Binge eating

rocklion

I've lost 16 pounds over the last three months, going from 220 to 204. I started feeling great and the best I have since I was in my early 20s.

The boom, this week happened. It has always been a problem for me, I thought I was done with it, but it came back to haunt me. Binge eating.

It started with just going to a ballgame Saturday night. I had a few hot dogs and then several beers. The next day my family went to a kids birthday party a few hundred miles away. I ended up not just having a cupcake, but two. Then on the way home we stopped at a Cracker Barrel and I ended up putting down a thousand calorie meal. The next day some friends invited us to there place for dinner. Before I knew it, I was putting down several hot dogs and two hamburgers. Feeling guilty, the next day I worked out for two hours and burned 1,000 calories. Then that backfired because I ended up starving the next day, so at one point ended up going to McDonalds and picking up a couple of double cheeseburgers. Wednesday was okay until I couldn't sleep that night. Then yesterday I found myself tired with no energy, which is a recipe for disaster for me and next thing I know I ended up eating bad again, buying a milk shake at the end of the night and scarfing down several helpings of dinner.

Posting about this is a big step for me. A lot of times I try to hide it. I don't want this stuff to spiral out of control. I made doggone sure I got to bed early last night and got a good night's sleep and am good to go for working out today. I only exercised for about 5 minutes yesterday because I was tired and had no energy. The biggest thing for me is not beating myself up about it. I know at the end of this week I'll probably end up gaining. So, I'm going to spend next week working off the weight I gained this week. I was so close to to getting even closer to being below 200 for the first time in 15 years and now I f'ed it up. But I keep telling myself it's a marathon not a sprint.

The big thing is, it's almost like 200 is a mental stumbling block for me. I got down to 204 once before last year. Then the next thing I know I started overeating and by the time it was done I was at 220 by the end of winter.

Any suggestions for how I deal with all this?

xAdrianax

HI, Firstly I will say definately dont beat yourself up about it!

I also know that this will happen to me at some point and i think you just gotta think ok i had a bad weekend lets get back on track,

The day i first started MFP the family decided to have a big barbeque! I remember I filled up my plate calculating what i could have and I ate everything really slowly, took me like an hour to finish but everyone else was taking seconds so the temptation was getting less and less as i still had a plate of food to get through. Also the theory of eating slower really does work, you feel full by the end!

Some of this is just rambling but I would say , its happened, it may happen again but just leave it in the past and continue with how well your doing!

2004Jessica

hang in there.

emsibun

You deal with it one meal at a time - if you tell yourself you've given up on a day then the rest of that day will follow on the wrong track. Keep healthy food around - stuff that will fill you up - if you are hungry this week. Make sure your family support you as much as they can to help you make good choices.

Chin up and take care xxx

murawskid

Start each day as a fresh start. Forgive yourself for the binge and put it behind you. You can't punish yourself for yesterday, only vow to do better today. Think of it this way, you did not put the weight on all at once, it was over time. You will not take it off all at once either, it is a process, and part of that process is retraining yourself to make binges a one or two day event, not a spiral. If you beat yourself up over it, you will eventually get into a rut of "why bother, I am just going to overeat again".

Good luck!

Grimmerick

You are right it is a marathon, and even in those you slow down or walk for a bit. Just remember why you are doing this. I am a binge eater too. It helps when I surround myself with good choices and don't be embarrassed to bring your own food to nosh on. Whatever you have to do to make it work for you do it. and when you fall off don't make it a I ruined my day with 2 hotdogs I might as well keep going. Jump right back on when you notice that. I drank a bottle of wine last night which lowered my willpower and then I proceeded to eat a truck load of mexican food....but you better believe today is a new day and I am right back on the wagon.

oBirdieo

Geneen Roth. Get some of her books. They're written from a female perspective, but everything in them can be applied to men. I'm a binge/compulsive/secret eater, and her books have been a source of great help for me. (Basically, she says it's not about the food and it's not about the weight. It's about WHY you're using the food to cope with or ignore other things in your life.)

Also, MFP has been a big help -- planning my day and seeing exactly what I'm going to be eating and when really gives me a nice sense of calm and control. I literally plan the day before a single bite of food passes my lips. If I eat first and record later, all hell breaks loose.

Making my diary public is also helpful as it makes me be accountable to anyone and everyone who looks at it. I started MFP two weeks ago today and I haven't had a bad binge (or eaten at McDonald's!) since.

eorourke23

I can really relate to your story and I dont know if there is a quick fix or if there is any fix at all, I have been known to binge eat in the past and I suppose it will happen in the future too (hope not) but what I do is distract myself, I see by your profile pic you like cycling, get the bike out and dissapear and earn those extra calories for those special treats that you can still have, I am on my own a lot, at work in the office, hubby at work, kids at school, boredom is totally the worst reason why i binge eat, no 1 watching what I eat and no one to tell me I shouldnt be doing what I do, and the regret after, horrible, but the best thing you can do after a bad day is forget about it and move on to a better day, the no energy thing your experiencing I suppose will be from the empty calories and the stuff they put in junk food to make it so addictive, I also drink a whole load more water than i have ever done which seems to help with the gaps in between meals wher i think i am hungry but I am really just thirsty, I know I am talkin a whole load of gobbledegook guff but its working for me, up the excercise big time and you wont feel near as guilty if you do have a down fall, last week alone i cycled 77 mile and walked 53 mile, both easy excercises and I didnt feel achy, the amount of extra cals i generated from that was brilliant but I never used them all but i knew they were there is i wanted too, so get out there n do it. keep those hands busy and your mind occupied n binge eatin will be a thing of the past sorry for blethering a lot but I hope i have helped, even just a wee bit :happy:

bbbbb33333

Cut yourself a break! Taking a break from calorie counting and eating a little more every once in a while keeps you sane. You need it. Enjoyed the break, just jump back in and start working.

I have a tendency to binge eat late at night. About 3 years ago I lost a good amount of weight in a competition at work (~ 65 lbs, using a calorie counting site). It was great, but something hard to keep up forever (maybe I was a little too obsessive about it). Over the past several years, I gained about 1/2 of it back, mostly eating at night. So, before it gets too bad, I am back to reset and recenter.

Good luck!

PS. In Marathon training you gradually increase your weekly mileage, but every 4 to 6 weeks you do a light week to let your body recover from all the new stress it is going though. View your short binge period in the same way. Taking a short break once in a while is good.

Tankplanker

I'm a big binger, always a full tub of pringles or a full box of cakes. I found it easier once I accepted I was eating total rubbish that was slowly killing me and only ate healthy food. Junk food only leads to more junk food as the body processes it's captors too quickly and often causes crashes in sugar levels, all making you hungrier sooner.

You need to reward yourself for hard work but appropriately, I've had some new clothes this month rather than a meal out for example.

kshaw09

I'm a binge eater as well... it is hard battle, you feel like your constantly fighting. But it's ok we all give in sometimes at some point. Just hop right back and start again. Your not alone. You can do anything when you set your mind to it

Jennid27

You say 200 seems to be the weight you can't get past or that triggers a binge cycle...are there others around you being supportive or giving you a hard time for wanting to lose? Sometimes I have to distance myself from those who are eating out all the time or going for drinks and fatty appetizers. Real friends will understand and help in the journey. Don't let yourself get too hungry (starving after a binge), keep up with drinking water and when you are stressed and driving towards the drive-thru ask whether you are hungry or "eating feelings." A diet notebook has always helped me..sometimes I don't have time to type it all in..I write down my intake and how I'm feeling so as to recognize binge triggers. Find something to shoot for rather than 200 and the rest will follow..enter a walk/5k taking place months from now and start training or buy one pair of jeans to fit you later.
Good luck and don't give up!

Dawntodusk

Although it's easy to blame yourself for not having enough self-control, there may be another way to look at this. The latest research clearly demonstrates that the more sugar you eat, the more weight you will put on, but not only that, YOU WILL STILL BE HUNGRY. This is because sugar interferes with leptin which is the hormone that tells you when you are full.

So, it's not just about self-control. It's about not eating foods that contain sugar or HFCS. Nowadays, almost everything contains it - especially fast food. So, the less you eat of it, the better.

Bottom line, if you''re hungry, eat something healthy that contains no sugar... like nuts, for example, or cheese. For now, I'd say even say away from fruit. Read all labels. If it has HFCS or sugar in it, don't eat it. Choose a healthy option. Remember: sugar metabolises as FAT and makes you hungry so you set your body up for binging.

Don't blame yourself. Just eat something healthy instead.

Good luck to you.

rocklion

Thank you all for the advice. I really do appreciate it.

BB> I really like your advice. That makes a lot of sense to me. I think that's a good way of thinking. Think of it as a small break. The fact is I've been counting calories and exercising hard for weeks now. Maybe it was time for a short break from it all and then just get back on the horse and ride it again.

And I do have more goals than just 200. That's a short term goal. I am just setting myself up with short term goals. The first is 200. Next is 190. And my long term goal is 180.

But besides that, I have other goals as well that cant be quantified, but they do motivate me to do what I'm doing. I want to be able to play with my kids and take them out to do the things I enjoyed when I was in shape like backpacking. I want to be able to enjoy my hobbies even more - backpacking, mountain biking and most recently I've gotten into trail running. I love to be out in the woods and I want to be able to hike longer and faster and enjoy it even more by being able to carry my pack.

Recently, I've set myself another goal. I have a dream of being able to do an adventure race. I'm an adrenaline junky and recently I found a race called the Warriors Dash where you run three miles through mud, fire and water and different obstacles. It's crazy for a lot of people but for me its something I think would be fun. At some point, I want to do even tougher events like this.

But thank you all. I really appreciate it.