This is a journey that never ends and that's okay

So I've been struggling with my weight, losing and gaining, for about 10 years now. It's amazing how I used to think I know everything about losing weight (I've done it countless times!) but then I learn more. This is really a journey and I really don't know if there's actually a destination. You just keep going.

About me:

29/F 5'1 CW: 142.2

Goal weight? Somewhere between 106 - 122 will be good.

My weight has ranged from 112lbs when I was being really good to 156lbs (though the 156 was a few months after pregnancy)

Losing weight is simple CICO. Yes we all know that. My problem is I just get burned out after a few years of being good and then start binge eating. (I'm actually working with a counselor now to figure out why exactly I do this.) Here are some issues that I've notice that lead me to failure and I'm hoping maybe I can help others realize some things by sharing.

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1. Jumping on the bandwagon instead of doing what works for me - Right now all the rage seems to be intermittent fasting. It seems to work for so many people on helping them stay within their calorie goals. But it doesn't work for me. I can't go too long between meals or I get lightheaded and sick. So I tried to modify it. I would eat just enough to keep me going throughout the day and save as many calories as possible for the end of the day. Well that left me so ravenous that I just couldn't stop. I would either binge or fight the urge to binge every night. It was miserable! What works for me - eating small "meals" throughout the day so I never feel hungry. So yes, this great new technique everyone is doing works so well for so many people, but it's just not for me and that's okay.
2. Focusing only on eliminating calories in and not adding more calories out - I'm a short female. My BMR is infuriatingly low. I see a lot of other short girls post on here about how unfair it is. I get it! Also the fact that I work an office job and am naturally sedentary doesn't help. For years I've been trying to accept that I would only be allowed 1400 calories a day once I hit maintenance. And I'm just not okay with that. But I can change that. I can exercise. Having a treadmill in the house helps a lot. I'm slowly trying to make myself more active so hopefully I can eat around 1800 calories a day when I'm at mainenance. The saying is weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. For some reason my brain translated that as exercise doesn't really matter...but that's still 20%! It still is 1/5th of the journey that I was completely discrediting.
3. Not eating enough vegetables! - Even if you add a small amount of olive oil, a lot of vegetables are insanely low on calories. Until recently, I've been using that as a way to eat more calorific main courses. But, what if I ate half a pork chop and loaded my plate with 2-3 more servings of vegetables? Now I have a large overflowing plate of food for under 500 calories. And I'm stuffed! Most vegetables you just need to roast with a dab of olive oil and salt and they are delicious! The irritating thing is I've always known this but didn't actually do it. Until the other day when I planned a 200 calorie main course for dinner and then filled a large plate with roasted broccoli and cauliflower for only 175 more calories. I was so full on less than 400 calories! Normally I would only eat 50 calories worth of veggies so I had room for a cookie or something. But that just left me unsatisfied overall.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. I'm actually on a new boost of inspiration after over a year of being unable to stay on track. I've been really doing some soul searching lately and feel like I've made a break through to get back to where I was two years ago physically but with a healthy mind this time around.

submitted by /u/InnocentHeathy
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