What's more import? Healthy weight or healthy diet?

[Almostslimjim]

Because I can't have both.

Last year I was obese, BMI of 30.9. I was a slender (skinny intact) teen and slim up until 25 when weight just piled on and in 5 years I went from a BMI of 21 to 31 and yoyo'd since then, never getting below 26. I've tried every diet under the sun. I've tried most exercises. I can lose weight, but I can't maintain the loss. I've tried the "changes in life style" etc and I've had therapy. It essentially boils down to the fact I like to eat crap and always have. My weight gain started when I started eating 3 'proper' meals. So I've gone back to how I ate as a teen/ early 20s - eating exactly what I want, when I want and absolutely nothing else. So today. I've had nothing but black coffee until 8pm when I've eaten half a pack of biscuits, a very large bowl of cereal and half a bar of galaxy (melted in to the cereal).

Yesterday was similar. In fact most days are like that. Occasional take away pizza or a croissant for breakfast. And we've had 2 roast dinners in the last month. I made spag bol in October which I ate for a week.

My calorie intake is around 1500 per day. So I'm losing weight and keeping it off. I've maintained this 'diet' for over a year now and lost 3+ stone.

But it's not healthy. Not that I can tell that- my skin and hair is fine and I actually feel better than I have in years!

But surely it can't be healthy?

Prior to last year, I ate 3 healthy (lots of lean protein and fresh veg) AND crap. I can't cut the crap (when I do I end up binging massively) but I can take or leave the rest of it.

Suggestions please?

I've done 6 months of 'clean' eating etc but the desire for crap food never leaves.

Well it sounds like you'll be overweight and eating a crap diet with some vegetables and protein thrown in (because you're still eating the crap).

Or lose weight eating just a crap diet.

So I'd say being normal weight and eating crap is better than being obese and also eating crap.

Take a multivitamin every day?

Another one who doesn’t understand why you can’t eat veg 2-3 times a day alongside your junk and not be obese? It’s veg

Sounds like you have a big carb/sugar addiction if your diet consists of biscuits, cereal and melted chocolate. Also sounds like you don't really want to change things as they are basically "working" for you.

I agree with this. If you didn't have a problem with sugar or emotional eating you would be able to eat healthily and without the processed food.

What you are talking about is intuitive eating, and for some people it absolutely is the answer to yo yo dieting and emotional eating. You just eat the foods you want until you are full, don't eat when you're not hungry, and over time try to make some healthier choices. Sounds perfect, sounds like it's working too! A piece of chicken does not lose all of its nutritionally value when battered and deep fried, it's still chicken! And not enough fat can make you feel hungrier. So can feeling deprived. X

Or drink a smoothie with good things - spinach, celery, carrots, banana, flax, strawberries, chia in the morning and try to put off the crap until after lunch.

So half intuitive eating what you want and half vitamin packed?

Your not asking about either a healthy weight or a healthy diet, your asking about a healthy weight and a crap diet, or overweight with a crap diet. Your diet when your overweight is still crap

Its best to be a healthy weight with a healthy diet. A healthy diet doesnt mean cutting out the crap completely, it doesnt mean you can never have pizza or chocolate, but you need to ask yourself why you feel compelled to eat so much sugar. I dont think its in anyway a good thing to cut out foods of nutritional value in order to enable you to eat shite and by skinny. You need to find that balance

Maybe a nutritionist or a dietitian might be able to help you introduce some healthier eating habits?

@Almostslimjim

It sounds like you need to get help for the binge eating to be honest.

I did seek support from a psychologist specialised in eating disorders who concluded that whilst I had a poor diet, I did not binge eat and as far as she was concerned I did not have an eating disorder, my relationship with food was pretty good, my food preferences are not but that wasn't a psychological issue. I continued to see her for several months and she concluded that if it were a psychological issue, she would have identified it. She concluded that I, like many, was falling victim to having access and means to acquire he food I like in almost unlimited quantities.

I'm A&E, yes shifts though fairly static.

And yet you can’t stop yourself from eating the junk? It’s not normal. If you’re struggling because it’s there, how about doing online shopping and not buying junk so you don’t see it in the aisles and get tempted. Do you live with anyone who can stop you? Or people at work who can stop you at the canteen/vending machine? If you just don’t have it in the house you can’t eat it. And then fill up on healthy food so that you can’t physically eat it even if you went out to the shop.

And then fill up on healthy food so that you can’t physically eat it even if you went out to the shop.

And there lies the problem.

If I eat the junk, I can limit how much I have, I only need some and I feel satisfied, and over 12 months or so, this hasn't changed, it isn't like I'm building a 'tolerance' or such. If I don't eat the junk, I can eat, and eat and eat. I end up eating far more calories of "healthy" food because I don' feel satisfied. I can be physically full, but not satisfied.

And I can stop eating the junk, but I'm miserable. I did it for 6 months. I lost minimal weight because I ate so much other stuff and I was miserable.

It seems clear to me you need a different therapist to help you because this isn't normal and you want to change.

@Almostslimjim

And then fill up on healthy food so that you can’t physically eat it even if you went out to the shop.

And there lies the problem.

If I eat the junk, I can limit how much I have, I only need some and I feel satisfied, and over 12 months or so, this hasn't changed, it isn't like I'm building a 'tolerance' or such. If I don't eat the junk, I can eat, and eat and eat. I end up eating far more calories of "healthy" food because I don' feel satisfied. I can be physically full, but not satisfied.

And I can stop eating the junk, but I'm miserable. I did it for 6 months. I lost minimal weight because I ate so much other stuff and I was miserable.

You can completely fill your stomach with broccoli and you won’t be eating more than a couple of hundred calories max, far less than any junk. Filling yourself up with vegetables will not be the cause of weight gain. If it’s nuts or something then sure, but try to fill up on low calorie, high fibre healthy foods (I.e. fruit & veg).

The fact that your happiness depends on food and that you differentiate between fullness and satisfaction indicates that you are experiencing a psychological issue - your body has had enough, but your mind hasn’t had what it craves. I would speak to a different psychologist and maybe a dietician to see if they have suggestions about tricking your mind into being satisfied. In the mean time, my suggestion would be to focus on two parts of a healthy diet: try to get your 5 a day, and try to meet the RDA for fibre. That way you hopefully won’t get any medical issues from your bad diet.

I think you clearly have a very unhealthy relationship with food. And I think thats probably best explored with a professional. It is not normal to cut out all food bar junk to enable you to binge on biscuits. Your inability to control your intake of 'junk'food, the fact that you need it to feel satisfied, you are depressed without it are all signs that you are addicted to it. They arent signs that you need to keep eating it

Its really not possible to eat enough celery or lettuce or whatever to gain weight. One bar of chocolate has the equivelant calories of about 20 carrots. Theres absolutely no way you couldnt add in some fruit and veg into your diet

Your bowl of cereal could easily have had some berries for example, thats going to add very little calories. Literally less than one of the biscuits you ate so many of. You could still have some chocolate, or mix in with some chocolate protein powder with the milk.

Your trying to find ways to justify your poor diet. Its not healthy, you know its not healthy yet you refuse to think about changing it. So why start this thread?