MeltingAway THANK YOU. I didn't think anyone was ever going to get it like you did. After you stopped (was it hard to stop ?) and started eating more how much more did you eat ? Did it increase slowely or quick (days or weeks). Did you see the pounds come back...did you stop weighing...How much can you eat and maintain...I would be willing to eat 1200-1500 a day after I lost the weight. Did your metabolism go back up (slow or at all) when you started eating again ? Were there any lasting medical effects.

Again Thank you and I cant wait to hear the answers.

Troll ? Not even close, just a woman who may have lost her way and though that this may be a safe place to figure things out.

I ate very low calorie for 17 years with only a break during pregnancy (in which I ate very moderately and gained 70lbs!) - Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ED-NOS). My metabolism is SHOT, and I was and still am in the overweight category. When I started the re-feeding process with my nutritionist a year ago, I gained 15lbs by eating 1200 calories a day.

Don't start this. You can have willpower by following a healthy eating plan and you won't go through the ups and downs like I did. I wish I listened to everyone else and ate healthily the whole way through. You will gain nothing, not even permanent weight loss through this, and destroy your body and spirit in the end.

Have you considered doing something like Medifast or Wonderslim? Those are very low-calorie diets that are nutritionally balanced and result in very rapid weight loss if you can stick with them, with plans for transitioning back to real life and real eating. We have boards for both of them here. Also, Medifast and similar plans are sometimes covered by insurance.

What you're doing right now doesn't sound like a "plan" as much as a test of willpower. You're setting yourself up for a massive binge. Not only that, but you can actually starve to death, mess with the delicate potassium/sodium balance in your body's electrical circuitry, and your body is feasting on any muscle you may have because it's starving. You said you were 47, grow up and do this the right way, the maintainable way, and the healthy way.

15 lbs up on 1200 calories...not what I was hoping for...I am afraid that I will not have the willpower to lose any weight once I start eating more than I am right now. I am afraid it will be like the many other times I have tried and failed. This feels like it could be long term.

I like the idea of medifast so that the calories I take in a the best ones I can get. That way if I short on the daily recommendation sometimes will still be getting good nutrients.

Grow up ? That stung more than a little. If one day you were able to control your calories so much so you could see the scale change everyday ? Would you not think about taking advantage of something that felt so easy to do this time ? Would you not think this time I am going to do it, I am finally going to stop being fat, I am just going to do this for a while...The temptation is very strong.

I do agree that this is a test of willpower and it seems like there is no way to really win.

(was it hard to stop ?) No it wasnt hard because my mind wanted all that food i wasnt supposed to add but my mistake was that i would eat to much and get sick and throw up. ... so i would suggest adding lean white meats first. like fish (tilapia) or chicken breast. for a week or so. another thing i ate was lowfat low sugar yougurt that seemed to help me shed weight as well on my "cheat days" the other thing is i transitioned to the 1200-1400 calories per day weekly.. 3 days out the week i would eat 1200 to 1400 calories the rest i would stay aroung 500. within three weeks i was alternating between 1200 and 1500 calories per day.
Now i did not lose weightwhile i was awitching bet tween 500 cals and 1200 cals i was stableized but once i transitioned completely 1200-1500 calories i began loosing a pound a day.
i still weighed every day and i only gained when i ate out of control. i have had no medical problems.

Some of you guys are really judgemental i thought this was a support site GEEZ...@pickes another thing pay attention to your bodies tru craving if your cravin a specific veggie or fruit or nut eat it... normally when you crave food like this your body is defficent in a specific nutrient that veggie fruit or nut provides. lastly dont be discouraged by a weight gain just keep to the 1200-1500 the weight WILL begin to drop off again...

And another thing... the diet cokes are no good.belive it or not the cause you to retain water BAD.its going to reflect on the scale as extra pounds. try to transition to water or tea if you can. Stevia is an excellent sweetner to sweeten your tea. or lemonade or coffe. YUM!

That happened to me because of YEARS of doing what you're starting now. If you switched to a 1200-1600 calorie diet, you'd probably still lose weight at this point.

It took me about one year to start losing again because of the "willpower" and damage I did.

Funnily enough, when I started, I was lower than my goal weight.

ETA: I still have willpower "issues" and it basically just means I stay on plan without deviation. The way I do this healthily, is plan my entire day's meals before eating (I sometimes do a week at a time).
I eat according to my healthy plan, and don't eat off of it. That's willpower too.

This is an extreme diet that is probably not sustainable for the long term. However, people go overboard with this starvation mode theory and as long as you have fat to burn, your body will use it. You will most likely lose a lot of weight. However, as the poster above who lived on a very low cal diet for 17 yrs indicated, you won't keep it off long term if it's too low cal. She re-gained on 1200 because after 17 yrs of living extremely low, her metabolism was probably shot. But that's also an extremely long time to live on such low calories and most people won't be able to do that either. You need to learn how to eat in a way that's sustainable. I have yo-yo dieted my whole life and have been down that road, only to re-gain.

A friend of mine lost 55 lbs on a 500 cal/day diet. She kept it off for a few months, and then gained it all back because in all her weight loss, she didn't learn how to eat sensibly.

We are all aware that we have the option to starve ourselves, but we think about the long term. Most of us here are working towards healthy eating that we can sustain for a lifetime, rather than crash dieting now with promises to learn to eat right later.

If you need to learn/gain advice, there is lots of it here...promise. Please let me start you out with:

A personal note: I have struggled with eating disorders since being a teen - doing things "right" (as so many told me) is not easy, won't lie... but it is more effective and leaves you feeling way more accomplished...I promise you. There is a huge sense of accomplishment that CAN come - and with you seeming so determined, I am betting you have the drive needed to also gain those accomplishments! You CAN do this right... it's IN YOU!

Another personal lesson: My daughter has struggled with anorexia. She is 5'1 and got down to 71Lbs WITH us trying to help. You don't even realize it's a problem, all you feel is exhilerated from "feeling" like you successfully beat your body... but hon... you aren't winning this way. She left herself open for some bad things, and it seriously makes me cry. She now has an immune-deficiency disease that has escalated in scary levels that was aggrevated by this, they fear later in time that her liver may be at risk. She is now on a LONG trail of trying to learn how to be healthy... but please, stop yourself before it becomes too late for those lasting effects.

Please know that I totally, personally, understand that "high" of feeling like you found the answer. We are usually the personalities that will tend to everyone's needs before our own, which means we look for a quick control method and feel so happy when we do. Personal experience, this isn't it. I am also still in learning process and would be happy to share information if you like to help. First off, per my nutrionalist, no adult should ever consume less than 1200 calories/day. This is where the strength and drive come into play though, they need to be healthy foods and proper servings. If you feel like the food will be too hard to stop eating, eat your planned amount and remove yourself from the house, go for a walk, etc... it will redirect your thoughts. Sorry for the long post, but just had to let you know... you aren't alone in your frustration... but even early on, it can do damage and YOU CAN succeed the right way

Aclai..I guess the difference for me was I was never able to lose it before, even when I said I would not eat I did not have the will power or whatever it is you need to succeed. This time I do have the will power and I am not sure if it will come back if I stop now. I tried to do it the healthy way 100 times and failed..This may be my chance.

MA...you know what it feels like for sure. I can here my body asking for stuff. The other night I had a small part of a spoonful of cream cheese as I thought that was what I wanted. When it was in my mouth I knew that wansnt (spit it out, not worth the calories) and had a small piece of feta and that hit the spot. Must have needed the salt. Nuts are soooooo high in calories (it is funny to talk like this...2 weeks ago this almost 280lb + person wouldnt care if there was 100 calories in 1 nut).

I think the hardest, if I can do it is the diet coke. I average 2-3 litres a day.

Strange how you started losing again after moving up in calories and not switching it up. I love yougurt so that will work for me :-)

Today's a great day, about 150 calories consumed so tonight I can have something tonight..had a moment earlie, took son to the movies and the popcorn smelled great. When I looked at his glistening hands from the popcorn I was ok.

I'm thinking another 2 weeks of this and then start adding.

What you are doing is dangerous. You are starving your body of essential nutrients. You're feeling good now because the pounds are dropping but you can't starve yourself forever. Your metabolism is also dropping and when you start eating more the pounds will come back with a vengeance.

Trust me on this. My idea of dieting used to be eating as little as possible. I did that on and off in my teens and twenties (I'm 50 now). I lost weight, true, but I also messed up my metabolism to the point where I would gain weight on 800 calories a day. It took years to repair the damage.

I agree with the posters who think you should get help now.

ItsMyTurn- That is EXACTLY like I feel...Amazing because I beat my body, I won this time. The closer I get to the end of the day without cheating the better I feel. Today I am at less that 150 calories and I feel like a million bucks. Will eat later tonight. Tomorrow will go up to the 500 .

We are much alike as I am one of the givers as well and want to fix things when I can. What happened a couple of weeks ago I can't fix but I can fix the food thing...I think that is what my brain is running with.