Please Help Me!!! I'm so confused and i fell awful about myself... >

Oaky well yada yada i didn't eat enough we've all heard that story. Now i eat compulsivley and i am slowly gaining more and more and never losing. i am trying to quite calorie counting becasue its screwed up my idea of how much i need to eat. I always eat when i'm not hungary and way to much when i try to be good i hardley get to 1200 calories and i count to check that i didn't undereat and then i engorge myself because i'm afraid of not eating enough but i never know how much to eat every one says 1800 but when i do eat that much i still gain weight but i'm active so i don't know why i try to keep around 1500 (and fail miserabley) i eat very very very healthy but i love all the fruits and whole grains and stuff i eat so much.... i'm sorry if this is confusing please i've been on two diffrent forums for a year now and i haven't had much help. btw i can't go to a doctor i went before and i know now i'm not fat but i also know that if i keep going teh way i am i will be.........

First of all, breathe. 

Second of all, I've been where you are. After restricting my intake, I would binge purposely because I was scared I wasn't eating enough and didn't want my weight loss to stall again. I also have the issue of eating when I'm not hungry, and when I tried to start focusing only on my hunger, it gave me all kinds of screwy results, especially making me anxious to eat when I wasn't hungry 5-6 hours after a meal. And then my mother gave me some advice. She told me that maybe I wasn't ready to listen to my body. She told me that my body was lying to me about its hunger patterns because I'd screwed with it in the past.

I'm not trying to tell you to not eat when you're hungry, because you should, and I'm really only speaking from my experience. But I've found that if I calculate my calories the night before, have a plan (I run about 26 miles a week and regulary consume 1500-1800 calories) I'm much less likely to stray from it. Fill it with balanced filling foods in good combinations, and when you've finished a meal, chew gum, chug water or sip tea instead of snacking or reaching for seconds. Do not use still being hungry as an excuse if you are consuming 1800 and it is the correct amount for your body, and don't let fear control how you eat. You know you aren't undereating at 1800.

My final piece of advice is probably unpopular on Calorie-Count, but I'm going to give it to you anyways. Stop counting calories. It can be great, but for some people its more trouble than its worth. Count food groups instead. Go to mypyramid.gov and figure out your daily needs, and never go more than 500 calories below that number. That's as simple as subtracting two grain servings, and one protein serving and halving your discretionary calories.

I don't know your stats, but I'm 5'3 and 130 pounds with about an hour of activity each day and to lose I aim for 4-5 ounces of grains, 2 cups of fruit, 2.5 cups of vegetables, 5.5 ounces of protein, 2 cups of dairy, 5 tsps of oil and 100-150 discretionary calories daily. It has worked for me!

Good luck, and maybe lay of the scale until you are more comfortable with your eating habits. Also, if your not trying to lose, don't bother taking away any servings. Aim for all your reccomended amounts daily.

Make sure you breathe, too! :)

 

i have like the EXACT same problem! like today i ate a lot, and i feel so bad about it, but if i eat too little i get scared im slowing my metabolism its so hard, everyone tells me i need even more but im like why am i gaining so much then