How do I break a destructive cycle?

TR0berts

You simply do it. You take responsibility and you do it.

This, too.

SageGoddess320

I checked out a few days of your diary. It looks like, on an average day, many of your carbs are coming from fruit or whole grains (which I don't consider a bad thing). My suggestion would be to cut out the sweets like cookies, lattes, etc and see how that works.

NocturnalGirl

1. Increase your intake. It will help you stick to your goal better, plus your current goal is too low for your stats, especially because you are within a healthy weight range.
2. Stop the compensatory behaviour. If you eat over your goal and then make up for it then it'll just become a cycle and cause you to eat over your goal again. It is also not a healthy way of thinking.
3. Reconsider your goal weight and your reasoning behind it.

Sarauk2sf

Do a cleanse for a whole week or even just for a few days by not eating any bad carbs (sugar, processed food, heavy starches like potatoes, etc.). When I'm on the destructive cycle such as yours, I jump back on the South Beach Diet Phase 1 for at least a week (it's usually 2 weeks), and my cravings are gone, and I lose 2-3 lbs in that week. You can also do a detox too, but some of those ususally have liquid foods, and I rather eat my food than drink it.

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I also read motivational quotes, stories, pictures, etc. to get me back on track.

Ignore this - do NOT do a cleanse or a detox.

schondell

Just stop, don't make it gradual. Just stop overeating cold turkey!

SurfyFriend

Thanks for all of your suggestions they are helpful and look at it from every aspect. I am going to cut out junk foods cold turkey and add a salad to one meal and fruit to one snack instead. For the next few days I expect lots of cravings but I'll keep reminding myself it is temporary and try to limit sugars. There seem to be so many aspects of healthy living that I forget about some in the process of learning about others, such as the GI content of foods. I will also try to figure out how to up my protein to compensate for lower carbs.
Thanks again