the binge

Silvercivic

Here's a scenario: I've spent the entire morning taking care of my kids. (2 yrs and 6 months) We get up early, do breakfast, cleaning, I work out at the gym, we run an errand, we come home and do lunch and more cleaning and shower and throw in a load of laundry and... finally 12:30 comes and it is NAP TIME! The kids are in their cribs, the house is quiet, and the next hour (if my kids cooperate- ha) is all mine!

So I eat my lunch. Ahh- how nice it is to enjoy a meal without having to juggle doing something else at the same time! Then the meal is over and already I miss it. So what do I do?- I eat something else. Perhaps something sweet. "It is desert!" I tell myself. And then of course after you eat something sweet you need to balance it with something salty...and then something sweet again... In the moment it is so comforting to be doing NOTHING except for eating. nom nom nom

At some point, maybe when I finally feel "full", I stop and realize that I've just spent a huge chunk of my golden "no kids" time doing nothing but eating! Not good. But in a way it almost helps me get through the rest of the day- I'm not at all hungry so I don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat and when. I have tons of energy from all of the extra calories so I'm totally available to play with my toddler while holding my baby and doing more chores. I don't have to spend extra energy and brain power trying to will myself to stick to my diet because I've already blown it! It gets really easy to justify this bad habit. And it makes sense why I would do it again and again and again. (and gain a pound, and then another, and then another...)

MFP has definitely helped break me of this midday eat-a-thon. I've been logging my meals the night before I eat them so I can see exactly how many snack calories I have to work with for the day. So I can still have some extra food after my lunch if that is what helps me gear up for the second half of a day with my highly energetic children. You can't call it a binge if you log the calories and stay within your daily goal! (I had a cup of chex mix and 16 animal crackers today and then I STOPPED. woo!)

I realize that I'm still using food for comfort, but it is really nice to be in control. And maybe I can slowly change my habits and start turning to other things for comfort. I wonder what other people have done to get ride of a bad binge eating habit?

KarenHarper71

Your story is tru for so many of us, for me it was that my children were at school and food was my company! I now weigh out food into a container of howmuch i can have day (this was when I needed to slow down on the nibbles). Now have sunflower seeds, fresh peanuts in shells, as this takes time to deshell them but still enjoyable.

Well done with your 3lb weight loss and keep up the good work xx