Hi all,

I used to use 3FC a few years ago and all the help and support really helped me to get down to a weight I was relatively happy with.

However, I was later diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED-NOS) and had around a year having cognitive behavioural therapy to address my long periods of obsessive restriction followed by long periods of constant binging where I'd gain all the weight back and more.

Through the therapy it became very clear to me that the weight loss techniques I was using (mainly over-restricting calories to under 1000 a day and being overly obsessive about food) were not doing me any good, both physically and mentally.

Anyway, I managed to get in control of my binging and restricting behaviour and I managed to learn to accept the weight I was at and maintain that weight for longer than I've ever maintained a weight before.

Unfortunately, over the past year my weight has started to creep up again. There's been the odd binge but nothing like before. I think it may be because I moved back home with my parents after university and food is much more readily available and what we have in the house is somewhat out of my control.

So now I'm about 14lbs heavier than the weight I was maintaining after therapy and I really don't want to get back into feeling the depression and unhappiness associated with being even heavier. I can already feel myself beginning to feel uncomfortable again.

The problem is...this is the first time that I've tried to "diet" or purposefully lose any weight since therapy and, frankly, I'm scared. I'm scared of falling into old "binge/restrict" habits. I'm scared that I'll fail and end up heavier. I'm scared that I'll lose weight and just put it all on again.

For someone with a history of an eating disorder it's so hard not to fall back into old, unhelpful habits...but at the same time...I need to get back to where I feel more confident about my body.

So....does anyone have any tips / support / experiences for keeping control of my mental state whilst also losing weight in a healthy way?

I was thinking it might be a good idea to try and lose weight much more slowly than I have before, trying not to get too impatient and allowing myself to eat a good number of calories and make sure I actually eat enough.

I've always "crashed" my metabolism before and I'm pretty sure that's what triggers my binges and rapid weight gain.

Any input would be much appreciated!

Thanks

I can relate very much. I wish so much I had advice for you, I'm in the midst of figuring things out myself after a massive loss and trying to normalize. Just wanted you to know you are NOT alone and there is lots of support here even if you don't get straight answers.

Is there a way to contact the people who helped you before to get their advice on how to approach this?

I think you have the right idea...aim to lose very slowly. I'm coming from a similar place as you...i've dieted my whole life, but last summer i hit a new low (mentally) when i starved myself for a few weeks and then binged for a few weeks. I realized that i never, ever want to go back to that. So this time, i decided to make my goals really, really small. In fact, the first and foremost goal was just to not gain weight. I'm doing only a small calorie deficit on weekdays and weekends i'm eating at maintenance. I'm not going to lose fast, but i know if i stick with this, i can lose 10 pounds at the end of 4-6 months. That to me is great--better than losing 20 and then gaining 20 all within 3 months. So i think you should aim for a very small deficit. As long as the scale is moving downward, no matter how slow, count it as a win.