Connection between weighing, tracking and bingeing

ohiotubagal

I have noticed that for me, there seems to be a correlation between weighing and bingeing. Here's my mindset:

Gain = well heck, I might as well eat, I gained anyway

Loss = Woohoo, let's celebrate!

Not weighing daily causes me lots of anxiety. I find myself wondering constantly if I'm up or down. I guess that's par for the course with an eating disorder (or so I've been told). Sometimes I'll even weigh after a run, knowing that I'll be down, just to see the lower number.

As far as tracking...not sure about that one. I've been doing MFP for almost a year and have tracked every day. I think I would freak if I missed a day.

What do you guys think? Have any similar experiences?

CrazyMermaid1

I've had a problem with inching my entire life. I am now 55 and remember at 15 coming home from school and because there was nothing to binge on in the house, mixing flour, sugar and butter together and eating that.I am finding that MFP is helping me as long as I force myself to write down everything I eat.

Pudding1980

Maybe you need to weigh in less often, like once a week?

Sarahsteve7kids

I'm thinking for me I may need to stop weighing myself, or at least not so often. I have a similar reaction to you. I want to put the emphasis on my health and energy and take it off me weight, I'm hoping that helps with the binging. I want more than anything else to eat like a healthy, normal person and not view food and the scale as my way of valuing myself.

Pearsquared

I have had to decrease my weighing to once of month because I was doing this. It has helped a lot because as long as I was even mildly decent in my eating, I'm going to be down for the month. My binge eating has been much more manageable because I'm not thinking about how the scale will look the next morning if I go over, and I don't abandon staying in control because "it's going to be up anyway."

ohiotubagal

Pearsquared wrote: »

I have had to decrease my weighing to once of month because I was doing this. It has helped a lot because as long as I was even mildly decent in my eating, I'm going to be down for the month. My binge eating has been much more manageable because I'm not thinking about how the scale will look the next morning if I go over, and I don't abandon staying in control because "it's going to be up anyway."

I'm glad to hear this is working for you. I'd like to try that but I don't know if I can stay away from the scale that long. Sometimes the urge to weigh is just as strong as an urge to binge.

Sarahsteve7kids

ohiotubagal wrote: »

Pearsquared wrote: »

I have had to decrease my weighing to once of month because I was doing this. It has helped a lot because as long as I was even mildly decent in my eating, I'm going to be down for the month. My binge eating has been much more manageable because I'm not thinking about how the scale will look the next morning if I go over, and I don't abandon staying in control because "it's going to be up anyway."

I'm glad to hear this is working for you. I'd like to try that but I don't know if I can stay away from the scale that long. Sometimes the urge to weigh is just as strong as an urge to binge.

Would it help to put the scale in an out if the way place? I keep mine in the storage room, not seeing it keeps me off it. Or maybe have a friend or family member hide it? Not weighing in helps me concentrate on getting healthy and lean as opposed to looking at the number. I wish this was easy!

Tatarataa

I have similar experiences like you. And my relation with weighing is a mixed one. I used to think that it is not doing me good to weigh in daily, especially after a binge time (I just come from one and it is so scary and anxiety provoking how much the scale went up and also binge provoking) but now I think it is also helpful to weigh in daily and to see the weight fluctuations that also occur when not bingeing. It then takes away some anxiety and also takes away some of the feeling of loss of control and anxiety after a binge. I can then say that the scals is just a number and over time that number will get lower again and that even a binge is just a binge of x calories which means X kilograms or pounds of FAT more plus am couple of pounds for water and stomach content etc....so even after a severe binge life is not over and after a couple of weeks within a certain calorific deficit the weight will be down again and the damage done will be "healed"/"removed". So even though I am just at the moment very anxious and also binge-prone because of my high value on the scale, I would opt for weighing in daily, while at the same time not trying to take the numbers on the scale too serious. It makes more sense I guess to focus on how many calories you did take in. If that was below deficite it will be fine and if not eg after a binge, it was still "just" calorie more taken in which will be leveled out after some more weeks in a calorie deficite.
Concerning the eating because the weight on scale is low, I also know this all to well..I was about four times at goal and then immediately gained back due to bingeing. The only hep I see concerning this is to see calorie counting as a lifestyle. It has to be done every day and it will go on every day, also if you reach a low weight on scale. You might be able to eat some more calories at some point (in maintenance), but will still have to count and stay in a certain calorie range.

totaldetermination

Tatarataa wrote: »

... but now I think it is also helpful to weigh in daily and to see the weight fluctuations that also occur when not bingeing. It then takes away some anxiety and also takes away some of the feeling of loss of control and anxiety after a binge. I can then say that the scale is just a number and over time that number will get lower again and that even a binge is just a binge of x calories which means X kilograms or pounds of FAT more plus am couple of pounds for water and stomach content etc....so even after a severe binge life is not over and after a couple of weeks within a certain calorific deficit the weight will be down again and the damage done will be "healed"/"removed"...

I see it this way as well.

For this reason I also log the binge, so I know how many calories (ie pounds of fat) it actually is.


I think this is one of those situations that there are reasons for it and against it and you have to decide what works for you.

Tatarataa

I have similar experiences like you. And my relation with weighing is a mixed one. I used to think that it is not doing me good to weigh in daily, especially after a binge time (I just come from one and it is so scary and anxiety provoking how much the scale went up and also binge provoking) but now I think it is also helpful to weigh in daily and to see the weight fluctuations that also occur when not bingeing. It then takes away some anxiety and also takes away some of the feeling of loss of control and anxiety after a binge. I can then say that the scals is just a number and over time that number will get lower again and that even a binge is just a binge of x calories which means X kilograms or pounds of FAT more plus am couple of pounds for water and stomach content etc....so even after a severe binge life is not over and after a couple of weeks within a certain calorific deficit the weight will be down again and the damage done will be "healed"/"removed". So even though I am just at the moment very anxious and also binge-prone because of my high value on the scale, I would opt for weighing in daily, while at the same time not trying to take the numbers on the scale too serious. It makes more sense I guess to focus on how many calories you did take in. If that was below deficite it will be fine and if not eg after a binge, it was still "just" calorie more taken in which will be leveled out after some more weeks in a calorie deficite.
Concerning the eating because the weight on scale is low, I also know this all to well..I was about four times at goal and then immediately gained back due to bingeing. The only hep I see concerning this is to see calorie counting as a lifestyle. It has to be done every day and it will go on every day, also if you reach a low weight on scale. You might be able to eat some more calories at some point (in maintenance), but will still have to count and stay in a certain calorie range.

saraphim41

I call my bingeing "grazing" because it happens at night, and it is just steady eating of anything that doesn't bite me first. Revise that. Am now on Atkins program, and I haven't eaten anything that isn't an allowable food lately. But 3000 cal/da is still 3000 cal/da! Not every day, mind you, but enough to stop my weight loss.

The WOE is still valid. It has dropped my glucose readings into the normal range. But I do really need the weight loss as well. For energy and just feeling well.

CrazyMermaid1

I just started reading a book about binging. Very interesting thoughts about weighing. They recommend once a week weighing.

superj016

Yes, I'm very much like that. Although, now that I'm on a program where I have to weigh in with a person, if I gain, I start restricting to minimize the damage. Also, if I eat something "bad" and still lose, then I'm more likely to make bad choices because I think, "hey, I lost eating something I enjoy, it must be ok to do again!". I have been told to only let them weigh me at my meetings but I'm not mentally prepared to let go of my scale at home because of what I just said...that it keeps me in line, more or less, if I have a gain.