Could this be damaging myself/slowing my metabolism?

I just wanna check what I'm doing won't damage me or something hehe.

I'm losing weight by just eating 3 meals a day with no snacks. This is for a couple of reasons - I used to calorie count and log ect a couple of years ago, but partly through that, I developed bulimia.

Its now 7 weeks exactly since I last purged, and I never get the desire to do it anymore. I havn't properly binged in that time either. So I think I'm well on the way to recovery - I've managed to replace binging and purging as a way of releasing stress with exercise which I feel is FAR more positive ;)

So now I just want to lose the weight I gained during my illness, approxmately 20 pounds.

So anyway back to the point, I just eat 3 meals a day. This means I don't need to count calories as it is unlikely I will go over my limit, unless I eat very unhealthily. Snacking used to trigger binges, and when I gave up regular snacking (now I only have a snack if I REALLY need one), my bulimia improved rapidly. Then after I got my tongue peirced as a sort of closure, I havn't done it since :D

So there can be quite large gaps between me eating. Breakfast is generally between 7.30 - 9am depending on when I start college. Lunch is between 12.30 - 2.30 also depending on college and dinner is after 7pm. So I'm worried my metabolism will slow down?

At the moment I have an unhealthy treat on competition days (I compete my horses most sundays). I feel like I can live this way the rest of my life, I figured eventually I'd stop losing whilst eating like this, or I'd introduce maybe a daily treat as desert to raise calories.

I used to feel ravenous in between but now I'm used to it I only get hungry half an hour or so before meal times which suits me fine. Does this sound okay?

Heres a sample of what I might eat by the way, it does vary a lot on a day to day bases;

Breakfast - 2 peices of wholemeal toast, 1 with peanut butter and jam, the other with nutella. Banana.

Lunch - Cous-Cous with fried (in fry-light spray) mushrooms, tomatos and some cooked quorn chicken. Apple

Dinner - Chicken breast with steamed baby potatos, steamed broccoli & carrots and fresh salad. Strawberries for desert.

Then on a competition day i'll have some chocolate or a cookie or a muffin or whatever I like with my lunch. I also drink loads of decaff tea (just milk, no sugar) and loads of water all day long. I run 3 times a week for half an hour and do half an hour of weights twice a week, also cycle up and down to my boyfriends a couple of times week. (Thats only a couple of miles but the way back is all uphill, way there is all downhill). Oh and I have 2 horses who I ride most days, though I'm only riding 1 at the moment, and look after them.

So I am a little concerned I might not be getting enough calories, but so far I've found its been weighed out by school trips/weekends away where I've eaten (or drunk lol!) a lot more calories then necessary, and its averaged out to be losing a pound a week?

Does it sound okay?

Sounds like a pretty normal way to eat.   The 'test' is what happens to your weight, energy levels and wellbeing  If you started to lose weight fast.... then you're not eating enough and you'd have to increase the size of your meals.  If your BMI started to drop very low (i.e. below 20).... ditto.   If you found you didn't have much energy.... ditto.

Thanks :)

That does sound about right. I've only found myself getting tired the day after doing a lot of exercise.

Like Tuesday - I had a bit of a...misunderstanding with my boyfriend.

My day went something like this exercise wise - cycled home from his in the mornig (25 mins, mostly uphill), walked to school (ok like 5 minutes but still), walked home, cycled to his to sort out our disagreement(about 15 mins but mostly downhill), cycled home again (another 25 mins, mostly uphill).

Then my driving instructor didn't turn up - combination of that plus problems with bf had me pretty stressed so I went for a 30 min extra run to calm myself down, then did my strength training exercises as it was a Tuesday....AND THEN got convinced to cycle down to bfs to spend the night there.

Didn't go to the yard as I was meant to have a driving lesson - obviously this was a pretty excessive amount of exercise and I do not exercise like that normally, it was a big one off lol!

The next day I was tired so I skipped my run (did it today instead) and had some extra calories.

Thanks :D

Seems pretty good to me with the attitude about meals etc. Looks like you're only getting about 1000 kcal per day. Since you're exercising, try increasing each of your three meals with one more thing. Using the example of meals above, this may be what it looks like:

Breakfast: to the bread w/PB/Jam/nutella and banana, add a hard boiled egg

Lunch: to the cous-cous lunch add some beans, or have some nuts with raisins in addition to your fruit.

Dinner: add some yogurt or oatmeal to your fruit.

This will keep you in a good range without counting calories and still being able to stick to your 3 meals and exercise regimen. It will also give you more will power when you're stressed out.

V.

So I am not/have ever been bulemic, but I have been struggling with binge eating for a few years now. I work out alot too, mostly because I enjoy it-I went through a phase of doing it excessively but am over that now-and I have to say that I am the SAME way with the snacks. Every binge for me happens when I snack on junk. I'm kind of trying to do what youre doing, 3 meals, except I'm adding in 1 snack to get to my calorie goal because if not I don't eat enough (I don't like to eat much in the morning too-its been a chore to even start eating breakfast). But I don't think this is a bad idea at all-especially if it works for you. That's the real challenge, because once you find what it is, you can sustain that forever. I'm really focusing now to get to the point to end my bingeing. I would definitely just make sure you are getting enough calories but I understand about not wanting to count. I'm going to count for a bit to get myself into a normal eating mode and once I get there I want to try to stop. But that is so awesome that you have been able to stop! You've inspired me haha.

It is possible that you are slowing down your metabolism.  If you eat fewer calories than your BMR, your body will slow down your metabolism.  Just make sure you eat a little bit above your BMR, and you should be fine!

Hi! First off, I want to say that I've been through some pretty similar stuff. I was bulimic for about 4 years, got treatment, & still occasionally have relapses. I'm terribly sorry you have been through that, but glad you are doing so well. I think that your meals sound great - since you are exercising regularly I would assume that your metabolism is doing the best it can (once you've been through an eating disorder, it's often very hard to ever have a great metabolism again, boo!). Try some interval training or tossing in something extra, for example, I just started the 30-Day Shred & it's been giving me some major results! Sometimes just changing things up can make a great deal of difference.

Keep up the good work, let me know if you need any support!

That doesn't seem like very much food... How old are you?