6 weeks binge-free and can't lose weight

  • I developed a pretty bad bingeing problem over the past year and a half a went from about 105 lb to about 145 lb. I managed to get it under control and now I've been binge-free for six weeks. I expected that the weight would come right off, but it isn't. Do I just have to wait longer or do I actually have to go on an obnoxious diet JUST TO GET BACK TO MY NATURAL, HEALTHY WEIGHT??? Gahhh.

    I'm very impatient and I'm very uncomfortable with my new weight and I want to lose 20 lb by the time I go back to school in September. What do I need to do? Is it normal for the weight to go on so quickly but come off so slowly?
  • I do think you have to go on some kind of a diet if you want to lose. Obnoxious or not you need to consume less calories to lose weight. Do you now how many calories a day you are eating, now ?
  • Right now I'm eating 1200 calories/day, so I have given in to the diet. But I'm hardly losing any weight on that—in the past week I've lost nothing. I don't want to be fat forever .
  • One week is hardly "forever" - Just be patient, and the losses will come. I'm sure if you were to take a survey you would see that most of us on this forum have experienced the stall/whoosh periods; you may not lose anything, or just a tiny bit, and then suddenly "whoosh" and lose like 4 pounds in a week!

    Just looking back on my personal weight loss, I see that I dieted for a week in late February/early March and was disappointed to have only lost 1 pound. The next week however, doing the exact same things, I lost 3.7 pounds, and then 2 pounds the following week. Again, I didn't change anything... I just kept at it.

    Give it a few more weeks and see. If after that you don't see any results, re-evaluate and try shaking things up a bit.
  • I totally agree with that... Just keep at it, do your training too, and make sure you do not eat too many carbs. The calories you eat have to be balanced if you want to lose, so go first for vegetables and fruit, then for lean protein and whole grains, not the other way around.
    I am also 5 ft and I lost 22 pounds in five months eating 1200 cals. Mind you, it's a pound a week! If you lose more than that you are losing water, bone or muscle, so be patient and lose slowly. Think about it as a long process and as the learning of habits that have to stay with you for ever if you want to maintain afterwards... It's a life-long change, so don't think in terms of "how long" or "when will", but focus on what you have to change, incorporate or quit. Good luck!
  • Well done on not binging that is such a major step forward. You really need to find a plan, it doesn't need to be a specific diet, just a way of eating that works for your body and lifestyle. Work out what foods you enjoy, what foods we really need to eat for our nutrition and make your own manageable plan. Don't look at it as a diet simply a way of eating that will get you where you want to be. Sometimes we try to achieve too quickly which can result in binging and obsessing about food. View it as the foundations of good eating to prevent future problems. Unfortunately we just can't eat what we like whenever we like and I guess those on here have found that out the hard way
  • Quote: The calories you eat have to be balanced if you want to lose, so go first for vegetables and fruit, then for lean protein and whole grains, not the other way around.
    The calories you eat need to be balanced for health, not for weight loss. You can lose weight on any combination of nutrients as long as the calorie count is low enough, and 1,200 is certainly low enough.

    To the OP: just stick with your plan and the weight will start coming off.

    F.
  • bargoo isright. just cuz your binge fee doesnt =wight loss.ou ned to eat better and less of it.
  • Quote: Is it normal for the weight to go on so quickly but come off so slowly?
    Yes. You have to eat a surplus of 3500 calories to gain a pound, but you can't eat a deficit of that much...

    Congratulations on six weeks binge free. I would really make "continuing to not binge" the priority vs. "lose all the weight ASAP" because over-restricting often leads to more (and worse) binges.
  • Thanks for all the replies everyone . The weight has started to sneak off. Yay!
  • Good for you! I have been binge free now for 110 days, and I still get stuck, one month I only lost 1.5 and that made me so discouraged, so I did some tweaking to my food plan and now it is coming off again!!
  • Hi,

    It can really be a downer not to see the weight coming off , especially after putting in soooo much effort - I have to be careful that this isn't a binge trigger for me - keep at it and the pounds will start to move - I really need a woosh myself