I don't understand my cravings

Capt_Apollo

For me, personally, I developed major urges to binge when I was very active, yet keeping my carbs too low. For the sort of athletics you are doing, you do need a decent amount of carbs. If you do not get enough, you will react to simple sugars like a crack addict to crack. Add in more whole grains or some baked or sweet potatoes, some nuts and seeds, some dried fruit and such things. And make sure you are getting enough fat as not getting enough can interfere with hormonal levels. You are very active. So to set yourself to only lightly active, is insane. That is for people who exercise moderately 3-5 hours a week.

Also, there is nothing wrong with some less clean foods sometimes. If you totally deprive yourself for long periods, then yes, you will go nuts when it is available. The 80/20 rule is a sound idea. Your youth along with your activity will be torching calories like no-one's business. Healthy eating is great, but that can include some ice cream and chocolate and cake in moderation.

Yup, lots of this is ringing true (especially reacting to sugar like a crack addict to crack, it's frightening….) I like to be in control of my eating (like pretty much all of us I'm guessing) and I work really really hard to stay in shape so these days when I go overboard and am actually in pain from eating so much feel like a huge failure. But now I realize a lot of it may just be backlash from not eating enough to begin with because I have my calorie level set so low and I never enter in exercise…

It looks like I've been sort of on a yo yo diet with some days including a 2000+ calorie deficit and others a 2000+ calorie overload. No wonder my tummy hurts like heck.

If I go on a liquid diet tomorrow and make sure it's including enough calories/nutrients will this ease the pain in my too-full stomach?

why would you go on a liquid diet? that is just not the right thing to do, in my opinion. start eating good solid foods. sure, you want to make some smoothies or green juices, knock yourself out. but full juice diet?? no bueno.

jonnythan

For me, personally, I developed major urges to binge when I was very active, yet keeping my carbs too low. For the sort of athletics you are doing, you do need a decent amount of carbs. If you do not get enough, you will react to simple sugars like a crack addict to crack. Add in more whole grains or some baked or sweet potatoes, some nuts and seeds, some dried fruit and such things. And make sure you are getting enough fat as not getting enough can interfere with hormonal levels. You are very active. So to set yourself to only lightly active, is insane. That is for people who exercise moderately 3-5 hours a week.

Also, there is nothing wrong with some less clean foods sometimes. If you totally deprive yourself for long periods, then yes, you will go nuts when it is available. The 80/20 rule is a sound idea. Your youth along with your activity will be torching calories like no-one's business. Healthy eating is great, but that can include some ice cream and chocolate and cake in moderation.

Yup, lots of this is ringing true (especially reacting to sugar like a crack addict to crack, it's frightening….) I like to be in control of my eating (like pretty much all of us I'm guessing) and I work really really hard to stay in shape so these days when I go overboard and am actually in pain from eating so much I feel like a huge failure. But now I realize a lot of it may just be backlash from not eating enough to begin with because I have my calorie level set so low and I never enter in exercise…

It looks like I've been sort of on a yo yo diet with some days including a 2000+ calorie deficit and others a 2000+ calorie overload. No wonder my tummy hurts like heck.

If I go on a liquid diet tomorrow and make sure it's including enough calories/nutrients will this ease the pain in my too-full stomach?

.... Liquid diet? That's what you've gotten out of this thread?

Set realistic, healthy, sustainable long term goals and achieve them. Liquid diet is not sustainable, healthy, or long-term.

Your body is craving food. Give it the food it wants.

foxxykitten

Not an all liquid diet for good, but for tomorrow to ease the bloat and pain in my stomach because I honestly don't think I could eat something solid until all this binge food gets moving thru my system..

ashfuse

You're binging because your body is starving. Up your caloric intake. Are you eating enough carbs? Being that active, you need more carbs. *healthy carbs*

vanguardfitness

you're eating too much during social situations... are you drinking alcohol? If you're getting sick it's either because you ate too much and possibly drank too many fluids causing diluted stomach acids. Undigested food going into the intestines can cause a lot of discomfort.

You also might have a food intolerance.

if it's not food intolerance than you just need to control yourself better when you go out.

neandermagnon

Do you have your setting on very active? What is your calorie goal? If your calorie goal is too low it can make you want to binge.

^^^^ this

in a lot of cases, bingeing is a survival response, caused by eating too little.

in some cases it can be psychological but a) you should rule out the physiological causes first, in this case that it's a survival response, and b) people who binge eat for emotional reasons are prone to bingeing all the time, not just when they're on a diet. There may be exceptions to this with some eating disorders, but on the whole if the bingeing only started after going on a diet or healthy lifestyle regime (i.e. diet/portion control plus exercise) then the most likely cause is that it's physiological and due to eating too little.

Look for a thread called "in place of a road map" which gives you instructions for how to calculate the right number of calories for you.

BTW if you are attempting to "atone" for a binge by not eating, or eating much less the next day, the most likely result is that it will cause another binge. You need to eat enough to sustain your body and activity levels in order to avoid bingeing. For fat loss, aim for a small, sustainable calorie deficit, that's easy to manage and will allow you to eat treats as well, while staying within your calories. That way you get slow and steady fat loss without being in a cycle of eating too little then bingeing. Slow and steady fat loss also keeps your metabolism fast, whereas eating too little slows it down.

Robin_Bin

As others have said, you're probably having cravings because your body is missing something it needs. That could be calories; it could be nutrients; it could be something else, like fiber.
If you're having problems with your tummy hurting and feeling bloated a liquid diet is almost certainly not going to help, and it might hurt. Yes have more liquids, but also more fiber and food solids to help your digestive system work as it should. A liquid diet or laxatives may make you feel better temporarily, but they will make things worse after the temporary effect and they are not good long-term.
Also having a diet that varies in calories so much from day-to-day might cause issues. While I generally like to set my activity level low and then add calories for exercise, it works for me because my levels don't vary that much, and I can stand being over a bit one day and under another. Perhaps for you it would be better to figure out your average over a week, and then set your levels to match that? If you're eating 14,000 calories a week, that can be 2,000 a day or 1,500 some days and 2,500 other days (perhaps the days before or when you exercise?). Occasional hunger is normal and healthy. Constant cravings or hunger to the point of pain is not, and you need to try different adjustments until you can find something that is both healthy and will work for you.
For a list of some types of cravings and what to do, see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/cravings-282817
Good luck!