Food Addiction Support Group
An individual suffering from a food addiction disorder frequently experiences episodes of uncontrolled eating, or binging, during which they may feel frenzied or out of control. They will eat much more quickly than is normal, and continue to eat even past the point of being uncomfortably full. Binging in this way is generally followed by a period of intense guilt feelings...
So, I have not binged in 5 months! And, after a couple months of not binging, I decided that I was ready to diet. So far, I have lost 10 pounds. But, then, the last 2 weeks, have been bad - I stuck to my diet, I didn't cheat at all, and I gained half a pound!!!!
I realize that half a pound is very little. I'm not worried about that. What totally frustrates me is that I dieted for two weeks, and gained weight!
ARGH! All that work, all that calorie counting, and my normal exersicing, and I GAINED weight???
I think this is what they call a plateau in dieiting. Your body adjusts to it's new, lower calorie intake, and slows down it's metabolisim. I looked it up online, they say that this happens to all dieters, and it's the body's way of preventing itself from starving, in times of feast or famine.
Sigh.
I have not given up, but it is so discouraging. To work so hard, and watch other people eat ice cream, and go for bike rides when I'm tired, and for nothing!
I have looked the plateau thing up online, and I've found some tips. I guess I will follow them, and hope that they help!
I realize that half a pound is very little. I'm not worried about that. What totally frustrates me is that I dieted for two weeks, and gained weight!
ARGH! All that work, all that calorie counting, and my normal exersicing, and I GAINED weight???
I think this is what they call a plateau in dieiting. Your body adjusts to it's new, lower calorie intake, and slows down it's metabolisim. I looked it up online, they say that this happens to all dieters, and it's the body's way of preventing itself from starving, in times of feast or famine.
Sigh.
I have not given up, but it is so discouraging. To work so hard, and watch other people eat ice cream, and go for bike rides when I'm tired, and for nothing!
I have looked the plateau thing up online, and I've found some tips. I guess I will follow them, and hope that they help!
Everyone's body is different, but I can often fluctuate 2-3 lbs, day to day, especially if it's at a point in my cycle where my hormones are all out of whack. But keep at it- you've made some really healthy changes and I think you're probably on the verge of making it off that plateau.
The other really helpful ones I read about were about how often you eat, and how many calories you eat at each meal.
It said that the body, if it thinks it's starving, slows metablolisim down, and hangs on to every calorie - so, if you eat one or two very small meals, and then eat one big meal, for example, your body thinks it is starving during the first two meals, and slows down like crazy, and retains every calorie it can. They called this "calories per meal vs calories per diem", and said to make sure that you eat 300-450 calories per meal, for each meal, instead of skimping all day, and then eating all your calories at supper.
That interested me a lot, because I have done a that a few times - things have gotten to crazy with work and my relationship that, once or twice in the past while, I have stayed up, debating and arguing, with my boyfriend, for, literally 12 hours, without eating, and then eaten all my calories at once, after!
They also said the type of calories count - that sugar, refined carbs, etc., are stored as fat, so you have to eat healthy.
They mentioned not to be afraid of fat - that the body needs healthy fat for weight loss.
The big thing seemed to be the idea of eating 300-450 calories, per meal, and eating meals evenly, though out the day. They really emphasized that.
Thanks for your encouragement! It is good to hear, and it really helps.
HappyJ - good point, and good encouragement! yes, i do need to keep my spirits up!
As for the diet plateau, I can only speak from my personal experience, but after switching to a primal/paleo diet 2+ months, I have completely changed the way I think about food and what's "healthy" or not--both with respect to what I'm putting in my body, how much I eat, when I eat, etc.
As an athlete, I'd lived my adult life by the golden rule of eat lots of meals throughout the day, and make sure I got lots of carbs to refuel my body so it didn't go into "starvation mode" (as you mentioned).
Then I stumbled across Mark's Daily Apple (www.marksdailyapple.com), and it changed my life. Without counting calories or eating less, I have lost weight, but more importantly, I don't feel that shaky, terrible hunger I used to get if I didn't eat every 2 hours. Since cutting out processed foods, sugar and grains, and eating more fat, protein, and whole foods, I've never felt more in control of my cravings.
Like I said, I know everyone (and their bodies) is different, but if you've got some free time and the inclination, I'd encourage you to check out Mark's website, and see if maybe some of his ideas (shared by many in the medical/fitness community) resonate with ya.
Either way, I wish you lots of strength in your endeavors!
So, I checked out the site, and I plan to check it out later, more in-depth. Thanks for passing that along!
There was a lot I disagreed with, but he also brings up some really good points. I'm always interested in this kind of thing, because I'm very interested in health and nutrition. I've read about this type of diet in the past, but new information is always good.
Sometimes, it seems like there's so much information out there, and so much of it is conflicting! I've come to the point where I've decided fad diets don't make sense, eating natural is what makes sense....
....and, to me, it is a mistake to blame any group of macronutrients, which is what fad diets seem to often do. I remember when fat was evil, then it was carbs.
I think that it's not the macronutrients that are a problem, it's eating unhealthy macronutrients. So, for example, I have no problem with a yam or a potato, but I wouldn't eat white bread or white rice; no problem with an avacado, but try to avoid trans fat.
At any rate, thanks for passing it along, and thanks for sharing how successful you were with it! It is very interesting to read about how the diet effected someone. Hmmm....I will definetly go back and read it some more, as it's gotten me very curious now.
Congrats on your success! I love to read about people's success with food - it's very encouraging. So thanks for your encouragement, at a time when I could definetly use it. :-)
I lost 1.6 more pounds this week.
I ate THE SAME amount of calories I've been eating all along, but I changed what type of food I ate, when I ate, etc., just as the article I read suggested, and it appears to be working!
1. I cut out almost all sugar (gotta have some treats, so didn't cut it ALL out),
2. I made sure to get my 8 cups of water daily,
3. I ate regularly-timed meals more often (I can't always eat totally regularly-timed meals, due to my work, but I tried to. I tried to avoid going for really long periods without eating, ie. no more 12-hour argument marathons with my boyfriend, without eating).
4. I stopped making excuses for missing my exersize. I only missed 1 day, all week.
5. I tried to divide my calories more evenly thoughout the day - since I'm eating 1500 calories a day, I tried to eat around 300-400 per meal. In the past, I've often eaten skimpy during the day, and then eaten up most of my calories at night, and the article I read said to space your calories evenly throughout the day.
6. The article didn't mention this one, but I've read it in other places, so I did it - I started eating more at breakfast, less at supper. I tend to eat really skimpy in the mornings, and I'm starving 2 hours later! Not a good way to start the day! It's better to eat more amounts of calories earlier in the day, cause then you have the whole day to burn them off.
So, hopefully, this isn't just a fluke.
Hopefully, it really did get me over the plateau, because I was sure frustrated with those weeks of being hungry, dieting, and GAINING weight.
In total, I've now lost 11.6 pounds.
My goal is to loose 14 more by the end of summer, so I'll be down to 140. Right now, I'm 154.
If I hit my goal of 140 by the end of August, I'll then work on losing my last 10, and getting down to 130.
(130 sounds low, but it's not that low for me - I'm very small framed, like my mother and her side of the family. A few years ago, I was down to about 132 or so, and I think that was a good weight for me. When I was younger, in my early twenties and stuff, I weighted even less - probably around 120....but I no longer think that's a healthy weight for me. That was my weight when I was 20! Now I'm 33).