maintaing healthy food regimn during day but eat excessively at home

I have drastically changed my eating habits over the past few months and with that I am working my way down to my ideal weight of 140.  I started at 180 in May and am now at 153. To get to this point I have replaced soda with water and junk food with fruits and veggies as well as eating organic to eliminate any unnecessary chemicals in my body.  I watch my calories religiously and maintain an average of 1200 per day.  Once I felt my body was able to function on that amount of calories I started exercising and have increased my calorie intake to 1500 per day.

I felt a bit of history would help you get a perspective on my problem.  The problem I face everyday is inhaling as much as I can when i get home from work.  I do realize that I am depleting my energy level by starving myself during the day.  It's like when I get home my brain shuts off and I go for whatever I can reach; which fortunately is still healthy food but there is no portion control at all.  SO my question to anyone is how to overcome this.  Obvious answer is to have a snack later in the day, any other suggestions?

Also to add to that how would you recommend getting down to 1200 calories a day with exercise?

First, congratulations on your weight loss!  That's a wonderful success for four months.

Second, the only advice I can think would be helpful is to make sure that you're eating something between your lunch (which you should definitely be eating) and the end of work.  If you take the edge off your appetite before you get back to a place where all that food is available, it will help keep you on track.  The other thing is to drink plenty of water and wait about half an hour before you sit down for a snack.  Often you find that you aren't actually that hungry, especially if you're doing something interesting, or that you can wait until dinner to eat, although I don't know if that's applicable to your work schedule.

As for your last question, You should talk to your doctor before you attempt to cut your calories down that far while undertaking an exercise regimen.  1200 calories is the minimum healthful requirement for a woman of moderate height with a sedentary lifestyle.  If you're working out regularly, you need the extra calories, particularly the extra protein and calcium, which are necessary for proper muscle function.

Thank you very much.  I really appreciate your reply.  It is so true that once i'm home everythings available to me where as at work it isn't.  I will definilty give it a try to eat something between lunch and dinner.  I really think that will make a differance.

The trouble lies mentally with reducing my calories to 1200 per day. Seeing how much weight I lost by dropping my calorie intake to begin with makes me want to continue to keep it that low and I struggle with it.  I don't know what this most recent obsession with loosing weight is but it's over powering me.

Losing weight can be as addictive as anything else, I guess.  I know I used to have the same problem with eating after work or school until I realized I was going to kill myself with a heart attack if I kept at it.  Now I'm making an earnest attempt at 1200 calories a day, but I have a problem with late night snacking.  I'm actually starving right now, but I already had my allotment for the day, so I'm going to be a good girl and not head to the kitchen for some Corn Pops.

I would suggest that you go back up to 1500 (at least) calories a day if you continue to exercise (which you should for the health benefits) and that you add some of those extra calories to breakfast and lunch as well as a mid afternoon snack.  If you aren't ravenous when you get home from work I think you will have an easier time with portion control.

Also, maybe you should take a break from "losing" weight if you feel that you are becoming obsessed with it.  Calculate your full calorie needs at your current weight, and eat that much for some time (a week?  a month? several months?) until you are comfortable maintaining.  This will give your mind and body a break from "dieting" and then, if you decide to lose some more weight, you can cut back to about 1500 calories/day and the weight will probably come off more easily.

Original Post by linnylui:

I do realize that I am depleting my energy level by starving myself during the day.

There's your answer right there. Starvation leads to binging; binging is the body's hardwired response to perceived famine. Restrict less during the day and you will have less problems in the evening. If you continue to restrict, expect to continue binging at night.

As for the second question - don't eat 1200 calories with exercise. 1200 is the minimum recommended weight loss amount for 5'0" totally sedentary adult females. Therefore unless you are around 3 feet tall there is no way you can safely eat so little calories - any attempt to do so I would label a crash diet.

Aim for slow and steady weight loss you can actually maintain - there is no point rushing to the finish line if you put the weight back on afterwards.

I think you have answered your own question. If you "starve" yourself all day your blood sugar is dropping to low and by the time you get home you are starving. Whats the point in that?  Eat a balanced breakfast. Whole grain cereal and fruit or an egg and some whole grain toast. Eat a balanced lunch that includes complex carbs, healthy fat, lowfat dairy and some fruits and vegetables. Then when you get home have a normal dinner.

You are not doing yourself any favors starving yourself and letting your blood sugar go crazy. Your body will hang onto every ounce of fat it can. Your cortisol levels will be increased causing weight gain and hunger. Cortisol is a hormone that controls glucose metabolism, controls body fat, regulates blood pressure and so on. When cortisol levels are increased by starving yourself or putting your body through unneeded stress it causes health issues such as high blood pressure, cognitive problems, increase in abdominal fat, decrease in muscle tissue and bone density, it lowers your immune system and prevents you from handling stress well.

Look into clean/balanced eating and stop starving yourself.