One day I eat perfectly, the next I can't stop shoveling:(

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hannahcall2
hannahcall2 Posts: 175 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I eat around 1500 calories a day and usually eat back my exercise calories. Every other day its as easy as heck for me to follow and stay within my calorie goals while feeling full the whole day. But on the off days. . .its a nightmare. I'm a bottomless pit. If you look in my diary you won't notice it because after my afternoon snack (on off days) there's too much food going in my mouth than I care to track. Any suggestions?

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  • stephenwebbe
    stephenwebbe Posts: 31 Member
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    Sometimes I have the same problem. I think it boils down to two things; 1) Nutrition and 2) Understanding our compulsion to eat.

    1) Nutrition - If we are fully nourished, then we shouldn't crave food from a physical standpoint, so what I did is I took a look at what I was eating and attempted to ensure I was getting as much fruits and veggies as I could to ensure I had good nutrition.

    2) Compulsion to Eat - One big thing about weight loss is that it's a journey, which means that we are not perfect every single day, but we strive to an ideal. For me, when I have a hard day, one thing that I try to do is understand why I feel the need to eat. What is happening emotionally, or physically that makes me hungry. Then when I do eat, I try to understand how eating is making me feel and if it's actually improving anything or just a lazy way of feeling less depressed about something. I found when I do examine why I'm overeating in every single situation I'm in, I usually get to the bottom of it. For example, I found at work I had this compulsion to get a bagel at break time. After thinking about it I realized that it was a force of habit. I was doing it because that's what I did for so long before and that bagel and the resulting carb boost was causing me to have a temporary high. As a result, I brought a big bag of mixed veggies and chowed down on that. Also I tried to get a little more sleep on the days I went into the office so that I wouldn't be as tired at 10 am and hopefully then wouldn't crave.

    The key thing is though, just try your hardest but don't beat yourself up. You are trying the best you can and just do your best. Work a solution in a way that works for you and you'll succeed.

    Hope this helps.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    1500 calories x 7 days = 10,500 calories per week.

    Try eating 1,300 calories 3 times per week, and 1,650 4 times per week.
  • hannahcall2
    hannahcall2 Posts: 175 Member
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    Thanks guys. Both suggestions sound really good. Actually I think just trying something new alone would help. I appreciate the feedback and will definitely give these a shot :smile:
  • hannahcall2
    hannahcall2 Posts: 175 Member
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    Sometimes I have the same problem. I think it boils down to two things; 1) Nutrition and 2) Understanding our compulsion to eat.

    1) Nutrition - If we are fully nourished, then we shouldn't crave food from a physical standpoint, so what I did is I took a look at what I was eating and attempted to ensure I was getting as much fruits and veggies as I could to ensure I had good nutrition.

    2) Compulsion to Eat - One big thing about weight loss is that it's a journey, which means that we are not perfect every single day, but we strive to an ideal. For me, when I have a hard day, one thing that I try to do is understand why I feel the need to eat. What is happening emotionally, or physically that makes me hungry. Then when I do eat, I try to understand how eating is making me feel and if it's actually improving anything or just a lazy way of feeling less depressed about something. I found when I do examine why I'm overeating in every single situation I'm in, I usually get to the bottom of it. For example, I found at work I had this compulsion to get a bagel at break time. After thinking about it I realized that it was a force of habit. I was doing it because that's what I did for so long before and that bagel and the resulting carb boost was causing me to have a temporary high. As a result, I brought a big bag of mixed veggies and chowed down on that. Also I tried to get a little more sleep on the days I went into the office so that I wouldn't be as tired at 10 am and hopefully then wouldn't crave.

    The key thing is though, just try your hardest but don't beat yourself up. You are trying the best you can and just do your best. Work a solution in a way that works for you and you'll succeed.

    Hope this helps.

    I think compulsion eating is a huge part of it for me. Despite how long I have been eating significantly better, I am still not used to not piling food in my mouth whenever I want. Sometimes those urges get the best of me. Something I will really have to work on.
  • jonesin_am
    jonesin_am Posts: 404 Member
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    Also, it might help to continue logging the food even though there is too much of it and you are going over. Logging it makes you more accountable, IMO.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    sigh, i thought you meant shovelling snow, its been bad here the past 2 days...
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
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    Yup, cycle your calories. I know I'm going to be really hungry the day after I do weight training, so I eat a little lower on weight days and higher the next day. At the end of the week, my weekly calories are dead on.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    Also, it might help to continue logging the food even though there is too much of it and you are going over. Logging it makes you more accountable, IMO.

    not only more accountable but I find that logging that crap helps me realize that I only jumped off the side of the pool, not the 15 meter high board :)
  • mwooderson
    mwooderson Posts: 254 Member
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    I too have had a few binge days. When looking at the what, I figured I could just not keep those things in the house (peanut butter for example). When looking at the why, I found a glaring neon sign pattern in my calendar. Everytime I had a specific meeting I binged that night. Ah ha moment for me. Now I can be prepared with alternative activities besides eating on those meeting days. Best of luck!
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    I have a similar story. My solution is to adjust my daily calories downward to 1200 and exercise to get my calorie budget up.

    I don't know if it will work.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
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    idle hands are the devil's playground
  • fun_b
    fun_b Posts: 199 Member
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    I can totally relate to this. All week I was eating fine and then today I ate so much. For me it usually starts when I go slightly over my calories. I then think oh what the heck, I will eat something else and then it goes on until I am really stuffed.

    The timing is funny though because I had gained some weight and then I spent ages trying to lose. I wasnt losing but I continued trying and then this morning I lost two pounds! I'm wondering if it is an unconsious fear when I get too close to my goal weight.
  • Andrew_peter
    Andrew_peter Posts: 94 Member
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    idle hands are the devil's playground

    Yup agreed 100%. Starting out here and realized I was the most "hungry" when sitting on my butt on the computer, watching tv, etc... Even going for a quick walk, starting a project, or making a quick call to someone would break the feeling of hunger.
  • cbrrabbit25
    cbrrabbit25 Posts: 384 Member
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    i have this problem and i think it is due to weightlifting since it happens the night or day after a really rough workout. also it is worse for me now that i am within a couple pounds of what it seems my ideal weight is.

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