Why do I sabotage myself

carolinegraham1238

Hi,

I've been using MFP for three weeds now and had lost almost 6 lbs. but last night I binged before going to bed, Croissant with jam, fibre one bar, crackers, cheese, ham, tomatoes. Basically anything I could put in my mouth. I want to lose 30 lbs. but seem to find a way to sabotage myself anytime I make some progress. Anyone else having this problem?

Thanks for the help,

galprincess

Hi

I've been there so many times I could write a book my only advice is when youre truly ready to get the extra weight off it will come off

earthboundmisfit

I do this sometimes. Just last night I ate a bunch of Tastycakes and drank several glasses of wine, and undid several weeks of sticking to my plan. I was going to starve myself today to make up for it but decided that would be counterproductive. The best thing to do when this happens is go right back on your regular food plan and not be too discouraged about slipping once in a while, it's the big picture that counts. I try to work my favorite yummy foods into my diet (well maybe not the Tastycakes), count the calories, and keep bad foods out of the house. There's also the 80/20 rule, try to eat well 80% of the time. Nobody's perfect. And congrats on the 6 lb weight loss!

gothchiq

Hon, we all binge at some point. You won't gain more than one pound from a single binge. Work out hard the next day and don't step on the scales again until a week goes by, during which you have of course been good and worked out daily.

farfromthetree

Not to sound blunt but, you just don't want it bad enough yet. Something is holding you back.I know because I did it for years.

homemadehippy

I've been there. There were evenings when I felt like I was starving and meat/cheese/bread were the only things that would fill me up. I knew in the back of my head that I was eating for emotional reasons, but I kept pushing it farther in the back of my head and ignoring it. It was almost like I could become another person eating and eating and ignoring that knowledge that I wasn't REALLY physically hungry. I knew I what I was doing, but almost felt helpless to stop. Every day I would start over and every night I would binge again. It took a long time for me to overcome my emotional eating and recognize it. Recognizing when you are eating for emotional reasons and when you are hungry is really the first step in dealing with it. I've learned to ask myself, "Are you really hungry? Would you eat an apple right now?" If the answer is "No," I know its not real hunger. There is an Emotional Eating Group on here that I joined which helped me greatly. I would recommend that you check that out. It gave me many ideas for dealing with my emotional eating and there is a lot of support , which I really need. You can friend me too and we can deal with it together.

carolinegraham1238

Thanks so much, that's great advice, I have sent you a friend request

sheedy17

Just picture yourself and what you will look like when you hit your goal, that is what I do when I want to binge, it stops me 9/10 times. Another thing to try is pick a day in the week where you will cheat, use a day for yourself when you can cheat and not feel guilty, itll make you put in a hard week of working out and makes you will like you earned a reward.

Maybe also try to drink a big glass of water instead of cheating, or possibly Milk, milk can be a delicious snack.

I would be happy to motivate you or keep in touch if you wanted to add me.

nicoleanneh

Please look in to Overeaters Anonymous. There are other answers.

carolinegraham1238

Thanks to everyone who replied, to the reply that said maybe I just don't want it badly enough perhaps you're right. I need to be careful wanting it too badly though as the last time that happened I ended up being treated for an eating disorder so perhaps the occasional falling off the diet is tolerable.

heavydron

The best of us fall victim to this. Not just yourself. Just remember that a diet you cannot sustain is not a good diet. If it's too difficult then scale down the intensity of the deficit and ease yourself in. But must importantly, GET RID OF ALL OF THAT UNHEALTHY FOOD. Temptation is much easier to deal with when it's far removed bud.

heavydron

Thanks to everyone who replied, to the reply that said maybe I just don't want it badly enough perhaps you're right. I need to be careful wanting it too badly though as the last time that happened I ended up being treated for an eating disorder so perhaps the occasional falling off the diet is tolerable.

And stay encouraged. Wanting it bad doesn't matter much to anyone when human instinct kicks in and says "eat". Like I mentioned, gradual decline. Keep the progress you've earned, hiccups are only a slight setback. Don't give up because of that.

ahoy_m8

Homemadehippy's comments about emotional eating merit consideration. When we go off the rails, there is an emotional component. It helps me to log every detail of the binge. For years I binged and sort of treated it like it didn't count. I.e. Lied to myself. Once I decided to be brutally honest about logging every crumb that passed my lips, some bites just weren't worth the trouble of computing/logging. Moreover, my subconscious caught on that it all counts. Binging stopped once that FINALLY sank in.

It also helps me not to have tempting stuff around. I, however, have 3 teenagers, and there are snacks my spouse likes to have on weekends., too Having my own snack food I really enjoy MORE keeps me on track, but I have to say, when the kids are at camp/visiting relatives/gone for a few days, I get rid of the junk and that simplifies my mental process.

Best wishes to you!

kimothy38

The best of us fall victim to this. Not just yourself. Just remember that a diet you cannot sustain is not a good diet. If it's too difficult then scale down the intensity of the deficit and ease yourself in. But must importantly, GET RID OF ALL OF THAT UNHEALTHY FOOD. Temptation is much easier to deal with when it's far removed bud.

I agree. Try to limit the temptations in your house. I sabotage myself constantly - some days are better than others but the one thing I know is that if it's in the house I will eat it. You need to work out what the trigger is. HALT hungry, angry, lonely or tired? Make a phone call to distract yourself, eat a piece of fruit first and see if that does the trick, write in a journal to work out what you are actually feeling. It's completely normal and try not to be too hard on yourself.