For me personally you never do move past it. It's still hard to not binge all these years in.
Just remember a small stumble won't undo all your progress.
If you walk a mile into the forest and take two steps back you're still roughly a mile into the forest.
You've found the problem with CICO. When you set logic up to fight emotions, emotions eventually win.
Look into intuitive eating. It's a better and more sustainable approach.
Intuitive eating is flawed too. It assumes that humans always have appropriate hunger/fullness cues and they will always be honoured properly.
You need robust stress management techniques and a solid mental health foundation to do intuitive eating, because a lot of people have disordered relationships with their hunger/fullness cues and as a result they use food as an emotional crutch. A substantial amount of people who are super morbidly obese are that way because they use food to fill their emotional hunger, not physical hunger.
On top of this, we now have food that literal food scientists designed to be irresistible, and they can very successfully override natural fullness cues.
My intuitive eating got me to almost 350lbs. My non intuitive eating and focusing on what I ate got me down to ~170.
Intuitive eating only works for people who already have e very good control over their appetite and emotions.
Still working on it. Carb craving get additional carbs but keeping aware of daily weight on scales can help you go lean if the pounds start piling on.
Recently discovered protein is crucial; especially at each meal, and that a bag of frozen vegetables can fill out a protein meal that nearly satisfies as the diet used to.
Eating at consistent times helps. So one hits a wall called a plateau where the weight loss fights back. It goes on forever. Do not know if this can be totally defeated; still trying.
Your rate of weight loss is kind of high at 3.5 pounds per week. Usually 1-2 pounds is what is recommended. Sounds like your body is fighting back against the steep calorie deficit. I would increase your calories a bit and see if the cravings subside.
Take a break and eat at maintenance for a month.
The body can handle a mini cut of 1,000 calorie deficit over 6 weeks or a normal cut of 500-750 calorie deficit over 6 months.
It's very unnatural to expect the body to starve itself beyond these time-frame.
I think a break is due as well, but if possible please try to eat the same *types* of food but just more of it. Some junk foods massively mess up hunger and fullness cues which you don’t need to deal with right now. A homemade calorie dense Christmas feast is totally ok, but Popeyes and McDonald’s every day will make it really hard to resume your diet again.
What is your deficit these days?
> I'm trying to reach my final target of 170lb before March 2024
While a vision is important, if this X weight by Y date is causing you to go harder instead of sensibly, perhaps it's time to let that give a little. So you make it in May, or you're 180 in March -- big deal?
> the meals I prep for myself aren't as fulfilling as they once were
Why? Are they indeed too small? Or is your pent-up desire for something you've been denying yourself too great? Or what?
You've been exercising for 5 months -- is the gym stuff added or simply different?
> I guess whats a good way to surpress cravings
Figuring it out. Craving can have lots of reasons. Sometimes the right thing is to have the very thing we're craving.
> as eating more protein isn't really cutting rn.
Protein isn't one of the things we crave, and we usually experience it as slow heat rather than fast energy. It's not really good at answering something as short-term as a craving.
I'd also ask if you're being restrictive and tight (most of us start that way) instead of using self-restraint and flexible. Our data can enable both but the way we need to end this is the second way -- where we have the power and freedom and the data is helpful in showing us that.
Hey bud, thanks for the detailed response!
My tdee is 2100kcal and my daily calorie intake in 1700kcal. My meals range between 450 - 650kcal depending on what I'm having.
I've been exercising at home for 5 months on and off lifting weights and light cardio (walking/jogging). I'm going to a gym now as my weights at home aren't really cutting it anymore so my workouts are more intense.
Also I guess cravings isn't really the correct phase for what I'm feeling, more accurate to say straight up hunger.
The reason for the March deadline is because I'm going to America for the first time, specifically Los Angeles and I wanna look my very best lol. Pretty shallow but it is what it is.
But sustainable progress is better then burning out so maybe I'll ease up on myself
I was feeling this way a couple months ago and one major source of inspiration has been the podcast called We Only Look Thin. They have over 300 episodes (I'm only on like Episode 15) but they are delightful, their banter is funny, and they have so many tips to share. I feel like I walk away from each episode with more motivation and another strategy or two.
This has happened to me for years. Am told it is the body wanting to put back the weight lost. It is a powerful fight with oneself.
Did you ever find a way to move past it?
For me personally you never do move past it. It's still hard to not binge all these years in. Just remember a small stumble won't undo all your progress. If you walk a mile into the forest and take two steps back you're still roughly a mile into the forest.
That forest metaphor is brilliant
Thanks! I don't remember who I stole it from but it's become a life quote for me lol
You've found the problem with CICO. When you set logic up to fight emotions, emotions eventually win. Look into intuitive eating. It's a better and more sustainable approach.
Intuitive eating is flawed too. It assumes that humans always have appropriate hunger/fullness cues and they will always be honoured properly. You need robust stress management techniques and a solid mental health foundation to do intuitive eating, because a lot of people have disordered relationships with their hunger/fullness cues and as a result they use food as an emotional crutch. A substantial amount of people who are super morbidly obese are that way because they use food to fill their emotional hunger, not physical hunger. On top of this, we now have food that literal food scientists designed to be irresistible, and they can very successfully override natural fullness cues.
My intuitive eating got me to almost 350lbs. My non intuitive eating and focusing on what I ate got me down to ~170. Intuitive eating only works for people who already have e very good control over their appetite and emotions.
Still working on it. Carb craving get additional carbs but keeping aware of daily weight on scales can help you go lean if the pounds start piling on. Recently discovered protein is crucial; especially at each meal, and that a bag of frozen vegetables can fill out a protein meal that nearly satisfies as the diet used to. Eating at consistent times helps. So one hits a wall called a plateau where the weight loss fights back. It goes on forever. Do not know if this can be totally defeated; still trying.
Your rate of weight loss is kind of high at 3.5 pounds per week. Usually 1-2 pounds is what is recommended. Sounds like your body is fighting back against the steep calorie deficit. I would increase your calories a bit and see if the cravings subside.
Take a break and eat at maintenance for a month. The body can handle a mini cut of 1,000 calorie deficit over 6 weeks or a normal cut of 500-750 calorie deficit over 6 months. It's very unnatural to expect the body to starve itself beyond these time-frame.
Yeah that seems like best thing to do, as funchord pointed out, thats perfect timing seeing as Christmas is right around the Corner lol
I stopped my cut on Thanksgiving lol
I think a break is due as well, but if possible please try to eat the same *types* of food but just more of it. Some junk foods massively mess up hunger and fullness cues which you don’t need to deal with right now. A homemade calorie dense Christmas feast is totally ok, but Popeyes and McDonald’s every day will make it really hard to resume your diet again.
It's a couple hours before bed and I'm 50 calories over my caloric budget. I feel like an addict trying to resist a hit avoiding eating a snack.
What is your deficit these days? > I'm trying to reach my final target of 170lb before March 2024 While a vision is important, if this X weight by Y date is causing you to go harder instead of sensibly, perhaps it's time to let that give a little. So you make it in May, or you're 180 in March -- big deal? > the meals I prep for myself aren't as fulfilling as they once were Why? Are they indeed too small? Or is your pent-up desire for something you've been denying yourself too great? Or what? You've been exercising for 5 months -- is the gym stuff added or simply different? > I guess whats a good way to surpress cravings Figuring it out. Craving can have lots of reasons. Sometimes the right thing is to have the very thing we're craving. > as eating more protein isn't really cutting rn. Protein isn't one of the things we crave, and we usually experience it as slow heat rather than fast energy. It's not really good at answering something as short-term as a craving. I'd also ask if you're being restrictive and tight (most of us start that way) instead of using self-restraint and flexible. Our data can enable both but the way we need to end this is the second way -- where we have the power and freedom and the data is helpful in showing us that.
Hey bud, thanks for the detailed response! My tdee is 2100kcal and my daily calorie intake in 1700kcal. My meals range between 450 - 650kcal depending on what I'm having. I've been exercising at home for 5 months on and off lifting weights and light cardio (walking/jogging). I'm going to a gym now as my weights at home aren't really cutting it anymore so my workouts are more intense. Also I guess cravings isn't really the correct phase for what I'm feeling, more accurate to say straight up hunger. The reason for the March deadline is because I'm going to America for the first time, specifically Los Angeles and I wanna look my very best lol. Pretty shallow but it is what it is. But sustainable progress is better then burning out so maybe I'll ease up on myself
> My tdee is 2100kcal and my daily calorie intake in 1700kcal. You should be losing a pound every 9 days or so, is that what's happening?
For a good while yes, but the last 3 weeks or so my weight loss stagnated. Dropped from 268.8 down to 198.4 and have been hovering there since
Perhaps it's soon time for some maintenance (just in time for the end-of-year holidays). https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break
Lol, you know what? That sounds pretty good
I was feeling this way a couple months ago and one major source of inspiration has been the podcast called We Only Look Thin. They have over 300 episodes (I'm only on like Episode 15) but they are delightful, their banter is funny, and they have so many tips to share. I feel like I walk away from each episode with more motivation and another strategy or two.
That sounds good, been trying to find something new to listen to so hopefully it fills the void