less eat less. No one should have food guilt IMHO. If you want the cheese cake, well have it. When trying to live on 1200 cals a day, that is almost nearly impossible. Well, if you had a big hike today and you know you burned 400 cals over normal, well to me, no guilt. Humans by there very nature are consumers. We are built to eat and move. When that cycle is broken, bad things happen. People get the options of moving to eat more, or gaining weight to eat more as tdee goes up. I choose to move. I think you do as well.
I am 100% on board the do more AND eat more than you otherwise would while still creating a deficit, i.e. lose sensibly at highest possible caloric intake. And, in general, the move more to counteract current sedentary society trend.
However I was reacting to a piece of advice I've seen a couple of times which specifically advocated erasing an item of food / over eating episode with direct exercise to make up. And I am saying that this works; but only in moderation. Because it has detrimental possibilities if taken to an extreme and eat a treat and exercise it away become synonymous and excessive.14 -
psychod787 wrote: »
You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?
Exercise bulimia. Punishing self / eating activity with exercise. Exercising every bite eaten. When exercise and food control start negatively affecting quality of life.
Nothing wrong with going for a long walk/run and expending some of the extra energy from that cheesecake on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Something wrong with being out there running for 2 hours at 2am to make up for the midnight slice of cheesecake while your knees hurt and your heel bleeds.
Thus, exercising off your extra food "as if it never happened" only works... in moderation!
Pav888,
I don't think anyone here is advocating exercise bulimia. The op was complaining when she loses weight she feels deprived and hungry. As a man of your intelligent mind set, you know we have 2 options. The two i listed above. Move more eat more, move less eat less. No one should have food guilt IMHO. If you want the cheese cake, well have it. When trying to live on 1200 cals a day, that is almost nearly impossible. Well, if you had a big hike today and you know you burned 400 cals over normal, well to me, no guilt. Humans by there very nature are consumers. We are built to eat and move. When that cycle is broken, bad things happen. People get the options of moving to eat more, or gaining weight to eat more as tdee goes up. I choose to move. I think you do as well.
I am 100% on board the do more AND eat more than you otherwise would while still creating a deficit, i.e. lose sensibly at highest possible caloric intake. And, in general, the move more to counteract current sedentary society trend.
However I was reacting to a piece of advice I've seen a couple of times which specifically advocated erasing an item of food / over eating episode with direct exercise to make up. And I am saying that this works; but only in moderation. Because it has detrimental possibilities if taken to an extreme and eat a treat and exercise it away become synonymous and excessive.
Who ever woo'ed you good sir, can stick it.... well.... anyways. I agree.4 -
It sounds like you might overrestricting. That commonly leads to bingeing because your body simply can't deal any longer with not getting enough nutrition. My suggestion is that you up your calories a bit and make sure to work in foods that you like.0
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