need help, does anyone else have this huge problem?

Hi,

I am a 22 year old man, and i have developed and eating disorder, i now have a healthy weight of about 73 kilos, my height is 184 and i lost a total of 52 kilos,

During my weightloss i ate about 1800cals a day, pretty normal and for me it was easy to do so, i of course had the occasional cheat day, but the pounds/kilos always went down, but now that i have reached my goal weight i find it hard to return to a normal eating lifestyle, somedays i eat almost nothing (= 400cals a day) and somedays i eat so much and i just stuff everything in that i can find (=3000 - 5000cals). for me this qualifies as an eating disorder, because it controls my daily life

I have tried to count the foods i eat so that i can maintain my current weight but everytime i go over the 1000cal mark i just lose it, (i start feeling depressed because i have the feeling i ate too much, and from that point it doesnt matter what i eat) and i cant stop eating, this is not healthy i know, and i was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and how to get out of this vicious cycle of mine.

It is so weird because during my diet it was easy to limit myself with my calorie intake, i ate healthy, ate almost no meat, and i wasnt sad at all, and now that i am where i want to be it all goes wrong, overall my weight stays the same but my eating habits are just plain wrong and unhealthy, every day i get up and say to myself today i will eat enought, but eventually i am too scared or i just give up hope and eat everything i can find. so its either too little food or too much, at this point there is no inbetween

Has anyone else had this problem? if so do you have tips?

i feel like i am the only man having this problem, i looked on the forum but i just cant find anyone who has the same problem

Seasons greetings,

FoLeoR

I feel like you just told me the story of my life.  I'm 22, female, and I have to say my experience has been almost exactly the same.  2 years ago I lost about 23 lbs by eating healthy and liminiting my intake, and as far as I know I was pretty much happy.  Then it turned into what I called the "black or white" eating.  Either I would eat very little or I would eat way way too much and binge.  I maintined my weight for a bit then ending up gaining everything I had lost.  I am trying to lose again and struggle every day to try to eat within a normal calorie range.  Some days I snap, give up, and end up loading up on 2500+ calories.  The next day I try to force myself to at least 1200 but sometimes I end up very low.  I have gotten better, especially during the week, but my weekends are still very problematic for me.  It still controls my life, as you menioned.

I found that focusing on working out, building muscle, and getting in shape has helped.  It takes my focus off my food and I end up eating a bit more normally. 

So, although I have very little advice, you're not alone.

There are a lot of people on the Weight Gain and Health and Support boards who are recovering from disordered eating problems such as you describe.  I think the most important thing to do would be to talk to your doctor.  The binge/starve cycle is really common and as it seems you can't manage to break out of it yourself, you could benefit from being referred to a psychologist or counsellor.

The practical way to deal with it, of course, is to eat more.... If you were getting a straight 2500 cals a day of good quality food at regular intervals then you wouldn't binge out of sheer hunger, you wouldn't feel depressed and you'd maintain your weight no problem.   If you can throw away the calorie-counting books and simply eat what you want, when you want.... you might even find you can do it solo.   But as long as you count the calories and let the numbers form an artificial psychological barrier you're going to have an uphill battle.

The first thing I would suggest to anyone is visit a doctor and find out if there are any other issues at play here.

Then, I would do what my sister did when she was trying to maintain her weight. Plan out all her meals and snacks for three days. Have them prepared and packaged. Then on the third day, plan for the next three days. That way you have a bit a variety and freedom within your meals, but you don't have to stress about if you do/don't eat enough.

But first things first, get a check up and maybe a referal to a therapist to see if there are any underlying issues.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I also lost a healthy amount of weight. Once I got into the maintenance period, it seemed like my previous dieting efforts were not enough. I suddenly began eating nothing or everything, and the healthy mentality I developed during my period of weight loss flew out the window and was hit by a bus then pissed on by a dog.

The important thing is to understand why you feel this way. I would recommend seeing a therapist. To reiterate what m0m6 said, there may be an underlying cause. The emotions you feel that cause you to limit yourself may indicate problems with control or self-esteem problems.

Take care of yourself.