petite woman/keto?

[slfw]

This will be long, but please bare with me--I'm desperate for some expertise!

my stats: I'm 5'0-93 lbs. In my life, I've weighed anywhere from 86-120 pounds. For the last 8 years, I've been between 90-95 pounds, which is where I'm very comfortable. Now i'm about 93 pounds. I've had my range of eating disorders

my history:

like I said, i've had my share of eating disorders. i have been able to maintain my weight of 90-95 pounds by never really eating meals! mainly just PURE sugar, lots of candy, lots of bites of things, picking etc. and fooling everyone. I also drank a TON of diet coke.

last year, I made up my mind to try and get healthy, b/c my husband & I would like to try and start our family. so I discovered low carb eating. It has really worked well for me, b/c it cut out all of that sugar i was eating, and it almost makes me feel NORMAL. i can go out to eat and order a meal, and am so much healthier! i eat a lot of chicken, meat, salmon, fish, etc. I drink about 100 oz of water a day ( i still drink too much diet coke and coffee though)
I've always worked out bewteen 4-7 days a week, between 40 min-1 hour. sometimes running, sometimes walking, sometimes boxing. i use minimum weights (just for arms), b/c my legs bulk up so fast b/c they're so short!

currently: my weight throughout this journey has suprisingly stayed within that 5 pound range. but I have a lot more body fat! especially around my waist. so i have been trying to tweak this way of eating to get rid of it, and am just so frustrated! i don't want to gain weight, and it seems that if i start adding more carbs, i gain! (i've also had a few major bings, sometimes 1x a week, sometimes 1x a month--just depends) I've been playing with my fat/protein ratios. i've tried all protein/low fat, high fat/lower protein, etc. my carbs have remained as low as possible. It seems that I feel the least bloated when I have almost no fat, but I keep reading about keto, and how fat helps you lose fat. I really need advice about what has worked for other small fitness gurus. the standard answers don't work for us b/c we're so small. my problem is that a lot of the reading I have done suggests eating 10x your body weight--for me that only be 930 calories! I currently eat anywhere form 1100-1400. my ratios are usually 60-70%fat, 25-35% protein, and the rest carbs. do i really need to cut my calories to lose the fat, or should i just stick with highest fat (like keto) to lose? what should my % look like, and how does that come out in terms of grams of prtein, fat, etc

thanks in advance for any advice! sorry so long, just wanted to give you the complete picture,

[bikini]

Hi petite woman,

I too am a petite woman, 5' and 100 lbs. I am also a recovering food addict- bulimic of 13 years. It seems as though you eat alot of fat. Why don't you consume more complex carbs ? That's very important that you include them everyday.

I have gone through my ups & downs with dieting. What works best for me and keeps me from binging is a healthy vegan diet with out any over processed foods, and including a variety of organic vegetables, salads, fruits, soy products, brown rice, beans, nuts, and nut butters, wholegrain breads and pastas, olive oil, flax seed oils, B-12 supplements, etc.

I had been a vegetarian for 10 years, but 3 years ago, I became a vegan - ethical reasons- and my body fat is now down to 14%. A vegan lifestyle is not an easy one because you can easily deprive yourself of all the nutrients that you need. But if you do it right, you'll feel great and look great!

If you and your husband are trying to have a baby, a vegetarian diet would be great. Vegatarians are less likely to have c-sctions and have easier preganancies. Check out Dr. Spock's book.

Let me tell you about Diet Coke. The ingredient aspartame, a substance which was once banned, is in Diet Coke and it is poison! I used to drink at least 3 liters a day and thought I'd die if I didn't have it. It also can promote weight gain! I don't see too many trim people drinking Diet Coke, they are usually big people. Check out www.dorway.org and this site will explain the dangers of aspartame, the ingredient in diet coke and in many others -approx. 9,000 - on the market.

Don't obsess so much, just try to eat & live healthier.

Take care!

[aprildawn]

Not that I know that much about keto but I think it's usually (not same for everyone) 50% fat, 45% protein and 5% carbs (I don't think that includes post-workout shake). Post in the nutritition forum. There's a lot of helpful people with keto experience and I don't think a lot of them check in here. I assume you've read the sticky there. :) Good luck!