Weight gain after restrictive dieting and struggling with sugar cravings

[WeightForMe]

I'm so frustrated. I've been on a highly restrictive diet for months and months. I was a healthy BMI for the first time in my adult life last year due to this diet. This year, I've put on 1-2 stone and now overweight, again. My 8s are so snug that I may have to size up for holiday in a week!

I'm 157cm/5'2"

DH is buying lovely food for me because I've been on a total meal replacement and I've told him I'm taking a diet break to recalibrate and get back to what I need to do after holiday. I really appreciate this from him. He knows I'm suffering from diet fatigue (I miss chewing, ffs) and we haven't had a proper meal together in months.

THE PROBLEM: Instead of eating healthy, whole foods to keep within maintenance whilst on break, I keep eating biscuits that aren't even in the house! I go out of my way to bring them in because I have an insatiable sweet tooth! I have never had a sweet tooth before this diet and now I'm binging sugar like I'm going out of my way to give myself diabetes!!!

I don't know what the hell has come over me? I've tried fasting, reducing carbs etc but it's like I'm possessed! Is it perimenopause or something? I've been checked for diabetes, cholesterol, thyroid etc and all has come back in as clear.

I know weight loss takes time. Been there, have the badge. But, what can I do for damage limitation before I restart in September? We are going abroad so I can't not just eat or bring meal replacements. That would be boring for me and DH.

I'm trying to steer clear of things that increase sugar cravings like protein bars etc.

Guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself for the position I've never been in before and put myself into...

Thanks for listening.

Basically you didn’t learn to eat properly if you were on this strict diet. You have to go back to measuring and weighing and keeping track of calories. You can’t just go back to your normal habits that got you overweight on the first place. Find out your maintenance calories and work out a plan around that. The extra stone will come off eventually but you have to accept you will be on a plan for life.

Thank you so much. I've counted calories since the early 2000s!!! The total meal replacement was a break from counting calories because it was all counted and allocated for me. You're correct, though. I need to go back to counting myself and learn some impulse control, I guess. This craving of sweets is very foreign to me but I guess we are where we are?

Very strict restrictive diets where you lose substantially but then regain are high up on the causes for insulin resistance. Have a read up on it. I used to do the Cambridge diet which was meal replacement. I would lose 2 or 3 stone then put on 3 or 4 in a monotonous round of starvation and self loathing.Which ended up giving myself insulin resistance.

The only thing that’s worked long term for me is Mounjaro. From a size 20/22 to 8 over 10 months and maintain on a small dose. It basically controls the blood sugar I fucked up on stupid unsustainable fad diets .

Did SW. Got skinny. Stopped SW. Fat again…

Are you actually over weight if you are a size 8, or do you mean that you are over the weight that you originally got down to?

Between now and September could you meal plan and work out some simple meals that keep you either at maintenance or just under and then stick to those. Are you self catering on holiday or will you be eating out a lot?

I wish I could do MJ but I can't so here we are 😕

Yes, I was size 6 last summer, now 8 and they are TIGHT.

It's a combination of eating out and self catering for holiday.

I don't know how much, realistically, I can lose between now and September. I guess I just better refocus in September. I just really hate that I've lost and gained. I've never done this before and feel like a failure. Losing or gaining weight is so public. It's like I can't hide my failures and process it alone. It's on the world stage. It's embarrassing.

@WeightForMe the vast majority of people won't notice a gain of 1 or 2 stones, it will seem much more noticeable and visible to you than it will to others.

I would just aim to maintain your weight between now and September and find a way of eating that isn't tightly controlled or completely unrestricted. In September, I'd plan what your exit strategy and long term maintenance is going to be once you are in your target range. As you have found out, maintaining weight loss and eating healthily is actually the hard part compared to losing the weight in the first place. The total meal replacements will work to lose the weight, but they do nothing to prepare you for what to do when you are at target. You need a plan to transition back to normal eating.

Were biscuits a treat or a reward when you were little?

Op I don’t think I get this- you got down to a size 6 and you’re 5 ft 2? I’d just be very careful- size 8 is not unhealthy. And your body is craving the sugar because your diet was so restrictive but is there any chance you could fix cravings with fruit, veg and crackers?

Thank you so much. I maintained my overweight weight for years. Never gained, never lost. Think I was arrogant or ignorant thinking that I could eat 'intuitively' when coming off this diet, and maintain like I did in the past, and that's just not the case with a new sweet tooth, I guess.

Do you think when I come off this meal replacement diet, I can just eat whole foods at maintenance? I appreciate some weight might come back on, due to glycogen etc, but I don't think it will be 2 stone worth! Thank you so much.

No, I've never even had a sweet tooth my whole life! I don't even like sweet corn or peas, well, until recently!!!

*type 2 diabetes

Thank you. My weight is just under 11 stone. I have lost tons of weight (started this all at 25 stone!) and I have a lot of excess skin so the scale, the skin, the clothing ... all of it is confusing about where I'm at for true weight.

I love crackers so much!!! I tried to control my sweet tooth yesterday with fresh apricots. But then overate for the whole day! I think my hunger signals are confused.

?

All you can do is calorie count and maybe accept that a size 10-12 is more realistic for you.

Go back to your liquid diet with a break on Sundays (or whenever suits) and one evening a week.

Whole foods, my lovely. Keep your blood sugars stable. And don't neglect your fibre.

I was on 1,200 calories for almost the past two years - I lost 10.5 stone. However, when I started to eat maintenance calories, I put 10 lbs on in the first week, and then lost 6 the next. I think that when you've been on ANY sort of restrictive calorie diet, your body goes "omg, food! We'll keep hold of that!".

Learn to eat properly and then gradually increase your caloric intake.

I've used the app nutracheck.

Op do the meals contain sugar replacement? Sweeteners etc? Even diet drinks make me crave sugar.

Dark chocolate squares work for me. Get minimum 70% preferably 90% - 100% (Sainsbury’s stock 100%).

But I’d make sure to cut out all artificial sugar as i believe that causes me to crave sugar. I do think these artificial products aren’t great.

You mention total meal replacement - is that like Huel? Does that have sweeteners in it?

The problem with sweet foods is that once you start eating them you crave them more and more. The only way I’ve ever been able to knock down my sweet tooth is to go hardcore low sugar, low carb, high protein, high fibre, moderate fat. It’s 7-10 days of being hungry and desperately wanting the cake but then it just switches off and I can easily resist the sweets.

I'm with you on the calorie counting being a pain. I'm short too and our amount of calories to lose weight is depressing. I've lost 1.5 stone so far without properly/strictly calorie counting. I picked my favourite meal (dinner) and left it as is, more or less i.e. eat what I want for it and not track it. I skip breakfast and aim for a 300 cal 'keep me going' type lunch. Going with delay don't deny and knowing I'll be able to eat majority of calories for my last meal of the day. Also cut milky coffees and do try to walk a bit when I can to cut into those day time cals a bit. Works for me as I'm never dieting all day if that makes sense?

Yes, maltodextrin, I think? sucralose, too

I will get some dark chocolate, thank you!

personally, the whole diet is artificial and I don't think is great but I've spent a lot of money on it and it works so I'm stuck until I see it through, I guess

I suggest learning about nutrition and trying to approach the whole thing as a total lifestyle change, including not only what you eat but also how you eat. If you weighed 25 stones before and lost weight on total meal replacement diet then I assume your diet has never been healthy.

Thanks for that! Probably not clear but I weighed 25 stone, lost weight through calorie counting to about 18 stone, maintained that for years then lost through restricted carbs and then this diet.