Weight Loss

I'm 5'2 and around 121lbs.

gained a total of 20 pounds the past 9 months because of my binge eating disorder.

really hoping to lose the 20pounds and return to my original weight.

was wondering if I would lose all the weight eating 1200cals/day. the past 9months I either swing from eating really little or bingeing on tons of calories. yet, I'm afraid eating 1200cals per day would be too much. and instead of losing, I might simply be maintaining this high weight.

should I eat less than 1200cals, but I've heard that 1200cals is the bare minimum for the body? I'm pretty confused because I know I've screwed up my metabolism.

those losing weight on 1200cals per day, what's your activity level like? How much weight did you lose? and how long did it take you?

1200 seems really low to me, but then again i am half a foot taller than you.

I think that amount seems ok, depending on your activity. if i were you though, i wouldnt dive right into 1200 calories a day. i would maybe drop 100 calories from what you have been regularly eating and as your body gets comfortable with it, progresively lower it to 1200. hope that helped!

Jas,

I'm an inch taller than you, but have been in a similar boat.  I am 114 lbs right now, but due to my binge disorder i creeped up to 128lbs during the summer.  I'm only 114lbs because i had my wisdom teeth out and couldn't eat, otherwise i'd probably be more than 128lbs.   I prefer to be around 107lbs though, so i'm trying to start a 'clean eating/exercise' plan that will allow me to get there.Any less than 1200 is just too hard for me to stick to long-term and i know myself well enough to know i will almost certainly binge after about a week on anything less.   In fact, after two weeks on 1200, i want to binge.

I have decided to stick to 1400 calories per day with half an hour on the cross-trainer per day and the math shows that i should lose weight on this diet, slowly but surely.

If you can find a daily limit that your body doesn't rebel against, you may finally kick the BED... i'm work in progress too though (ate 5000 calories yesterday), so i'm right there with you!

thanks for the support. I do 60min on the stationary bike per day, other than that I'm mostly sedentary..

am on fluoxetine though, but it doesnt seem to help with the binges. I havent gone a day without bingeing yet and my binges are really huge..

I'm 5'2" 126lbs. I want you know know that anything between 110 and 135 are healthy weights for someone our height. It is defitinely not overweight yet. Also, last year i lived with someone who had BED. I saw how frustrating it was for her.

I would not recommend going below 1200 cal a day. anywhere below that your body thinks it is in a starvation situation and will start storing the food that you eat (in fat) and it'll reduce your basl metabolism (the rate of calories burned by normal body functioning).

Something you need to understand is that your body most likely has a basal metabolism of around 1200-1500 calories burned a day, just from normal functioning. That doesn't take into account moving around or walking around during your day or any additional exercise.

Definitely don't try to reduce to 1200 calories right away, that'll increase your likelihood of binging again because you'll feel like you're depriving your body of food. Go gradually. And remember that violation of abstinence is not the end of the world. One slip up is not going to immediately reverse all your hard work.

if that's u in the pic, i must say u look sooo much better than I do. furthermore, being very very small-boned, any extra weight on me makes me look extra flabby.

I am no expert, but if you have a BED and must lose weight, it seems that 1200 is too low, and is likely to trigger more binges. How old are you? If you are a teenager, don't go below 1500.

When you are in the normal BMI range, there are no quick fixes. The weight has to come off slowly, or not at all.

I'm turning 20 in a week. so I guess I'm considered an adult..

"The weight has to come off slowly, or not at all." what do you mean by that?  because before my BED, I've always maintained my weight around 102 pounds or so..furthermore, I'm Asian and my entire family has a small frame.

jas, if you are small-framed.. i can imagine you feel flabby with even the slightest bit of 'excess' as you see it.  I am small too (probably not as small boned as you are, i have proportionally large breasts and hips, and look deathly under 105 lbs.. but i know that if i even put on 2-3 lbs, i can feel and see them .. its very hard.

I think 1200 calories is a good aim for petite girls like us who have BED.  Any less and we're bound to binge.  Of course 1300-1400 is probably even better if we can be a bit more patient!:)

The thing about only having 1200 calories is you need to be so careful which foods you choose as you need to try to cover all the necessary nutritional needs your body has in such a small amount of calories.  I find i need to very carefully plan my diet at 1200 making sure i have enough fruits, vegetables, fibre, protein and good fats.  I always save 100 calories per day for a treat, any more than that and i tend to run out of calories to spend on 'good' foods.

Use    the    Tools!

First determine your burn, using the Burn Meter tool, being careful to choose the correct level of activity for you.  Once you have that number deduct 500 to 1,000 calories to get your intake level, never going below 1,200.  You'll lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.  Set your goal based on that and be realistic.  It's not healthy to lose faster than that.

I mean that if the weight comes off very quickly, it will come back quickly as well. Losing weight is a simple matter at first. You reduce your intake and your weight goes down. But the body adapts: you start losing muscle along with the fat. If you lose weight fast, without doing any strength training, you'll lose more muscle. Muscle uses calories, and your metabolic rate goes down (your body doesn't use as many calories anymore). After a while, weight comes back.

You can't reduce calories indefinitely. As you are of normal BMI, you will probably do better with a moderate deficit (the amount of calories you cut), with weight training. Have a look at the fitness forums, and use the tools, as clairelaine suggests.

I know people complain that the fitness forums go on about weight training a lot, but there is good reason! If you do weight training along with cutting calories, it will minimize muscle loss.

I'm 5'2 also. I range from 1300-1800 and it's taken me a little more than 3 months to lose 20 lbs. I exercise 6 times a week, mostly cardio with one day of strength training. 1200 is too low for me, I was eating 1200-1400 for the first month I started trying to lose weight and I only lost like 5 lbs... now that I've been eating closer to 1500 every day, I still lose about 5 lbs. a month...

Hey there, I am 5'1" and 135 :( I am trying to get down to 120... I am pretty sedentary all day but I box at night for an hour to two hours depending on if I am sparring someone. I went and talked to a dietician and with my lifestyle I should be getting around 1500 cal a day.I don't know much about ED's, this is all I can tell you... Hope it helps. You don't want to drop too low because then your body will start to store your weight...

I'm 5'5, 130ish, at at 1200cals a day. Err supposed to.

I'm trying to go to 115. But I don't excercise reg.  I'm really rollercoastery with my weight right now. Hopefully I'll get there soon!

The worst thing you can do for BED is go on a diet, especially an extreme diet (1200 calories = extreme). It will cause you to binge, and whatever you lose quickly, you'll probably gain right back.

Use the tools to figure out your estimated BMR & don't ever go more than 100 under. Or, you can figure out your estimated BMR for your goal weight & eat that.

Focus on sticking to a normal meal plan, never skipping meals or snacks and eating your BMR http://www.scribd.com/doc/2094947/1500-calori e-meal-plan

Eating often helps me avoid binges. If I can eat something every hour or two I am much better off.

I hope you can put recovery first over extreme crash dieting.

Original Post by mutenee:

I'm 5'5, 130ish, at at 1200cals a day. Err supposed to.

I'm trying to go to 115. But I don't excercise reg.  I'm really rollercoastery with my weight right now. Hopefully I'll get there soon!

 This is exactly why 1200/day is a problem. Your weight loss will be "rollercoastery." That is no way to live & it will seriously exaccerbate your eating disorder.

Eat closer to your bmr and focus on HEALTH, eating well and eating often. You are much less likely to binge if your body doesn't think you're starving and you feed it well and often.

I posted on your other thread, so please check my reply there. But here is an abbreviated version:

Why eating only 1200 calories or undereating doesn't work to lose weight

http://caloriecount.about.com/wont-lose-faste r-eat-calories-q3127

In the long run, you won’t lose weight faster by eating 1200 calories a day.  Under-eating deprives your body of essential nutrients and leads to muscle breakdown to provide energy.  With less muscle, you require fewer calories and you reach a weight low plateau more quickly.  Restrictive dieting also places you at risk for binge-eating which can lead to weigh gain and a life of yo-yo dieting.

Will I go into starvation mode if I eat 1000 – 1200 calories a day?

http://caloriecount.about.com/starvation-mode -eat-calories-q2046

Your body will not selectively burn stored fat because your central nervous system needs glucose and you can’t make glucose from fat.  But protein can be converted to glucose, and so the body breaks down your muscles to provide it.  Ultimately, you lose lots of muscle along with fat, and that drives down your calorie requirements because muscle burns calories but fat does not.  You then maintain a higher weight on less food making weight gain inevitable.  For best results, eat the number of calories prescribed by the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section.

hohoho, suddenly my post is a sticky post. LOLX

Original Post by jas_cuzzie:

hohoho, suddenly my post is a sticky post. LOLX

 Yes- to highlight an issue that the moderators feel people need to read and learn from.