Binging help?

KickingButtAndChewingBubblegum

Hey! I have a question in regards to binging, I'm trying to alter my life to escape this pesky problem. At first it was me just slashing down on calories, and then I started binging incredibly, I couldn't stop, it was like I was in a trance. I ate above 290cals my weekly goal. And well, now I'm a bit peeved, I started my cardio routine, and occasionally weightlifting. But anyways! How does one address this and stop the cravings? Thanks!

pennyllayne

Ok, well first off, 290 calories above your weekly goal is not a binge. In the greater scheme of things, 290 calories is not going to make much difference when you consider that 1lb of fat is around 3500 calories.

Restricting calories in itself does increase the urge to binge. It is a natural physiological response that we have to keep us alive. Our bodies don't want us to lose weight, as far as your body is concerned, having as much fat as possible is a GOOD thing. So when you suddenly start giving it less food it doesn't want to have to use its fat stores and it does all sorts of things to fight against this and conserving what fat you have. Hunger and telling you to eat loads is just one of these things. If you are struggling with this, it would be a good idea to increase your calories so that you are more satisfied. Carbs also tend to increase appetite and for some people they are a real problem and cause problems with blood sugar and this keeps the cycle going. Lowering your carbs and increasing protein might be what you need. Sugar also worsens cravings in a lot of people and protein and fats blunt the appetite.

Finally, the only other thing you can do is to not keep trigger foods in the house. I find certain foods to be a real problem for me and I can't just have a small amount and then stop, so I just don't keep them around. Unfortunately that is the only way I can manage to avoid bingeing on those foods.

TavistockToad

How does one address this and stop the cravings? Thanks!

Eat more. You said you 'slashed down' your calories... Try a more moderate deficit.

nomeejerome

You could start by setting realistic calorie goals. If going 290 over on calories for the week is going to set you in a spin, it sounds like you may have "slashed down on calories" a bit much.

kilsafari

Thats not a binge.

nofoodforthemood

Binging is a state of mind that the first poster described..it's not going over/under calories.

KickingButtAndChewingBubblegum

I love the profile pic jus' sayin'. lol

beautifulwarrior18

Seriously? 290 calories about your weekly goal? I ate like 500 calories above my daily goal today. You're still at a deficit. You'll be fine, that's not a binge.