Hello there, pay off for staying fat?

[eppygale]

It has occurred to me that I might be getting a pay off for staying fat. I reach a new milestone and it is like I am frightened of the new number on the scales? I quickly go back to carbs and pile a half stone on again. This has happened coming from 14 stone to 13 ect. I reached 10.7 and instead of rejoicing, I comfort ate??? Anyone stuck in binge purge type cycle???

[bkloots]

Hello, eppy. Welcome to a great place for questions like yours. You are not alone.

One of the toughest transitions in weight management is from "dieting" to "lifestyle." Whether our yo-yo pattern involves just a few pounds or a few stone, continual ups and downs are discouraging and perhaps not the healthiest way.

You'll get some helpful visitors here. You might also consider starting a journal where you can have personal conversation with people who are walking in your shoes.

Best wishes.

[Seejay]

I think it's just stage fright and anxiety about what's coming with the new shape. We know that people treat us differently based on size. It's like the first day of school or first day of a new job. Not exactly all fun.

And yes, putting the weight back on is one way to not have those first days. Another way to help with adjusting is to just pause a bit and let oneself look around at the new milestone. Most times what I see is, "oh yeah, I remember this, I can be here. "

[MickiSue]

I agree with both Barb and Seejay.

Have you done as Barb suggested, taught yourself to see this as now just "the way I eat" rather than "the diet I'm on"?

If you choose the first, and REALLY embrace it, then the weight loss becomes incidental to the improvement in your health, rather than the star of the show.

If YOU don't focus as much on the scale, it changes the way you think about the scale's numbers. And, with those numbers being just something that happens because you're getting healthier, then all the scary "who am I now?" questions get answered by "Me. Healthier."

[Just Jo]

I thought about your question eppy! Sometimes I wonder if we THINK we are unworthy of being thinner & healthier and so we self-sabotage?

I think that was the reason for my many wasted years yo-yo dieting. That and like the others have said... I was treating this incredible LC WOE like a D.I.E.T and not a WOL.

So once I lost all the weight I wanted, I went back to eating like I used to eat = regaining all the weight plus more...

I've learned so much about myself and my food related issues this time around that I know I won't repeat the mistakes of the past!

Wishing you much success on your LC WOE journey! :agree:

[eppygale]

I appreciate the feedback. I think all of it makes so much sense. I reached out on the forum as I know I have a problem. All is within reach and yet, I will self sabotage.

[Bonnie OFS]

All is within reach and yet, I will self sabotage.

Me, too. That's why I go to OA (which I know isn't for everybody but it's working for me). The 12 steps work on my thinking & lchf works on my body - and they work together to get me healthy.

[WereBear]

Have you asked yourself, "What am I afraid of?"

So many of us "ate our feelings" for so long that we have lost track of our ability to identify, and actually feel, our feelings.

Some kind of therapeutic exploration can do wonders. It can be a private diary or a journal like on the forum. A self-help group like OA or finding a therapist.

What I found incredibly useful was going for a walk instead of eating, and while I walked I figured out what I was really feeling. Had my boss or my boyfriend driven me crazy that day? Was I missing someone? Was unexpected bills bringing me down?

Whatever it was, it had a solution. Which did not involve mindless eating... Which always made things worse!

[Just Jo]

...Whatever it was, it had a solution. Which did not involve mindless eating... Which always made things worse!Bravo, well said, WB! :clap:

[Seejay]

True for me too WB! I totally forgot way back when, I re-learned to ask myself, am I sad, mad, glad, or scared? and what was it? and sometimes what I was feeling, was for real, and sometimes what I was feeling, was not real right now but was a ghost of a previous experience. or something.

But it really did help to figure out what the heck the feeling even was.

it was explained to me this way: comfort eating soothes anxiety physically and with the brain chemicals. So I learned...

feeling sad - eating makes it better
feeling glad - eating calms down
feeling mad - eating calms
feeling afraid - eating can give a second wind

And then, getting good at it, it devolved to...

feel --> eat

simple!

however along the way, simple means I lost the details. Ooops! bad idea after all!!! time for a do over :)

[Liz53]

While I think there is much truth in what others have said above, I can't help but notice your plan is Dukan, which is both low carb and low fat.

Are you sure you are eating enough? Very low calories can lead the body to panic, upping hormones that make you eat, often leading to bingeing.

Have you tried a Low Carb HIGH (or even moderate) Fat plan? You might be surprised how much more satisfied you are, and how the desire/need to binge retreats.

[WereBear]

Have you tried a Low Carb HIGH (or even moderate) Fat plan? You might be surprised how much more satisfied you are, and how the desire/need to binge retreats.

Very wise advice. Also, the book The Mood Cure has a lot of good information on nutritional supplements which can reduce our emotional response to hunger, and the body triggers which create it.

Our previous food choices were probably nutrient-deficient.

[Nancy LC]

Anyone stuck in binge purge type cycle???
Are you talking about bulimia?

I think some people put themselves on diets that are too hard to maintain long term. Like cutting calories, or maybe not low carb enough (Dukan?), and their body really really wants food. Eventually the willpower weakens and boom! Your body gets the refeed it wants.

If you stay really low carb, you might find this doesn't happen. Turns out it is physiology not psychology. I think some plans tease you with carbs, letting you have enough of them that those little carb voices are always in your head, calling out "eat me"!