keto dieting - brought back ED

[maggiethemagpie]

I have started keto-dieting which involves very low carbs and can create large losses of 7lbs in a week, I know some of this is water but a fair amount is not and I can almost visibly see my body shrink.

Only problem is I am now finding it is making me binge on carbs afterwards and I've got into a cycle of bingeing and putting on weight rapidly then keto-dieting and getting it off rapidly.

I'm not sure if I'm dieting because I have binged, or bingeing because i know I can get it off quickly again with a diet.

I know I need to try and just be healthy but I am a carb addict and can't stop once i start. The only time i feel in control is when I stop eating the carbs, but then I have to stop completely and it's making my thinking very black and white.

I don't know how to do moderation and am now in a cycle of rapid loss/rapid gain and can't quite work out how to break it.

Hi maggie - I am currently training to be a nurse and writing my dissertation on the benefits of a wholefood plant based diet, and the health benefits of such.
I haven't much training in ED's or mental health (I'm an adult nurse), but would just like to try and gently encourage you to steer clear of keto eating.
By nature we run on carbs (chains of sugars simply put). It's where we aquire our energy day to day. Now, there are simple carbs or complex carbs. Try to think of these as "good and bad carbs". Simple carbs are white carbs (white bread, pasta, rice) and sugar, chocolate, cake, pizza etc.
Complex carbs consist of whole foods, closer to their natural form (fruit, veg, Wholewheat bread/pasta/rice etc).
The fault with keto diets is it doesn't distinguish between these two types of carbs and just tells you to restrict 'carbs' in general. But when we exercise our common sense, we all (hopefully) know the difference between fresh fruit and veg, and cakes and pizza!!
Now, a wholefood plant based diet is basically carb heavy. But don't run away just yet - it is about eating food as close to its natural state as is possible - Fruit, veg, grains, what's etc, with restricted fats (however good fats - olive oil, nuts, Avocados etc), and protein which is naturally present in even GRASS!
We don't need to include animal proteins in our diet - even GRASS has around 7% of protein ( the recommended allowance).
This comes as a shock to people who have followed something like keto and are told simply - carbs = bad, meat and fat = good. To me this is just crazy and so unimaginable. Just picture a fry up, and then picture a massive fresh fruit / veg salad. That anyone could even argue with this is beyond me.
Anyhoo, I could honestly speak to you about this for days haha but I really hope from this you go and do some reading up and wholefood plant based diets - not only will it increase weight loss, it will aid in digestion, strengthen hair, skin and nails, reduce risk of heart attack, stroke and certain cancers, give you more energy (after all - nutrients come from plant based foods)!
I'll leave you with a few little facts -

1. Dr Atkins died of heart disease.
2. there is NO fibre in any meat or dairy (what our body NEEDS)
3. there is NO cholesterol in any plant based food. Cholesterol is SOLELY present in animal proteins!!

Dr Atkins didn't die of heart disease He fell and hit his head and died from complications after surgery.

However, I do agree that, while a low carb diet works well for some people, it should be avoided by you if it triggers your ED.

cassandra, sorry my mistake. However he was grossly obese, was hypertensive, and had suffered several heart attacks. Although his death certificate may state it was from a "bump to his head", it was actually a blood clot on his brain that killed him. A pretty fair sign of hardened arteries, poor circulation and thromboembolism build up.

The thing is "a low carb diet works well for some people" - so does slim fast, the cabbage soup diet or just full on starving yourself. What do you mean by "works well"? You mean they lose weight? Well I could say "drink 400cals worth of sugar water a day", and in that logic it would "work well"! The question OP is what do you want? To lose weight, or be healthy?

What about meal planning and choosing meals (whether you see it as diet meals or lifestyle change meals) that you know will be right for you and write it down and then follow it without thinking any more about it for the whole week? The less thinking about it you do the less these problems are going to hit you. Do all the thinking at the beginning of the week when getting in the ingredients and planning and then give it no more thought until the planning stage of the following week. I have found this has helped me in the past,

PirateQueenie, our body is able to make carbs from everything - even meat, if necessary. That's how the Inuit (="eskimos") live - they don't eat wholegrains or any whole plant stuff. It is true that there is no (or very little) fibre in meat and dairy - which is why you eat vegetables. What the body needs is essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Carbs it can "manufacture".