I just had a day's lapse.. ate everything in sight and am ill... how to get back on track

surreychic

As my title states I'm just looking for buddies. I'm a potential compulsive eater/biner. I love food and have to be careful with anything, I eat too much. Recently I have cut down and had been doing really well and people had started to comment on how nice I looked. I have been feeling great, having olive oil, veggies - everything really, just in moderation.

In one month we go on holiday, all my family and I wanted to be going in the pool with the kids. Today, I reminded myself how I can loose it around food, I stupidly brought lots of yummies (as had been doing so well thought I was a dab hand at moderation) however have tonsillitis and had the day in bed but polished off...

1 x 650 gram bar of dark chocolate, three yogurts, an ice cream, two apples, two protein bars, a pizza, a pint of skimmed milk and a whole tub of mozzarella. Random - but obviously this is a lot of food. I should be losing my appetite but have been wanting to eat all the time.

I feel ashamed now though and a bit scared of myself. I so wanted to look nice, and feel great. I have no idea why I kept going back for more food but I love food!

I want to get back on track tomorrow. Any advice and support?

I have avocados and salmon in the fridge, I'm now wondering if I should limit my intake tomorrow. I am afraid the kcal I have had today is double what I should have had!

SylviazSpirit

First and foremost remember that it is just one day. Most of us have been there. But the worst thing you can do is continue beating yourself up. It's over and done with. For me, when I harped on it, I seemed to just bring myself down and turn on the mentality of "oh well it's all over" When it is NOT. The mentality of "well I had a bad day, I messed up but today is a new day, I can do better and look at all the times I HAVE done better!" That is what pushed me in the right direction.

Next, I'd try to find what triggered the binge... Do you eat emotionally? Was it an emotion? Stress? Are you getting enough protein, carbs, good fats? Not getting enough of some can cause you to be really hungry thus throw you into "I'm so hungry, I've got to eat everything" Mode. Are you eating enough regularly? Check your stats and calorie calculations. Your body could be trying to tell you something.

I'm certainly no dietrician or health guru, I'm just a MFP'er like you. But, honestly, that's my best advice. Hang in there, keep moving forward, You CAN do this!

surreychic

Thank you MzHill08 :-) really supportive thank you. I had veggies and olive oil last night (I was feeling ill) but had sandwich with cream cheese lunchtime and breakfast yesterday but that's a lot less than what I would usually have. I took some antibiotics today and have just been feeling lousy. So yes, emotionally eat! I was trying to cheer myself up. Interestingly, I had dark chocolate in the am and it seemed to make me hungrier than ever (maybe I was hungry anyway.... maybe I was bored with staying in, maybe I was just fed up with feeling so ill and looking to cheer myself up.

What I am trying not to dwell on is I find it so hard to even stick to 2000 kcal a day and had been slowly losing weight with 1800... so today having had thousands of kcal it keeps sitting in my head how many steps backwards I have gone and how long it will take to wear off!!

It's terrible, when I reflect now how i stayed slim in my youth- it was narcissism, I wanted to look nice. That's isn't such a priority these days. However, I obviously feel low because of how awful I look and feel....

irishkine

Doesn't look very random to me. It looks like you ate a lot of dairy. Did you know that food cravings are you brain trying to tell you what your body needs. You can find food/type specific lists that will tell you what deficit you are experiencing that could be triggering the craving. For example, look at this page https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/01/what-do-food-cravings-mean/

The dairy craving might be due to a fatty acid or calcium deficiency which might be satisfied by the salmon since it is rich in omega-3. Overeating in general even has specific deficits. The avacado is rich in magnesium. So is raw cacao, which is a great way to answer a dark chocolate craving.

In other words stop beating yourself up and honor your craving by finding out what you need and eating that specifically.

As for the extra calories from a one day splurge, I agree with MzHill08. It was one day. And you can easily recoup this by simply returning to your plan. There is no need to "make up for it".

irishkine

Not to mention, dark chocolate in small "doses" is good for a diet. It helps raise your metabolism.

Psychgrrl

Are you really hungry after your 2000 calories a day, or could you be eating for other reasons?

If you're hungry, try more healthy fats, more fiber and more protein to keep you full. If you're eating when you're not hungry, which many of us do, think about why.

Are you eating to self-soothe? Many of us were raised with the thought that food was for comfort. Those habits are really hard to recognize and even harder to break.

Are you eating because you see food as a reward?"I've been so good, I deserve this!" Again, that's how many were raised. We use food as celebration and congratulations. Think about other, non-food rewards.

Were you eating because you feel deprived? You've cut foods out that you love and you get to the point where you can't resist temptation any longer. The best way to do this is figure out how to incorporate whatever you want into your diet. If you're eating your favorite foods on a consistent basis, you're less likely to binge on them.

Whatever the reason--it's just one day. Everyone who has goals has bad days. The important thing is to not beat yourself up for it and get back on track. You're in charge! You can do this!

surreychic

I definitely use food as a reward but I find it hard to match with anything else...

surreychic

Thank you for the support!! x

SylviazSpirit

When you say you still feel hungry at 2000, have you checked your water intake? You might need more water! The brain is infamous of signaling hunger when it's actual very thirsty. Drinking more water might be helpful Just a thought

50extra

To answer your original question - How do you move forward?

Just like it never happened, you can't change the fact that you binged, it happened. Don't starve yourself the next day because it's going to cause another episode. Remember how you feel right now and think about that the next time you feel like eating like that. Dwelling on what you did will just make things worse. At the VERY most, try to cut out an extra 100-200 calories per day for the next 5 days to make up some of the overage. One thing that I found that helped my eating was to only eat at the table and never with a phone, computer or tv on. It's really easy to overeat while you aren't paying attention. I was terrible for grabbing a big bag of tortilla chips in front of the tv and before i knew it, the bag was gone.

Life will always throw days like this into the mix.

bananabeannn

Good luck! Like the others have said, definitely do not restrict yourself after a binge. I did that for years and it most certainly sets you up for a cycle of misery. You say you're looking for support, and are a potential 'binge eater' - have you considered OA? Even if you don't stick with it long term, the principles are well worth learning and could probably help anybody, really.

A wise woman once told me that the ONLY reason for bingeing, is dieting/restriction. Until I can get rid of the restricting, I will continue to binge...

refuseresist

A wise woman once told me that the ONLY reason for bingeing, is dieting/restriction. Until I can get rid of the restricting, I will continue to binge...

This is totally my problem. I need to lose weight, so I HAVE to reduce my intake. But then I start to binge!