Worried I'm going to be on a diet forever.

Diet=way of life

Food=fuel

Guilty?
Really?
Dont buy crap and eat it!
It's simple!

It's not that simple. I have times where I feel guilty for eating over a certain number of calories... and usually what I eat is yogurt, veggies or some kind of fruit. When you're afraid of gaining weight, it's not what you eat... it's any kind of calories.

I would suggest getting some kind of help. Talk to a nutritionist and a therapist, or talk to SOMEONE. You're going into some very dangerous territory. I have been there, and I got really sick... it's not fun. Please get help from someone, it's not going to get easier unless you really force yourself to get over that fear that food = weight gain/fat/failure. It helps to have a support system to get you back to a healthier mind set.

And you should be having 1200 cals a day MINIMUM...dont go under!

This is crap advice.
Have your numbers run and only cut 20% from maint for safe weight loss.
1200 is for people who like to starve.

1200 is a great number if you have very low body fat and stand about 5foot tall!

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.


Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

There was a time in the 1950s when the word "diet" meant the kind of food that was eaten. Monkeys have diets, polar bears have diets and we have diets. The word has been morphed into something that means "a means of loosing weight" or in some cases "a means of adding muscle". I'd say, lose the word. It's getting in the way of what you want.

You want a healthy body that feels good to be in. You want to give it the fuel it wants and needs to keep it running well. That means you need to feed it. Every day. Preferably a minimum of three times...I'm in favor of the grazing method, myself. Losing weight is easy, it's a numbers game. If you want to keep this off, learn more about healthy food and how awesome it is. Choose to eat MORE food..like leafy greens and veggies.

Celebrate food instead of fearing it. You can't live your life fearing the thing you need most to keep living. You know that or you wouldn't be posting the question.

With or without the weight, you are still you. Own your space, own your life, don't hold the weight responsible for everything bad in the world. It's just not that powerful. That's all TV melodrama if you believe it.

In with the good air, out with the crazy air.

Best wishes,

Muffyjo

These thoughts are teetering on eating disorder territory. Careful.

^^ this

Don't look at is as a "diet." A diet indicates that it will end. Look at your accomplishments as the beginning of a life-style change. Don't let yourself feel guilty about eating, because - as was said before- that could be bordering on an eating disorder. Allow yourself treats now and then, but otherwise try to make healthy decisions and you won't need to feel guilty. Lots of water, green leafy things and fruits can help.

This is the way everyone should think about being healthier! Iknow this is my mindset and I still eat the things I enjoy! I don't eat them as often or as much as I did but I still enjoy them! It is a lifestyle change the sooner you adapt the better life will be!

Up your calories slowly and dont weigh yourself everyday. Once you see that you don't gain weight with more calories, hopefully that fear will go away.

I think it has to be a lifestyle change rather than a diet. I was really struggling to lose weight at first then discovered a link between Hypothyroidism and wheat intolerance. I decided to go wheat free/low carb for 2 weeks to see what happened first.. I lost 7lbs first week, 4lbs second. I then had to decide whether this was a diet I could sustain for life.. I decided to stick with wheat free (for majority of time where possible) but still allow carbs like rice, potatoes in diet.

At first I only allowed them once a week and stuck to strict diet either side of that day to see how much it affected water retention.. I found it was mainly the wheat which was making me gain 4-5lbs a day (after re-introducing it temporarily as a test). ATM I have 2 treat meals a week which include chips or rice and rest I try and replace with other things ie carrot & swede mash instead of mashed potato, sweet potato chips or parsnip chips instead of fried or oven chips.

This is something I think I can stay on for life I still have chocolate.. I was never really bothered about pastry cakes and pies but found substitutes for my favourites (a rhubarb crumble topped with oats instead of pastry crumbs and gluten free chocolate brownies).

only exception I have made is i still have a regular mini yorkshire pudding on a sunday (which is regular flour) but its only thing that contains a small amount of wheat... if I could find a gluten free one I would switch to that. I find as its so small literally 2 bites, about 45 cals.. and only one day a week ( as removed wheat from rest of the week) it has no effect and I can still lose weight.

You have to decide what for you.. is something you can't live without out and how you can turn it into a lifestyle change rather than a 'permanent diet'!

p.s I'm still eating well over 1200cals and still losing. I only cut wheat-based cereal, regular bread and pasta. (though I use the gluten free versions instead)