Need help! Binge eating, changing mindset!

happykat007 · August 2010

Ok, so most days I am right at, right below, or right above my calories. I am trying to replace my junk with healthy food, and focusing more on the breakdown of fats, carbs, sodium, etc. I am starting to work out, been doing 30 day shred and walking. So I know I'm headed in the right direction. My big problem is when I binge eat and ruin my whole week.

I have this mindset that once I am over, or sometimes even close to over, but have not yet had my evening snack, that I might as well blow the day with junk. Or also, and this is probably the bigger issue, once I eat certain high calorie foods (ex HUGE Otis Spunkmeyer muffins-like 400+ cals each!) this sets off a massive binge. I know I need to not keep those in the house, they are actually my hubby's to take to work, and once the rest (3) are gone I will NOT buy more, lol.

What I need is to stop my way of thinking of days as all-or-nothing. I know this. I am hoping some of you have been through and conquered this way of thinking/eating, and can tell me what got you over it. ANY advice/encouragement/criticism is welcome and appreciated. My diary is going to be open, if anyone wants to look and give any advice. Thanks all!

somethingvague · August 2010

I used to do this a lot. Make one bad choice, then guilt trip myself into thinking I had "ruined everything" and just give up. All you can really do is remind yourself that you're human and make mistakes, and move on to the next healthy meal. One bad muffin doesn't need to turn into a binge. Positive self talk really does help, as corny as it seems.

amg_89 · August 2010

I just had a huge binge yesterday. All summer I thought I had conquered it, but this past month I've binged 4 times! So while I obviously can't give you advice, I can offer you support. Friend me and we can conquer this together.

evanryn · August 2010

When I've had something that is high in calories, like said otis muffins, I try to get in another workout or lengthen the next workout. Just because you ate something high in calories/fat doesn't mean you can't work it off. Don't beat yourself up, I'm sure everyone binges every now and again. I know when Aunt Flo comes to town, I'm insatiable, so I know what you mean by the guilt. Take it one day at a time and don't look back on the bad days only the good days, because, girl, you know you've worked hard and will continue to work harder in the future!

Keep up the great work and stay positive!

e

WonderNoodle · August 2010

I agree with evanryn....

Yesterday I did well all day, then decided I "deserved" a special treat to pamper myself since I had the house to myself, was going to watch a movie....blah blah blah. Went to the corner ice cream store to get a peanut butter shake. I did, LARGE. Then I impulsivley added a hot dog to my order. Came home scarfed all that, then made one of my favorite bad choices, 2tbls of peanut butter and chocolate syrup heated together in the microwave. 940 calories later (just in that little binge) I felt as all of us do, terrible, regrettful, like an idiot.

Once I get there, I self-hate and stew about it for the rest of the day.

THIS TIME, I decided after about 2 hours of self-torture to go back to the track in attempt to recover some of my calories. Put a 1 1/2 miles on the track and felt better about myself.

It was a mindset change. One for the better. Instead of seeing it as we "blew it' and throw in the towel, see it as "oops! better go recover!".

tiffanygil · August 2010

ummm, I do the same thing all are nothing. Also there are certain foods that trigger me to overeat. Even if I have a bite (chocolate, peanut butter, ice cream) So I stay away from trigger foods. But what I say to myself is "Thank you God that this moment right now is brand new. This moment I can say no to bad foods. This moment I can begin again." Don't wait. Everyone always says "oh tomorrows a new day" which is true but if I say that the rest of the night is one big eating frenzy because I just gave myself permission. Also when I fail (which I do at times) I get in extra work outs. Good luck
Tiff

Skinnytime · August 2010

It helped me to stop thinking in terms of a "day" of eating well or not. I had to think in terms of "bites". Ok, I blew that part of my day with a muffin, but I still have the rest of the day to take healthy bites. This helped remove the "permission" I gave myself to binge by saying, "Oh, I might as well keep eating since I already ruined everything". When I wanted something bad, I started to cut a reasonable size portion and wrap up the rest. I had a few bites of the bad thing (muffin, chocolate, chips, etc) and then could not have more because I'd already portioned it and would not give in and get more.

I try not to have things in the house, but with two little ones, it's hard.
Good luck.

lizzys · August 2010

i eat so bad i stopped smoking so now i'm wanting food to take the place of my cigs ,so i am exercising alot,have to take the day off to clean the house, i dont think i should just had a bowl of last night chicken soup for breakfast.not a good thing

ebert5150 · August 2010

I read a book by a trainer named Tom Venuto and he mentions a thing that he calls the "90/ 10 rule" The way he describes this is that if you do the right thing as far as eating with 90 percent of your meals you can have a meal where you eat what you want. Some diets call this a "cheat" meal, he calls it a "free" meal, I guess because cheating implies that you're doing something wrong. Basically if you decide you wanna eat one bad meal out of 10 it won't destroy you. The book is titled The Body Fat Solution and has lots of good tips about diet, exercise and the psychology of eating and overeating. It helped me get my mind straight about food.

Also, one thing I do is eat a "bad" meal once a week in conjunction with exercise. My wife and I walk/jog about 4 miles and then at the end we eat at Fatburger :-)

Finally, I love to eat at night so I purposely make different meal choices during the day so I have plenty of calories left. I recogize this as the time of day where I like to snack so I make allowances for it.

Hope you can use some of this info!!! Don't beat yourself up and don't give up!!!

happykat007 · August 2010

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I really need the support, and hopefully I will start posting more. as opposed to just lurking and reading others' posts, lol.

elle_m91 · September 2010

Thank you so much for posting about binge eating, and most importantly, changing the mindset behind it!

I am the same way! As soon as I have a cookie or a piece of chocolate on a day that I swear to not consume any sweets, I tell myself "might as well eat all the sweets you want now, since you've just ruined it! We'll just start tomorrow...." And so eat and eat and eat I do, until I feel extremely guilty and uncomfortably full from the massive binge episode.

We WILL conquer this.

vikkij12 · September 2010

ummm, I do the same thing all are nothing. Also there are certain foods that trigger me to overeat. Even if I have a bite (chocolate, peanut butter, ice cream) So I stay away from trigger foods. But what I say to myself is "Thank you God that this moment right now is brand new. This moment I can say no to bad foods. This moment I can begin again." Don't wait. Everyone always says "oh tomorrows a new day" which is true but if I say that the rest of the night is one big eating frenzy because I just gave myself permission. Also when I fail (which I do at times) I get in extra work outs. Good luck
Tiff

Know whow you feel and I do exactly the same, stay away from Trigger foods, but also self talking that says, ok I didn't make good food choices then but now is different. (mind you give me some Hokey pokey icecream and it is over rover.

morosita · September 2010

Well its good to hear that I'm not the only one who is binge eating, I actually thought I was going crazy.I work at lot to lose 2kilos than I have a crave and eat everything in the cupboards and fridge.Than get all upset,start crying and blame it on my family.I used to be a normal person before!

glypta · September 2010

I'm a binger too. I do well for days/weeks then undo it all eating biscuits, chocolate, you name it. It's like an overwhelming desire I can't control, and I live with a flatmate who is 'normal' - she'll have a biscuit or two and that'll be it! I'd love to be like that. So I avoid my trigger foods, but sometimes I just can't control it. Then I feel so guilty and shameful that I CAN'T control it. It is comforting knowing there're others out there like me though, although I'm sorry you feel like I do!

Daytripperjackie · September 2010

This is something I JUST realized the other day that I do. I've ruined 3 days in a row thinking that I screwed up I'll start over tomorow and then constantly eat the rest of the day.
I realized the cycle had to end otherwise I'll be adding another failure to my list. Woke up the other morning, got back into the mindset of watching calories and getting back on track.
I think it may have been aunt flow behind those demons, but I want to be stronger than her. I will have the will power to hold her at bay.

amg_89 · September 2010

What I want every one of you to realize is that this problem is not just willpower. Don't feel guilty and worthless because you don't have "the willpower" that "normal" people have. Honestly, it's an addiction. Especially in America, everything is laden with added sugar and guess what--we DON'T NEED IT! We need no added sugar in our diets. The reason we crave things like sugar is because back in the day when humans actually had to search for food, the berries that were poisonous were bitter and the ones that were safe to eat were sweet. So humans were programed to enjoy the taste of sweet. Now that sugar is as abundant as air, we have waaay too much access to it, and we also have sugar cane which we add to foods to make them even sweeter. When we eat it, it raises the dopamine levels in our brains (like heroin and cocaine do) and we literally become addicted. Artificial sweeteners do the same thing, but our bodies expect the calories (energy) we get from sugar and so we keep eating and eating until we get actual sugar. So I invite you all to QUIT SUGAR with me. We have to do something, but we have to do something that will actually work. It's NOT just willpower, it's ADDICTION and we need to quit.

vikkij12 · September 2010

Agreed it is an addiction and will power alone won't stop the binges, but learning different responses to bingeing and why each individual binges (different triggers and reasons) is I believe the key to lessoning the bingeing and also our response which is to beat ourselves up about it and move on very quickly.
Deep breath and telling ourselves we haven't undone all the good work that has gone on previously. One bad food day isn't the end of the world but unfortunately it does effect us 2 ways. 1. we beat ourselves up 2. We reinforce a habit.
We need to tell ourselves to move on fast.

kpopa · September 2010

Wow! Thanks everyone for the great great posts. I, too, am a binger. More often than not it's because I start eating something, thinking that I can eat just a tad, and then end up eating the entire _____ (fill in the blank). I have no willpower to stop and agree that it's a crazy addiction. My current goal is to try and stay away from my triggers...chocolate, cookies, cakes, etc etc etc!

Thanks for the input everyone!

cab2424 · September 2010

I am also a binge eater. I did fantastic on the diet yesterday, then I got hungry while watching tv. I ate cake, chips, and chocolate milk. UGH! I knew better the whole time but I still did it/

kpopa · September 2010

I am also a binge eater. I did fantastic on the diet yesterday, then I got hungry while watching tv. I ate cake, chips, and chocolate milk. UGH! I knew better the whole time but I still did it/

Today's a new day! How's it going?

lauralynette · September 2010

what helps me is I think they are just empty calories and I will be starving later and I usually feel like crap, but since I do have a sweet tooth what I do is allow myself a small reward for doing good with my diet all week, and I keep skinny cows ice cream in my freezer for the rest of the week they taste great and have a lot of fiber so they do keep you full, also if I have it left over I also like to keep the smart ones desserts, the browine a la mode is ok and are 200 calories.
another thing I sometimes do is chew on some gum.

but you are not undoing the week you are undoing the day, it takes 3500 calories to gain or to loose a pound.

louie377 · September 2010

Great Advice and comments

You must have read Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle ?

anikab · September 2010

I have bouts of this too. but what I try to remember when I go to stuff my face with junk is 'weren't you just complaining about how fat you are? dont you want to show everyone you can do this? and what about those size 7 jeans you love so much, wouldn't you like to wear them by Halloween?' it works! you have to really think about your food choices some days and it's hard and sometimes we slip up but that just means we need to allow ourselves our favorite foods but in moderation. I like sweets, so I get the sugar free pudding snacks or jello etc. and it really helps. I don't buy candy or ice cream because I know I can't eat them in moderation. sometimes we mess up but that's ok, just work harder the next day and remember what we're here for.

Mirabilis · September 2010

It might not just be your mind.

I notice that when I eat white rice or processed sugars, I crave more, regardless of how much or little I've had.

This week I had a tooth pulled and I've been eating rice pudding because I can't eat my usual crunchy diet. Now, I've been good, I've been eating sugar free rice pudding with low fat milk (not homemade) at 70 cal per serving, but I now I want more. And I want sugar.

It makes absolutely zero sense to me that a sweet taste leads to a craving. I think it's actually the processed starch/sugar.

So once my jaw heals, I'm back to fruit and fibre and that should be the end of it.

Years ago, I quit smoking. Now I have to quit the processed starch/sugar. Again. This is harder, but we can do it.

Mirii

louie377 · September 2010

Hi sugar foods do increase your appetite and Cravings

vikkij12 · September 2010

We just had fathers day here and I had two of the kids and partners for dinner, which was a roast lamb. Ate too much and also had some apple crumble and custard (not much) and enjoyed it all. Didn't pick at the leftover meat which is something that in the past I would have done so I managed to stay away from the binge cycle (that meat would have been a precurser for a binge)
Ah well spin class in the morning:laugh:

vikkij12 · September 2010

We just had fathers day here and I had two of the kids and partners for dinner, which was a roast lamb. Ate too much and also had some apple crumble and custard (not much) and enjoyed it all. Didn't pick at the leftover meat which is something that in the past I would have done so I managed to stay away from the binge cycle (that meat would have been a precurser for a binge)
Ah well spin class in the morning:laugh:

barty · September 2010

some great posts, I have been really strict with my diet for over six months and managed to get down to goal weight with NO binging but the problem is staying here!!!! I have had lots of binging days since reaching goal and like so many have said chocolate etc starts it off, but for me bread and bread products are also a huge trigger!!! it seems much easier to avoid all sugar and for me wheat than to try and have just a little :sad:

Need help! Binge eating, changing mindset!

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