Only 2 Levels: Binge or Be Totally Restricting?

sarab260

Hi all!

Have had success, hit a plateau, but was comfortable with my size (even though I am frustrated with this 1 month plateau, and still ultimately want to lose more), so I decided to give myself a few days off these past few days while I was home with my whole family and we were doing a lot of special occasion eating. The problem was that mentality apparently set me free into complete and total hardcore binge zone, instead of me being able to enjoy more heavily but still with moderation. Stepped on the scale today — 5lb up, I know some must be water weight, trying not to be discouraged as I'm hoping to get back on the wagon by this afternoon when everyone clears out and I'm back to meal planning. But this really concerns me as I'm about 10lb from maintenance...will I ever be able to practice moderation without going nuts or do I only have 2 settings?

Anyone else struggle with and overcome something similar?

Thanks, and hope everyone is having a wonderful (and hopefully more impressive ) holiday season!!!

auddii

I had to introduce restricted foods slowly. I'd go out and buy single servings of foods that I had problems controlling myself around. It was more expensive, but over time I learned to be satisfied with the smaller portions.

For example, I found a gelato shop that weighs out 3 ounces of gelato for product control. It looked like such a tiny amount, but I focused on getting full flavors and I came to be satisfied with it. I can now keep containers of ice cream in my freezer, and when I have room in my calorie goal, I will weigh out a single portion and poor the rest back in the freezer.

There are lots of different methods for dealing with binges, and not all work for everyone so hopefully others will respond with what works for them.

scolaris

That's great advice! What you are talking about sounds to me like a version of 'all or nothing' thinking. And that one is insidious because it gives us an easy out (well, I ate one piece of cheesecake so now why bother all?) when actually just eating that one piece of cheesecake and getting right back on track is a very important life skill to learn. You can retrain your brain around this! You said you took a few days off... Off from what? When I take the day off I allow myself unrestricted eating and I use rough estimate measurements but I still log everything in pretty close detail. If I thought I were abusing this I would probably make myself weigh everything on my food scale. See? I'm off, but I'm still under a little bit of surveillance... It helps me stay present and accountable with myself.

zoeysasha37

After years of practicing portion control, I no longer have the *all or nothing * mentality. I can easily enjoy one serving of cake now and leave the rest in the pantry.
It took me a while, but I am absolutely able to control myself around foods . this is what helped me -
Moderation not deprivation. Instead of restricting myself from the foods I love, I learned how to incorporate them into my day. I've eaten a serving of ice cream every day during my weight loss process and have continued to do so through maintenance. I have been maintaining for @ 2 yrs so far without a problem. If I restrict hardcore, I will end up binging. So that would be counterproductive.
Find a balance that works right for you, learn how to incorporate the foods you love while still remaining within your calorie goals.

distinctlybeautiful

I used to feel that way, but there was definitely some flawed thinking involved. I felt if I wasn't eating very few calories, I was eating too much, and since I felt I was already eating too much I just let myself go and ate way too much. Now that I've been eating at maintenance I have a better sense of what's an appropriate amount of food in a day. I know now that just because I'm eating more than 1200 calories a day, doesn't mean I'm overeating or that I should give myself license to go crazy. What I take from your experience is not that you'll be stuck with two extremes forever, but that you'll probably have to keep logging for a while even after you come out of a deficit, until you feel you can do it on your own.

sarab260

This is all so extremely helpful! I feel like not only am I now equipped with a better understanding of why I have these tendencies, but also a way to fight them, and long-term hope that I will not always have these instincts. Seriously, thank you all so much for your help!

Please wish me luck in getting back on the wagon now that the holidays are over

celliewonder

Good luck to you and all! Lets do this!