How on earth do I lose weight? How did you?

[JustTheLemons]

Apologies for starting an AIBU but I have posted before in weight loss chat and not got much response.

I need to lose about 60 pounds, and I'm determined. I've recently got a binge eating habit under control, and for the last two weeks I've been sticking with 1500 calories a day as well as an hour long walk every lunch. I've gained 2 pounds!

I really don't understand how I can go from bingeing loads of calories a day to cutting them out and walking and gain weight! What am I doing wrong? I had been told that CICO was the easy way to do it but it's not seemingly working for me- I am now considering Atkins but I worry that's too restrictive for day to day.

Any help much appreciated!

Don’t be disheartened. I can gain several pounds in a day and keep it for a week due to hormones and water retention.

MFP is a great way to track calories and lose weight. Drink more water, and try weights. Gaining muscle will increase metabolism and burn the fat. Good luck!

I eat around that much and run 30 miles a week and weight train 3 or4days a week.

I’ve lost nearly 9 stone in 14 months and I’ve found the best thing to do is just avoid anything that tastes nice! Yeah of course I’m miserable but getting into much smaller jeans takes the edge off

I’ve been on a diet for SIX weeks

Lost NOTHING for 5 weeks and was so upset as had tried so hard
Cut out sugar in tea
No biscuits etc
No food after 6pm

I posted and was advised to maybe change my thyroid medication which i did and weighed myself today and half a stone down ! In a week

would the salads be possible if you mixed it with some grains of some sort.and veggies if you could stiry fry or roast them to make them a bit more meal like or make into a stew type thing.
you no your triggers so thats a great start.
dont cut out carbs.all those people saying that its not right.its a really important part of the food groups and has been there for a reason.it binds to other things and is a key part of a healthy diet.you just need to do it in proportion.and to those saying oh i had carbs after three months off it and it cause bloating.well of course it did!youve cut it out completely give your body chance to let it back.
its a balance.you need carbs fat and sugars and proteins.this si why diets dont work.cutting a group out or fasting isnt sustainable.
and i especially dont think a fasting diet for a binge eater is helpful at all.this will cause the cycle to start up again.and the emotional side to kick in and destroy you.

I don't lose on 1500. I'm 5ft 3.

I need to stick to 1000-1200 to lose.

I really don't believe in this "ooooh you must never ever skip breakfast, most important meal of the day" stuff.

I don;t do breakfast. I get up at 7, have a coffee and it's 11am before I'm feeling peckish. As long as you're sticking to your set number of calories a day does it really matter HOW you're eating them? For lots of us, skipping breakfast then having extra calories to play with for lunch, dinner or snacks works very well.

Weigh fluctuation is possible even within a day. Try to weigh yourself first thing in the morning everyday on an empty stomach, preferably naked and track like that is more accurate.
Also before you start your period you may gain some weight due to hormones. Track your period as well so you are aware.
Small fluctuations is entirely natural, focus on changes over a longer period of time is more realistic
Good luck

I've also suffered from binge eating disorder and I think you're being a touch hard on yourself. You're two weeks in, that's nothing, I would be worried that if you become too obsessed over your food intake then you could either trigger your binge eating or end up with some other kind of disordered eating.
One thing I can suggest is maybe, if you can't eat salads, would roasted vegetables with some kind of protein be an option? Or even leftovers from the night before?
I would also caution against saying foods aren't "allowed", the only thing that really allows me to keep my binge eating under control is having freedom to eat what I please without guilt but within reason. So, if you like going out, don't say "I can't go out because the food is fatty" try and say "well, if I go out I need to do a run before hand" or "if I go out I'll have salad instead of chips, or I won't have a dessert" something like that so you're not normalising guilt and restrictions, while at the same time making sensible choices and setting yourself good goals.

It's changing your habits which makes it tricky. You need to replace the binge eating with another activity such as walking, something which removes the focus on food. And willpower - weight loss can get very boring after a while which makes you fall back on old habits.

OtraCosaMariposa i know what your saying about breakfast.but for someone with a binge eating disorder its not been seen to be helpful to do this.its a very different set of circumstances.and in reocvery for it its better to try keeping your levels level and keep small and often so you are able to keep food on a even keel if that makes sense.

OP if you're 5ft 8 and you stick with around 1400-1500 a day (assuming you're not already very thin or very old) then you WILL lose weight - but you need to give it time. You said you use mfp - log your weight each morning, don't worry about the number, you'll be amazed at the fluctuations. Hormones, water, it all makes us go up and down. Log it daily, give it another two weeks and look at the graph it will give you. I bet you the overall trend will be downhill.

Consistency over a period of time is key, don't go too hard too early as thats what leads to people giving up. Keep at it!

DrPeppersPhD
haha brilliant post! you said everything i wanted to but dont have the wirting sense to do so.yay.
great understanding of the disroder too and some brill advice and helpful.

iwould also be careful op.with the disrdoer they can quickly cross the line to going the other way.you do seem to have become quite stricly obsessed with coutning etc.just be mindful.as the mental health side can make you go places you dont realsie until your embedded in it again.you need to be kind to that side of things to make sure you safe.

Many things can affect weight - water, hormones, how long it takes food to pass through the gut, how much glycogen is stored in the muscles, toileting, and more that we know and don't. For fat loss, it's easier to see with photos and tape measures (often recommended to do monthly or at the same time in your cycle if menstruating) and often more motivating than regular weighing.

I'd recommend Alan Aragon's Fat Loss Pyramid which, along with his Muscle Gain Pyramid helps break down the most important things to focus on first to what's least important and currently speculation. by Shredded Sports Science explains it better than I can, but in general - as you know - the base is calorie deficit and finding a method that you can stick to, both physically and mentally, which will probably differ from others. Tthe more you have to lose, the more you can safely cut without negative effects but that is often trial and error to find and changes throughout. Protein and resistance training will help maintain lean mass through dieting and are the biggest help beyond the basics.

Thanks everyone. You are right, I'm trying to run when I've just learned to walk. I'll stay on track for a while and stay away from the scales- the most important thing is keeping off the bingeing, not losing weight.

I have been successfully doing the Ketogentic diet since January and lost over 2 stone with no additional exercise. It works for me as I feel full and not hungry. You do need to not cheat though.

I recommend intermittent fasting and found 16/8 easier than 5/2. Echo PP on cutting carbs and aiming for c1200 /day. Eat lots of protein and veg and you’ll feel full.

When I started doing this I found my energy levels went up a lot even though I was eating less.

I also advise not cutting out treats, but to limit them, eg have 1 piece of good quality chocolate after dinner (buy expensive chocolates as they tend to have less sugar). Being too abstemious will be hard to maintain. I also look at treat foods and decide whether the brief enjoyment of eating it will be worth how I feel afterwards about it and the need to offset the extra calories. Mostly the answer is no, but it makes me think a lot more about quality.

Also, when eating out. Never eat the bread, stick to 2 courses, and only eat c half of the portion (and to those who say it’s wrong to waste food...it’s just as wasteful to eat more than you need as it is to bin it. Asking for a doggy bag will reduce the waste aspect though)

No idea of my daily calorie amount now or then but I'll give you a rough idea of how I lost almost a stone about a year ago. I don't like diets or constantly weighing yourself as I think it gets you down.

Breakfast:- either oatso simple with skimmed milk and blueberries or yogurt, blueberries and small serving granola - yogurt is full fat.

lunch - either soup and slice bread without butter or salad - with protein like chicken slices, Quorn fake chicken/ham and tiny bit of carbs - usually small bit of potato, add yogurt or fruit. make portion small - half of what you'd usually have.

Dinner - protein like fish, meat and veggies and either rice/pasta/potato but really halve the main portion size and halve the carbs - e.g. a quarter of a potato, less than a palm sized portion of pasta etc.

Snacks - do have them - not too many but if someone is offering cake, biscuit etc have some - maybe halve it or one biscuit but don't deprive. Also hummus and crudites etc (the snacks you buy in Waitrose/Boots) are a good extra snack.

Drinks - if you go out for an evening have alcohol/slim line tonic etc - don't deprive but don't do it a lot.

If you find your weakness is carbs - mine can be a jumbo bag of crisps, whole pot of dip with crackers etc - then either cut it out if you can or have e.g. small size of crisps or a quarter of dip with crackers. Then you're not depriving yourself. Make it 1 x a week - e.g. treat.

You need to walk fast (so you're slightly out of breath) for about 10-15 minutes a day, every day (or every other day) and do it ideally for a month if not more to start. If you can do this every day even better. Maybe on your walk do 30 mins of this and the rest normal walking. I did this on my commute to work - partly as I didn't want to be late, then partly as I knew it was good exercise and I could fit it in then. Gentle walking will not cut it!

Try to be active at work and home - take stairs rather than lift etc, on public transport. Log your steps on fit bit.

A class or other activity twice a week is good - aqua aerobics very good as you work twice as hard in the water or even energetic (vinyasa/ashtanga etc) yoga etc is good.

What I find also helps is thinking of clothes you want to get into - give yourself a goal - your birthday party.

You should see results within a month at first, 2-3 months total but you have to stick with it - and then ensure you don't put it back on! Good luck!

kateandme - totally agree with your post! agree you need a balance otherwise bodies go into starvation mode and/or crave the one thing you're cutting out!

My DBro always used to cut out carbs on a 'quick carb free diet' - completely - but of course caved, ate them after and gained the weight.

It's habits you need to fix including exercise and diet, I think.

I joined slimming world at the beginning of May, & have lost 18lbs.

I found it pretty easy, & still eat loads!

Some people on here have a downer on SW, (saw another thread recently), but it really works for me.

Bought a bikini yesterday & am actually looking forward to wearing it 😊

Low carb high fat here. Absolutely love it. I was a binge eater. Couldn’t have one bag of crisps-give me ten. I don’t even care about crisps any more. Low carb bootcamp on here is excellent or look up keto.

Your BMR is 1820 but have you found your TEED? BMR is calories your body burns just staying alive, TEED is your total daily expenditure, which includes all activity, walking, working, housework ECT, it's important to know both because weight loss is down to calorie deficit, every weight loss plan that works does so because it creates a calorie deficit.

I know you say you're sure of calories and that's great but don't be afraid to double and triple check. Have you considered using myfitnesspal?

People talking about “starvation mode” and “cutting out carbs as a good group is bad” I’m afraid you are wrong...

Starvation mode - scientifically proven to be a diet myth. Read Conquering Fat Logic by a PhD researcher.
Cutting out carbs - there are carbs in so many vegetables etc that cutting them out is almost impossible. Removing processed/high carb value foods combined with upping fat and protein will help you lose weight in a sustainable way. Read Dr Michael Moseleys books.

Well done OP on getting on top of your binge eating. I agree that I’d focus on keeping that going for a while longer before adjusting to lose weight.

progestermoan

Can I ask you re your thyroid? Are your underactive/overactive - what did you cut the meds down to etc? I'm underactive - took approx 2 years for doctors to get right level of levothyroxine - and I still hate blood tests....