how do I stop bingeing?
Reema_capricorn
Posts: 1,032 Member
I am reading a lot about people who are finding it difficult to eat back their calories but my problem is that I am overeating and I don't know how to stop. Its not that I don't workout.I am doing Jillian Michaels' 30DS( just started this month). Before this, I was doing her banish fat...workout and occasionally Billy Blanks.The problem is all this high intensity workout is making me weak and I feel like my sugar level is crashing. And when I am done with lunch, I am only allowed 500 calories which is supposed to cover my 3-4 pm snack too. What do I do to not go overboard and stay within my limits and lose weight?
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Replies
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How many calories are you eating total per day? I noticed that if I restrict myself too much I tend to binge and crave foods that I feel are forbidden. I have begun eating 1600 calories a day regardless of if I work out or not. On the days I go to Zumba class I might eat around 1700.
You have to make this a lifestyle change and if you continually restrict yourself you are bound to fail.0 -
how many cals are you eating every day?if you are truly hungry, and you are finding that you are crashing after a workout- you likely need to up your daily intake a bit. i cant see your diary, but if you have it set to the myfitnesspal goals- pls know that the diary is set for you to be able to eat back your workout calories0
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I find the longer i stay up the more likely i'll over eat. Spread your calories out so that you can eat 6 times per day. Meals high in protein tend make make you feel fuller. I have 1400 cal to burn in a day i so i spread it out so i can eat 6 times a day and if i excercise its a bonous. My usual last snack of the night is fudgecycle rasberry chocolate ice cream and sunflower seeds. After that i feel great and not deprived.0
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Without looking at your diary I would have to say it sounds like you are not eating enough. Can you open your diary so we can take a look?0
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If you're doing a somewhat intense workout program (I don't know much about the 30DS), you should be "allowed" to eat quite a bit more calories than what it sounds like you're saying. I can't see why you're only allotted 500 calories for lunch and snack, unless you're eating lots of calories at breakfast and dinner. If that's the case, I'd advise you to reduce your calories at your other meals (especially at dinner - we don't actually need to eat big dinners... I mean, what do we need all that caloric energy for? We're heading to bed shortly!) and eating more calories at your lunch/snack times when you've been feeling like you're crashing.
Also, the type of calories you're eating could come into play as far as energy goes... if you're eating your calories as simple carbs (Think: pre-packaged, high sugar types of foods), you might not feel as satiated as if you were to get most of your calories from lean meats and complex carbs...0 -
Some people lose their appetites after exercise, but I get ravenous!! I really feel the calorie deficit the work out produces. I also feel a bit shaky and the blood sugar drop. Definitely eat your exercise calories back for now. I have been eating protein and fat for breakfast since I workout in the morning and that is helping and a sugary fruit right after your workout may help with the blood sugar drop.
Good luck:flowerforyou:0 -
Okay, I have opened my diary to public. Please take a look. The calories allotted to me everyday is 1772. Usually, I cross it to 1800!! which is way too much and I feel really ashamed of myself. I am from India so you may not get it but Indian food is loaded with carbs! its just there but I try to make healthy carbs choices like whole wheat breat and oats! I also go for yoga on MWF so I am working out twice a day sometimes.0
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Some people lose their appetites after exercise, but I get ravenous!! I really feel the calorie deficit the work out produces. I also feel a bit shaky and the blood sugar drop. Definitely eat your exercise calories back for now. I have been eating protein and fat for breakfast since I workout in the morning and that is helping and a sugary fruit right after your workout may help with the blood sugar drop.
Good luck:flowerforyou:
same with me~!:sad:0 -
i started a 30 day binge-free blog. i'm only on my fourth day but so far it helps a lot0
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It can take a while for your body to adapt to having less food. You do appear to be using a lot of calories for breakfast. I find a bowl of porridge oats, made with milk and water with a little honey keeps me full until lunch. As someone else suggested, try having fewer calories at each meal and eat 5 or 6 times a day to keep topped up. I hope that helps.0
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If you up your protein quite a bit more you'll find you won't be as hungry and end up eating so many carbs.0
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Okay, I have opened my diary to public. Please take a look. The calories allotted to me everyday is 1772. Usually, I cross it to 1800!! which is way too much and I feel really ashamed of myself. I am from India so you may not get it but Indian food is loaded with carbs! its just there but I try to make healthy carbs choices like whole wheat breat and oats! I also go for yoga on MWF so I am working out twice a day sometimes.
your carb count is crazy high compared to your protein. protein and fat fill you up more than carbs. i know indian cuisine is carb-heavy, but do you have other options that would be higher in protein and healthy fats?
try a week of hitting certain macros (the breakdown of carb/fat/protein). mine is 40%/25%/35%. id say a good starting point is 50% carbs/ and either 25F/25P or 20F and 30P. give it a try for a while and see if u feel more satisfied. it will liekly also help with the weight loss.0 -
It can take a while for your body to adapt to having less food. You do appear to be using a lot of calories for breakfast. I find a bowl of porridge oats, made with milk and water with a little honey keeps me full until lunch. As someone else suggested, try having fewer calories at each meal and eat 5 or 6 times a day to keep topped up. I hope that helps.
That's right. I like to wake up to a big breakfast but I am incapable of portion control and I am afraid to eat less because I have a fear of fainting :sad: which is not helping with my weight loss at all and I am also unemployed so I keep snacking on stuff throughout the day and that makes me upset at the end of the day ans sometimes I don't list the things I eat out of embarassment.0 -
start binge exercising.0
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Okay, I have opened my diary to public. Please take a look. The calories allotted to me everyday is 1772. Usually, I cross it to 1800!! which is way too much and I feel really ashamed of myself. I am from India so you may not get it but Indian food is loaded with carbs! its just there but I try to make healthy carbs choices like whole wheat breat and oats! I also go for yoga on MWF so I am working out twice a day sometimes.
your carb count is crazy high compared to your protein. protein and fat fill you up more than carbs. i know indian cuisine is carb-heavy, but do you have other options that would be higher in protein and healthy fats?
try a week of hitting certain macros (the breakdown of carb/fat/protein). mine is 40%/25%/35%. id say a good starting point is 50% carbs/ and either 25F/25P or 20F and 30P. give it a try for a while and see if u feel more satisfied. it will liekly also help with the weight loss.
a lot of people on mfp advised me to load up on protein and the only source I am consuming is in the form of cheese,cottage cheese,milk and lentils. I know chicken is loaded with it and I would love to have t thrice a week but it's not a feasible option for me coz i don't cook no veg food and again added in Indian diet it would end up a bit carb dense lol0 -
I used to have a pretty bad problem with late-night sugar binges, and I have two mantras for you:
1) "Crave sugar, feed fat." No kidding. If you take the number of calories you would consume of sugar, and put them toward something fatty like some coconut milk or nut butter, you'll feel way better.
2) "[The food you want] is a candle." Candles look pretty and smell good, but they're not for eating.0 -
start binge exercising.0
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http://www.livestrong.com/article/374398-indian-foods-rich-in-protein/
have you fainted before from eating too little?
do you have control over the food in your house ? (are you buying the food or do you live with parents who insist on buying certain food). im aware of my trigger foods, and dont keep them in the house. for example, im aware that if i buy cereal, ill want cereal over other foods, and will eat 3-4x a serving for a meal, and wont be satisfied bc its typically not a filling carb,.0 -
start binge exercising.
um,isn' that as bad as binge eating??:noway: anyways, I don't want to overtrain.0 -
you wont faint, i once fasted (for personal holy reasons) for a week. I was going to keep going but at that point I rode a bike 10-40 miles a day and feared I would faint on my bike.... so I ended the fast. the point is you wont faint unless you have a medical issue which might cause you to do so.... speak with a doctor about your diet if that will give you the confidence you need to be successful with your diet plan.
Having nothing can do can be dangerous if you don't invest the time wisely. When I was full time student, with three jobs and an internship. I had no time for exercise, except my commute by bike everywhere. I also made poor choices regarding my food because I was always limited for time and had to grasp each opportunity to eat. If you have a lot of time you have no excuse, take the time in planning out your meals, do some research and find the most protein full meals that you can make with what you have and slowly cut out items that are just wasted space on your plate. That being said, once I HAD time I was so excited to run every day and take every yoga class that fell upon me. Once you get that back in your life you remember that there is always time for health and nutrition.
If I'm eating out or know I will be in a limited situation I do some research even if its as simple as http://www.livestrong.com/article/377322-low-carb-indian-food/
then I build from there..... often I binge RESEARCH on foods to make sure I am making good decisions. This naturally keeps me from binge eating, because well its just impossible unless you are super masochistic or something.
you have to reduce your calories to get your body adapted to eating less in the first place, your stomach will shrink and you will be able to get that full feeling more easily... you can do it!0 -
You should be able to up your protein with greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Do you eat nuts or nut butters? You have to lower your carbs. I think for your activity level you are eating too many carbs and too little protein. I have my macro's set at Carb 40%, Protein 30% and fat 30%.
If the Indian foods that you make and enjoy eating are high carb I would just decrease carbs for the rest of the day. No bread with breakfast or a salad for lunch instead of leftovers.0 -
http://www.livestrong.com/article/374398-indian-foods-rich-in-protein/
have you fainted before from eating too little?
do you have control over the food in your house ? (are you buying the food or do you live with parents who insist on buying certain food). im aware of my trigger foods, and dont keep them in the house. for example, im aware that if i buy cereal, ill want cereal over other foods, and will eat 3-4x a serving for a meal, and wont be satisfied bc its typically not a filling carb,.
I used to faint a lot in high school. school used to start at 7:45 am so I never had time for a full brekkie :sad: so it got so bad I started eating breakfast no matter what!! and 10 years after leaving high school I am still big on breakfast! I have fainted in the bathroom and that scared the **** outta me.
Healthy food shopping is done by my folks and the snacks shopping is done by me:bigsmile: . Yeah, I live with my parents.I am unemployed,unmarried and its usually not encouraged out here even though I am from Mumbai0 -
you wont faint, i once fasted (for personal holy reasons) for a week. I was going to keep going but at that point I rode a bike 10-40 miles a day and feared I would faint on my bike.... so I ended the fast. the point is you wont faint unless you have a medical issue which might cause you to do so.... speak with a doctor about your diet if that will give you the confidence you need to be successful with your diet
I got diabetes running in my family thats why its impossible for me to go without food and water. I have grown up seeing my dad and my grandma poking needles in their body and that made me clean up my act and take to working out!! its just going hungry drives people in my family crazy and my parents never stocked the fridge with ice cream and chocolate coz they didn't want me on insulin0 -
theres a huge gap between fainting because you didnt eat anything and eating a huge carb-loaing breakfast for 500-700+ calories. you could have a filling breakfast for 300 calories, and that will free up several hundred for you to use throughout the day. add more protein to your breakfast - through cottage cheese or whatever you can eat- and go easy on the carbs- maybe 1 pc of bread instead of 3.0
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Too many carbs can cause huge dips in blood sugar which may be causing your lightheadedness and hunger. I'm not a fan of low carb diets but unless you are running or engaging in some really intense cardio you don't need 300 grams of carbs a day.0
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We have all been in the position where we binge eat. The trick, in my opinion, is to train yourself to prepare food in advance and make quality calorie choices. If the body is receiving all its nutrients, you should feel less hungry over time. There is a transition period of course, and until you get there you will have good and bad days on the eating front. Just stick to the basic principals of eating healthily – no refined sugar, no alcohol, no processed food. Eat good carbs (so no white flour products, rather stick to whole grains and sweet potatoes), lean proteins, good fats (these really help keep you feeling fuller for longer), and lots and lots of fresh food (veggie smoothies, salad and soups are great ways to pack in lots of goodness and you can really eat as much of these as you like). Someone once told me if being healthy, strong, slim and fit were easy none of us would have a problem, but it’s not easy for everyone, but always worth the effort in the end. Good luck on your journey, it’s all about taking it one day at a time and you WILL get to your goal. There are loads of people on this site who can help keep you motivated.0
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Okay, here comes the honesty: You're Right - It is NOT helping with your weight loss at all! That's nice and all that you "like to wake up to a big breakfast..." I like to eat fudge, and pastries, and drink full fat and sugar lattes... but guess what... I have to remind myself that I like the idea of being healthy more! We "like" lots of things that aren't good for us. Unhealthy food can be psychologically, and in some cases, physiologically addictive! SO - do you want to overcome this? Do you want to look and feel healthier? Because if you do, you are going to have to make some changes! I am not trying to be rude, and I apologize if I'm coming off that way, but I want to be straightforward and honest with you.
If you tell yourself that you are "incapable of portion control," then you are setting yourself up for failure. I'd recommend looking at it as "portion control is difficult for me." Something that is difficult is something that you can overcome. And, you CAN overcome this. But you have to go into it with a mindset that tells you you are capable of making healthier choices.
If you are truly afraid of fainting (do you have a history of fainting?) then let's look at that. You do not have to have "a big breakfast" to avoid fainting. You can have a smaller, more reasonable breakfast (think around 300 calories) that's mostly protein and complex carbs. This breakfast will help keep your blood sugar more stable and make you less likely to get lightheaded. In addition to that breakfast, have two small snacks set aside that you are "allowed" to have if you start feeling light-headed. I'd recommend a tangerine if it seems like you need sugar, and/or maybe a small serving of oats. Even better, a hardboiled egg! This way, you've consumed less calories during breakfast but you have a "safety plan" for if you start feeling lightheaded. And, even if you end up using both of those snacks, you haven't eaten anything horrible. This might help you control your breakfast eating, if you know you have plans in place for the fainting issue... and to speak bluntly, it takes away your ability to use "fear of fainting" as an excuse for eating a calorie-laden breakfast.
You are unemployed and so snack throughout the day... I can see how easy that would be to do - I tend to over-eat (and on unhealthy things) when I don't have much to do. The best way to combat this is to #1 make yourself drink 8-16oz of water and wait 10 minutes before snacking when you feel like you want to snack (often our body is thirsty but we interpret it as hunger and snack needlessly) and #2 find activities to do! If being bored is a trigger for eating... then address the boredom! If the weather is decent, go for walks. LONG walks. With a water bottle in each hand (that way you get a little light-weight weight training with the water bottles in addition to keeping hydrated!). So long as you're out walking, you can't reach in the cupboard for unhealthy food. And as a bonus, walking is good for you :-) Sit down and make a huuuge list of all the non-eating-related things that you enjoy doing. Make sure most of them are budget friendly (ex: paint nails, read a book, go for a walk, call a friend, draw a picture, write a letter, go to the pet store and check out cute animals... etc etc). When you're bored and feel like binging, drink some water, pop some gum in your mouth to address the "wanting to chew something" feeling, pull out your list, and do something on it! Seriously, this "boredom-busting list" can be super helpful.
You are here, on this board, having the courage to post all of this... so, try and apply that courage to honestly tracking everything you eat. Sometimes it's harsh and disappointing, that is true... but remember, no one is perfect, and no one can be perfect... but we can at any time choose to make a positive change and get headed back in the right direction! Good luck!
That's right. I like to wake up to a big breakfast but I am incapable of portion control and I am afraid to eat less because I have a fear of fainting :sad: which is not helping with my weight loss at all and I am also unemployed so I keep snacking on stuff throughout the day and that makes me upset at the end of the day ans sometimes I don't list the things I eat out of embarassment.0 -
This is what I would do if I were you. Eat a little less rice and potatoes, and try adding more vegetables. They will fill you up without all the calories, and will keep you full longer. I like to cut up whatever veggies I have on hand and put them in the oven with a teaspoon of olive oil and some spices. So I'll have maybe 2 whole cups of veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, etc, and they keep me full
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Okay, here comes the honesty: You're Right - It is NOT helping with your weight loss at all! That's nice and all that you "like to wake up to a big breakfast..." I like to eat fudge, and pastries, and drink full fat and sugar lattes... but guess what... I have to remind myself that I like the idea of being healthy more! We "like" lots of things that aren't good for us. Unhealthy food can be psychologically, and in some cases, physiologically addictive! SO - do you want to overcome this? Do you want to look and feel healthier? Because if you do, you are going to have to make some changes! I am not trying to be rude, and I apologize if I'm coming off that way, but I want to be straightforward and honest with you.
If you tell yourself that you are "incapable of portion control," then you are setting yourself up for failure. I'd recommend looking at it as "portion control is difficult for me." Something that is difficult is something that you can overcome. And, you CAN overcome this. But you have to go into it with a mindset that tells you you are capable of making healthier choices.
If you are truly afraid of fainting (do you have a history of fainting?) then let's look at that. You do not have to have "a big breakfast" to avoid fainting. You can have a smaller, more reasonable breakfast (think around 300 calories) that's mostly protein and complex carbs. This breakfast will help keep your blood sugar more stable and make you less likely to get lightheaded. In addition to that breakfast, have two small snacks set aside that you are "allowed" to have if you start feeling light-headed. I'd recommend a tangerine if it seems like you need sugar, and/or maybe a small serving of oats. Even better, a hardboiled egg! This way, you've consumed less calories during breakfast but you have a "safety plan" for if you start feeling lightheaded. And, even if you end up using both of those snacks, you haven't eaten anything horrible. This might help you control your breakfast eating, if you know you have plans in place for the fainting issue... and to speak bluntly, it takes away your ability to use "fear of fainting" as an excuse for eating a calorie-laden breakfast.
You are unemployed and so snack throughout the day... I can see how easy that would be to do - I tend to over-eat (and on unhealthy things) when I don't have much to do. The best way to combat this is to #1 make yourself drink 8-16oz of water and wait 10 minutes before snacking when you feel like you want to snack (often our body is thirsty but we interpret it as hunger and snack needlessly) and #2 find activities to do! If being bored is a trigger for eating... then address the boredom! If the weather is decent, go for walks. LONG walks. With a water bottle in each hand (that way you get a little light-weight weight training with the water bottles in addition to keeping hydrated!). So long as you're out walking, you can't reach in the cupboard for unhealthy food. And as a bonus, walking is good for you :-) Sit down and make a huuuge list of all the non-eating-related things that you enjoy doing. Make sure most of them are budget friendly (ex: paint nails, read a book, go for a walk, call a friend, draw a picture, write a letter, go to the pet store and check out cute animals... etc etc). When you're bored and feel like binging, drink some water, pop some gum in your mouth to address the "wanting to chew something" feeling, pull out your list, and do something on it! Seriously, this "boredom-busting list" can be super helpful.
You are here, on this board, having the courage to post all of this... so, try and apply that courage to honestly tracking everything you eat. Sometimes it's harsh and disappointing, that is true... but remember, no one is perfect, and no one can be perfect... but we can at any time choose to make a positive change and get headed back in the right direction! Good luck!
That's right. I like to wake up to a big breakfast but I am incapable of portion control and I am afraid to eat less because I have a fear of fainting :sad: which is not helping with my weight loss at all and I am also unemployed so I keep snacking on stuff throughout the day and that makes me upset at the end of the day ans sometimes I don't list the things I eat out of embarassment.
I really wish MFP had a like button, because I love everything you said
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Not passing judgement, but you have many reasons why you can't succeed, so maybe you don't really want to at this point. Find ways to make things work instead of focussing on why they won't.0
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