I am 100 pounds overweight and I have been trying to lose weight for five years. I have a very hard time wanting to constantly push myself into extreme dieting. I starve myself then binge... then starve... binge... have lost and regained the same 50 pounds over and over again. Recently I realized the only way I'm going to actually do this is to truly make a change I can REALLY stick to. I chose a higher calorie diet, a calorie count that I knew I could stick to that was enough calories a day to not feel deprivation. That always leads to me bingeing. I settled on a max of 1700 calories a day.. this gives me about a pound and a half loss a week. I have managed to stay on this diet and have lost 30 pounds (still have 100 to go). My PROBLEM is lately I don't feel proud or encouraged unless I come in much lower on my calories for the day and find myself really pushing myself. I have so far to go and feel discouraged. I know I'm entering dangerous territory and am needing some guidance. Any advice? Thanking you in advance.

Hi congratulations on your weight loss & your healthier approach, I just read your post, and it was so ironic because last night I just watched one of my favorite documentaries on the BBC called "The Men Who Made Us Thin". It is super interesting, I'd recommend you checking it out, for good information & some peace of mind. If you don't mind me saying so, you're not 100 pounds overweight, going by the BMI calculator for your height you would still have a "healthy" bmi at 145, which is 20 lbs. heavier than your goal. I understand your goal is your own, but looking at this huge number that you'd have to lose can be daunting. It's difficult to give a helpful opinion without getting too personal, but speaking about myself, I've had an eating disorder where I starved myself, and took laxatives, and the smallest I got was 60 lbs. down which I promptly put back on + another 30 lbs. when I went back to eating. I think coming to terms with why you want to lose weight so badly (I think there are many valid reasons, but none that are worth compromising your self-worth or physical health) and accepting that your looks do not define you, or your self-worth. It's a complicated issue, but at the heart of it, I think (mind I am not a medical professional, just a professional fat girl & eater ) making it about being healthier as opposed to merely being smaller is the ticket. It has worked the best for me, and I think pretty well. I still have binges, bad days, but I keep going because I understand that if I don't make time to be healthy now, I'll probably have no choice but to make time to be ill later. Take care of yourself, not to be pleasing to our eyes, but because you're worth it no matter what the scale or your clothing size reads. Many blessings to you on your journey.

First of all....Hot Dang!....You can LOSE on 1700 calories!! Holy Metabolism, Batman!

Srsly....Fitness Goal...Doesn't matter what the activity is...Push yourself...You'll be proud of those muscles...that endurance....better balance...your increased lung capacity. And you'll give your brain something else to think about.