Binge-eating issues after starting on MFP?

trybabytry
trybabytry Posts: 181
in Motivation and Support
I've never had any binge-eating problems -- I mean, I ate a lot sometimes, but it didn't feel the way it feels now. Since I started to count calories I've had several bouts of binge-eating that feel really weird and compulsive, like I just blindly consume everything in sight. Lately it's been happening more and more... mostly at night when I get home from work, and these binges are completely ruining the hard work I put in during the day.

These binges are definitely psychological and not based on hunger, and I'm wondering if they're a response to the restrictions I put on myself -- when I'm in my food-inhaling fugues I always think, okay, well, I can't have this tomorrow so I should eat it right now while I'm already being bad! And then I eat 5 cookies.

Can anyone relate to this? How can I stop? It feels out of control in a way I've never experienced. I'm wondering if I should get off MFP for a while and try to quit thinking about food all the freaking time the way I do when I'm counting calories.

Any advice besides "just use willpower and stop" is much appreciated.

Replies

  • jennmodugno
    jennmodugno Posts: 363 Member
    I had the exact same issue when I started. My advice? Go talk to your doctor about it. My problem is likely not yours, but I'll tell you what solved it anyway - I had depression, and hyperthyroidism. (Which used to be Hypothyroidism, but my levels changed randomly.) I got my thyroid meds fixed, and went on some antidepressants, and poof! No more binge eating. So even if you're not fighting depression or thyroid problems, go see your doctor. You'd be amazed what you can find out. :)
  • trybabytry
    trybabytry Posts: 181
    I don't have a regular doctor at the moment, unfortunately...

    okay, maybe this is TMI, but I wonder if this could be related to sexual frustration?
  • huckleberry0070
    huckleberry0070 Posts: 64 Member
    I have this issue too... for a few months when I first started in MFP I was doing really well but then wedding season hit and I was going to weddings or other events almost every weekend and it messed up the healthy eating I'd been doing so well with. Now I'm trying to get back on the wagon but have been experiencing ridiculous urges to binge at night... I called my doctor to get a referral for a nutritional counselor, so hopefully that will help... I suspect there may be some depression issues involved as well, so we'll see. If you don't think any of that applies to you and that you're just going through a rough patch you could try leaving some wiggle room in your calorie count at the end of the day to compensate for at least some of what you eat. Sometimes I go through the house and just throw out everything I know I'll be tempted to binge on. Maybe you could try eating things that take a while to eat... like sourdough pretzels (those big ones) because they're only 100 calories each and they're so big and hard that you have to take many bites and chew on them a while. That might help slow you down.
  • greeneyed84
    greeneyed84 Posts: 427 Member
    I've been having that problem too, i do really great, then all of a sudden i felt deprived and just wanted hot dogs.
    Now, i really try to plan out my day beforehand so i can get the most nutrition. It helps me not to binge eat if i don't have anything in the house that i love to binge with. And when i am done with my day i finish my diary entries and people tell me how great i did and i don't wanna snack after that. Hope this helps!
    It also helps me having other people around me. I tend to eat more when i don't have people around.
  • pozzicb01
    pozzicb01 Posts: 14 Member
    I had the same problem and its not will power its appetite. What I started doing was eating bigger lunches and eating dinner in 2 sittings. If I was ready to eat dinner at 6pm, I would eat half and save half for 8pm.

    Also, I dont know if you enter your food after each meal but I wait until the end of the day to enter everything because it is less stressful. It weighs too heavy on my mind if I enter all through the day.

    Remember, your mentality has to be you are dieting because you WANT to. Not because you HAVE to.
  • EllaNovella
    EllaNovella Posts: 351
    This is happening to me as well :(
  • aranhe
    aranhe Posts: 2 Member
    I've found Transactional Analysis counselling useful in this sort of thing. In a nutshell, it's based on the fact that we have 3 main ego states, parent, adult and child. The adult in you knows that you need to eat less to lose weight but the child resents the restriction and it's the child in you that might be encouraging the binge eating.

    Since a counsellor told me about it, and I did some reading, I seem to be better able to separate the adult from the child and it allows me to recognise that I'm not hungry and I don't have to eat something just because it's there and I know I'd enjoy it. Of course that may not be your issue, but just something to consider. Can you imagine the parent inside of you smiling and putting the food away while gently distracting your child to something else or telling your child that they really don't need the four extra biscuits if they want to achieve their goal and that you love them and know they're capable of success? Love your child, but control it.

    Just an idea.
  • pen_thief
    pen_thief Posts: 78 Member
    Yesterday I had my first binge in about 20 days that pushed me 530 calories over my limit.
    It was a reaction to stress and hormones, and I know I could have been stronger if I could have it to do over again. What I told myself is, "Just get it out of your system." And I did - we had some things I was portioning myself well on in the house, but last night I just had a cheat night. I still logged everything on here. What a mistake! Some *kitten* formerly on my friends list told me my diet was disgusting. I have cried a bit and will move on, and hope the universe will sort out people like that. (I don't think I would have cried on any other day, but like I said, hormones.)

    One day I hope I can be free of whatever this is that still has me in its grips. I don't want to smoke a cigarette or having a drink, but from an early age I always wanted more sweet stuff than normal. If it weren't for sweets, I wouldn't even be here. I can stop eating anything else and feel satisfied, but never the case with sugar.
  • Magnamus
    Magnamus Posts: 66 Member
    I don't know but its seems to me like you discreetly answered your own question.
    Maybe consider checking some dating/meet websites.
  • josefeen
    josefeen Posts: 1
    I have behaved exactly like that for YEARS. That is what ruined every 'diet' I'd ever been on. This is how I finally managed to beat it. I weigh on Tuesdays in the morning ( keeps me 'good' through the weekend - my toughest time) ... fresh out of bed. During the week before, I think about a place I want to go for dinner on Tuesday. I also make something special for myself (dessert) Monday night so it's ready for me on Tuesday. I allow myself to eat without guilt Tuesday. Right back on track Wednesday morning. I have lost 25 lbs in 17 weeks doing this. I don't put any restrictions on myself this one day out of the week. Planning is key. I look forward to it all week. They ( the weight loss gurus) say not to reward yourself with food... I say reward yourself with whatever works FOR YOU. But make it a true reward. If you've 'been bad' during the week... your 'reward day' is OFF.
  • THINk_kkaybbyx0
    THINk_kkaybbyx0 Posts: 89
    I can completely understand what you're saying here, except mine started way before mfp. when my cravivngs kick ina nd I decide to givve in to one, I realize how bad it was and then I continue to eat all of the junkfoods I've been craving and staying away from because I already ****ed up my whole day so I mine as well get it all out of the way at once.

    Its the worst. And then I just feel guilty and gross once im done eating and logging all of the calories into this thing.. I must say that's the hardest part.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    This may sound frivolous, but one thing you may want to try is to stop depriving yourself. Maybe if you had the things you're binging on from time to time, in reasonable amounts, it would save you from overdoing it.

    And, yes, stress can cause this behaviour, regardless of where the stress comes from.

    My perspective from years of deprivation dieting and binging.
  • jejackson1977
    jejackson1977 Posts: 34
    actually I am having less trouble with binge eating since I joined MFP. I had a little episode last night but I think I just let myself get too hungry throughout the day. The binge was just around 1000 cals of mostly not terrible food. a couple gluten free brownies a glass of 1% milk and a small slice of cornbread.

    Compared to Crap I was eating 45 days ago this is not bad at all. I used to binge all the time but now that I eat healthier foods (the brownies are the first in the month since I started) I don't have the desire. I eat the calories MFP gives me according to my bmr and exercise and I have been steadily loosing so far and not feeling deprived at all.

    Good luck I know its a hard thing to overcome. Some of it is mindset. Try not to make this feel like punishment for yourself.
  • brittany_at_fusethegap_com
    brittany_at_fusethegap_com Posts: 5
    Hi! Don't feel bad - you are not alone! I have SO been there before! Dieting is one of the main causes for binge eating. I know it seems counter-intuitive but it's true! When we deprive our body of what it needs and nutrients it will often times crave more. It takes a lot of mental re-programming to get to a place where you can be normal with food but its possible.

    A lot of times if we have conflicting arguments going on inside our heads ....1) don't eat that bad food, eat healthy 2) come on eat it now and start back on your diet tomorrow its fine ... (just a quick example) .... these conflicting thoughts create a lot of friction. Friction + deprivation = will power out the window! Soooo the goal is to get everything on the same page and give your body what it needs!

    1) Think about your WHY! Why do you want to lose weight? Dig deep and use this as motivation!
    2) Check in with yourself before each meal, slow down, breathe, ask your body what it really wants to fuel it at that moment. After a little practice you'll realize you feel better eating healthy and your body is going to crave healthy foods. when you really listen you'll realize your body doesn't want chips for fuel :)
    3) indulge every once in a while, give yourself permission to be bad. When you take away the rules, you'll stop craving the foods that arent on your diet as much. the trick when indulging is to be aware, slow down, enjoy the experience so you are fulfilled from it. Stop when you are full. and eat healthy the rest of the day. The "I'll start back tomorrow" mentality is a viscous cycle
    4) a lot of times there are some underlying things causing the cravings - i suffered from binge and emotional eating for years so i know how it is!

    I know this can all be confusing because it goes against everything we were taught but it does work long term. If you want, feel free to go to my website, I have a lot about this kind of stuff and my journey! I am also working on some free resources to help others stop overeating and binge eating because i know how tough it is and I want to help! Thats why I am here :) Please let me know if you need anything or have any questions!!

    Love Brittany

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