Not losing any weight - could past eating issues be to blame?

Hi, I am feeling really frustrated at the moment.

I am 5''6 and weight 145 pounds. I want to firm up and lose 7 - 9 pounds. I have had a eating disorder in the past and suffered from bulimia for a couple of years. I now want to lose weight properly and healthily and have started eating salads, cereals and lost of fruit and veg. I have kept a food diary for 1 month and my calorie intake is an average of 1256 per day. I have been exercising 4 - 5 times a week and burning between 350 - 500 calories per session and also doing some free weights. In the last 4 weeks I haven’t lost any weight????

Could my past eating problems be to blame?

you might benefit more on 1500 kcals. I also have a history of bulimia and learning to not crash diet really helped with not bingeing and so still managed to lose weight on a higher amount of calories with light exercise. Plus if you stick to 1500 itll be easier to maintain the weight loss.

Thanks for the advise, I am going to try to up my calories, just dont want that bloated feeling that makes me feel uncomfortable. I have been eating 3 main meals a day so I might change that to 5 small meals instead and see how it goes.

Thank again.

It sounds like you are in a similar situation as myself.  I have/had an eating disorder (Bulimia) as well.  I know how you feel.  It seems like food and the idea of eating takes over my thoughts making me always aware of what I put into myself and sometimes when I feel like I get out of control I purge.  Well, I have had to use a lot of self control and monitor what I eat.  I find that Calorie Counting helps keep me in control.  I have not purged in about 16 months.  This does not seem like a long time, but it really is hard to get out of the habit.  

Now There are so many factors that are going on that could be contributing you your weight loss problem.

If you have just tried to recently gain control of your eating (within this last month) your bulimia will definitely be a contributing factor to your weight loss.  It takes a while for your body to get use to processing healthy food again.  Just remember that one month is not a very long time for a body which has been traumatized for much longer than that.  Keep remembering that purging really is not good for yourself - both physically injuring your insides and mentally harmful.  Bulimia is a disease that takes time to control and be able to live withouth. 

Sometimes you will feel a need to purge again...it happens to me all the time.  Ive been keeping a journal and I try to record how I feel when I want to, and how I felt before I lost control of my eating and ate too much that it made me feel like sick of myself.  Try something like that to recognize the signs that cause the unhealthy eating and find something to do instead of eating, or remove yourself from the food. When you overcome the hurdle, youre going to feel so good about yourself and your willpower.  

Another contributing factor to your lack of weigh loss also has to do with the amount of time you have been exercising.  Your body will react positively to the exercise, I promise!!  I am sure it already has.  You probably have a much easier time doing your cardio exercises.  But I think that the problem is that you are gaining muscle.  Now that's not a bad thing!!  The problem is that muscle weighs more than fat.  so when you step on the scale it will seem like you have lost no weight because the number stays the same.  Rather, try looking at the change in your measurements in inches around you chest, waist, hips, thighs, arms.  These number will change faster and will be more indicative of your overall change in appearance.  The plus side to muscle gain is that eventually the weight numbers will change - muscle uses more energy to fuel itself than fat does.  Fat just sits around in clumps whereas the muscle is going to be working.  So the numbers will fall in the upcoming months!!  ---They might fall slowly, but they will fall (remember, The Romans didn't build Rome in a year) 

 And finally another obstical may be your body will plateau.  Our bodies do not like change.  THey also do not like stress.  So our bodies will try to "adapt" to our new circumstances in order to avoid stress, then they tend to go the same way as they were going in the bad direction again.  Ways to avoid plateauing:  

1.  Make sure you eat all kinds of food.  Do not stick to a very regimented menu!  Your body has to get use to processing food, and all kinds of food at that.  You yourself just have to monitor how much of each new food you put into yourself, and thats where this calorie counter come in handy.  Because lets face it, life's too short to only eat a few kinds of food.  AND We are going to want to eat pizza one day too...so get use to knowing how much of each food you can have a day to make sure your calorie allowances balance out.

2.  Vary up your exercise schedule.  Do all kinds of cardio....running one day, elliptial the next, rowing another...try taking an aerobics class or spinning classes(if you are at the gym).  And when it comes to weight training....Vary that up too!  Try for one month doing one exercise of 3 sets, 15 reps for each muscle group, another month try super-setting two muscle groups and do 3-4 exercises for each group of 3sets 15 reps -and each day you exercise change the body parts that you are working.   Another month try circuit training.  go hard for a few exercises right in a row, and rest for a min or two  then do it over again, for about 5 rounds (or as many rounds as you can). And finally be creative - as long as your moving, youll be burning calories.  so keep moving and have fun doing it

I promise If you stick to whatever it is your doing right now, by this time next near youll have lost some weight, and more importantly feel so much more healthy and confident!  Which is why we should be doing this in the first place.

   I really hope my message helps you.  I got a little carried away, but it is something that I am very passionate about.  Even though you may never be rid of those nasty bulimic thoughts,  you can take control of you life again, and learn how overcome those thoughts!

Good luck, and the numbers will drop, just sick with it:) 

Than you so much. It's nice to know there are other people who have been in similar situations and there is light at the end of the tunnel. It has only been about 6 weeks since I have gained control of my builimia and I have in that time purged twice. I want to be healthy and reap all the benefits so I am going to stick to my new life style. Calorie Count has been a very vital tool in controling my urges so I will continue and take your advise.

Thank you

Original Post by sladoled:

Another contributing factor to your lack of weigh loss also has to do with the amount of time you have been exercising.  Your body will react positively to the exercise, I promise!!  I am sure it already has.  You probably have a much easier time doing your cardio exercises.  But I think that the problem is that you are gaining muscle.  

 Sladoled gives a lot of great advice here!  I would take issue with the idea that you're building muscle, though.  1256 calories per day is near the very minimum that a sedentary woman should eat, and so my guess would be that your body doesn't have enough nutritional resources to build muscle at this point.  Especially given your history, your body is probably trying very hard to hold onto every ounce of stored fat that it can right now.  Upping your calories to at least 1500 and probably more like 1800 on exercise days would be very wise, because it would give your body the resources to be able to let go of some of the stored fat you have. 

Thank you, it makes so much sense. I think I feel like I should be eating the bare minimal or otherwise I'll put on weight because I was depriving myself of calories before. It's obviously the other way round, but I still feel daunted by upping my calories. I have however up'd my goals today to 1400. I have felt like I was eating enough on 1200 and not feeling too full. It's that bloated full feeling that I dread. I have come so far in a short space of time and I'm feeling proud of what I have achieved, so I know that I am not going to slip back into bad habits. It would be nice to see some benefits now as way of encouragement, thanks for all the advice and at least now I can understand some of the reasons why and work on them.

This may sound crazy to you, b/c I know it would have in the past to me, but maybe you should significantly up your calories for 2-4 weeks. I have binging issues too, although I never purge, I used to overexercise, but I'm still trying to get the binging under control. Anyway, if your body is used to running on 1200 cals a day, you are not going to be able to lose, like everyone else has said. That being said, upping your caloires to 1400-1500 may help you lose but if it doesn't work, maybe try to go up to 2000ish (1800 if you can't handle that much) or whatever your maintainence is for a few weeks. I know I know, you are thinking "Ahh but I will gain SO much weight if I do that!" Initially yes, you may gain about 5 lbs (which seems counterproductive but I am not finished) however, your body will get used to running on this amount of calories again-hence speeding up your metabolism back to normal. Then, after that, decrease your calories to 1400-1500/day. You'll probably drop the weight much faster/easier that way because your metabolism will be faster. And you don't have to feel bloated on 1800 calories a day. If you space them out and incorporate a few healthy high calorie foods, you shouldn't feel bloated on that much. It really isn't that much food. Seriously though, my metabolism was all messed up b/c I would binge and restrict. Then I upped my calories, and now I can eat more and still lose weight. And I think its important to consider the long run. I'm 20, I want to be able to eat real food when I'm 40 and maintain a good weight. Its going to be hard to do this if I'm already eating the minimum amount of calories I need now. I hope all of this makes sense/isn't too scary-I know how it is, I used to think I could only lose weight on 900 calories a day. And I thought that if I didn't lose 5 lbs within the first week I was doing something wrong haha.

if you find upping your calories hard, nuts are usually rather high in calories and not too much to eat :) good luck!