I'm worried I've screwed up my body :/

peachyxoxoxo
peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
In high school due to an eating disorder I lost 30 lbs in 3 months and was very skinny for a couple years. Over the next few years I gained back about 45 lbs from binge eating. Between last fall and March, I managed to get 15 lbs off, but in the following three (stressful) months I gained it all back again.

For the last month I've been eating really well, only 2-3 minor binges throughout the month of June, doing the Insanity workouts, but I haven't lost a pound. I'm kinda worried I have messed up things for good. The first time I lost weight, the pounds melted away. Earlier this year, I was diligently counting calories, but eventually it became to overwhelming to focus on those numbers each day given my history with disordered eating. Now I feel like it's just impossible, after all this up and down. I don't want to eat too few calories while I'm doing Insanity, but at the same time, I'm worried I might be eating too many. I'm a nutrition major in school and I feel pretty dumb that I can't even figure out my own body.

I know I should be focusing on "how I feel" but I know I have some weight to lose and it's getting frustrating not seeing any results.

Replies

  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
    What are your stats like- ie your height and weight?how many calories do you eat a day?what kind of foods to you eat?if you can provide more information on that i can suggest something accordingly.
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    I'm 5'7, 158 lbs, aiming for 1700-1800 calories per day. I'm vegan.

    Typical breakfast is 1/2 c oatmeal with 1/4 c blueberries and a tbsp almond butter. I often have coffee with a splash of soy milk in the morning.

    Lunch is usually a sandwich/wrap (hummus & veg, PB&J), some raw vegetables (baby carrots, bell pepper), and fruit (an apple, some strawberries).

    In the afternoon when I leave work I have a banana or a small portion of cereal.

    Dinner is usually tofu, tempeh, or a veggie burger, with steamed or roasted vegetables on the side (sweet potato, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, kale). Or a big salad.

    I usually have a bowl of cold cereal before bed as well. Sometimes I make protein smoothies after working out, but usually I just exercise right before dinner.
  • DG_Allen
    DG_Allen Posts: 219 Member
    Do you lead a very active lifestyle?? I'm a 6'0" man who weighs about the same as you and I'm eating around 1500 a day to target a 1 lb per week loss. Maybe a few less calories unless your job and daily life are very active.
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    I'm doing Insanity. As they suggested in the nutrition guide (also what dietitians use/what I've learned in class), I used the Harris Benedict equation to calculate my calorie needs using the "moderately active" activity factor. That put my needs at about 2,300 and I subtracted 500 for weight loss.
  • savageman69
    savageman69 Posts: 339 Member
    Do you lead a very active lifestyle?? I'm a 6'0" man who weighs about the same as you and I'm eating around 1500 a day to target a 1 lb per week loss. Maybe a few less calories unless your job and daily life are very active.

    Your not eating enough.....most girls eat 1500...a 6ft male shouldnt be under 1800 period
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Can you get a doctor to check your metabolism, just to rule it out? And a referral to a nutritionist never hurts if you can manage to get one of those.
  • WonderKP
    WonderKP Posts: 146 Member
    since you are vegan, this might be more difficult...

    but for me, I notice improvement when I cut down on carbs...i noticed you seem to eat a lot of sugar (all the fruit, and cereal). maybe try out less carbs for awhile to see how that works for you?
  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
    you might want to eat a tad bit more,your food looks excellent,im a vegetarian.
    Im a 5" 5.5 woman,i started at my BMR and slowly raised my numbers by 100 calories every two weeks,by the en of 2nd or 3rd week it should show you an increase or a decrease.so when i went over 1800 i was putting on weight,im not at 1700-1750 an im steadily losing 1 pound a week.I burn around 2500 cals a week from excercise,try going up by a tiny bit,cereal in the night maynot be a good option,sugar is readily absorbable by the body,so in the night if you give it sugars,theres likely a chance that it might be using that to store fat.I also dont take too much complex carbs in the night,i try to make it through veggies or a peice or bread/soups an make sure i have 3 hours between when i eat an when i sleep.other than that everything looks great.I have heard soy alters your hormones a bit.whenever i eat soy products my TOM shoots 5 days earlier.Try some of these and see if it works.
  • spiregrain
    spiregrain Posts: 254 Member
    Dunno if this will help you or not, but I found it easier to lose once I stopped eating oatmeal. It is great on a maintenance diet but for me it was too high calorie. Maybe some tempeh "bacon" or tofu scramble to up your protein? Also try a mega calcium supplement, it's hard to lose if you're not getting enough, and hard to get if you're vegan.

    You might want to look into the concept of a broken metabolism, if things seem to be sticking more than they should.
  • rebaschneider
    rebaschneider Posts: 3
    No, you haven't screwed up your body. Confused it, maybe, but that can be changed. I'd suggest eating way more fruits and vegetables. Check the kind of cereal you eat, even Kashi Go Lean Crunch has too much added sugar. Eating too little really can convince your body that you are starving and you won't lose weight even if you eat less. If you eat very little and binge sometimes your body will grab the extra and make fat to get you through the next period of "starvation". If you don't want to count calories, there are plenty of programs where you aren't required to. Entering your food on MFP may just be adding to your stress. I'm on a program where I write down everything I eat, I can have all the fruits and vegetables I want, whole grains, whole grain breads, lean protein, reasonable amounts of healthy fats like peanut or almond butter, olive oil, avocados. No refined foods, no white flour or white rice or white potatoes. Eat enough for a while so that your aren't hungry and aren't as tempted to binge. Don't eat less after a binge. Once your body learns you aren't starving then you can work on losing weight, if you actually need to. If you have big bones and are muscular you may just need to lose a little belly fat. Eating disorders can really skew your body image, you may be fine the way you are. My brother is the same height you are and has always been a weighlifter, weighs about 150 and no fat. You may be learning all this in your nutrition classes but eating disorders may make you not be able to relate the information to your own body.
  • rebaschneider
    rebaschneider Posts: 3
    I posted a long reply, forgot to mention once you get more settled you might use almond milk if you are drinking dairy milk. Also might try gluten free or elimination testing different foods. But get your metabolism back to normal first. That means eating enough food!
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    Hey everyone, thanks for answers. I already eat tons of fruits and vegetables, maybe that wasn't clear from what i wrote as my typical intake. I actually DON'T count calories, at least not with MFP. I just write down what I eat. I haven't binged in about 3 weeks now and I'm really proud of that. I do eat a lot of carbs though. I always choose whole grains, never white. But since I'm so busy and out of the house a lot, those are just easy things to resort to for snacks.

    Also I know I'm not THAT overweight but I'm bigger than what feels comfortable for me. I'm only trying to lose 15-20 lbs. Which I managed to do earlier in the year, like I said. However I was counting calories and I really don't want to go back to that because it reminds me of when I was anorexic in high school.

    I think I'm going to try cutting back on my carbohydrate intake a bit. At least the cereal every night, if nothing else.
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