So I have a plan.

[IHateMyJob2004]

You should be taking in well over 1000 calories. From what you said, 1500 to 1700 would be good.

Weight loss is not a race. It is a destination. And remember that your weekly intake matters more than daily. Track calories on a weekly basis knowing that a 3000 calorie day is not the end of the world.

A 500 calorie daily deficit will drop a pound a week. You can get to 200 by new years just doing that.

Heck, my goal over 2 years is to drop from 230+ to 195. And I am almost there. Setting up yourself for a slower gradual change helps develop healthy eating habits.

Not sure if my logical approachaddress your root issue but I thought it may be worth mentioning.

 

[blinky8225]

There are many studies that show not eating enough carbs can cause depression. I would say try to regulate your diet a little more because with a proper diet and the excercise you are doing you should be feeling better, not worse. I have to think it has to do with your diet.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/23047-nutritional-causes-depression/

http://journals.cambridge.org/downl...63a.pdf&code=29a873fac723a4e4b38b329bcd41b762

Not eating enough fat has also been associated with depression.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15671130

Also, not enough vitamin b12 is associated with depression. You could probably try to eat some more red meat. It's not bad for you despite what everyone says. People don't get fat by overeating on grass-fed steaks.

In general, you want to avoid extreme dieting and keep protein high. You should also incorporate days where you cheat and overfeed and go over maintenance. Prolonged calorie restriction is quite stressful on the body.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

If I didn't hear the word, I'd still be heavy and in even more depressed...lol

The word obese has a definition. Sometimes when someone says that word, a person hears the connotatition only. Remember, it is just a word. Try taking what she said is that you weigh more than you should. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[blinky8225]

Its possible that you may have issues with your liver, you will want to eat a lot more fruits and vegetables(may even go Vegan...or vegetarian as I have). The liver is one of the key causes of depression and mental instability next to issues with the brain. I got screened and it showed that I had liver problems, so I started to detox my body with herbal Teas and supplements, I'm finding I'm a much happier person then I ever was before. People like to hate Vegan and Vegetarian diets but I'm telling you as an eater of meat for 33 years, I'm not really missing it. I don't think I could go full on vegan as it is an expensive way to live but I'm finding that vegetarianism isn't anymore expensive then eating meat, I stay fuller, and if it keeps me from becoming overweight after my weight loss is over then I have no problem sticking with this for the rest of my life.

Honestly though, get your liver screened, if you are or were obese than you may be having liver problems. I was really a lot more miserable before I switched.

And no, I don't have a problem with people who eat meat, hunt, wear animal hides or anything else. I just won't be eating meat for the rest of my life, cause its not worth being obese and unhappy.

I'm happy that you found a way of eating that suits you. However, it sounds like he has already curtailed his consumption of meat and converted to a mostly vegan/vegetarian diet. Research failure to thrive among vegans. For whatever reason, a significant number of people cannot subsist on a plant-based diet. For all we know, his lack of consumption of animal products could be the cause of his depression.

Eating meat is not synonymous with being obese and unhappy. People have eaten meat for thousands of years without becoming obese and unhappy. Obesity is a much more modern problem that is much more complex than meat consumption.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Its possible that you may have issues with your liver, you will want to eat a lot more fruits and vegetables(may even go Vegan...or vegetarian as I have). The liver is one of the key causes of depression and mental instability next to issues with the brain.

I'm unaware of any depressive disorder caused by a liver pathology. Could you provide me with a link, or some kind of evidence please?

I got screened and it showed that I had liver problems, so I started to detox my body with herbal Teas and supplements, I'm finding I'm a much happier person then I ever was before. People like to hate Vegan and Vegetarian diets but I'm telling you as an eater of meat for 33 years, I'm not really missing it. I don't think I could go full on vegan as it is an expensive way to live but I'm finding that vegetarianism isn't anymore expensive then eating meat, I stay fuller, and if it keeps me from becoming overweight after my weight loss is over then I have no problem sticking with this for the rest of my life.

I'm also unaware of how herbal teas and supplements 'detox', or help liver function. Could you give me a link please?

Also, I should point out that a lot of normal-weight people eat meat, and a lot of meat-eaters are normal-weight.

If I didn't hear the word, I'd still be heavy and in even more depressed...lol

I think the consensus from ATHF is that whatever your weight, what you're doing now isn't really working the way you think it should. Go see your doctor, she'll be able to help more than we can.

 

[Schmide]

My points.

Eat breakfast even if you're not hungry in the morning.

Moderate activity every day.

Small meals during the day.

Starve at night. No eating 4 hrs before bed. Replace meals with a calorie drink. I like tea with half and half.

Shock your system once a week. Eat an above average meal and do above average exercise.

 

[JellyBaby]

For some people, eating vegan or even vegetarian causes depression. It's perfectly ok to eat meat and fats, in fact you should as it's healthy (if done right). Trouble is, we live in fat-phobic times and saturated fats have especially been demonized.

For most people, excess carbs are really what make them fat and when you go vegetarian, you by necessity have to jack up your carbs because you eat less fat and protein. Too many carbs drive up your insulin levels and that promotes fat storage. All that extra insulin also inhibits your leptin response which means your body doesn't feel full like it normally would if you ate properly. That's why in low fat diets, you literally have to starve yourself to lose weight and it just plain sucks.

It doesn't have to be that way. If you eat plenty of good fats and get a good amount of protein and drop carbs, you may be surprised at how much weight you can lose and you may just find that depression goes away (but that may be an entirely different level of concern as others have said). A good video on this stuff is called Fat Head. I highly recommend it.

Just remember this is all internet advice and what works for one person doesn't always work for another, so keep that in mind. It worked for me though heh.

 

[amdhunter]

Have you joined a gym, OP?

Exercise is nature's anti-depressant.

Just joined the local YMCA today. Maybe it will give me a little pickup.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Just joined the local YMCA today. Maybe it will give me a little pickup.

It'll help a little, but not much - even if you were depressed. Which I don't think you are, because you don't describe any of the common symptoms of depression. Obviously I'm not going to be a very judge, never having met you before and only going off a few lines in the OP. But I'm going to reiterate a piece of good advice - GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR.

 

[RbSX]

Just joined the local YMCA today. Maybe it will give me a little pickup.

Not if you don't do it properly.

FFS you are beyond help. Take the basic steps, eat and exercise right.

 

[Whisper]

I'm going to agree with just about everyone else--talk to your doc, and be sure to especially mention the part about how you feel toward food when you eat. Obviously no one here can even attempt to diagnose anything based on a few lines of text, but the way you describe your attitude sounds like it has the makings of an eating disorder (although it'd technically be either bulimia or eating disorder NOS if anything; anorexia is reserved for individuals who are significantly below ideal body weight).

Regardless of all that, talk to your doc. If these thoughts/feelings get worse and your doc doesn't refer you to a mental health professional, make an appointment yourself with someone who specializes in eating disorders (as was mentioned earlier in the thread). They'll be able to take a look at your eating habits and attitudes, and should also be adequately trained to assess for a mood disorder if one is present.

 

[rga]

It'll help. Make sure you go in there with a plan on how to work out. If not, you'll try some machines or free weights, not have any idea what you're doing, and lose motivation. Look one up online and stick to it. SociallyChallenged mentions Starting Strength and Strong Lifts in his sticky. I'm doing Strong Lifts, and I'm progressing and having fun and losing weight. I wasted about $600 on a gym membership about 5 years ago because I had no idea what to do when I got to the gym. I got discouraged and stopped going. Don't let this happen to you. Find a work out plan and stick to it. Start light, keep adding weight, and you'll keep progressing. You'll have all the motivation you need to keep going after completing the first work out.

Since you're going to start some type of exercise, you REALLY need to change the way you feel and think about food now. I wanted to mention that I'm 165 lbs. now, and I'm eating around 2400 calories per day, and I'm still losing weight. I mention this because you're 230, and I want you to know that you can still eat and lose weight. Please, if you haven't yet, ready SociallyChallenged's sticky. If you've read it already, reread the nutrition part. Start reading the nutritional information on the food you buy so that you can eat and not feel guilty about it. Remember, the basics are calories in versus calories out.

I really think people are overreacting by telling you to go see a doctor, seek professional help, etc. I believe you can do this if you can take some time to absorb all the information. It seems like a lot at the beginning, but it's just a numbers game - it comes down to balancing your body's books. Just keep in mind that you have to keep eating, and put that YMCA membership to good use.

TL;DR: Make the best of that membership by having a work out plan before you go, and stick to it. Start eating, because you're going to need that energy for your excercise.

 

[amdhunter]

Not if you don't do it properly.

FFS you are beyond help. Take the basic steps, eat and exercise right.

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

 

[KidNiki1]

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

someone who doesnt want to be helped can't be helped.

my question is, if you know that what you are doing isn't healthy, and you don't care because you are losing weight uber fast even though you could be hurting yourself, and if you are just going to IGNORE everything being said to you here ...why did you even fucking bother to post?

if you want to troll, go back to OT and do it.

otherwise, you might want to think about why you posted and whether you are as *fine* as you say you are. people here are being helpful and informative. if you dont care what they have to say, and dont want to try to learn, and dont want to make any changes, thats fine. but ffs, then stop posting about how *fine* you are in a post titled 'Cry for help? I lost weight, but am unhappier than ever'.

 

[wirednuts]

i stopped eating red meat except on occasion, and i also eat out rarely now.... i cook everything myself and i try to stay away from frozen foods too. i mean i used to eat fast food all the time, but at 29 years old now i cant even think about a big mac without being grossed out. mcdonalds has got to be the most disgusting crap imaginable. i love healthy foods now, and i love being able to stuff myself and not have it tax my energy or hurt my stomach.. i just eat small portions all day long usually though, and i feel great

 

[crashtestdummy]

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

You could do more than crash. People can die from the malnutrition (Zero Mostel, for example). Please, at least make sure you start taking a "complete" multivitamin, but consider also slowing the rate of weight loss.

The problem is that you don't just eat to get raw calories. Protein, vitamins, and minerals needed as well, and your reserves of those aren't going to be as substantial as those of fat that you're trying to bring down.

 

[Azraele]

It sounds like you haven't educated yourself on how to go about getting the results you want. Your method is sort of akin to chopping off a finger because you got a paper cut. Work out/exercise, that's what makes you feel better and lose weight. In addition to that, eat right. My goodness strawberries are delicious, you should enjoy them! You post a cry for help and then tell those who try to offer advice that you're just going to sit back "until you crash." Seriously, get help.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

RELAX!

You are under 230 today. Your goal is 215 by fall time.

Fall time is Sept 22, 2012. That is 124 days from now or 17 weeks. You need to loose just under a pound a week.

You need a 400-500 calorie deficit.

The fact that you are exercising is a good thing. Exercise and take in 1800-2000 calories a day. Start tracking calories right now:
http://www.fitday.com/

It's simple:
small breakfast. A slice of wheat bread. A banana. Just small.

Salad for lunch. Have it with chicken once in a while.

And a good dinner.

See where that puts you. have a snack at night. air popped popcorn without butter is halthy and low calorie. Enjoy it.

It's a healthy program Just do it.

What you are doing now could kill you. You are "Crying For Help". Either start accepting our help or quit telling us you need help. You don't seem to want it. Get your head out of your ass and grow up and change.

 

[surfsatwerk]

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

Losing weight is easy, maintaining that weight loss will be impossible unless you find a eating strategy you can live with. You can't live with what you're doing now.

Edit: Here's the OP's future. He'll hit his target weight, look in the mirror and think he looks like shit. All motivation will leave him and he'll fall back to his old behaviors. Changing your body is a lifelong commitment, not a summertime goal.

 

[rga]

Losing weight is easy, maintaining that weight loss will be impossible unless you find a eating strategy you can live with. You can't live with what you're doing now.

This is something to keep in mind, too. Also, you feel fine now because - and please don't take offense to this as you did when your doctor called you obese - you still have a lot of fat left. Chances are, since you're not really eating anything, your body is metabolising fat (and probably muscle, since you aren't really doing any resistance yet). You'll feel fine as long as you have enough stored energy to keep burning, but you'll start to feel worse and worse as that reserve is depleted.

You feel fine now. Start eating right and you'll keep feeling fine. Continue down this path, or go back to how you were eating before, and you'll start feeling like shit.

 

[repoman0]

Here's the OP's future. He'll hit his target weight, look in the mirror and think he looks like shit. All motivation will leave him and he'll fall back to his old behaviors. Changing your body is a lifelong commitment, not a summertime goal.

This. You can't have a good looking body without a reasonable calorie intake because your body will just burn off muscle along with fat.

Listen to the people here telling you to do this the healthy way. Your goal is to lose 15 pounds by the fall. If you eat 2000 calories a day and add strength training 3x a week, you could hit near 200 pounds by the fall, and have a good amount of muscle mass and confidence in yourself to keep going. Plus, the more muscle you put on from lifting, the faster you'll burn calories and lose weight.

So, you can hit 200 pounds by the fall with two methods, one where you're starving yourself and feel like shit constantly and when you hit your goal you'll still look fat and unhealthy, or you can hit 200 pounds by eating right and working out, putting on some muscle and having confidence that your body is capable of performing correctly. Get to the point where you're doing reasonably heavy squats and losing 2lbs a week and you'll feel a lot better.

 

[iluvdeal]

Was this a cry for help or a cry for attention?

 

[RbSX]

That's the thing. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry, and I am only showing positive results. As someone else said, it's my first time trying to lose weight in a serious fashion, and it actually worked.

There is NO freaking way I am going to stop now. When, (If I) crash, I'll deal with it.

My goal is 215 before the fall. I have nothing else to do with my time.

Just because you feel okay doesn't mean it is good for you, you seem fucked in the head anyway, so in my mind, I think your perceptions about what exactly "feeling okay is" to you, vs. what it actually is, are in reality quite different.

As surfsatwerd and repoman said, if you diet the way you are dieting, you'll just become skinny fat, with no muscle. Granted you will weigh less, but you'll look like a sandbag.

 

[tedrodai]

Losing weight is easy, maintaining that weight loss will be impossible unless you find a eating strategy you can live with. You can't live with what you're doing now.

Edit: Here's the OP's future. He'll hit his target weight, look in the mirror and think he looks like shit. All motivation will leave him and he'll fall back to his old behaviors. Changing your body is a lifelong commitment, not a summertime goal.

He's right AMD. It's cool that you're able to see a weight loss, and what you are doing is obviously getting results. However, it is not sustainable...you'd best start coming up with a plan for how you're going to maintain your body without regaining all that despised weight for when you crash (not that I recommend you wait that long...I just mean yes, you're gonna crash). I don't know exactly what you're eating, but the things you mentioned in the OP sounds good except for way too small portions.

Lose weight........ calories eaten < BMR + calories burned through activity
Maintain weight... calories eaten = BMR + activity
Gain weight........ calories eaten > BMR + activity

You should aim to eat at least something close to your BMR value to do this in a healthy way. I guarantee you won't gain anything eating near your BMR.

Also, belly fat is going to be the LAST thing to go (assume you're male). That's just the way it is. And you are NOT going to get rid of your belly fat without fixing the way you eat.

 

[Saint Nick]

You need not worry about weight, but rather how you look in the mirror. Weight is an arbitrary number not useful to anything.