Best way to lose weight after gaining very quickly (stress eating)
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Anonymous
I've gained 15-20 pounds since the end of June.  My husband got a new job that moved us back to our (small) hometown from a city I absolutely loved, and for many reasons I was really devastated about the move - and I've basically eaten my feelings for three months. I know yo-yo dieting is terrible, but I really want to drop the weight as quickly as I gained it. My clothes are uncomfortable and it's affecting my confidence, both at work and socially. I was at a really healthy weight and I want to get back to it.
So my question is - what is the best way to lose this weight quickly, without getting weird/disordered/obsessed about it? Anyone have thoughts? |
Anonymous
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You can't lose this weight quickly. You could blow out your gall bladder if you lose more than 1-2 pounds a week for that much weight.
Diet and exercise is your answer. I think I've seen your other posts. You mentioned feeling lonely. Perhaps a Weight Watchers group would be a good place to make friends and lose weight? |
Anonymous
| What!? You can lose 5lbs a month without "blowing out" your gall bladder!! Go paleo. Eat tons of veggies. Stop drinking. Etc |
Anonymous
Do you know math? She gained 15-20lbs in 3 months. That's 12 weeks. If she loses 2lbs a week, that's 24lbs in 3 months. Very safe. If she loses 1.5lbs a week, she's down 18lbs. Again, safe and doable. |
Anonymous
Yes, I can do math. I can also do psychology. I frankly didn't believe the OP that she was really serious about taking a longer time to lose the weight since she also used the word "quickly" a lot. She also said she "needs" to get to some magic weight number to feel comfortable and confident. This suggests that she's pretty invested in becoming who she thinks she used to be ASAP, which may lead to unhealthy behavior. She's also dealing with some serious emotional issues that (presumably) haven't gone away. I don't think a number on a scale should be the goal. Focusing on diet and exercise and getting some decent emotional support will take her further in the long run. Alternately, she could get magic diet tips from DCUM, lose a couple of pounds safely at first, feel temporarily good about it, and then push harder and faster because what she's really trying to do is get back the life she had, which she has somehow now associates with being a certain weight, and then make herself sick. |
Anonymous
| Whole30. Totally healthy and you will drop the weight. It eliminates all the junk from your diet. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I appreciate everyone's thoughts.
I've only posted on this forum once before - before the move, this was me: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/383056.page I'm definitely not trying to become something I wasn't. I weighed a comfortable 145 for a very long time, and now I weigh 160+, which I gained by consuming obscene quantities of sugar and whatever else I felt like over the course of several months. I don't need to get back to that exact number, but I'd like to get back into that range to feel comfortable in my clothes again. I don't think that's unreasonable and I would like some tips on the best way to do it over the course of a few months without being crazy or extreme. There are definitely emotional issues still to be dealt with. I've been in therapy since before the move and am taking Wellbutrin for depression. I need to start exercising again, for the emotional benefits if not to help lose the weight. But I don't expect to lose much weight from the exercise alone, I want to do that for physical and emotional strength, but need another plan for losing the weight. |
Anonymous
I've had several friends who did this and they didn't end up losing much weight or being able to stick to the food plan for the long term. |
Anonymous
| Stop having a weird relationship with food. Read the betheny frankle book. Really. |
Anonymous
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OP, if it makes you feel better, I gained 13 lbs in 4 months after we moved from FFX to ARL when I was 39. I have absolutely no idea where the weight came from - I was exercising daily (often at high intensity), walking a lot every day, not eating my feelings, not really eating differently - but 13 lbs just came on out of nowhere. (I'm typically about 140-145 lbs, but ended up at 158.)
I chalked it up to the dreaded Age 40 Metabolism Slowdown and tried not to worry about it too much. I continued to exercise daily, started keeping an eye on my diet again, and have gradually lost most of the weight I put on. Anyway, forget about "quickly" and just figure out an exercise routine that works for you, along with healthy eating habits. You could try journaling your calories so you can see what you're really eating - for me that's always been a great way to make sense of the number on the scale. ("You mean I *can't* eat baskin robbins every day and lose weight? go figure!") 
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Anonymous
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OP, the tone of your question and other post suggests that you already know exactly what you need to do to get back into your healthier weight zone in a few months time. Eat less sugar, take care of your emotional stress in non-food ways, perhaps exercise a bit more and eat more veggies in place of higher calorie foods ... At least for a while.
I am wondering exactly what "tips" you are looking for here? Cut down on grains, sugar, fat for a while ... Not eliminate, just cut back. Eat more salads and broth soups and don't use much fatty dressing. Walk more. No food less than 3 hours before bed. Real food rather than processed food. Avoid fried food. Avoid eating out, particularly at restaurants with a drive through. Use a smaller plate to help limit portions a bit. Drink plenty of water and no caloric beverages, but stay clear of artificial sweetners. Sleep enough each night. Be kind to yourself. These are the usual "tips" that I think everyone pretty much knows, although we as a nation apparently don't manage to follow through very consistently. |
Anonymous
| I just joined weight watchers after not being in it for many years. I am really enjoying it. I have lost a total of 9.5 pounds, and feel well on my way to losing weight in a healthy way that I can maintain. I do online plus meetings. The meetings really motivate me and give me some great ideas. |
Anonymous
| Whole 30. It is simple to follow, extremely healthy, and the pounds just drop off. It is a great learning experience as well. I'm at the end of it right now, I look great, and I'm sure I will repeat it again. |
Anonymous
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I feel for you, last year I moved from the city to a rural community and I became depressed, stopped exercising and ate junk to feel better. I gained 12 lbs, I am 5 ft tall so it was a lot for me, I had to buy new clothes.
It's really hard when you are down in it to pull yourself back out. One of my friends became a beachbody coach and I did the 30 day challenge, I exercised 5 days a week, cut out junk food, sugar, alcohol, and grains. It helped me to have the accountability of tracking and reporting the exercise and my clean eating. I lost 10 lbs in 30 days. I was skeptical of the shake that they recommend, but it really helped me to not crave the carbs, candy and junk I had been shoveling into my mouth. I know what to eat and prior to this move hadn't had a weight issue, but I really needed the support to snap back to my old self. Although I really know what to do, I just kept falling off the wagon and into a plate of brownies, cookies, pasta, etc. I used the my fitness pal app to list what I was eating and record my exercise. I lost the first 8 fairly quickly, but that was probably just from cleaning up my diet, but that made me feel so much better it has helped me to get into a routine and stick with it. Good luck! I also had to look at my sleep habits as well, it's hard to feel better when you are not getting good sleep. |