Hello!!

needtobenormal

New member
Hi everyone! I'm Ashley and I'm 20 years old, 5'3 and in the range of 98-101.5 lbs (right now I'm around the higher end of that, lol). I have been struggling with weight and body image since the 6th or 7th grade, as my childhood was plagued with a severe case of double chin. I have a small frame but huge hips and thighs, and some cellulite on my thighs as of late. I work out occasionally, but it's more along the lines of loving the gym for a couple of weeks or so and then refusing to go for a while after that. I've been trying to get into the habit of regular exercise but it's hard for me to get myself in the mood to go, especially with work and classes taking up most of my day and energy. I love fruits and vegetables and whole grains, but I also love double bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream :/ Occassionally (probably too often) I have what I call a "binge day" where I go all out and eat everything I want. Then I feel completely sick and sometimes wake up in the middle of the night sweating and can barely function the next day. I try to keep it at one meal a day on a normal day and some snacks here and there. I don't feel deprived when I'm doing this because the main meal I have is usually something filling like oatmeal or egg whites/whole wheat toast or a sandwich on whole wheat or multigrain bread. My problem is the frequency of my binge days and the almost constant bloating that occurs after pretty much every meal. I want to be able to go to the beach and not feel like a whale for eating beforehand, etc. If anyone has any tips or wants to chat, let me know!
 
Hi Ashley I could never understand why I would always gain weight despite eating in my mind reasonably healthily most of the time. I have weighed myself almost every day for the past 6 weeks so now I am beginning to understand how my weight increases. On days we eat healthily and do a little activity weight remains steady and on those so-called binge days you can add as much as 3-4 Lbs of weight. Not all of that is fat but water and also waste which can take 3-4 days to clear your body (especially cheeseburgers). I find after binge days it can take 2-3 days of detox and lots of exercise, lots of water and eating sensibly to just get the weight back to normal and if you don't then your increased weight becomes the new normal.
 
ps. are you sure you're 98-101.5 Lbs? - doesn't sound like a lot....

Yes I am sure, haha. I know I don't weigh a lot but my mindset and habits are unhealthy overall. The reason i don't weigh a lot is because I don't eat much on a normal day. For example today I've only had strawberries and some crackers to eat and I'm done for the day. But when I do have a binge day, I go all out and then feel sick for days afterward.
 
Welcome to the forum.

It looks like you have the same problem as many of us - just at the other end of the healthy range...

Binge eating is not good for anyone - it really does not provide us with good nutrition and doesnt make us feel good about ourselves or our bodies...

I really would encourage you to go to the gym more often. I think that it could help you to feel better about your body image... Maybe some of your friends would like to go to the gym with you and you could turn it into a social event... or you could make friends with one or two gym rats who hang out there... Becoming more toned has to be good at any weight... It helps every one of us to feel better about our shape.

At your weight part of the problem could be in allowing your brain to catch up and allow you to see yourself as others see you... A lot of people that come down from a very big size have a similar problem where people tell them that they are at goal but they think that they still look fat... The description of having had a double chin and problems with huge hips and thighs seems familiar when we know (because we understand weight numbers because we are always thinking about them ourselves) that you must be very slim compared to most of us.

While some of us will focus on trying to reduce calories - others should maybe focus on maybe trying to have some protein every day whether we are hungry or not - or maybe on rationing a little treat every day instead of a lot of days with no treats followed by a day of binge eating which is not a positive experience.

We all deserve to feel good about ourselves and support in making the changes that we know we need to make to have a healthier body.

I suggest that you read the following thread - it may help you settle in and make friends
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/57955-My-advice-to-newcomers

Good luck with your project.
 
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