Limiting calories due to eating too much yesterday

transientcanuck

I have the habit of overeating one day and purposely under-eating the next, just to "balance" things out. By under-eating, I mean eating as little as possible. This usually backfires and I get so hungry and cranky that I end up eating a large amount and hating myself for the rest of the day.

I also do this during the day when I know I have a big meal planned in the evening (such as going out with friends). I purposely try to eat as little as possible but end up stuffing my face later in the afternoon out of hunger because I cannot wait until dinner. This just happened now and I feel horrible.

I know this behaviour is far from healthy and I want it to stop. I know that by doing it this way, I am setting myself up to failure and am making my body suffer in the process. I know I have to eat a minimum amount each day, regardless of what I ate the day before. But for some reason, I just can't stop doing this.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Train4Foodz

Hey there,
I believe what you are referring to is damage limitation. In order to get past this I would advise trying to look at the bigger picture.. In the long run, one day day isn't going to wreck any progress at all.
Maybe try to drop by 100 calories or so for a day or two if you really feel like you want to 'reduce' but as you rightly say, cutting down to bare minimum isn't healthy.

It's important to remember this as a healthy lifestyle and that involves giving ourselves the occasional day from time to time that we enjoy the foods and drinks we like, regardless. Having a healthy mind is as important (if not more) as having a healthy body.

Honestly, in the long run.. One day day makes little difference to your progress, it's best t blow them away and start anew!

Wishing you complete success!

Adam

cheshirecatastrophe

Have you tried tracking weekly instead of daily? That might help you, conceptually, be able to spread out the extra calories over several days so you never have a single crash. After all, it's not like our bodies reset at midnight every day.

Or, you know, just have a big fun night out once in awhile. The way I see it is, I've proven I can lose X pounds. What's wrong with losing one (or realistically, less than half of one) of them again?

transientcanuck

Thanks for your suggestions. I have thought of tracking them weekly as this seems to suit my lifestyle more. Unfortunately things get out of hand after a night of drinking and eating out, and I feel compelled to severely restrict the following day. I really like the idea of dropping only 100 calories a day as this seems much more achievable and less likely to lead to over-eating out of hunger.

RodaRose

'Sounds a little like punishing yourself. Start each day at Day 1.