weight loss through stress

[quality coffee]

i'm just gonna lay it out there and see what the reaction is, obviously this situation is very common, is it wrong of me to take advantage and use it as a booster??

september 2008 i weighed approximately 96 kilograms (212 odd pounds), i basically became sort of inolved with a fella, must have gotten a bit over my head. anyway, my appetite just ground to a halt. i also could not sleep at all, and found i was always on edge. it was very similar to anxiety. my blood would always be pounding in my head - i was extremely irritable. it was a sort of god send - i lost 10 kilograms without noticing at all - with no effort, basically...i was definitely eating as healthily as i could though!!!

i went back to eating normally after about 3 months, and have maintaned my weight at about 86 kilograms (189 odd pounds), since then. i was exercising regularly (well 4 hours a week on the treadmill, fast walking), and eating very healthily - eggs and tomatoes for breakfast, fresh salad for lunch and weight watchers meals for dinner.

recently i began to see this particular individual again, and wo and behold, have just struck the same 'issue'.

in a normal day, i can manage 2 eggs scrambled (no milk or anything added) nd a diced tomato for breakfast, an orange and a small tub of yoghurt thru out the day, then a few mouthfuls of salad for dinner. i also have a yoghurt and a coffee. i calculated what i manage to eat, and its approximately 600 calories. there is nothing i can do - it is very hard to shove food down your throat when its the last thing your body wants.

so basically, i am now down to 75 kilograms (165 odd pounds), am still doing my 4 hours a week on the treadmill), and have not regained my appetite yet.

to become a healthy weight, i need to lose approximately 15 more kilos for my height.

so i ask you, is it wrong of me to take advantage of this??

its certainly been a lifesaver, and i maintained my weight loss initially, never put a kilo back on!!!


i'm a 22 year old female, by the way, 166cm tall.

 

[Jynus]

yes it's wrong of you. you're starving yourself. you're losing a crap ton of muscle mass, fat too yes, but the bulk is going to be muscle mass. your metabolism after a few months of this diet is going to ground to a halt, and any food you eat is going to fly right back into your fat stores. this process is made worse from stress due to an increased release of cortisol in the body.

 

[KaraCooks]

I'm gonna offer a bit of a different perspective.

Wrong or not wrong doesn't really enter into it. I've been where you are. I kicked off my weight loss a couple of years ago due to an incredible amount of stress in my life (divorce, business partner issues, etc., etc., etc.). I was seeing a therapist at the time and had talked to her about my stress and that I couldn't eat - putting food in my mouth made me physically ill. I lost weight like crazy and I was also still going to the gym and working out - because at the time working out was the only thing I felt like I had any control of in my life.

My therapist made me realize that ( a ) it wasn't wrong of me to enjoy the results of the weight loss but ( b ) I couldn't continue to use the stress as a weight loss tool because it was both physically and emotionally unhealthy and would eventually become an eating disorder. I have to say that her words did shock me into realizing that I had to stop doing what I was doing. I had to do something about the stress or I would become ill.

I wound up going to my family doctor and getting a prescription for Wellbutrin - just a mild dose to help take the edge off my anxiety and stress. I took it for 6 months and then with my therapist's encouragement, weaned myself off of it.

I think when you're in that kind of stressful situation where your body freaks out like that - and physically won't let you eat - it's a sign that you need to do something. It's tempting to use the stress to meet your weight goal, but it's not healthy and it's not safe and it will backfire on you eventually.

That's my perspective on it ... not quite as blunt as Jynus, but pretty much saying the same thing. I know how hard it is, but you have to break that cycle.

 

[Guest]

I would figure out just what it is about this man and yourself for that matter that is causing you so much anguish that you would be putting your mind and body into such grieve.

It can't be very exciting or satisfying. For you to not want to eat, and be so upset. From finding's of myself & other's, even what Kara has stated, unless I am reading into wrongly most people tend not to eat when upset, angry, or fearful.

It sounds like you're putting yourself into such an unhealthy relationship, why would you go back to it? Just to lose weight? Yikes.

Anxiety or not, I know all about it, and I've worked hard at it to find what the emotion is behind my action's, and why I do what I tend to do sub-consciously to myself.

Hopefully for your sake, when or if you ever come to some sort of realization, & start eating healthily again, you won't gain it all back, plus some.

Be well. Take Care​

 

[quality coffee]

it is a tricky one...i've not had an appetite for about 4 wks now. i haven't got the other side effects i had before though, the sleeplessness etc. it is definitely not a stressful relationship, i'm just so infatuated with him, well yeh its hard to explain.

i'm still exercising, still eating healthily, still socialising with my friends every weekend (the fact that i'm losing weight as i have obsessed about since i was in yr 9 means i'm quite ecstatic most of the time now) and still sleeping well.

i know things with him won't last forever, but yes i can't change things at the moment til i give him the flick or become comfortable with him. and its definitely not something i can rush.

so, i'm going to make the most of this time, keep taking my vitamins and tablets etc.

i really can't complain...

thanx guys, i really appreciate it.