I agree with giving the scale a break. It may sound ridiculous to think that at 350 lbs, I was worried about overrestricting myself at first, and for that very reason I had to weigh myself monthly. I knew if I started seeing those same (or close to it) numbers on the scale day in and day out, that at some point I was going to panic and start moving those numbers down FAST by whatever means necessary. I thankfully realized at the very beginning that, yes, I want the scale to go down, but that NO, I do not want it to be by starving so that I could have one splurge, freak out, and gain it all back (which I have done more than once). It was very important for me to get into the behaviors that lead to healthy, sustainable weight loss, rather than focusing on the numbers and doing "whatever I have to do to get them down fast!" So I weighed monthly for several months. And in my mind, it was THE key.

After being at it several months, I started weighing weekly. And I still have those panicked thoughts at times "GET THIS MOVING NOW!" But I have my behaviours pretty firmly in place and I can resist the urge to move to unsustainable methods. Everyone's different in how they relate to the scale, but it sounds to me like you could use a break from it and focus on eating right and exercising without the pressure of the numbers.

I have done this so many times before.. it feels nice to finally be losing weight the right way instead of in an unhealthy way where I never keep it off but lose it quickly. Best of luck and I definitely would recommend an outpatient counselor or therapist. Therapy works!

I think I'm going to try to take everyone's advice. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in this. I feel kind of like I'm failing because I lost 50 pounds the "right" way and now I'm spiraling out of control.
I love my scale but I think I'm going to put it away for a while and eat at least 1200 calories a day for a week and then face it again. I'm thinking maybe if I eat more calorie dense foods like nuts, oil on my salad, etc I'll be able to up my calories more without having to focus too much on the food. Last night I managed to stomach half of a salad with a vinegar and oil dressing so that's a start.

I haven't eaten today but the hot dogs in the fridge look REALLY good so I might grill a couple of bunless hot dogs and split them with some cheese and mustard with a salad.

Today I've eaten lots of salty processed convenience foods...still keeping it low carb but I'll probably retain water from the sodium.

I had 1/2 of a cheese stick, 1/2 of a pepperoni stick, 2 grilled hot dogs with mustard, 1 cheetos puff and and glass of raspberry crystal light. Salt, salt, salt! I figure it's better than not eating at all. I'm guessing somewhere around 600 calories for the day which is better than the 200 or so I've had for the past couple of days.

Maybe later tonight I'll have a salad and try to sneak some cheese and oil there to bring my calorie count closer to 800...I don't know how I'm going to feel later so I'll see.

glad your eating again but you should seriously think about making some healthier food choices especially while your body is recovering. you may also need to eat at maintance for a week or two so your metabolism heals but i know you won't do that.

Yeah, I know I probably should. I'm thinking turkey burgers with a salad for dinner...that should bump my cals closer to 1200 which would be good. After eating I actually got my appetite back a bit more. Hopefully this continues tomorrow.

Well, I ate probably around 1200-1400 calories yesterday+lots of cheese and sodium+water and when I stepped on the scale today expecting to be horrified...I was the EXACT same weight that I was when I hadn't eaten in 2 days. To the ounce. I was under the impression that when you gain water it shows up immediately the next day, correct? Or maybe I'm going to be lucky and not gain once I start eating again? Could anyone explain why I didn't gain any weight once I started eating?

I just want to say that I recently saw 210 on the scale for the first time, and I did it through proper dieting and exercise. It feels WAY more fulfilling knowing that you're going to be 210 and you earned it through dieting the correct way, and changing your life. Also knowing that I won't gain it back because I eat the appropriate foods.. trust me, I have eating problems with binging at times. But getting down to 210 from 345, in a little less than a year... that's rewarding. And I can assure you that I have no doubts and no qualms about eating or drinking water because I think I'll gain weight. The fact that I eat and drink so much is the reason why I HAVE lost the weight. If you need anyy dieting advice, feel free to PM me. I don't like to hear things like this, because I know that you'll feel devastated when you go right back up to 220 when you return to your old diet.. because I know that's how I would feel. Anyways, good luck ! I see that you're working on it and that's wonderful !

It's not that I don't know how to lose the weight correctly...I just have some underlying issues that are affecting my weight loss. Like I said in my post above, I can't figure out why I didn't gain any water weight from my salty food blowout yesterday. I did stay under 30 carbs yesterday (I do Atkins) so maybe I don't retain a lot of water because I eat low carb?

I forgot to mention that even when I am not eating I still eat low carb for the meals I can stomach. I haven't eaten over 50 carbs in 1 day probably for the past 6-7 months or so. Could that be the reason I didn't experience a big water weight jump after eating yesterday?

Linsy, meet asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and zucchini. Maybe even a sweet potato. (I'm not a particularly low-carber & don't know whether they're considered okay.)

When you do eat, I worry about the only vegetables in your life being salads.

Please stay in touch on this thread & let us know what you're eating. Also, please do consider checking in with a professional about this.

Oh, I actually eat a lot of vegetables! I buy lots of frozen stir-fry mixes and throw them in with some chicken and soy sauce and maybe some ginger...one of my favorite meals!

I just wasn't feeling well yesterday and I was trying to eat pretty much anything that I could stomach (I was also gone for 2 weeks and don't have any vegetables except green beans and peas right now, we need to go grocery shopping).

I'm still not feeling that great...I know I should probably get help from a professional but I can't really afford it.

im glad you started eating again iv done the same thing years ago and it aint worth it as u will pile it back on if you keep doing it. you need to cut down on carbs and have more protien and water. If you find your self doing it again i would go and seek help. x

I do the starving thing a lot too because I seem to not be able to just eat a normal amount. It is actually really easy for me to eat slim to nothing all day every day- or severely over-eat. There is no in-between for me. If I start to eat then it seems like its impossible for me to stop. But then the result is that I loose 10 lbs in 5 days and gain 15 the next week....

BTW I have also had an eating disorder before (bulimia with periods of anorexia) and no one seemed to ever notice. I would say things like "I haven't eaten in 2 days" and no one would even bat an eye. I think people just don't take that seriously when you are overweight.