new here, vlcd kicked my butt, starting over

[sophiathedss]

I am back trying somethign different on the paleo lifestyle.  I was on a very low calorie diet, lost 80 pounds, quit smoking, gained back 37 and now....feeling DEFEATED! I was to be accountable b ut I don't have an off switch when it comes to eating....

 

I am ready to do this, again! 

 

 

I appreciate feedback and tips..thanks NF!

[DeathDealer]

I've had moments where I felt that defeated feeling.  I know it's the last thing you want to hear, but it really does come down to willpower.  I understand that's not easy for everyone, but you just have to pick the smaller battles first.  I'm guessing when you quit smoking, you replaced the habit with snacking, which is incredibly common because it places something in your hand to be lifted to your mouth, which for most smokers is calming because it's similar to what you do when you smoke.  For now take baby steps and just focus on not eating between meals, unless it's a planned/scheduled part of your diet, and nothing a couple of hours before bed.  There might be a lot of clock watching at first, but it will get easier with time.  When that becomes easy, then try removing one of the calorie bombs you enjoy (e.g. soda).  Over time these will domino into a full plan that is easy to follow because you've been doing it all along.

 

Also, avoid "very low calorie" diets.  It's probably that a lot of your weight loss wasn't just body fat.  If you can't follow a eat when you're hungry plan because you're always hungry, then you're going to have to do the work of tracking it for awhile.  You need to find out your daily maintenance level for calories, and then back off from that number ~500 calories to lose weight.  Eating too little is just as bad as eating too much, there needs to be a happy medium.