Weight loss

[Pippinsqueak]

Does anyone have experience with needing to loose weight after having an eating disorder? When I was in my teens I developed anorexia and bulimia. It didn't go to the extremes but it was enough to make me look ill and cause physical effects. Now I'm 31 and no matter how little/how much healthy food I eat and I exercise regularly I cannot loose any weight. I'm currently at 11st 9lb and need to loose 1st 10lb. I'm worried that I was messed up my metabolism or something as each year I keep gaining around half a stone. Would be greatful for any advice or similar experiences

[YellowRose55]

Hi Pippinsqueak

Welcome to the weight loss forum.

I don't have any experience on eating disorders so I can't really comment on it. The NHS 12 week plan is a way of eating healthy and losing weight at a steady rate.

Take a look at the Welcome Newbie post in the Pinned post section at the right hand side or at the bottom if your on a mobile. Have a look at the nhs 12 week plan, many members have had success following this plan. Use the BMI checker to work out your daily calorie allowance.

Have a look at the Daily Diary which you can find on the Home page in Events. It is where all the members are sharing their daily plans on what they are eating and any exercise they are doing. This thread will give you some ideas on how to start.

Below the Pinned posts are the Topics where members share a range of weight related subjects.

Take your measurements at the start together with a photo so you can see the changes on the days the scales don't move.

We have daily weigh ins so why not come along and join us today. You can find the weigh ins on the Home page in the Events section on the right. Just click on the post in Events and record your start weight and any loss/gain or maintain for the week.

To get the most of the forum be active, share tips, recipes and experiences. Read some of the posts they are very motivating.

Have a good first week.

Rose

[rumpshakareed]

Hello!! I just joined on here and find it amazing that your post was one of the first ones that I read. I have suffered from anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating for the majority of my life. I am 41 years old and often struggle with maintaining a healthy weight. At my heaviest I was 250lbs and at my lowest I was 130 lbs, being 5'7" and large frame, I lost my menstrual cycle while at the 130lb weight. The last 10 years I seem to bounce between 150lbs to 175lbs; which my physician has informed me is harder on my heart than if I would just stay heavy. I started running when I quit smoking 3 years ago but am on an upswing in my weight that I cannot seem to break free from. I would be very interested in hearing if a certain thing works for you. I have been able to lose weight since being at the worst stages of my eating disorder, but have to be super strict and stick to whatever plan I am doing. It does seem that I can look at food and gain weight and have to make up for that by following a regimen to the T. If I am too strict calorie wise, I will maintain or gain, if I am not strict enough, I will maintain or gain. It is a daily battle for me and right now, my binge eating is out of control and I continue to gain Hopefully, at least we can bounce what works and doesn't work for us off of each other! Thanks for your post!!

[Hidden]

About six years ago when I was in my thirties I got addicted to diet pills and lost thirty pounds and sometimes didn't eat a thing for ten days at a time. I got very skinny and family wanted me to get help. I ran out of docs who would give me more pills. Then I got put on mandatory medications and gained forty pounds. I was 188 a month ago and I have lost 13 pounds so far. I am doing it the healthy way this time. It's much slower so I have to be patient. Just try not to obsess about it and dont give up. If you eat sever small meals your metabolism will go into high gear. It is possible to correct it. You can do it. Good luck!

[Active_43]

Hi Pippinsqueak

Thanks for sharing. I suffered from bulimia and binging in my teens and 20s, after treatment I was fine. Until my late 30s

As my children got older and my life less physical i started to gain weight and joined a diet group. I ended up restricting certain foods groups and using intermittent fasting. It was a very successful weight loss plan but before I knew it i'd forgotten what eating normally was like. I felt like I'd gone back 20 years in my habits!

I was lucky and got therapy through my GP very quickly. I started regular healthy eating. Unfortunately I gained again as my appetite went through the roof!

I have now learned more about portion control and a little bit of what you fancy does you good and so far it's working.

Good luck xx

[Pippinsqueak]

Thank you for your replies it's nice to know I'm not alone in this. I don't want to start obsessing about food again because I simply love it too much but even if I am sensible and restrict what I eat and exercise I don't loose it. I may seek advice from a GP on this to see it I've affected my body in some way

[HubbysMissMouse]

Hi Pippinsqueak and also to you rumpshakareed I don't know if this is something you have both done but thought I would give you this information as it surprises many people including myself when I heard about it. When I first joined I was always struggling with losing weight and just seemed to constantly put weight on and could never understand why because I never overate or anything. When I came here I was originally struggling as well and then I was asked if I had checked my calorie allowance on the NHS bmi calculator as this gives you amounts to eat between to be able to lose weight. I had actually been checking my calories but still eating less than the amounts as I had always only eating an average of 1000 calories most of the time and this was telling me to eat a lot more so thought I would never lose weight if I ate more. When I told this person this she told me that by not eating enough calories your body thinks you are starving it and turns what you do eat into body fat and this weighs more than eating the extra calories does so it stops you from losing weight and sometimes means you put weight on instead. I upped my calories and started losing weight and have now lost 2st. Try checking out your details on the calculator and look at how many you are having and make sure you have not also been making this same mistake. It affects many people but they just don't realise. The person who told me is no longer here so I try and let as many people who are having similar problems know this. Good luck with your journeys.

[Pippinsqueak in reply to HubbysMissMouse]

Hi thank you for your reply I did go on the NHS bmi calculator that said I needed to eat between 1500 and 1900 calories in order to loose 1st 10lbs which is what I'm doing (more towards 1600) anyway. The advice is so confusing as I thought women should eat 2000 calories per day anyway.

[HubbysMissMouse in reply to Pippinsqueak]

It does depend how much you exercise as well because by exercising means you have to eat more, the calculator actually adds this amount on for you.

I don't know if this does also work as it's just an idea but if you don't do same amounts of exercise every day maybe you should find out all three different amounts and go by whatever exercise you do on that particular day. Maybe someone else would know or even your doctor. It might even be worth looking up on internet. Hope you find out.

[Pippinsqueak in reply to HubbysMissMouse]

Yeah I'm going to see my gp if I ever get an appointment lol hence why I asked on here. I did the exercises part on the bmi form. It's just infuriating as I'm trying and sticking with things but not seeing any results. Hopefully I will find an answer one day

[rumpshakareed]

I agree with the calorie intake that the NHS bmi calculator has recommended for me 1694 - 2178 kcal; however, I disagree with the amount of weight it suggests that I need to lose. If I were to lose the recommended 34lbs I would be only 5lbs away from the same weight I was when I lost my menstrual cycle and was anorexic. I have found over the years that it is much more realistic to use fat percentage and muscle mass percentage to determine your individual best/healthiest range.