Binge eating as self-sabotage

slenderizeme

I always seem to binge eat after doing really well with my calories for about a week or more. I don't know why it always seems to happen around that time. Today I binged by eating an entire package of macaroni and cheese that was supposed to be four servings. I had kept my calories at a reasonable level until today. So now all of my progress is lost. I am tired of constantly being in the process of trying to lose weight and then failing because of binging. Does anyone else have this problem?

kasterrett

What do you mean, "all of my progress is lost"? A transgression does not mean you are lost, or all your progress is lost. it's just that: a transgression. It isn't nearly as big of a deal as you might think it is. That being said, you should forgive yourself (don't forget, but forgive)! A single binge like this in an entire week isn't going to make you gain eight pounds or anything, I promise. You should still be making progress - at least in the way you eat, if not pounds wise. You should be really proud you can go a week or more without binging. Good job!! Seriously, GOOD JOB!!

BTW - the serving thing is way outdated. Don't worry about servings. Worry about calories and nutritional value!

VGomez22

Pretend you never at the Mac and Cheese and move on! You still have a weekly deficit!

Pudding1980

You will be fine! Just keep on keeping on

crepes_

All progress isn't lost though. I've heard people say that it's like dropping your phone and then deciding that since it already fell, it's alright to just smash it against the ground. That's not how it works! If taking it one day at a time is too much for you for now, that's fine. Take it one meal at a time. One hour at a time. Doesn't matter. Just make sure that your measurement incremenets work for you and make sure that you're realizing that one meal does not derail you unless you let it.

laceyjjj

Ditto to what others have said. This is not losing all your progress. I had muuccchhh worse! Like 2 boxes of cereal, an apple fritter, Large chocolate poke stick, and king size Reeses pieces and one slice of pizza. Feel better yet?

WillLift4Tats

^^All of the above.

Also, take a look at daily eating plan. What could be triggering the weekly binges? Is your goal too aggressive? Are you trying to cut out too many food groups? Make sure you're consuming enough calories for a slight, achievable deficit. When you try to cut too drastically, it is easy for your body to "rebel" at some point and demand more. The same goes for cutting out too many food groups. You feel restricted, then binge.

I'm not saying these are your problems, but from experience, they can be big factors. It may very well be emotional as well. But whatever the case, know that you are not throwing everything away with one meal. This takes time and patience, and self-forgiveness to get through. You can do it

sherambler

All progress isn't lost though. I've heard people say that it's like dropping your phone and then deciding that since it already fell, it's alright to just smash it against the ground. That's not how it works!

This is such a great way to put it! OP, you should celebrate the fact that you managed to go a week without bingeing. That's a HUGE accomplishment! We're so trained to be absolute and perfect when it come to weight loss, but it's not realistic. To think that anyone with a binge eating or emotional eating disorder or problem will never binge again is absurd. All we can do is manage those moments the best we can. Eating a box of mac and cheese...okay. I get it. It's not great and you probably ate more than you intended, but look at it from another angle. What would a normal binge look like for you? I can tell you I wouldn't be able to stop at just the mac and cheese.

It sounds like you're making progress to me.

melmckay99

Aim for progress, not perfection. This is hard though as most of us with ED's have an 'all-or-nothing' type of attitude, so in our minds, if we can't do something perfectly it isn't worth doing. There's pros and cons to this... on the plus side, when we do put our minds to some things we do really well, we are successful and people tend to acknowledge us for it and maybe even look up to us!,... on the other hand, we are equally good at f*ing things up. If I screw up my diet, then I better REALLY screw it up good = binge time! This black and white thinking is detrimental to our well being, it festers up inside and becomes a self hatred, we get jealous, resentful, out-of-control, and ultimately just lonely and depressed.

Just remember that you are in fact, not alone, and there are others out there just like you suffereing the same kinds of compulsions and irrationality. We all need to learn to be self aware, self accepting and ultimately self-loving!

Hang in there!

trulabfloyd

Hi there soul mate. YES I totally know your pain. I go along doing great and then my binge times are weekends when I am out with friends and drinking. Then I am the last to stop eating the giant appetizer of fried calamari. Or going for extra slices of pizza and finishing one of those gigantic Bud lights! It is self sabatoge. We have to learn to be our own best friends and do the right thing. I find myself giving in to peer pressure. I feel like I have to go ahead and eat whatever people are pushing me to eat or drink. Need a suggestion as to what to say to others when they offer food I don't need or what I should do to restrict food when everyone is drinking and eating around me. I have to learn to put my tongue to the roof of my mouth and say NO!! how are you doing now?

Summerfit321

This used t be my problem. Then I started going on binge sprees and now binge most days of the week. Try and not beat yourself up about once a week, because it isn't too bad at all. Just work on reducing it to once every two weeks, then once a month, etc...