Binging... every night

Healthy_TJ
Healthy_TJ Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Every night without fail, I end up binging. I have been doing this for a month and I am finding myself totally discouraged- I just do not know how to stop. I am beating myself up emotionallly from doing this continually. I just continue to gain weight. What is the best way to stop this behavior. I am not trying to lose weight, just maintain, but I have just continued to gain despite this (from binging).

Help appreciated :)

Replies

  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    Try eating more throughout the day. It could be you're not eating enough.
  • taku240se
    taku240se Posts: 14
    Eat more protein and fiber at breakfast and lunch.
  • royvor
    royvor Posts: 271
    You admit to it and confessing is the first step. When I find myself binging I try to remember how was I feeling. Try journaling before, during, after your binge. Were you feeling FLAB it stands for an acronym. F= frustrated, L= lonely, A=anxious/stressed, B=bored. Try to reflect on why you binged. I have the same problem still and I am still a work in progress but I like to accept what Jenny Craig says " we are perfectly imperfect and need to accept our humanity. Don't beat yourself up about it this is something you can and will overcome do not let this derail you. Keep fighting for your happiness. There is a MFP pal that has a great quote that says it best are we eating because of real hunger, we need to reflect on our emotions and see and wait did I just eat, am I really hungry if I ate 10 minutes ago.


    This is the quote "If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution. Time for a change, now!"


    Try to find another way to let out your emotions. It is easier said then done. I still to this date binge, but not to the extremes I used to. It gets better try and try and never stop trying to better this problem you have of binging. Hope this helps. Best of luck.
  • Healthy_TJ
    Healthy_TJ Posts: 11
    Thank you for the comments- How/ What are easy ways to get in more protein? I am always short in protein and over in carbohydrates. I want some cheap and easy ways to get in more protein. Suggestions?
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Thank you for the comments- How/ What are easy ways to get in more protein? I am always short in protein and over in carbohydrates. I want some cheap and easy ways to get in more protein. Suggestions?
    Tuna, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, cheese, meat, nuts
  • ncmedic201
    ncmedic201 Posts: 540 Member
    I get bored at night and tend to want to eat even though I'm not hungry. I started something new tonight. I've been doing jumping jacks on commercial breaks.
  • DrPepper000
    DrPepper000 Posts: 48 Member
    I am usually over in protein. I use my crockpot to cook a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Then I shred the meat and eat it with BBQ sauce or taco seasoning or topped with salsa or on a salad.
  • Vivian06703188
    Vivian06703188 Posts: 310 Member
    I don't binge eat but I do like to have something late in the evening. Usually a smoothie. But I was thinking there are certain food you can eat a whole lot of without killing your diet. Watermelon and cantaloupe. It will put you over in your sugar but won' t kill your diet. Believe me there is only so much of it you can eat too.
  • AmyMooreOrLess
    AmyMooreOrLess Posts: 320 Member
    I go through that cycle for a few weeks - just eating way too much at night, even the healthy stuff. For me the only thing that works is going to be early! I allow myself a snack after dinner and an herbal tea then that's eat. Even if I'm in bed reading, I need to get there by 10 pm at the latest...earlier if I'm feeling weak!
  • Daniele1213
    Daniele1213 Posts: 37 Member
    If you know you are going to binge, why not have healthy food prepackaged and ready to eat and eat only what you have prepared in advance.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    Try shifting your calories so you are able to eat more late at night and stay under your calorie goal. There is no quanitifiable impact of eating later at night or before bed on weight loss.
  • LexiAtel
    LexiAtel Posts: 228 Member
    Thank you for the comments- How/ What are easy ways to get in more protein? I am always short in protein and over in carbohydrates. I want some cheap and easy ways to get in more protein. Suggestions?

    protein powders (140+ cals) 22-30g per serving
    lowfat greek yogurt (110 cals) 26g per serving
    fish (110+ cals) 24-28g per serving
    egg (70 cals) 6g per serving
    meat (200+ cals) 28g+ per serving
    beans (200+ cals) 20-30g per serving
    oatmeal (140 cals) 6g per serving
    nuts/seeds (170+ cals) 8g per serving
  • donrdon
    donrdon Posts: 216 Member
    I find I have to stay away from any sweet tasting beverages (even if they are sugar free) they definitely bring on the cravings. If I have a decaf coffee (or 2) I don't have the urge to snack. Also it's a great time of year to avoid this......get out in the evening walk, yard work, anything that keeps you active. You win 2 ways, you don't eat and you burn calories.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    up your calorie intake
    stop depriving yourself
    eat and dont binge and exercise it off
    eat bigger dinner
    eat more filling snacks
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    My big one is, get out of the house! You sit in the living room watching TV and binge eat right? That's what I did! So change up your trigger, go out the door and take a run, or a swim, play at a park with young relatives, or just walk up and down the aisles at Walmart (don't bring your wallet so you can't get a candy bar). The urge to snack will pass, and you will have a little extra cardio in your day.
  • janimei
    janimei Posts: 105 Member
    I'm bingeing right now (9:15 pm): 2 cups fresh organic raspberries and 2 BonBel BabyBel Lite cheese rounds. Decadent tasting but healthy, and I have the calories left to do it. Breakfast was 3 eggs, half an apple, tea. Lunch was a big chef salad with tuna, no turkey or egg. Dinner was 4 oz of London broil, tea, and a KIND low-sugar bar for dessert (dark chocolate, nuts, chia, sea salt).
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    JUST STOP! PUT THE FORK DOWN!!! WALK AWAY!!! thats what i used to tell myself when i was ready to do something i would regret!
  • breeezy1030
    breeezy1030 Posts: 42 Member
    I did the same thing when I first started this journey. Its only been three months for me, but I have learned alot so far in the process. I work till midnight, and I would go home after eating my calories for the day and I couldn't keep from going in the kitchen eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!! My brother suggested having a cup of tea at night and then instead of staying up watching tv, get some sleep. He said that if I did this for a week or so, the late night cravings would go away..
    Guess what? It worked! Now two months down the line and I don't even trip off the cravings anymore...
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Thank you for the comments- How/ What are easy ways to get in more protein? I am always short in protein and over in carbohydrates. I want some cheap and easy ways to get in more protein. Suggestions?

    Beans are a good source of protein, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna fish, eggs. If you are able you may also consider talking to a therapist. They may be able to help you get to the cause of the binges. Otherwise maybe try saving some calories for later in the day and don't restrict your food choices too much. Sometimes feeling deprived can lead to a loss of control.
  • True_Believer92
    True_Believer92 Posts: 44
    I had a post like this up a while ago. Someone commented on it saying 'every time you are about to binge just tell yourself "I don't do that anymore"' So I started doing that. I haven't binged in a week. I don't know how effective it will be. but it seems to be working for me :) try it out. Maybe it will work for you too!
  • PetiteLittleFlower
    PetiteLittleFlower Posts: 138 Member
    Maybe we can add each other and support one another at times when we feel like a binge! I have been fighting the urge all night
  • sa11yjane
    sa11yjane Posts: 491 Member
    bump
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    I hope you are not going by the myfitnesspal default protein goal because it is severely below what you should be eating. For maximum muscle preservation during a cut and maximum muscle building, everyone should consume .82g/lb of body weight in protein. This not only helps build and preserve muscle, but the increased protein helps keep you full longer and prevents binges. You should also consume .4g/lb of body weight of fat per day for hormone production. I eat at least 150g protein a day and it keeps me full. This is 3 times what the myfitnesspal default is.
  • RickyLuvsMary4ever
    RickyLuvsMary4ever Posts: 56 Member
    I still have food binges, but they are less and less!

    First thing I did was keep trigger foods out of reach!

    Next I pay more attention to my feelings, stress, uncertainty and boredom makes me susceptible to binges.
  • ecdce
    ecdce Posts: 129 Member
    If you're just binging out of habit, you can try to schedule activities in the evening so you can't binge, or at least are less likely to. Game night with friends, long bath, walk in the park, movie, whatever you enjoy. Especially if you're with others, you will be less likely to spend the evening eating if you're doing things that don't allow you to just sit around and eat.
  • nainai0585
    nainai0585 Posts: 199 Member
    I understand how you feel, the only difference is that I'm a "green" smoker at night only and the munchies really kick in. Since I know I'll be smoking that night, I'll eat less calories during the day so that I still have enough left over that I can have a veggie plate (no dipping sauce though b/c I don't like it), or a bowl of chips, etc.
    Sometimes I go over if I have company joining me and they bring their own snacks, but usually its just me.

    What I have found that has worked for me is logging what I plan to snack on earlier in the day so that it is already calculated, or, if I happen to go over what I have allotted myself, I will log those snacks into the next day.
    If I don't want to snack or have already at my calorie limit for the day, I find brushing my teeth prevents me from snacking (I love the minty taste but hate eating with it b/c food just tastes off) or I will go straight to bed.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    Television and Facebook are loaded with food porn. I do an early morning swim, so I go to bed early and I never watch TV anymore. Those ads are targeted to hit you where you live. They'll make you hungry even if you just ate. Identify triggers and then eliminate them.
  • nicoleharding1
    nicoleharding1 Posts: 2 Member
    I think there are a few things you can do which can help.

    1. Work out what food group keeps you feeling full - as people have suggested, increasing protein and decreasing simple carbs may help you to feel fuller on fewer carbs so that you aren't hungry outside of meals.

    2. Eat your food slower. Your body can't react very quickly to tell you that you're full so eating slower can help your body to catch up with what you're eating. You could try putting half the amount of dinner on your plate you normally would and then you have to get up to put more on your plate. You could also have your food in really small pieces, like using child sized knives and forks. This means you're not consuming more calories than necessary. You can also go for very small snacks. For example you could eat a handful of chocolate raisins one at a time and feel like you've eaten more because it took longer than if you ate a bar of chocolate. Also, make sure you chew everything carefully and deliberately so that you get the full flavour of your food and slow yourself down.

    3. Go for several smaller meals rather than fewer big ones.

    4. Use shopping lists for your food shop so that you can limit the binge foods you have in the house. My binge foods are cheese and chocolate so I buy just 50 or 100g of cheese from the deli counter and I've bought a multi-pack of kit-kats (107 cals each) so if I fancy something or if I find myself with some calories to spare AND I'm also hungry I can have a little bit, but not binge.

    5. Drink more. A lot of lists of losing weight I see recommend drinking two glasses of water before meals, which I don't think sounds healthy personally but the idea can be helpful. When you feel hungry outside of mealtimes try having a glass of water or a herbal tea - NOT juice or tea or coffee due to the sugar and/or milk in them. This might help with some of the cravings.

    6. Find out lower cal versions of the foods you're binging on. It took me awhile to not have chocolate everyday, but I started buying expensive (which also puts me off eating all at once!) dark chocolate so I got the taste of it without the sugar rush and the calories.


    You need to figure out why you are binging - the FLAB thing which someone else posted before helps with that. You need to figure out if you're not getting enough 'fullness' for the calories you're eating for meals and adjust accordingly. You need to figure out how to limit the damage of the snacking.

    I hope this helps and I wish you the very best. Well done for being brave and posting it. Don't forget we all have these bumps in the road and that we're here to support one another.

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