A really bad today. How do I pick myself up?

2019_minus30

I have an unhealthy habit where if I screw up and binge an entire day, then I’ll try to compensate by fasting the next day, but of course that always ends in disaster. In lieu of continuing an unhealthy and unsustainable habit, I am trying to develop a more positive mindset. What can I tell myself to let me just carry on tomorrow as if nothing happened today?

LovelySavannah

Here's what I did, because I used to be the exact same way.. I allowed myself one cheat day per week. A cheat day where I eat what I want, when I want. Now I don't go overboard but I do enjoy myself with my favorites. I'd also schedule that cheat day to be on a Saturday so I can go out to eat and not worry about the nutritional value menu and I'd probably get a slice of pie as dessert because pies are my favorite. Then the next day, I do good on my diet and the cheat day gives me motivation to stay good. Then after maybe a month and a half of doing this, I got to where I didn't need cheat days and I didn't feel the cravings to mess up my diet because I realized the main reason why I'm wanting to cheat is because my mindset is "this is a diet". My best tip is don't think of it as a diet.. The brain just doesn't like restrictions. I started to think of it as "I don't want that junk food right now because I'm trying to help my body". I actually got to where some junk food makes me sick to my stomach, like pizza. I got to where my appetite changed. Example, I hated broccoli my whole life. Now after losing weight and changing my eating habits,.. I love broccoli, sweet potatoes, and carrots. I actually love them enough to ask for a side of steamed veggies instead of fries at a restaurant, not because of a "diet" but because I really enjoy them. Just give your body time to adjust, and if you fail one day, don't beat yourself up. The next day is a new day 😊

rheddmobile

One year from now, you won't even remember today's binge happened - if you spend that year mostly eating right.

Also, a single binge doesn't really set you back that much. It takes 3,500 calories over maintenance to make a pound of fat.

You know what you need to do!

In the future, try to incorporate enough treats to avoid binges, and avoid the situations and circumstances which lead you to make bad choices. Good luck to you.

smolmaus

I also used to be the same way. I stopped trying to make up for it and to be honest I also stopped trying to restrict myself at all until I got that behavior under control. The binging is't a screw up, it's a reaction to something. For me that's anxiety (both about life in general and about the dreaded weight gain), for other people it can be stress or tiredness or restricting too much for too long and just getting mentally worn out by it.

Figure out what is leading you to binge in the first place. If you trip over something you don't just spend your time worrying about the bruised knee, you look for what tripped you up so you don't do the same thing again.

tirowow12385

Don't tell yourself anything, just " do" and keep on.

snowflake954

Happens. Study the "why" and then you can try to eliminate the problem. "Cheat days" can be a black hole that's hard to get out of. Make sure you're eating enough. He wins who eats the most and still loses. That's the advice seen on here for years. It works. Good luck.

88olds

Did you log the binge?

I think what we say when we talk to ourselves is important. Do you tell yourself you can’t possibly log a binge? That any such exercise is pointless or hopeless? Try it. Do you routinely keep your food diary no matter what? Some folks come on here and say they binged because they ate a piece of peanut butter toast and a bag of baby carrots. If you’re talking about an actual binge, it will likely be hard to log, but try. The process requires that you try to do your best to keep your diary.

Its not telling yourself nothing happened. Its telling yourself that your program is a process and the process calls for logging what you eat. The process is more important than the numbers.

2019_minus30

88olds wrote: »

Did you log the binge?

I think what we say when we talk to ourselves is important. Do you tell yourself you can’t possibly log a binge? That any such exercise is pointless or hopeless? Try it. Do you routinely keep your food diary no matter what? Some folks come on here and say they binged because they ate a piece of peanut butter toast and a bag of baby carrots. If you’re talking about an actual binge, it will likely be hard to log, but try. The process requires that you try to do your best to keep your diary.

Its not telling yourself nothing happened. Its telling yourself that your program is a process and the process calls for logging what you eat. The process is more important than the numbers.

It was a pretty bad binge, setting me back a couple thousand calories. I didn’t log the binge for all reasons you described... lol. I understand where you’re coming from and I am trying hard to tell myself it’s a process and that it’s not perfect. Thanks so much for responding.

2019_minus30

snowflake954 wrote: »

Happens. Study the "why" and then you can try to eliminate the problem. "Cheat days" can be a black hole that's hard to get out of. Make sure you're eating enough. He wins who eats the most and still loses. That's the advice seen on here for years. It works. Good luck.

snowflake954 wrote: »

Happens. Study the "why" and then you can try to eliminate the problem. "Cheat days" can be a black hole that's hard to get out of. Make sure you're eating enough. He wins who eats the most and still loses. That's the advice seen on here for years. It works. Good luck.

I really appreciate your advice. My weekends wind up being cheat days where I do tend to binge an unhealthy amount, and as a result I’ve lowered the amount I eat during the weekdays to compensate for weekend binges, but that just ended in a MEGA binge yesterday! Thanks for responding and I’ll be sure to think about what you said.

2019_minus30

smolmaus wrote: »

I also used to be the same way. I stopped trying to make up for it and to be honest I also stopped trying to restrict myself at all until I got that behavior under control. The binging is't a screw up, it's a reaction to something. For me that's anxiety (both about life in general and about the dreaded weight gain), for other people it can be stress or tiredness or restricting too much for too long and just getting mentally worn out by it.

Figure out what is leading you to binge in the first place. If you trip over something you don't just spend your time worrying about the bruised knee, you look for what tripped you up so you don't do the same thing again.

Wow, those reasons for a binge line up perfectly to my reasons! Thank you so much for responding and I’m so glad to see someone whose been in my shoes before. I’ll be sure to think about what you’ve said.

TavistockToad

2019_minus30 wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

Happens. Study the "why" and then you can try to eliminate the problem. "Cheat days" can be a black hole that's hard to get out of. Make sure you're eating enough. He wins who eats the most and still loses. That's the advice seen on here for years. It works. Good luck.

snowflake954 wrote: »

Happens. Study the "why" and then you can try to eliminate the problem. "Cheat days" can be a black hole that's hard to get out of. Make sure you're eating enough. He wins who eats the most and still loses. That's the advice seen on here for years. It works. Good luck.

I really appreciate your advice. My weekends wind up being cheat days where I do tend to binge an unhealthy amount, and as a result I’ve lowered the amount I eat during the weekdays to compensate for weekend binges, but that just ended in a MEGA binge yesterday! Thanks for responding and I’ll be sure to think about what you said.

so you know that restricting what you eat during the week too much doesn't do you any good at the weekends.

try fitting in some foods that you like to eat during the week, and that way you wont be so deprived and feel the need to binge so much

2019_minus30

rheddmobile wrote: »

One year from now, you won't even remember today's binge happened - if you spend that year mostly eating right.

Also, a single binge doesn't really set you back that much. It takes 3,500 calories over maintenance to make a pound of fat.

You know what you need to do!

In the future, try to incorporate enough treats to avoid binges, and avoid the situations and circumstances which lead you to make bad choices. Good luck to you.

Wow I’ve never thought of it like that. It’s been 2 years of struggling with binging and weight gain and I’ve never heard your advice before. I wish I’ve heard it before because it put things in a new perspective for me! I’ll keep in mind what you’ve said going forward. Thanks so much

cobalt108

TanyaHooton

I also try to compensate if I overeat the day before or if I know I'm going out. Because I like the math to work out, you know, and I like the weight to go down.

Some times are just hungrier than others. Sometimes my hormones (which lead to feelings and anxieties) are wreaking havoc in my body so I eat the pizza AND the breadsticks AND the wings AND the beer. With a bag of Dove chocolates for dessert. I used to feel disgusted with myself and hopeless that the weight would ever come off.

But when I stuck to a calorie deficit for longer than 10 days, I found that one day a month where I ate ALL THE THINGS really had little impact on the overall. And I realized that I had to commit for the long haul, that some days would be perfect and some days were just not winners. It's good to try every meal, every day, every month, but we are human and we mess up and brownies are delicious. So you overate one day? Well the weight didn't pile on in one day, so one day of overeating does not derail three or six months of progress. It's best to just accept it happened and let it go with no shame or disgust. You'll do better tomorrow. And you do.

Bex953172

I am a biscuit binger. I love biscuits.

My partner now keeps then in the bedroom so im limited, i know i should have more self control than getting him to do that but tbh. If i wasnt with him i just wouldnt buy them AT ALL, but he and the kids eat them so not an option

Theres a couple of things ive tried.
Firstly was make a list of my worst offending foods, so.. biscuits, chocolate, bread, chips, crisps ect,
And then next to that list i wrote a list of alternatives, so carrot sticks, fruit, low fat yoghurt. Ect.
It helps in that when i know i want chocolate, its hard to think of much else that i fancy, so i check the list, and majority of the time i pick something off my alternative list, purely because it seems as appealing as chocolate.
Sometimes i dont but seeing it infront of my halts the initial craving whilst i think abiut what i can have.

Also i used to do what you do, go ovrr in calories and think well F it. Ive already messed up so ill just eat more.

Now instead of thinking that i think, how can i rectify this instead, so if im over by 300 cals for example, i might do some exercise, or a walk, or some cleaning, and just chip away at it, at the end of the day i still might be over by 100 calories but its better than 300.

And making sure i drink enough always helps. As soon as i feel a craving i get some water or sugar free juice.
And when ive finished a meal i can sometimes still not feel as full as i like so ill drink a big cup of water to fill myself a bit more