Consistency is underrated.. anti cheat reasoning

Tacklewasher

annacole94 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

The MFP app has a weekly summary of net calories. That's all I use, other than my daily diary. It's under nutrition>calories>net calories, and then you switch from daily to weekly.

I avoid eating things I don't want to eat by not bringing them home. It's also easier to stick to the plan if the plan includes food you enjoy, but stays away from foods you know you will over eat. I can't buy a candy bar or a bag of chips without planning to eat it all. So I either don't buy it, or I plan to eat it all.

The Goldilock food? Not unenjoyable, but enjoyable enough, but not too enjoyable? LOL.

Seriously, though, it's true. You won't binge on perfectly ripe mango, but you will overeat potato chips. Super palatable food is designed to override your cues and encourages you to overeat.

So don't start, and you don't need magic willpower to stop.

I can binge on shredded wheat.

I can't eat that even if I'm super hungry.

Regardless, if you have trouble with control of unappealing food, you're probably better off not owning Cheetos.

No, that's not how it works. I stop binging when (a) I'm eating enough (and getting the right nutrients) and (b) I am convinced that nothing is "forbidden". If I banned Cheetos (or whatever), it would make it worse.

Binging is a complex issue and the same approach does not work for everyone. And frustratingly, an approach that helps one person (eg cutting out foods) can actively make it worse for someone else. Since binging is often about food security, many, many people find restricting or cutting out food types only makes it worse.

It's a process of learning your own triggers and finding out what works and doesn't work for you as an individual.

I don't ban anything.

I just don't buy large amounts of things I don't want to eat and bring them home. If I want them, I buy small amounts and plan to eat it all. Because no matter what size of package I buy, I'm eating it all.

And I can buy a box of small bags of chips, 30 bags at ~ 30 grams each, leave the box where I can get it and grab a single bag 3-4 days a week. But if they were not there, I'd head to the store when I wanted chips, buy a family sized bag and eat at least a third of it. So having them there helps me out (a lot).

Just saying this to point out we all need to find what works for us, and it can take time to get it settled down. The biggest trick is to stop punishing yourself for what you've done, but figure out how to avoid it going forward.

Running_and_Coffee

1) What keeps you consistent
--Eating a lot of the same meals every day that I really enjoy, so I look forward to them, and having an exercise schedule. I like being a creature of habit. I like running every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and having peanut butter and steel cut oats for breakfast and a 1/2 cup of Halo cup for dessert...these things delight me and keep me from craving more caloric indulgences because I am always "happy" with what I eat.
2) How do you stop a binge.
--I don't think I have every "binged" as in eaten thousands of calories deliberately at once, but I do get off track when I eat certain "trigger" foods. So I try to avoid them. And I do eat way too much at weddings and on vacations but try to exercise more to make up for that or just accept that this means a gain.
3) Does anyone do this whole numbers excel spreadsheets, averages and weight loss thing or am i just a little O.C.D
--No, but whatever works. I am on WW AND I track on MFP. No judgment.
4) What would be your advice for motivation to keep on track; im open to journaling, book advice, sleep nail painting advice, exercise advice, anything that will help really!!
--I like tracking, I like my routines, I love being part of the running community in my town, I like reading blogs on weight loss and watching TV shows about transformations...it all keeps me motivated! :-)

CattOfTheGarage

annacole94 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

The MFP app has a weekly summary of net calories. That's all I use, other than my daily diary. It's under nutrition>calories>net calories, and then you switch from daily to weekly.

I avoid eating things I don't want to eat by not bringing them home. It's also easier to stick to the plan if the plan includes food you enjoy, but stays away from foods you know you will over eat. I can't buy a candy bar or a bag of chips without planning to eat it all. So I either don't buy it, or I plan to eat it all.

The Goldilock food? Not unenjoyable, but enjoyable enough, but not too enjoyable? LOL.

Seriously, though, it's true. You won't binge on perfectly ripe mango, but you will overeat potato chips. Super palatable food is designed to override your cues and encourages you to overeat.

So don't start, and you don't need magic willpower to stop.

I can binge on shredded wheat.

I can't eat that even if I'm super hungry.

Regardless, if you have trouble with control of unappealing food, you're probably better off not owning Cheetos.

No, that's not how it works. I stop binging when (a) I'm eating enough (and getting the right nutrients) and (b) I am convinced that nothing is "forbidden". If I banned Cheetos (or whatever), it would make it worse.

Binging is a complex issue and the same approach does not work for everyone. And frustratingly, an approach that helps one person (eg cutting out foods) can actively make it worse for someone else. Since binging is often about food security, many, many people find restricting or cutting out food types only makes it worse.

It's a process of learning your own triggers and finding out what works and doesn't work for you as an individual.

I don't ban anything.

I just don't buy large amounts of things I don't want to eat and bring them home. If I want them, I buy small amounts and plan to eat it all. Because no matter what size of package I buy, I'm eating it all.

Which is fair enough.

I limit purchase of things too, and use various tricks to do with storing treats in particular places to stop me encountering them in weak moments. The "no banned foods" thing is more about mindset. Also I find that over time I need these methods less than I used to.

What's toxic for me is the idea of a forbidden food. It just makes it so much more attractive.

Tacklewasher

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

What's toxic for me is the idea of a forbidden food. It just makes it so much more attractive.

What's funny for me is I went from 6-10 cans of coke a week to a ban on pop with no cravings etc. I would not have thought I could do that but it just happened. Only thing I have completely cut out (banned?).

GottaBurnEmAll

endlessfall16 wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

prattiger65 wrote: »

Its a good question and I see this behavior over and over on MFP. People will cut calories drastically.....binge....cut....binge...cut...you get the point. They seem to do this because they want to lose fast. After 6 months they have lost no weight, are frustrated, say calorie counting doesn't work etc. Now if those same people would have set a very modest goal of .5 pounds per week, they would have lost 15 pounds in those same six months. Op, set a modest goal, eat foods you like with an eye toward less calories dense food options and maybe peek at macros once in a while...maybe. Get a little exercise, it will make you feel better.

So .5 is the magic number? Binge-proof point?

Depends on the person, and, most critically, on how close they are to goal. I'm just approaching the boundary between obese and overweight and considering switching from 1lb a week - which has been fine thus far - to 0.5lb. At some point 1lb will become unsustainable.

The key to stopping binging, for many people, is to stop over-restricting. You cannot really control the binges that much, they are a compulsive behaviour, but you can control the restriction, which is just the other side of the same cycle.

Feed yourself regularly, adequately and well, making sure you are getting the nutrients you need plus some treats to keep you satisfied. If this does not make the binges ease off, you will have to look more deeply into what triggers them.

For me, part of the problem is defining some foods as "forbidden", which just makes them irresistible and a binge magnet.

It surely depends on the individual.

To me, it has little to do with the size of the loss (1 vs .5lb, etc.) It has much more to do with one's understanding of calorie (energy) management.


I don't feed myself regularly. I handle bingeing fine. It's well within my plan; and as said in my previous post I do categorize foods into different groups. One to be cautious with, don't abuse as you are playing with fire and the other (the diet food) I couldn't care less. It's a fact that, like anything else, foods aren't equal. Most people struggle with moderating chocolate, pizza, alcoholic drink and nobody is known to binge or have become overweight on celery and cucumber.

I don't mean to contradict you, but things have to make sense. I built my approach around these logics and understanding.

Back to the size of loss, which I don't think is the cause of bingeing. It comes down to one's effectiveness of calorie management. Biologically the body cannot tell the difference between .5 and 1lb deficits. If the body can gain 1-2 lbs a week, it can safely shed more or less the same amount. It's just a matter of one's efffectiveness in the approach. This has much to do with observing, understanding the body reactions, and work on conditioning.

An aggressive deficit can set the hormonal stage for binging. Dieting is hard on a lot of hormones that ultimately affect appetite and hunger signaling. Dieting hard is even harder on those hormones.

This isn't just a dry matter of "effectiveness of calorie management". It's important to remember that dieting is essentially a starvation state. That's not to be negative or hyperbolic, but there's something to be said for controlling the degree to which that state is taken.

Obviously, the proof is in the pudding. If a person is motivated by quick losses and doesn't experience bounce back binge behavior from severe caloric restriction? Carry on.

However, different personality types exist among individuals and I don't think a convincing argument can be made that it's going to be okay across the board for everyone to be just fine to cut calories drastically simply because they can gain weight drastically too.

There are studies that show that binging is most definitely tied to over-restriction. It's not a bad idea to pay heed to them if it seems to be a problem for any given individual.

(bolded part) That's because many do not understand or fearful when a little feeling of hunger creeps up. I stand by my statement that if the body is capable of gaining a lb or two in a period, it's also perfectly fine to drop more or less the same amount in the same period.

For example, if you visited a buffet and ate 3000, 4000 calorie, you'd be perfectly fine virtually skipping next day's meals and even only eat an average sandwich on the following day (2 days after the buffet meal) But many people here wouldn't be convinced, would be fearful of "starvation" or whatever and always prefer to eat at least 1200 each day.

I'm not advocating aggressive deficit. Not seeing anyone is. The example pattern described above is not aggressive to me.

Effectiveness is to stop eating or cut back when you don't need to eat. Whatever the deficit, 200, 700, provided that you are not feeling dizzy or any ailments. This created deficit should be able to cover the next binge attack.

Binging can be tied to a severe drought of calories but it also can be a conditioning or a lack of discipline. It can happens to the best of us. There's nothing to debate here. The point I want to make is one can manage his/her calories better to cover or lessen the impact of bingeing.

You perpetuate binge cycles by restricting in their aftermath to make up for them. So, no, it's not prudent to try to lessen the impact of them through management of calories through further restriction.

That's not how it plays out in reality for me. I fast, then eat alot, really well, then fast... repeat. Don't gain a lb. Even losing a little going by trend. No out of control cravings, no worry about buffet visits or any outings at all. Why would there be any craving or urge to binge when I just had anything I liked or the body only needed to wait 2 days.

That's nice that such a method works for you. However, for most people with a binging problem where it's not an actual plan (yours sounds like a planned means of eating), it's not a workable solution. Re-read the OP and see how you think your solution applies. I don't think it does.

She was consistently eating low calories and training and meaning to maintain that low caloric intake but then losing restraint. Your method isn't applicable in her situation.

I think what you're describing might work with your personality. It wouldn't work with mine. It also wouldn't work with my preferred level of activity.

I think we've been talking past each other because you are seeing a different sort of "problem" than I am.

LessCookiess

Please speak with a health professional about your binging and your weight loss goals.