do i need to treat this like an addiction?

jamiek917

i cant be trusted to just have a little, apparently. granted, ive made a lot of improvements over the past few months (since the fall was contant stress eating/binging due to moving and insane work hours), and now im back to only going way over maybe 3x a month at social functions. but its still going so over (2-3x a normal day of food) that it just cancels out all of my hard work in the gym and with eating well all week. i cant seem to ever just stop at a splurge of a few hundred extra cals. so a major screw up leads to undoing it all week... and then im back to where i started- i bounce up and down the same 2 lbs.

so my question is- should i treat this like i would if i had an addiction? if a recovering smoker had just one, he/she might start smoking again. i dont want to stop socializing or anything... but maybe for a few months i should go cold turkey and say im not allowed to eat at parties or luncheons (and bring my own food) until im more in control? does that sound ridiculous?

i just hate that my willpower goes out the window when im having fun and i start thinking "im not fat, i dont care right now- im just enjoying myself" and then im angry at my lack of self control the next day (and all week).

RitaB19

I had a problem like your having last Fall, but overcame it. What specifically are the foods and or drinks that you binge on? If it's something you can't control the eating of I would suggest keeping it out of the house. You don't need to stop socializing. My suggestion would be to eat a light snack before going out. If you drink alcohol, have every other drink be Seltzer Water or have a spritzer instead, much lower in calories. Personally, I rarely drink alcohol b/c its not worth the calories to me. Only at Weddings and Special events and limit it to 1-2 drinks. In addition, when you drink alcohol, it has been shown to increase appetite, so you eat more. Also are you taking in any artificial sweeteners you should avoid them with the exception of Stevia. Artificial sweeteners have been shown to increase food cravings esp, for sweets and carbohydrates. Hope this helps!

Missjulesdid

Moderation is such a struggle for so many of us with certain foods. I don't say I'll NEVER have foods again, but I do cut them out completely and then try slowly introducing after a few months... If I can't enjoy the food in moderation, I cut it out again and try again later.. I WILL learn moderation at some point.. but I know I can't just "cut back" the only way for ME is to cut out completely and then try reintroducing. This method worked for me with soda already and next up in a few months I'm going to try adding back in some corn products or potatoes but I'm not ready just yet.

The only food I'm trying to keep out of my diet permanently is wheat, but that is just because I have adverse health reactions to it not because I can't control myself with it (although it's true I CAN'T control myself with it,,, but that's not why I'm avoiding it :-)

AngelicxAnnihilation

Bump.

basschick

This has been a major problem for me too ever since I hit my goal weight almost 2 years ago. When I was still losing, I could stay focused and have a "spike day" once a week where I went 200-400 over. No biggie. That seemed to actually help me lose. Now that "spike day" has turned into an all-day, out-of-control feeding frenzy. The next morning I have a big squishy belly, feel bloated, and have gained 2-5 lbs. of water weight which I lose after about 5 days...and the cycle continues. Most days, I pre-log my meals on MFP the night before and I seem to do OK and stick to the plan when I do that. If I tell myself "I'm gonna take the day off from logging and have a cheat day" that's where I get into trouble. I think for me the only thing that is going to work is to just log every. single. day. When I go to social functions I will eat only what I can log. For instance, 4 Oreos can be logged but a plateful of someone's homemade spinach dip and chips cannot because who knows what's in the dip and how much is on the plate -- I'm bad at estimating portions. Maybe some day I won't have to go to this extreme and can just indulge sensibly like a normal person, but I'm not there yet. :-/

RitaB19

I would avoid foods you tend do binge or over indulge on as a temporary measure until you reach your goals. When counseling patient's I also suggest sticking to one serving for snack foods and to never eat out of the bag. Measure out and place in a Ziploc baggie for example. Also be sure to measure all your foods and count everything!!

jamiek917

This has been a major problem for me too ever since I hit my goal weight almost 2 years ago. When I was still losing, I could stay focused and have a "spike day" once a week where I went 200-400 over. No biggie. That seemed to actually help me lose. Now that "spike day" has turned into an all-day, out-of-control feeding frenzy. The next morning I have a big squishy belly, feel bloated, and have gained 2-5 lbs. of water weight which I lose after about 5 days...and the cycle continues. Most days, I pre-log my meals on MFP the night before and I seem to do OK and stick to the plan when I do that. If I tell myself "I'm gonna take the day off from logging and have a cheat day" that's where I get into trouble. I think for me the only thing that is going to work is to just log every. single. day. When I go to social functions I will eat only what I can log. For instance, 4 Oreos can be logged but a plateful of someone's homemade spinach dip and chips cannot because who knows what's in the dip and how much is on the plate -- I'm bad at estimating portions. Maybe some day I won't have to go to this extreme and can just indulge sensibly like a normal person, but I'm not there yet. :-/

^^ this. i understand 100%. good rule of thumb for a while- to only log what i know the nutrition facts of-- i like that idea.

im going to keep trying. and i might have to avoid the social eating completely until im better at controlling myself.

Robin_Bin

As I understand it, that's basically what some groups, like Overeaters Anonymous, do. It works for some.

However, I'd rather try to work out a good relationship with food -- where I see it as a way to nourish my body and a source of part-time enjoyment. It's like many other things in my life that are necessary and potentially enjoyable -- yoga, reading, time with friends. All enjoyable, but all need to be in moderation.

For now you may want to consider and identify your worst triggers. At a social situation, don't sit next to the bag of chips or the bar. Focus on the friends and reasons you're there, not the food. Eat some before so you're not starving, but if it works for you, maybe eat lightly so you can enjoy some food socially. The combination of alcohol and food is a problem for some people. For others, there are certain foods that they "can't stop". One time shouldn't be a big deal, so it's ok to experiment a bit to find out what works for you and what doesn't.

My experience, backed up with what I see working for friends, is that you have to figure out a long term lifestyle with food and exercise that works for you. If you think of this as deprivation or as temporary, it's likely not to work out in the long term. You end up yo-yoing and worse off than you started.

Good luck!

lambchoplewis

Wow - I have some of the same problems. When I was losing, I just said "no" to everything and it worked. Now I have been maintaining and I find it really hard to have some and not want to binge. Especially if I have a few glasses of wine. I end up overeating, feeling like crap the next day and then taking the next week to get back to maintenance weight. I wish I could eat a little of something and not go crazy.