my story- advice please!

C

cupcake91

New member
Hi,
im new to this site.. i am after some advice and encouragement really!

i'll start from the beginning.

im a 19 year old female...at the age of 15 i became bulimic... stuffing my face and then making myself ill as well as using laxatives and diet pills.. around that time i would go through phases of eating around 500 cals per day because i wanted to be thin so badly!

i was a very thin child & after hitting puberty i guess i didnt like the changes (although looking back on it now, i was tiiiiiiny!)

anyways... ive now got a lovely boyfriend who has helped me through that and i am no longer harming myself in that way, i havent done for about 2 years, yippeeee!

im now 19 and have tried so many faddy diets that i cant stick to, i still have that bingeing aspect left in me! ive come to the conclusion that my best bet is to calorie count and do some light exercise (i have chronic fatigue syndrome so get very painful joints and muscles).

im 5ft 2 and 131 pounds and am looking to lose about 14 pounds in total.
how many calories would you guys suggest eating per day?
and any tips on how to overcome sugar/chocolate cravings?!

please reply- im sorry if this sounds like a sob story but i could really do with the advice!! thanks x
 
cupcake91 said:
Hi,
im new to this site.. i am after some advice and encouragement really!

i'll start from the beginning.

im a 19 year old female...at the age of 15 i became bulimic... stuffing my face and then making myself ill as well as using laxatives and diet pills.. around that time i would go through phases of eating around 500 cals per day because i wanted to be thin so badly!

i was a very thin child & after hitting puberty i guess i didnt like the changes (although looking back on it now, i was tiiiiiiny!)

anyways... ive now got a lovely boyfriend who has helped me through that and i am no longer harming myself in that way, i havent done for about 2 years, yippeeee!

im now 19 and have tried so many faddy diets that i cant stick to, i still have that bingeing aspect left in me! ive come to the conclusion that my best bet is to calorie count and do some light exercise (i have chronic fatigue syndrome so get very painful joints and muscles).

im 5ft 2 and 131 pounds and am looking to lose about 14 pounds in total.
how many calories would you guys suggest eating per day?
and any tips on how to overcome sugar/chocolate cravings?!

please reply- im sorry if this sounds like a sob story but i could really do with the advice!! thanks x
Click to expand...

This says if you live a sedentary lifestyle you need 1590 calories.

I would eat 1300 calories and also walk for an hour a day to give you about a pound of fat loss per week.
 
cupcake91 said:
im 5ft 2 and 131 pounds and am looking to lose about 14 pounds in total.
how many calories would you guys suggest eating per day?
and any tips on how to overcome sugar/chocolate cravings?!

please reply- im sorry if this sounds like a sob story but i could really do with the advice!! thanks x
Click to expand...

First off, congratulations for beating bulimia. I hope you never relapse. It's good you were able to recover while you are still young.

Like biggestloser said, I'd recommend eating 1200-1400 calories a day and walking for an hour. Maybe if you feel up to it, jog and walk in intervals.

Overcoming sugar cravings...if I knew the secret to that, I wouldn't be on this forum! ;) But seriously, the worst thing you can do is deny yourself any desserts ever, because you'll end up binging and feeling guilty. You can have a candy bar or an ice cream or a donut - just don't have more than 1 a day and don't have one every day. Or maybe you're one of those people who can convince herself fruit = dessert - I'm trying but let's face it a banana is not a brownie!

If you have a history of alcoholism in your family your "sweet tooth" will be really strong.
 
As for the sweets cravings I actually recommend the exact opposite of lacardwell. I find that if I have any sweets I immediately crave them and find it hard to just stop at one. I avoid it as much as possible. I mean if it was my b-day and we had cake I would have a small slice but then I would really hope that my friends and family ate the rest of the cake cause I don't want it sitting around!!
You really have to figure that one out to see which way works best for you.
 
Yeah, that's a good point MysticRealm. I never, ever keep sweets in my home and limit it to going out and buying exactly how much I intend to eat (and not overdoing it - we're talking < 300 calories per sweet), like one scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins or a couple small chocolate squares or a single slice of cake from a bakery. Keeping cookies or a big tub of ice cream around is a terrible idea.
 
MysticRealm said:
As for the sweets cravings I actually recommend the exact opposite of lacardwell. I find that if I have any sweets I immediately crave them and find it hard to just stop at one. I avoid it as much as possible. I mean if it was my b-day and we had cake I would have a small slice but then I would really hope that my friends and family ate the rest of the cake cause I don't want it sitting around!!
You really have to figure that one out to see which way works best for you.
Click to expand...

I agree, I used to be a complete candy/pastry addict. The only way I am able to keep it in check is to have stopped it and all junk food altogether and let my taste buds readjust. I am not tempted to eat junk food now, but I know if I started eating it I'll be right back where I started.

I made an exception for a family birthday, but even then we only had lightly sweet home made "junk".
 
thank you so much for the replies, theyve been really helpful!
its really interesting that you say a family history of alcaholism = a sweet tooth, ive never heard that before! today is my first day of the diet, i'll take some before pics and post soon!

i'm going to try 1300 calories to start off with and try to walk for an hour today too!
what low cal foods do you guys eat to fight off the 3pm sugar slump i seem to get every day?!

thank you again for your're advice, i appreciate it!x
 
cupcake91 said:
thank you so much for the replies, theyve been really helpful!
its really interesting that you say a family history of alcaholism = a sweet tooth, ive never heard that before! today is my first day of the diet, i'll take some before pics and post soon!

i'm going to try 1300 calories to start off with and try to walk for an hour today too!
what low cal foods do you guys eat to fight off the 3pm sugar slump i seem to get every day?!

thank you again for your're advice, i appreciate it!x
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll get the 3pm sugar slump if you eat low glycemic foods to begin with. The slump is caused by you eating a large lunch, probably with refined carbs like sugar or white bread or white rice or even drinking juice, and your body releasing a lot of insulin. Then the insulin removes the sugar and you feel the slump.

You might try to eat like a diabetic (essentially staying away from anything that would rapidly put a lot of sugar into the blood). Probably if your energy levels are low you could try drinking tea or coffee if you need the energy to work.

If you eat meals rich in protein, vegetables, and some whole carbs that don't immediately turn into sugar in your body you'll feel more evened out.
 
Hi, I'm a closet bulimic so I can relate to your problem. Although I don't do the binge/purge as frequently now (I used to do it anywhere from 5times/day to 2times/week) there are still moments when I feel like I overate and will run to the bathroom. However, about your cravings for sweets, personally I find constantly chewing sugarless gum does the trick. They are only 3-10 cals a piece, so you don't have to be worried about counting calories. I have heard people saying that chewing gum makes you hungrier, but I don't seem to notice it. I'm also 5'2, and my personal trainer recommends going for 1200 calories a day :)
 
thanks so much for the replies! i havent relapsed in 2 years and i am a (recovering) closet bulimic so i will quite happily admit that im well proud of myself hehe :)

ive started having a banana at my 3pm dip and its doing the job, no more chocolate EVERY DAY for me!
thanks for the tips everyone... any more are welcome :D
 
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