Make this diet your very last.

IsabelleBabel
IsabelleBabel Posts: 12 Member
edited February 2022 in Motivation and Support
For more than a week, the scale doesn't move, or slightly goes up. It just went up a full pound since yesterday, and I just burst in tears. It brings my back to where I were a month ago. I have been dieting for months now, I lose so slowly, is disheartening to think that it will take me almost a year to lose 10 pounds.

I do everything I had to do, but my body won't cooperate anymore.

I have been doing this - gaining slowly, then dieting to get my normal weight back - for more than 25 years, and my body has enough.

I am 5'3" and 50 years-old, and 1200 cal par day is for maintenance if I walk a minimum of 15,000 steps per day and exercise 30 to 45 minutes at least 5 times per week). If I don't move as much, I usually gain, even at 1200 cal/day.

I am exhausted mentally because I have to diet «full time». When you go low on calories, your life has to revolve around food and hunger, as it is so hard to be extremely precise in the food planning and prep, and except for the two hours past a meal, you are always hungry. So you just can't take dieting off of your mind.

(Don't tell me that I have to eat more to lose. I am not one of these extremely lucky individuals who lose when they eat too much and gain when they don't eat enough. /s)

I have tried to accept my body as it is, but cannot. It makes my much more miserable to look and feel like I do than being on a strict diet.
And beside, even if I decided not to diet, I still have to, in a way: as I said, I maintain at 1200.
So I cried this morning, because I have to face it: I have to try even harder and increase my exercise. It's so hard.

That's it folk, sorry for the long venting post. I just had to let it out. But more importantly, I want to tell everyone: try to make this diet your last. TRY VERY HARD. Because every time you diet then gain everything back, it will become harder and harder, near impossible to lose weight. Yes, even if you lose weight «the healthy way», losing slowly, never falling for a fad diet, etc. Don't think that you are so different than everyone, don't think that your 20, 30 or 40 years-old body will remain the same all your life.


I hate my past self, I hate myself, my body and my life now, but the situation I am in is the result of my poor life choices.

So make this diet your last.

Replies

  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    I just want to say I'm sorry to hear you feel this way. :( This is the one body you're dealt with in the one gift of life you're given, I hope you can find your way to happiness and joy. {{HUGS}}
  • ravengirl2014
    ravengirl2014 Posts: 94 Member
    Omg...Isabelle...I am just so very sorry that you are feeling like this ..I can relate on a lot of levels..I am 5'4" and right now...172 pds...I am 51 menopausal and just came off an antidepressant from hell...I have been overweight to some degree most of my life...I lost down to 135 twice ..once in basic training and then again with a trainer in 2018...it took me a year...fast forward... between the pills ..the pandemic..and problems with depression/quarantine etc this is where I am ..I am currently using the Lumen device/program but also keeping track of my cals here . I do wonder if your years dieting have harmed your metabolic flexibility...I know mine has and I have been using Lumen for about 3 months and it is teaching me how to listen to what my body is telling me...if you want to friend me you can ..I am on every day...you can snoop my food...rant ..ask me questions... whatever..I have been an emotional eater/binged...I get it...all of it.
  • IsabelleBabel
    IsabelleBabel Posts: 12 Member
    edited February 2022

    I try not to come here often - I spend so much time and energy on losing weight as it is right now. I just needed to vent and had to say: try to avoid the yo-yo at all cost!
    Also, to be honest, reading all the success stories is making me feel even worst about my own situation ... :( (And I feel bad for feeling that way, so yeah, staying away from discussions board is a good idea.)

    But thank you VERY MUCH @ravengirl2014 and @ReenieHJ for not judging ! :smile: )

    (Last thing I need is an athletic and 5'9" tall 32 years-old non-sedentary worker come and tell me: «You don't eat enough ! That's why you gain weight ! I eat 2000/daily and still lose, so it should be the same for you. Actually you can eat whatever you want and lose weight, as long as you plan and log it. Are you sure you understand how a kitchen scale works? Maybe that's the issue. » )

    ;)

    Good luck to you.
  • pridesabtch
    pridesabtch Posts: 2,466 Member
    I'm 5'1" 48 years old with a sedentary job. What I found in my previous life (Early 40's), that took me from 140 to 115 pounds was that 1310 (+ exercise calories, but not to exceed 1800 any given day) was my magic calorie number. It kept me from binging and allowed me to lose weight albeit slowly at first. I maintained that for 5 years.

    I, like you, was a die hard 1000 -1200 gal who struggled to lose. I hired a trainer and for once put my preconceived notions aside and committed to do as I was told for at least 2 months. He told me to up my calories just a little by adding more protein and to tighten up my logging by remembering to add oils and such. I was to expect a bump on the scale the first week or 2, and I did. And I freaked out, but again I had given him my commitment to his program. Once my body adjusted to the slightly higher calories and increased protein, then we started adding weights to my cardio-centric workouts. Muscle does burn more calories than fat, so by increasing my muscle mass I was creating a more efficient calorie burning body. Yes when I started lifting I put on water weight because my muscles needed to adjust, but that was short lived. The change from maintaining at 1200 to losing at 1310 was a mental process, but it began paying off within a month. Did I start logging better, maybe. Was I more active not really, just differently. I also found the leaner I got the more I became aware of the types of food I ate and how they made me feel. For me sweets made me crave more sweets so I limited them to one evening each week. I didn't deny myself, I just told myself to wait until Saturday. Some Saturday's I even ate at maintenance which turned out to be around 1600. It took me doing all of these things to lose weight in my early 40s.

    So why am I back here with weight to lose? Did I fall off the wagon? Not really, other parts of my life just fell apart and my give a damn waivered. I stopped exercising and then I had some health issues. The gist of the story is that you aren't destined to starve for the rest of your life just to be at a healthy weight.

    Right now I am heavier than I've ever been and consistently losing on 1300-1500 calories most days. I over ate a couple of days (Super Bowl Sunday & Valentines) that slowed me down, but it wasn't irreparable and I am again below my February starting weight = success. I need to add back weights, but haven't done it yet. Guess I need to set my pride aside and hit the weight room to top off this new start. Thanks for reminding me of what I did to be successful in the past.

    I hate that you feel so dejected. I understand that, but you need to give yourself a mental break. Take care and good luck.
  • IsabelleBabel
    IsabelleBabel Posts: 12 Member
    I do wonder if your years dieting have harmed your metabolic flexibility.../quote]

    Oh, they definitely have.
    What used to work fine just and allowed me to lose weight slowly but steadily, no longer works.
    I cannot post here how low I must go to hope to lose weight (my post would be deleted). I am CONSTANTLY hungry, as I said, except for two hours after each meal and when I sleep. This was absolutely not necessary before.

    And this morning I cried when I realized that I probably reached a new low, where being always hungry will just allow me to either maintain, or slow down the weight gain. I know it's childish to cry, but sometimes you have to find a way to let it out. Earlier this afternoon I was thinking that I would love to have objects to break, or a place where I could scream for an hour on the top of my lungs.

    Enough rambling. I'll do some work out, that will help me wait until dinner!


  • avatiach
    avatiach Posts: 298 Member
    I saw this article on MFP today. Food sensitivities are definitely a thing for me. This article suggests talking to a doctor about this. You also might ask about your thyroid or other things.

    mailto:?subject=MyFitnessPal%20Blog%20-%20'Are%20Food%20Sensitivities%20Making%20it%20Harder%20for%20You%20to%20Lose%20Weight%3F'&body='Are%20Food%20Sensitivities%20Making%20it%20Harder%20for%20You%20to%20Lose%20Weight%3F'%20-%20https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/are-food-sensitivities-making-it-harder-for-you-to-lose-weight/