I need to stop this.

Hi,

I just want to share with you all, my troubles. Yesterday, I ate absolutely great throughout the day, maintaining 1300 Calories spread over six small meals. At the moment I am trying to get my Metabolism to start working efficiently, as I seem to have somewhat slowed it down, due to poor dieting and restriction of Calories. When I say poor diet, I mean not enough of the 'good' foods, thus putting my body in to the glorious 'starvation mode'.

Before this, I had a pretty god awful weekend, binging on both days; Saturday and Sunday. I put weight on, which to be honest didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would. I just presumed it was my body, gripping on tight to all those luxurious calories which it had forgot about and storing them away as fatty deposits quickly. You know the story, I'm sure.

Anyway, at the end of yesterday, towards about ten o'clock.. I fell back into it again. I gorged on Crunchy Oats with dry fruits, that Cereal is the Devil, considering 100Grams contains roughly 400 Calories, I ate pretty much half a Kilo. I mixed it with Ice Cream, milk, Apple Sauce. I then decided, hey! why not make some Quorn Sausage Sandwiches! So I did, two of those, then two tune wraps, more Cereal... Chips. Carbohydrates Galore. It felt good. My mentality is, if I use this Zig Zag Diet, vary my Calorie intake each day, my body will adjust and think outside of 'Famine mode'. That's what I thought last night, this morning however.. I ran up and down the stairs for twenty minutes... doesn't sound like much, but I worked myself hard. I now feel like eating nothing and regaining the control of starving myself, or consuming little calories. I feel messed up, I feel I will never get out of this constant cycle, of Binge Eating and damaging my body. I weighed in this morning, gaining Five Pounds. I presume some of it is water retention, but.. I'm not so sure..

A quick note, I was obese, lost a hell of lot of weight and now would like to lose a little more and then maintain it. I used to GYM constantly, I jumped out of that because I hate the thought of becoming a GYM Rat so to speak. I now run at the Weekends and do one day a Week of Five a Side Football.

Criticism is more than welcome, advice I would feel truly grateful for.

- I would love to know what speed my Metabolism works at, how many Calories I burn for both BMR and RMR, none of the online Calculations I feel are accurate for, due to the stress I have put my body through.

Sorry for the long winded babble, I also must apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes or grammar flaws, I have not proof read this through, I just want to quickly get it off my chest. 

Many thanks,

Lu

here's some criticism. you are male. as site guidelines you are not supposed to dip beneath a minimum of 1500.

so get used to binging if all you plan to nourish yourself with is 1300 measly calories. i am not allowed to call you stupid so il just say what your doin is absolutely retarded and so long as you dont change your current habit get used to putting on weight

edit to add. judging by your pics you are almost underweight looking. are you suffering from some eating disorder coz if yu are, nobody here will support you in your bid to further weight loss

Have you been diagnosed with OCD or some ED?  Seems to me your obsessing abit much.

1. 5lbs in one day would have to mean you consumed more than 20,000Cal = doubtful, more than likely what you see on the scale is the mass of the food/liquid youve not expelled yet.

2. You have a history of doing stupid things to your body, so your reasoning is that more stupid things will 'shock' your body into being right again?

3. Just eat like a normal human being (and as an active male you should be eating well over 1500Cal/day) and get your exercise.

You're absolutely right, as far as the eating disorder, but I am no where near underweight, far from it. I weigh in at 13 Stone 12 Pounds and I stand at 6ft 1''.

I am not stupid, what I am doing is however. It's all psychological this issue I have with food. Nothing more really.

I just wanted to vent some frustration regarding my eating habits and how I hate doing what I am doing. You're also correct, 1300 calories is 'measly', I understand that, I understand it all. I just see my figure as a distorted image, I am not looking for sympathy, I'm here for advice and healthy criticism. Not for someone to tell me something I already know.

Yes, quite rightly so : -

'and so long as you dont change your current habit get used to putting on weight'

I must remind myself how easy it is to change ones eating habits.

Thanks,

Lu

You do indeed need to stop. Try working out a structured meal plan (three meals, two or three snacks a day) that amount to the right amount of calories. That means over 1300! I'm not sure how much that'll be for you, but I'd guess around 2500. Use the calculator on this site to work it out. If you're eating enough, regularly, and a good balance of food you should find your binging stops.

In terms of your distorted body image, you could consider seeking treatment (therapist, doctor, etc).

Edit: typo!

Hi Backandforth, you seem to have a really good handle on the boundary between yourself and your eating disorder, i.e., what behaviours come from the disorder and what behaviours come from you.  That's a great place to start from!  Like other posters, I would recommend honestly assessing your caloric needs using the tools on CC, eating enough (1500 calories BARE minimum), and especially weight training.  Weight training will tone your muscles so that your body feels lean and strong, and it even helps lift depression.  There are lots of great workouts on the 'exercise' tab on CC that don't require you to have a gym membership.  Good luck, and keep us updated!

You should probably look into getting help for having either an eating disorder or tendencies that will lead to one. Pardon me for being an American and not knowing what "stone" means, but google says that 12 stone is about 168 lbs. At 6'1" there is no reason you need to "lose weight" at all. And your BMI for maintenance is somewhere around 2000 (don't know enough about you to do all the math). If you're even moderately active you should be losing weight at 1600-1700 calories a day. To give you an example I'm 6'3" and 265 lbs. When I started trying to lose weight I was 285-290 lbs. So I've lose between 20 and 25 lbs by eating (at the beginning) 2800 calories a day. Let me say that again. Losing weight on 2800 calories a day. I'm now down to a remodified intake of 2600 based on the change in my size. However I don't freak out if I go over that because my maintenance is somewhere in the 3300 range. So I'm still in a deficit. You're eating way too little and compulsing way too much.

It's really good that you can recognize your disordered behavior. And I agree with all the other posters, you need to be eating much more. I'm a 5'9 115lb female and my maintenance is over 2,000.

Original Post by backandforth:

Yesterday, I ate absolutely great throughout the day, maintaining 1300 Calories spread over six small meals. At the moment I am trying to get my Metabolism to start working efficiently, as I seem to have somewhat slowed it down, due to poor dieting and restriction of Calories.

 Hmm...well, if you want an efficient metabolism you have to EAT.  That slow down is due to eating too few calories and you will not repair your metabolism until you actually eat!!!!!!

1300 calories will just keep your metabolism slow and be counter productive to your stated goals.

The real key for you will be to up your calories slowly.  Say 1400 next week, 1500 the week after and so on. 

It can be difficult to just start eating a ton more food, so aim for higher calorie foods that wont add a lot of bulk.  Peanut butter, full fat cheese, full fat milk etc will help add calories without adding a signifigant amount of food to your plate.

You wont gain weight - but you will feel healthier!

Uhhh. I understand completely what Fidget84 is trying to say, but I can't be nearly as blunt or as cruel. But I will revise. You are a man. Remember that! A man standing at 6'1. That means your body needs food. Funny thing is, by you binging a bit at the end, might help you lose weight because you need the calories. Do you know what is happening to your body... your muscles are being eaten. I know  counting calories is scary but you are looking to maintain. Trust me, trust everyone that has written to you about this. Eat more. Do it slowly of course, adjust your exercising accordingly. But stop hurting yourself, man. It is such a feat to lose weight. Be wise and finish off doing it right.

Hi all,

I would just like to say, I thank everyone for their opinions and advice. It has really shocked me into changing the amount of food I am going to attempt to eat from now on. Today is day one of a new start to my eating regime, I am going for a total of 1800 Calories.

I will probably 'Calorie Cycle' for the first few weeks and then hopefully maintain after that.

I am really apprehensive about how this is going to work out for me, sounds sad really. I just think I will feel guilty for consuming more calories, even though it's still restricted, but not to a unhealthy number.

But seriously, thanks again. It's really quite overwhelming to hear people being blunt, but sometimes the harsh reality of things should never be 'sugar coated', best to say it how it is.

Many thanks again,

Lu

*hugs* Lu. I feel for you. I really, truly, do. This is an awful obsessive spiral you've fallen into. But I'm telling you now - 1800 cals isn't gonna cut it. I think you really need to seek professional help for this. Ultimately, this isn't about food. But I am seriously concerned for your health, both physical and mental. This isn't something you should be battling alone. Weight loss right now should not be a consideration - there are more pressing mental issues that need to be addressed. *hugs*

backandforth, I am really glad to hear you will increase your calories. Eating so little calories is likely leading to your binging and will lead to a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and frustration.

Looking at your pictures in your profile, I strongly believe you should not lose anymore weight - especially since you say you struggle with starvation-binge cycles. You should focus on becoming mentally healthy before approaching a new diet. Have you spoken to someone about your eating patterns?

Also, just a note that saying you are at far from an underweight BMI does not necessarily mean that the weight you are at is too much for you. Everyone's bone structure is different, and you appear very thin in your photos. If you want to feel better about yourself, why not do some strength training, and eat healthy foods, instead of modifying your total caloric intake?

How old are you? Males need to eat no fewer than 1500 calories per day (that's to diet under severe conditions with no exercise!) and teen males need 1800 MINIMUM. You are tall and probably require much more than that, just to stay healthy. We cannot and will not support undereaters.

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management.

I am twenty years old and the only person I have spoken to regarding this is my Mother. She has been brilliant, understanding and most of all, easy to talk to about the issue. She does not judge me, which I thank her for.

It's all to do with the fear of gaining weight, that's it. I enjoy the control I have over myself with Calorie Counting, I've just never before in my entire life felt so out of control when it comes to my 'Binge' Eating. For me to then punish myself the next day and the next.

I am seriously hoping this Calorie Cycling will work, I like the idea of consuming more and less on certain days. The bonus being, it is structured and I find control in that. I am doing really well today, as it is my first.. I'm still roughly a 900 Calories away from reaching my goal, but I have dinner to come and maybe even dessert.

I want to maintain, but I also want to lose a little more. I want to get down to 175 pounds, I think I will feel most comfortable at that weight. I want to lose the remaining weight slowly though. I lost to much weight, too quickly roughly 14 pounds a month, which is not healthy I know. I was eating fine but exercising excessively. I now hate the GYM, quit and try to do a much more toned down training regime. I run roughly three miles a week, play five a side football every Tuesday and I am constantly on my feet at work.

For the food aspect, I suppose this Calorie Cycle will help me work out a regime through trial and error, as every Monday I will weigh myself to see how the week has gone and make any moderation's from there. I want to lose a pound a week if possible, I'm hoping to find what work for me in the next few weeks.

Regards,

Lu

Original Post by backandforth:

/For the food aspect, I suppose this Calorie Cycle will help me work out a regime through trial and error, as every Monday I will weigh myself to see how the week has gone and make any moderation's from there. I want to lose a pound a week if possible, I'm hoping to find what work for me in the next few weeks.

Regards,

Lu

 There is a better way to do this.  First, educate yourself about good nutrition.  Use the CC Advice section as your encyclopedia.  Read the answers about nutrition on Ask Mary for a start.  Come up with a meal plan you can live with for the rest of your life.  Concentrate on maintaining your current weight, maybe gaining a few pounds of muscle, and getting healthier instead of getting thinner. 

Think about making a meal plan for the week and reviewing it each day.  I do this in my journal, day by day, and when I'm making out my grocery list.  If I'm having a particularly hard time, I log my whole day in advance so I can clearly see what and how much I plan to eat.  After a while, this becomes habit and you won't have to be as rigorous about it.  It sounds like your mother could help you with this. 

In my experience, the only thing that works to maintain weight is consistancy and commitment to healthy living.  You are doing this for life, not just for now.  You can break this cycle if you try.