How do you start up again after a bad binging few days??

Loramy

Hiya. Ive had a couple of lousy days. Just lost the plot completely. Ive binged on chocolate cake
and birthday cake. Ive ate wheat and starchy things which have made me feel bloated and uncomfortable.
I just feel so despondent. I dont feel that I will ever lose any weight. I am feeling pretty low inside and
am eating to fill a need that I am obviously not getting met elsewhere. I just feel that to start all over
again tomorrow is such an uphill struggle. Anybody got any tips/inspiration - I could use some help.
Thank you. xx

Staceyblewin

IN posting this topic, that tells me that you're still in charge. You know what you want and now it's just about doing it. If you're having a hard time, just do baby steps. Think about each meal individually. Once you complete a meal and it's healthy, it will excite you for the next to be healthy too.

lawtechie

Start now, not tomorrow. Pick your self up and get back on track. Have a salad for dinner w/ some chicken or other good protein.

One bad day doesn't blow a change of healthy eating (this is NOT a diet); two bad days you're losing focus... Stop it now and get back to the healthy eating. It happened and now its over, right?

lunamare

I come back in here and I start with the things I can be in control of, my water, writing everything down, whether it was good or bad, and start adding back in the "good for me" stuff. I try to get my exercise in, even if it's just walking outside at lunch. Most of all, you've got to just put those days behind you and move on. Good luck!

jemachharo

Just do it. A few days of binge helps you remember why you don't want to eat that way.

Jean

fmorpurgo

Join my club-only mines been a downhill trend for 8 weeks! I think I put the whole 10 pounds on I lost, but am too scared to weigh myself. I started again on sunday-I am not whole heartedly passionate about my weight loss like I was, but I really dont want to become how I used to be, so you just hae to remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing.
Make each day a challenge to get through and if you meet your calorie goal and exercise goal, it makes the next day easier and more attainable. i am on day four now, still too scared to look at the scales, but I am taking each day.Good luck!!!:flowerforyou:

janetb21

Forgive yourself for the binge, and then start over again right now. Drink some water and have a healthy dinner tonight.

lucycaz

Hi

I just make sure I log my binge cals too then compare it to my maintance cals you may find that it is not so bad....

i.e.

My target is 1200 cals a day however my maintance is 2560 (acording to MFP) When I last had an "off plan day" I logged everything and it only came to 3100 cals which was only just over 500 cals over maintance this made me feel much better and I found it easier to get back on plan the next day...

Hope this helps

Lucy

grassette

Exercise! That will make you feel good! And that good feeling will make up for the hard times you are going through. And treat it spiritually.

CRASMUSSEN4

Tomorrow is a NEW day! You can't change the past but you CAN CHANGE the future! Focus on right now...not how far you have to go! You will make it there soon enough...it's the small steps that lead you to the big ones! Don't give up!

nicki2135

Hiya

you've got to look at the bigger picture a couple of bad days doesn't mean you can't lose weight it just means you got distracted and life got in the way! It happens to everyone now and then.:ohwell:
2 rubbish days are not going to derail your progress, look at what you have achieved since you started this and have a good think about what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it.
Like everyone says the only thing to do is pick yourself up and start eating healthy again and think about what you can do to avoid another few rubbish days next time life gets in the way.
Also make sure your eating near your net calorie goal so you don't get too starving and deprived because thats one thing that is guarenteed to make me binge.
Good Luck
Nicki

123456654321

Just hop back on the horse and ride it till the sun goes down! Your *kitten* might hurt for a day or two, but it'll toughen back up in no time!

Oh metaphors....

angeleyes4643

Hi

I just make sure I log my binge cals too then compare it to my maintance cals you may find that it is not so bad....

i.e.

My target is 1200 cals a day however my maintance is 2560 (acording to MFP) When I last had an "off plan day" I logged everything and it only came to 3100 cals which was only just over 500 cals over maintance this made me feel much better and I found it easier to get back on plan the next day...

Hope this helps

Lucy

That's exactly what I did a week or two ago and it really helped me "get back on the horse" so to speak. Sometimes we think things are much worse than they really are. By logging the "binge" it helps bring us back around to our goal path.

kiwikara

I usually try to eat really clean for a couple days after a binge to help get all those sugars and salts out of your system. And drink a lot of water! But as long as you know you want to hop back on and do it, then you'll be fine! There's no one trick Good luck!

noexcuses1218

I found that keeping a journal really helps in terms of staying in touch with what I do and why I do it. In a journal you can lay things out in a way that means the most to you, not to anyone else, and you don't have to pull punches or be diplomatic about it. That's priceless.

Also, did you know that most ex-smokers had to try to quit numerous times before they finally kicked the habit for good? I know I did. Keep at it. Some days are going to be better than others. Accept it. Keep at it. If this were easy, everyone would be doing it. It's not easy, and that makes you special.

good luck.

CharlieBarleyMom

You obviously want to continue. So you didn't do any real harm. You may have chided yourself over your habits but you are right back on the wagon.

Just do it. Put it behind you and move ahead.

Not bad for 2 days; you know this is your life, not just a one-day show.

albayin

For me one or a couple of bad days work as a perfect motivation to do better next day. Strange enough I feel much more motivated to start over and actually I do better that way.

janet_pratt

Yeah, don't wait till tomorrow. Start now. The very next thing you put in your mouth needs to be because you are hungry and because it's healthy. Waiting till tomorrow only prolongs it. I tomorrowed myself up to 285 pounds.
http://thedancingcyclist.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/helloworld/

lambdafu

When I am in a situation like that, I think back to something that a music teacher said to me when I faced an impossible task. We had to play a modern classical composition for 5 dismantled pianos, which were tortured with various tools such as hammers, screws, and also, yes, an electric milk mixer. On top of that, we had to play an improvised canon where one would start to play a melody with the milk mixer, and the next one would pick it up, and so on. Because it was improvised, there was no way to know what the first person would play. Because we had our backs turned to each other, there was no way to see what he played. And making out that one melody you were supposed to repeat among all the other sounds that were going on was basically impossible.

Yet, the composer (our teacher) insisted that we should try. He agreed that it was an impossible task. But he told us that no matter how often we lost track of the melody we should repeat, no matter how many mistakes we made trying to repeat it, and no matter how impossible the task is, it would be worth to keep trying to do the best possible. And it's true: By trying, something would come out that, even if it wasn't a real canon, was sounding nicer and more familiar than if everybody had given up and played what they wanted.

The bottom line, and I am thinking back to that often, is: It's always worth it to keep trying to do a good job at a task, even if it seems (or is!) impossible, because the outcome is not yes or no, but a range of possibilities, and everytime you push harder you improve the outcome a bit.

Don't get discouraged. A couple of bad days don't undo what you have already achieved, and, more importantly: They can not possibly undo what you are yet to achieve!

JaneWrastle

Exercise! That will make you feel good! And that good feeling will make up for the hard times you are going through. And treat it spiritually.

Agreed - workout, it helps you feel back in control, and here's the thing let's be realistic - you're going to binge now and then - whether it be accidentally at a wedding on the weekend or you are going thru your cycle and cannot resist chocolate cake. After binging every other weekend and falling off the fitness wagon over and over again i realized - THIS is part of the process. NO ONE gets on a 'health kick' and is able to stay on it forever. You are going to have setbacks, just like in life. So be ready for them. If you were trying to jog to a destination and tripped over something you wouldn't stop for long would you? you would get back up and try to get where you are going. Don't sulk about what happened 2 days ago or 3 weeks ago, all that is going to do is make you feel bad and possibly want to just keep eating.

I now PLAN to binge on the weekend - just a little. it gives me something to look forward to all week. some people call it a cheat day and say they wouldn't have succeeded in weight loss without it. I know come Monday I am going to weight 3 pounds more than i did on friday b/c of all the lack of activity and the overeating. Monday is my "reset" day and so not much can tempt me on monday, since i know on saturday i did whatever the heck i wanted and next saturday i'll do the same. Monday is all about helping myself feel like i am back in control and it's a good way to start off the week!

Disclaimer - though i am "binging" on the weekend in the sense that i am overeating and over drinking and not working out, i am not unreasonable. yes, last saturday i had two pieces of cake - that was after having a small sandwich and some black bean and corn for lunch.

JaneWrastle

For me one or a couple of bad days work as a perfect motivation to do better next day. Strange enough I feel much more motivated to start over and actually I do better that way.

amen

Staceyblewin

Hi

I just make sure I log my binge cals too then compare it to my maintance cals you may find that it is not so bad....

i.e.

My target is 1200 cals a day however my maintance is 2560 (acording to MFP) When I last had an "off plan day" I logged everything and it only came to 3100 cals which was only just over 500 cals over maintance this made me feel much better and I found it easier to get back on plan the next day...

Hope this helps

Lucy

I love that. It's a great way to look at it!

Loramy

Thank you all so very much. Lots of tips and inspirations I will take on board.
Now just off to walk the dog. Its 8.30pm here. Cheers xx