Losing Patience! Thanks and follow up

[Guest guest]

Thank you for trying to keep my spirits up.

Maggie, I wish it were all water weight, but I swear it's not. I'm

not going back to L.A. until Saturday, and I'm plenty hydrated. I

actually gained 10 pounds (!!!) of scale weight, and now three days

back on the plan, I weigh five pounds more than I did the weekend

before Christmas. Granted, I am due to start my period in a couple

of days, so I'm truly hoping some of it is PMS bloat.

, as usual, you're right on all counts. I did have to go to

extreme measures to maintain my weight at 120 pounds. When I weighed

130, I didn't have to do any extra cardio or cut calories, but then

madness seeped in again, and I kept wanting to be thinner. At one

point I was doing (brace yourself!) 90-120 minutes of cardio 7 days a

week and eating around 1000 cals a day. I know that this deprivation

and restriction eventually led to my bingeing. Emotional and stress

issues aside, I also gave my body physical reasons to binge. I was

literally starving after months on such an extreme diet, and my body

just couldn't take it anymore. What you said about focusing on

building muscle for now makes a lot of sense. It's a scary thought,

but I've vowed to eat more. I've been eating around 1400 cals a day,

which I don't think is enough. I'm going to up that to 1600 and

cycle my calories, plus start lifting heavier.

Jeannette, Thanks for thinking I'm an inspiration! I'm definitely

determined to lose the fat. It IS so much harder the second time

around, but I firmly believe that you only fail once you stop trying.

Happy New Year's, everyone!

Dani