I need some advice - possible TW for ED mention

[bighair12]

It might be time for a break. It might be hard but you should try maintaining for a while. It may make things feel a bit better. The feelings you are having are normal. It's great that you are realizing it now.

[Kida]

Hugs @shinyredsmartazz and congrats on all of that weightloss, it's amazing!

I can relate a little to how you feel. I've lost about 12 lbs and still have a minimum of 40 to go. Sometime I get stuck worrying about the same things. I've went a little farther than you and worried about developing an ed although I don't think I really should worry about it.

For some reason, even today I noticed I had dropped another lb and instead of feeling joy I felt anxious. Idk. I think change in any capacity does that to me.

I guess we just need to look at it like this. It is a lifestyle change but it doesn't have to be the calculating efforts that we are taking now, forever. Once we are at our goals it will be more of a maintenance thing which will have alot more wiggle room so to speak. Especially if you are exercising as well. You'll be able to just live your life, eat what you want within reason and not have to worry about it.

I'm sure this probably didn't help at all, I just wanted you to know that you do not struggle with this alone. Anytime you need to vent or talk about this, I'm here to talk about it with you 💜

[anastasia]

I'm going to be honest, I think constant monitoring of your food is key to maintaining a healthy weight. I think the hope is that you train your mind and body to make better choices as second nature... But for me, I know I need to think about it frequently or I creep back up the scale.

One approach I'm considering is to get to a weight I'm happy with, then give myself a 5 (or maybe 10) pound swing. I will weight myself everyday. As long as I don't hit the high end of my range, I can eat whatever I want. If I hit the high end, I have to diet until I get back down to the low point. I'm hoping that will make me choose not to pick up that extra slice of pizza or midnight snack, but not restrict me so bad that I hate it and go the opposite way.

[Deleted]

I'm sitting on your bench @shinyredsmartazz. I've been working on a calorie deficit for 7.5 months. I loosely track on the weekends and may occasionally take a day and not track at all. But lately I have been having similar thoughts as you. It's overwhelming. And the fact that my weight loss has tapered off (I didn't lose anything this past week) makes it even more frustrating, because now I question it's worth. I don't want to choke down all that protein for nothing!

I just re-calculated my macros because I'm more active than I was, but I'm seriously considering going into maintenance mode for awhile.

[Pizzaslut]

I think maintenance mode might be what you need for a bit. I currently am in maintenance mode because watching what I eat is always a struggle.

That being said, the goal, in the end, is that you do not have to constantly monitor. You simply don't need bad food, except a cheat meal/snack once a week or so. I know this is easier said than done. I have put on about 8 pounds since March. It is a very slippery slope. I would love to get to my goal weight and simply just not eat bad food except for a cheat. I think my trainer once told me that if you are trying to lose, to follow a 90/10 diet. Meaning 90% "clean" food, 10% cheats. When maintaining, follow an 80/20 diet.

Also, I agree with you on never being happy enough. I will never ever love my body. I will always have spare tire and tummy rolls and chicken wing arm flaps. Working out helps me to be more okay with those things. Like, I just lifted more than I've ever lifter, or I can run x number of miles, who cares if I have some extra tummy rolls.

Hugs to you, because I struggle with all of this every single day.