Overeating

Jess03171224

I have dieted and binged/overate for as long as I can remember... I continue to struggle and I am just so sick of it. My main issue is if I have something that I feel is "messing up" I just spiral out of control after that. I also tend to sabotage myself when I have done good or lost a few pounds. Any tips to overcome this mindset would be greatly appreciated. I just want to be a "normal" eater..if that makes any sense lol.

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afatpersonwholikesfood

You may never be a "normal" eater. Instead, you may need to manage and monitor your eating habits permanently. Logging when you blow your calorie goals might need to be part of that. I use "may" and "might" because I don't know your whole situation, but I do know that I blow it sometimes. Instead of getting emotionally charged about it, I try to view it neutrally. Everything gets logged, and I spend a few minutes reflecting on why an otherwise within-goal day went to hell. It may be too little calories. It may be an issue with my food environment at home. It may be an emotional reaction to something even though I don't classify myself as an emotional eater.

nataliebyan0

I'm exactly the same , I lose and then sth in life happens and I turn to food

afatpersonwholikesfood

Remember, too, that you can think of your deficit as a weekly budget instead of a daily one. One day or one binge doesn't necessarily have the effect you think it has. You may also be too restrictive and reacting to that by going crazy on the foods you're avoiding.

northcoastbeauty

I was diagnosed with a binge eating disorder. There are other eating disorders such as purging and anorexia. I spent 6 years in Outpatient Treatment I and a two-month stay residential treatment before it went into remission.. It takes a professional to diagnose an eating disorder. When an eating disorder is present it requires professionals who are trained in the treatment of eating disorders. Anytime that I see someone speaking about binging I do not know if they over eating which is not clinically binge eating or if they have something more profound like a binge eating disorder.

afatpersonwholikesfood

^ People tend to use it interchangeably. I have no idea what the OP means. I know that I have binged as well as overate and called it binging, but I haven't really thought too deeply on whether or not I have BED nor do I feel like I need a professional. My thoughts were based on me and not really meant as eating disorder advice. If OP feels like this needs professional intervention, then she should go get it.

Jess03171224

I have tried to pre plan before. It helps me some. I just really have poor self control and am a big emotional eater. I really need to start logging when I do have days where I eat a ton. My usual thing is tracking up to everything over a couple hundred calories then list becomes too long and too hard to track the amount of calories consumed when I am eating like that....at least that's what my rational has been in the past..I think I am going to make that a goal instead of weight loss or staying under my 1200 because that hasn't been working for me. Maybe that will also help me to not think so negatively when I do eat a lot. Thank you!

Jess03171224

I haven't been clinically diagnosed with it or anything, I am sorry if I misused the term.

afatpersonwholikesfood

1,200 is a tough goal for most people. Depending on how much you have to lose, it may be too aggressive. You can also earn and eat exercise calories - MFP is designed for that.

kgirlhart

If your goal is 1200 you should be meeting that not staying under that. Also if you do exercise you should eat back at least half of the calories mfp gives you for that.

beautifulwarrior18

barlowjm86 wrote: »

I have dieted and binged/overate for as long as I can remember... I continue to struggle and I am just so sick of it. My main issue is if I have something that I feel is "messing up" I just spiral out of control after that. I also tend to sabotage myself when I have done good or lost a few pounds. Any tips to overcome this mindset would be greatly appreciated. I just want to be a "normal" eater..if that makes any sense lol.

You keep bingeing because you're starving. Assuming you're 30, 5'5", 145 lbs, sedentary, and don't exercise ever, you should be eating between 1300 and 1400 calories a day. I can make that more accurate for you if you add me (send me a message when you do so) and give me your stats. The other thing is fill your meals with veggies so you can eat more while consuming fewer calories. Then you won't feel so deprived.

trollerskates

I eat twice a day, i wait till well after lunch to eat. You almost cant overeat in 2 meals. Its super hard to even hit my calories

DebSozo

northcoastbeauty wrote: »

I was diagnosed with a binge eating disorder. ...Anytime that I see someone speaking about binging I do not know if they over eating which is not clinically binge eating or if they have something more profound like a binge eating disorder.

Me neither. My best friend from middle and high school had a binge eating disorder. It was way different than splurging on a little cup of ice cream or one donut.

When people share on MFP threads that they binge it sets off red flags for me because I wonder how severe their binging is or I wonder it is just a matter of eating a little extra cookie for dessert?

I think that there should be some type of MFP standardized 1-5 rating scale for the intensity of the overeating. Otherwise it can be very confusing.

"Overeating" can mean so many different things from one person to another. I'm sure that there are varying levels of intensity for each individual.. Overeating isn't necessarily binging.

DebSozo

barlowjm86 wrote: »

I haven't been clinically diagnosed with it or anything, I am sorry if I misused the term.

That is good news. You might want to go into the Goals section and Recalculate your and lower your rate of losing down a notch. 1200 calories daily might be too low for you to sustain long term. I"m having a difficult time staying at 1200 too. After reading threads on MFP on the subject I am thinking of changing my weekly weight loss expectations so that I can be more successful.

kommodevaran

If you deprive yourself, you will compensate. It's the undereating that feeds the binging. Start eating enough, every day, plan real meals of real food that you like, and eat it. If you binge on certain non-nutritious foods, don't buy those.

I've been thinking, and I don't think having an official diagnosis or not makes any difference, but whether the overeating comes from body image/self punishment issues, or if they are driven by the food itself and then by the habit of overeating it. Any mental issues are best dealt with in cooperation with professionals, but eating disorders are typically very difficult to "cure". Getting in a structure to your eating can and will help independently from all other issues.

If the "overeating" is a lollipop and a donut, it's more about lacking fundamental knowledge about nutrition and some easy accessible information can be all that is needed.

DebSozo

I changed my weekly weight loss goal down just now and MFP upped my daily calories to 1500 which should be a bit easier to sustain. OP I hope you can find a good balance so that you don't feel deprived.

godlikepoetyes

Maybe my story will help some. I feel the same things that you do--

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10373426/how-making-choices-has-helped-me-lose-over-80-pounds/p1

Jess03171224

Thanks everyone, I'll try to up my calories a bit and monitor more of why I'm eating when I'm tracking what I'm eating.

kirayng2

Can you reward your weight loss in other ways than food? I think that helps. I usually buy myself something if I've lost 5 lbs. for example.

Rachelcampbell92

Have you ever tried having good set meals but then organise it for the week, even organise the snacks you'd have as well so you don't binge on anything.. I usually freeze my dinners and pick what I want for the next day and thaw it for the morning

Lauriebeebelewis

I have the same issues of over eating. I find that when I cut out sugar and bread I do much better. It becomes a trigger for me when I eat carbs. I have an addictive behavior and was addicted to drugs and alcohol at one time. I quit all that nonsense and switched to food....not just food but sugary things like cookies, cake, muffins, pasta, breads and all that comfort food! I've found that on the days I am "extra hungry" it's because I'm medicating myself with foods. As soon as I "dry out" from the carb intake I find myself making better choices for my body. It's hard to do but after 4-7 days without carbs you'll feel better and find your weight loss journey excelerating. You will actually have withdrawal symptoms which should tell you something right there! "Sugar free" sweets can also cause problems because they still can raise your glycemic levels and act like sugar so for that 4-7 days stick to meats, fish, eggs, chicken & veggies! It's just a cleanse! No fruit, breads rice potatoes etc. carb free!! Then add some berries. After that you're on your way to being free from carb addiction until you eat carbs again and then you're back to square one! If you want to add some carbs, watch the glycemic index! There are sugar free foods that don't raise your glycemic index that are low in carbs but are expensive and hard to find. I do enjoy a Quest bar (chocolate chip cookie dough is my favorite) with 190 calories, 20 gm protein and 1 net carb sweetened with stevia. Read the labels! Avoid malodextrine, No Aspartame! Splenda in super small amounts. Look at labels in Stevia!!! Some have sugar in it!! Yikes!! That being said, many of us who binge are simply "carbaholics" and would be better off giving up that lifestyle and eating a Keto Adapted or Paleo lifestyle. Me? I'm still working on this! After all, I'm an addict!!

brb_2013

I can only tell you what worked for me. I HAD to learn how to over come those feelings of guilt. If I over ate one day, I'd get so negative on myself and feeling so overwhelmingly guilty and feeling worthless that a one meal overage turned into 3.

I just had to grow to accept that a night out with my family happens and the key is to move on and stop wallowing. I ate pancakes and didn't weigh my syrup and had top Ramen too, usually way over my goals on sugar and carbs. But instead of going out an buying a donut this morning because I'm not worth the effort, I had my coffee and am about to eat my hardboiled egg snack and I'm feeling great. I got to enjoy my pancakes. I get to enjoy eating at a deficit today to keep on moving toward my goal. I can't undo yesterday so why spend my whole day obsessing over my past choices?

I find myself repeating "MOVE THE EFF ON!" When my mind goes back to those negative thoughts. I'm not saying it happened over night. But eventually by catching yourself from spiraling a few times you get way better at it. Just don't ever ever give up.

SoDamnHungry

You really have to focus on changing your mindset. People who live in a world of All or Nothing tend to be pretty miserable. You overeat by 100 calories and then suddenly decide to eat everything. You know you'll mess up at some point, so you sabotage yourself to get it over with. Remember that it's not one day at a time. It's one meal/snack/piece of chocolate at a time. Log when you start to go crazy and it will help stop you in your tracks when you realize the day is absolutely still salvageable.