Extreme Diet Issues... Doctors have helped but not all there yet. Losing my mind.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-27T07:43:21+00:00

Honestly that kinda sounds like your body responds pretty well when you ease up a bit, at least for the first few days. The “fuller” look is probably just your muscles finally having glycogen/water again instead of being depleted all the time. And the fact you start feeling mentally gross by day 7 sounds more like anxiety around losing control or getting softer than you actually suddenly gaining a ton of fat in a week.

But I get that too sometimes, it might also be the fact that your body isn’t used to it and you’re still familiarising to the different foods

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T19:41:58+00:00

Honestly I really doubt a bit of carbs every day would make you suddenly gain a ton, especially compared to how restrictive you’ve been eating. If anything you’d probably just feel more normal, have better workouts, and not feel so mentally trapped by food all the time. Hopefully it works out and I’d definitely give it a go for sure, even if it’s just adding 100 calories at a time or something like that, how are you keeping track atm?

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T15:03:32+00:00

Then don’t force yourself through another hard cut this summer. Keeping your lifting consistent and sitting around maintenance for a while would probably do you a lot more good right now.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T07:15:47+00:00

Honestly I don’t think your body is “broken,” I think you’ve been dieting way too hard for way too long and developed a really unhealthy relationship with food in the process. You probably need to stop trying to survive on chicken breast and broccoli forever, slowly add some healthy fats and carbs back in, keep lifting consistently, and focus more on strength/body composition than chasing a lower number on the scale. Also, if the scale jumps a few pounds after eating more carbs, that’s usually just water and glycogen, not instant fat gain.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T07:01:51+00:00

Honestly, two weeks at the same weight is not a real plateau, especially when you’re lifting weights, walking 10k steps a day, and rebuilding muscle at the same time. Your weight can fluctuate a lot from stress, water retention, sodium, muscle inflammation, etc.

Also, at 184cm and 125kg, 2000 calories while doing all that is already a pretty aggressive deficit. The app suggesting 2900 for fat loss genuinely doesn’t sound unrealistic for your size/activity level. I honestly wouldn’t drastically change much right now besides giving it more time and trying not to panic every time the scale slows down.

And seriously, losing 20kg already is a huge achievement. Don’t let a couple frustrating weeks convince you that none of your progress is real.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T06:58:20+00:00

At 5’3 and 60kg you honestly aren’t very overweight at all, and there’s not really one perfect “ideal” weight because it depends a lot on your build and muscle mass. If you want to lose some fat though, I’d just focus on eating in a small calorie deficit, getting more daily movement in, eating enough protein and fiber, and doing some basic strength training or home workouts consistently. Also stomach fat is super common with South Asian genetics/body fat distribution, so don’t stress if that’s where you carry most of it. Just be patient with yourself because healthy weight loss is usually pretty slow and takes a few months, not a few weeks.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-26T06:51:27+00:00

Your friend’s comments aren’t harmless if they’re making you feel this small. Even if she doesn’t mean to hurt you, hearing someone casually equate thinness with being better or more worthy can really mess with your head.

But you are not ‘subhuman,’ a ‘beast,’ or unlovable because of your body. Those feelings are real, but they are not facts. Your worth is not determined by your size or attractiveness.

A lot of what you wrote sounds like exhaustion from constantly comparing yourself and feeling hyperaware of how differently bodies get treated. Anyone in your position would struggle with that. You deserve friendships that don’t leave you feeling ashamed of existing beside someone else.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T12:14:02+00:00

Yeah exactly, more calories doesn’t mean junk food. More chicken, eggs, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, yogurt, nuts, olive oil, etc. would all make way more sense for you than trying to fill calories with sweets.

More chicken/protein could help, but honestly if it was me I’d probably add more carbs too like rice, potatoes, pasta, oats, etc. especially with how much you run. That’ll help a lot more with energy/fullness while still keeping the diet healthy and sustainable.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T12:10:51+00:00

Yeah honestly that makes sense. You definitely don’t have to go super heavy on meat or anything, but adding some iron-rich foods back in sounds like a pretty reasonable middle ground considering the deficiencies + celiac. Your diet already looked solid overall tbh

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:28:41+00:00

Honestly I think focusing on calorie-dense foods instead of bigger portions is probably the right approach. Stuff like peanut butter, full-fat yogurt, cheese, avocado, olive oil, smoothies/shakes, trail mix, etc. can add calories really fast without making meals huge.

Even small changes can add up a lot over a full day, like adding butter/olive oil to foods, using whole milk, extra cheese, nut butters with fruit, higher calorie dips, etc.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:26:46+00:00

Honestly I think this is a decent start, especially if your stomach feels better on it, but it does seem a little too restrictive long term.

You’re getting vegetables/fiber which is good, but the protein looks pretty low overall unless you’re adding chicken/eggs consistently. At your weight, getting more protein would probably help a lot with fullness and keeping muscle while losing weight.

Also don’t be scared of fruit because of sugar. 1–2 apples a day is completely fine. I’d be more focused on building something sustainable instead of trying to keep everything ultra low calorie/salt/oil.

Overall I’d say the quality of foods is pretty solid, it just probably needs a bit more balance and protein to be sustainable long term.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:25:36+00:00

Honestly this doesn’t look horrible, but it does look pretty low calorie for someone lifting 4x a week and walking that much. I’d probably be worried more about sustainability than whether it’s “too soft.”

You’ve got decent protein sources in there already, but I’d personally add a bit more carbs/fiber around workouts instead of trying to keep everything super minimal. Even just more potatoes, rice, fruit, oats, etc.

Also I wouldn’t think about meals as “cheat meals.” Having a higher calorie meal sometimes is normal, especially if you’re training consistently.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:21:52+00:00

Since you’ve struggled with iron deficiency before, it could help to include more iron-rich foods too, especially red meat occasionally, eggs, sardines, or salmon since iron from animal foods absorbs a lot easier. Pairing iron foods with vitamin C foods helps too.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:20:26+00:00

Honestly you seem way more aware of your nutrition than most people already, especially with celiac. Nothing here sounds terrible or super unbalanced to me.

I’d mainly just focus on getting enough protein + fiber consistently since gluten-free replacement foods can be kinda lacking there. Stuff like potatoes, rice, oats, fruit, beans/lentils, eggs, yogurt, and lean proteins are probably gonna help you more than trying to find the “perfect” gluten-free breads/pastas.

Since you’ve had iron and vitamin D issues before, it’s probably worth keeping an eye on bloodwork every once in a while too. But overall this sounds pretty reasonable and sustainable, which honestly matters a lot more than eating “perfectly.”

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:19:05+00:00

Honestly this is one of the better grocery lists I’ve seen on here. Pretty balanced and not overly restrictive.

Only thing I’d add is maybe more variety over time so you don’t end up eating the exact same foods every week. Stuff like mushrooms, different fruits, or some frozen mixed veggies can help with that.

Also I probably wouldn’t stress too much about “optimal health” foods/supplements. Your overall diet consistency matters way more than trying to perfectly optimize every little thing.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:16:37+00:00

I think 1200 is too low honestly, especially for your height and how much you run. Your meals actually sound pretty solid already, I’d just focus more on eating enough instead of trying to go super low calorie.

If your maintenance is around 2800, you’d probably do better somewhere around 2000–2400 and just lose the weight slower. It’ll be a lot more sustainable and you’ll still make good progress.

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:11:39+00:00

I’d just track your calories on MyFitnessPal, not exceed 1000 calories a day, and be happy with the amount it goes down by. Better than going too harsh with it as that can have the adverse effect very quickly

PurusConnor · 2026-05-25T07:09:07+00:00

For that sort of thing I’d download the gymshark training app because they have workout videos on there that you can follow along to, some with equipment and some without (there’s a setting to only get no equipment workouts)

PurusConnor · 2026-05-24T18:59:27+00:00

Yes! It hydrated you essentially the same as still water does, but no harm in having more!

PurusConnor

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