Hello all! It's been 2 years since I last logged in... so that means that I'm back for help!
I met my goal of 145 last Summer, and I was very physically active and fit. I was training for a semi marathon until I started having knee pain, and had to stop running. Fast forward to this year, finally got an MRI done and I have severe osteoarthritis (at 31!!
) Needless to say, my physical activity has been quite reduced and I'm limited on what I'm allowed to do (only low impact).
Since stopping my regular running and workouts, I've gained weight back, about 10 lbs. I'm trying to get myself back on track, but my major problem is finding a TRUE "balance". I go through cycles of eating really well, but being very strict (like completely cutting sugar out), but then I try to give myself one little "cheat" and the cheat then turns into a binge for several days. Then I get back on track and the cycle repeats itself.
So... how do you actually find balance? I've tried eating clean 80/20 and "allowing" sweets, etc, but it just triggers the binge part of my brain. But it's not realistic to never eat an ice cream bar or chocolate again. How do I stop myself from full on binge mode? I have seriously been going through this cycle since January - I will lose, then gain, then lose, then gain.
Does anyone else struggle with this?