Restricting vs binging

Rawr619

It seems like I am very good at being very restrictive of what I eat (1200 calorie goal), or I can't stop eating. For the past 2 weeks I just want to eat and I feel out of control, and I have gained weight and am now freaking out. Has anyone else experienced this type of mentality? How do you overcome it?

cerise_noir

Maybe 1200 is far too few calories for you and causes you to binge? What are your stats (age, height, sex, current weight, goal weight)?

Without fail, if I restrict too much, I end up binging.

CattOfTheGarage

Restriction and binging are not opposites - they are two sides of the same coin. The more you restrict, the more likely you are to binge. That's my experience anyway. Binging is a compulsive behaviour over which you have little control, so if you want to stop the cycle, you need to start with the part you do have control over, and stop restricting so much.

Then you need to start learning what is going on with you and your relationship with food. Some people binge purely because they're over-restricting, so body and mind are rebelling against what seems like attempted starvation. For others, there is also an emotional side, with binges either serving as comfort, or as a self-destructive outlet for feelings (both of these are true of me). If your binging has an emotional element, you need to look at those feelings and see what needs to change in order to address them, perhaps life circumstances, a relationship, whatever it is.

One thing that made a big difference to binging for me was to stop treating some foods as "bad foods" - that only glamorised them and made me want them more. I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, and the binging gradually eased off. The other thing that helped was not getting dramatic after a binge, but just accepting it and moving on.

Rawr619

cerise_noir wrote: »

Maybe 1200 is far too few calories for you and causes you to binge? What are your stats (age, height, sex, current weight, goal weight)?

Without fail, if I restrict too much, I end up binging.

5'5 138-142 lbs, female, 25. Goal weight 115.

courtneyfabulous

You're not very good at restricting if you can't stop bingeing. You shouldn't be restricting so much in the first place. Too few calories is almost as detrimental to weight loss as too many. You're probably over eating lately because you restricted too much for too long. Eventually your body releases a lot of hunger hormones to force you to eat because it thinks you're starving. How about trying a mild calorie deficit? Just a couple hundred calories less than maintenance. You won't even really feel like you're on a diet but you will lose weight.

courtneyfabulous

Also might want to adjust your expectations, 115 lbs for someone 5'5" tall is borderline underweight. It's possible but you likely won't feel good at that low of a weight unless you have a naturally very slim frame.

kshama2001

cerise_noir wrote: »

Maybe 1200 is far too few calories for you and causes you to binge? What are your stats (age, height, sex, current weight, goal weight)?

Without fail, if I restrict too much, I end up binging.

Rawr619 wrote: »

5'5 138-142 lbs, female, 25. Goal weight 115.

With only @ 25 pounds to lose, set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week. Like many posters here, you are likely trying to lose too much too fast, which does often lead to binging.

Also, assuming you exercise, what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back?

MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.

Rawr619

I started rock climbing last year and have gotten really into it, climbing 2 or 3 days a week. I am working towards goals of becoming a better climber. I know 115 is borderline for 5'5 but the heavier I weigh the harder it is to climb. I will reevaluate when I get to 130, 120, 120, etc. to see how I feel and the gains I'm making on the rocks.

I feel myfitnesspal really overestimates calories burned while rock climbing, and it's hard to determine how many because I typically am climbing for 3 hours, but I will climb a route, then wait 2 minutes, climb then wait again. So I have been eating back around 100 calories from climbing.

ModernRock

Rawr619 wrote: »

It seems like I am very good at being very restrictive of what I eat (1200 calorie goal), or I can't stop eating. For the past 2 weeks I just want to eat and I feel out of control, and I have gained weight and am now freaking out. Has anyone else experienced this type of mentality? How do you overcome it?

-Do you track your calories on the days you don't stick to your calorie goal?

-Do you have a plan for what you are going to eat for the day but then go off the rails, or are you just picking as you go along?

-Has uncontrolled overeating been an issue in the past even when you weren't actively trying to stick to a specific calorie goal?

Rawr619

ModernRock wrote: »

Rawr619 wrote: »

It seems like I am very good at being very restrictive of what I eat (1200 calorie goal), or I can't stop eating. For the past 2 weeks I just want to eat and I feel out of control, and I have gained weight and am now freaking out. Has anyone else experienced this type of mentality? How do you overcome it?

-Do you track your calories on the days you don't stick to your calorie goal?

-Do you have a plan for what you are going to eat for the day but then go off the rails, or are you just picking as you go along?

-Has uncontrolled overeating been an issue in the past even when you weren't actively trying to stick to a specific calorie goal?

On the days I don't stick to my calorie goal I don't track. I pick what I'm going to eat as the day goes. And no uncontrolled overeating has not been an issue in the past.

ModernRock

I would suggest tracking....At least estimating....your overeating. It might help put it into perspective, and even be a step towards gaining control of it. Second, I'd suggest being more proactive about pre-planning your meals. For one, it helps avoid turning to high calorie convenience foods because you don't know what else to eat. For two, it assures you that you do have a plan to eat something. (Some people even prelog their days.)

CattOfTheGarage

Rawr619 wrote: »

ModernRock wrote: »

Rawr619 wrote: »

It seems like I am very good at being very restrictive of what I eat (1200 calorie goal), or I can't stop eating. For the past 2 weeks I just want to eat and I feel out of control, and I have gained weight and am now freaking out. Has anyone else experienced this type of mentality? How do you overcome it?

-Do you track your calories on the days you don't stick to your calorie goal?

-Do you have a plan for what you are going to eat for the day but then go off the rails, or are you just picking as you go along?

-Has uncontrolled overeating been an issue in the past even when you weren't actively trying to stick to a specific calorie goal?

On the days I don't stick to my calorie goal I don't track. I pick what I'm going to eat as the day goes. And no uncontrolled overeating has not been an issue in the past.

This is absolutely the key. You need to track your binges. Do it with minimum drama and no judgement, but you need to face the behaviour and really see it, and tracking it is a very powerful way to do that.

I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted - the only rule was, everything gets tracked. Nothing is invisible.

Also, please take seriously those people who are telling you to slow your weight loss down. Losing too fast will cause binging, and it will also cause muscle loss. You say you want to be very light because being heavy makes it difficult to climb, but loss of muscle will also make it difficult to climb. Half a pound a week is the maximum you should be trying to lose.