Extremely discouraged... overeating is killing me

Bump(sorry dont have time to reply in full but hoping this may knock it to top again so you can nab some advice)

I notice when I eat carbs I crave more carbs and sugar . I have not had an overwhelming craving in quite a while and I think it's because of my protein increase.
Make sure to eat healthy snacks with protein so you don't get too hungry .

This works for me anyhow .

Are you working out regularly? I work out even if I don't want to....


good luck

I am in the same situation. Thankfully you made a thread about this because I thought I was the only one! I see a loss of 2-3 lbs and its as if my body tells me: Ok this was easy, now this will be a linear trend!
Hence the binges.. leading to weight regained and then some more!

So what I am trying now is this, I am incorporating all my trigger foods into my caloric intake which is 1500-1600 (TDEE-20%) so that I am not restricting anything I love hence I never feel like I am on a diet or any sort of restrictive process.

You say you used to be able to eat anything you wished without it being a psychological trigger to binge, I was exactly the same and at my lowest weight. But what I remember was that I used to have everything yes, even the most calorie dense most decadent desserts.. but in moderation. I would automatically restrict in the subsequent meal, knowing I had said calorie dense food previously. It was as if my brain was subconsciously counting calories for me! Our bodies our truly amazing. But now since we have established a distorted relationship with our food and we are always conscious of it.. we need to make an effort to do what we used to do instinctively back then. Fit everything into your goals. You would be surprised how many treats you can fit into your 1500 caloric intake goal! Then if you feel like having an additional brownie later at night, either have it and don't worry about it (100 calories never hurt anyone) or just do a bunch of aerobic exercises to ensure you can incorporate it into your goals for the day!

For me, its not about losing weight now, its about creating a healthy relationship with food again because the healthiest relationships, the ones which are natural, are easy and instinctive.

Being at home thinking about food all day is a recipe for disaster. You must keep your mind and body busy in order to be successful. I'm not a doctor, but you sound like you might be depressed. Depression can definitely make it impossible to meet your goals. You might consider seeing your doctor to see if a mild prescription might bring your energy and moods up.

Are you working out? I looked through a couple days of your food diary and it looked pretty good calorie wise, but some of the reasons you aren't seeing the difference in the scale could be the sodium content of some of the foods you are consuming. I have those days too when sweets and carbs are really tempting but I only buy them in some packages or count them out and hide the box. You can't deprive yourself of what you love or you are going to binge. Drink lots of water, I drink water at home flavored with lemons and limes, it keeps the cravings down and make sure you eat lots of veggies. If I am having a bad night I go for another bowl of lettuce with a little bit of salad dressing, it sure beats the chip bag or cookie box. You can do this, you are worth it! Also, I weigh myself every morning and log it, it keeps me motivated and I know I can start to read my body better. It works for some but not for everyone. Good luck!

Hi, it is a daily battle! I, too, am struggling to find a way to see reduction in weight . I have just started using Myfitness Pal a few days ago, haven't managed to stay under my calorie limit yet, but I'm getting closer. : ) I didn't arrive at this weight overnight, so I guess it's going to take some time, huh? Maybe I'll feel encouraged when I actually lose some weight. We can do it!

Hi all,

I am feeling extremely discouraged today. I am finding it so hard to find balance in my life. I want to enjoy the foods I love which is mostly junk, but I need to lose the weight...

I have always been a yo-yo dieter. I will eat healthy, fell great about the weight I am losing and then all it takes is one slip up like eating a piece of candy and I am binge eating for the rest of the day. I feel that I am always craving junk even if I do allow myself to have a small handful of chips to curb the cravings. I just want more and more.

I never used to be like this. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted - but since I didn't think about my weight I would never go on psychotic binges where I have to eat everything in sight - therefore I always maintained my weight. I hit my highest weight after losing 20 pounds on a pretty restrictive diet... I couldn't take it anymore and ended up binge eating for a month.

I don't know what to do. I sit here all day craving food. I am trying to eat 1500 calories per day instead of 1200 but the weight just isn't coming off...

I need some advice and support

- don't restrict foods from your diet.
- don't buy into all that clean/primal/paleo/low car/low sugar/low fat/gluten-free/etc. nonsense that tells you that certain foods are good and other foods are bad. food is just fuel.
- don't hold yourself to a standard that NOBODY can meet. we are not perfect.
- learn about your macros and strive to meet those goals.
- set a smaller deficit from your daily TDEE and strive to lose the weight over a longer period of time.
- be patient.
- allow yourself treats every day if that's what you need to do to avoid later binges.

losing weight is not rocket science. so many people fail and yo-yo because they fall into an antiquated mindset about what they must or must not eat in order to be "healthy". it's all unnecessary. worry about your calories and macros and not what food choices you're making. if you are meeting your calorie and macro goals, the majority of your food choices will be good ones anyway, but you can still have pizza and ice cream and bread and hamburgers and all sorts of other things you love, as part of your diet.

also, lots of people find that protein helps keep them full, longer. not keeping too many snack foods in the house can help combat mindless eating. switching to drinking mostly water can be a big calorie saver.

Hi all,

I am feeling extremely discouraged today. I am finding it so hard to find balance in my life. I want to enjoy the foods I love which is mostly junk, but I need to lose the weight...

I have always been a yo-yo dieter. I will eat healthy, fell great about the weight I am losing and then all it takes is one slip up like eating a piece of candy and I am binge eating for the rest of the day. I feel that I am always craving junk even if I do allow myself to have a small handful of chips to curb the cravings. I just want more and more.

I never used to be like this. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted - but since I didn't think about my weight I would never go on psychotic binges where I have to eat everything in sight - therefore I always maintained my weight. I hit my highest weight after losing 20 pounds on a pretty restrictive diet... I couldn't take it anymore and ended up binge eating for a month.

I don't know what to do. I sit here all day craving food. I am trying to eat 1500 calories per day instead of 1200 but the weight just isn't coming off...

I need some advice and support

I used to be like this, but I am slowly changing my ways. It's important to account for a "treat" of some sort every day in your calories. If I'm feeling binge-y, I make sure I have room for a popsicle, skinny cow ice cream bar, etc at the end of the night. It allows me to feel like I'm not fully dieting, because I can still satisfy my sweet tooth.

If you binge on normal non-treat food, then you should start looking for healthier alternatives to those meals. For me, I love mexican food (and tacos!). So instead of going to Taco Bell, I make my own Ground Turkey tacos with black beans, a bit of salsa and a whole-wheat tortilla.

And if you're like me and sometimes just want to eat all day no matter what it is.... get something like celery to snack on. You can eat that all day long without any bad effects, and it keeps your mouth busy.

Stick to it, get creative, and you'll get there!

Keep yourself busy doing things that matter to you as a way to help reset your lifestyle in general. For example, would children in low income families fall under one of the groups you would like to see doing better? If so, find out if there is a tutoring program looking for volunteers or some other activity that helps them. Also, learn to make versions of things you crave that are kinder to your body. Do you crave Chinese take-out food? A lot of it looks and sounds intimidating to cook, but it can be done. A dish I want to pull off soon is lower-calorie sweet and sour chicken. I'll probably drop the calories in my version by battering thinner strips of chicken and cooking them with a thin layer of fat on the pan similar to pancakes.

Reading your post actually made me question whether or not I had actually written it and was going crazy. I'm seriously in the exact same boat. Sounds like a few others are as well. I'm really at a loss for what to do. The worst part is that I can get super motivated and lose 30 lbs...and then all of the sudden my mind starts working against me and it makes me hate every second of my life without junk food. And then I end up binge eating on crap food until the weight all comes back and then being depressed about letting myself go...again.

I need help.

I am in the same situation. Thankfully you made a thread about this because I thought I was the only one! I see a loss of 2-3 lbs and its as if my body tells me: Ok this was easy, now this will be a linear trend!
Hence the binges.. leading to weight regained and then some more!

So what I am trying now is this, I am incorporating all my trigger foods into my caloric intake which is 1500-1600 (TDEE-20%) so that I am not restricting anything I love hence I never feel like I am on a diet or any sort of restrictive process.

You say you used to be able to eat anything you wished without it being a psychological trigger to binge, I was exactly the same and at my lowest weight. But what I remember was that I used to have everything yes, even the most calorie dense most decadent desserts.. but in moderation. I would automatically restrict in the subsequent meal, knowing I had said calorie dense food previously. It was as if my brain was subconsciously counting calories for me! Our bodies our truly amazing. But now since we have established a distorted relationship with our food and we are always conscious of it.. we need to make an effort to do what we used to do instinctively back then. Fit everything into your goals. You would be surprised how many treats you can fit into your 1500 caloric intake goal! Then if you feel like having an additional brownie later at night, either have it and don't worry about it (100 calories never hurt anyone) or just do a bunch of aerobic exercises to ensure you can incorporate it into your goals for the day!

For me, its not about losing weight now, its about creating a healthy relationship with food again because the healthiest relationships, the ones which are natural, are easy and instinctive.

See this is why I ditched the scales. If I don't know the numbers, I can't use it as an excuse. I can't freak out about it. there is just nothing healthy about knowing the numbers for me. if the pants get lighter things are going well, but I don't rationalize it at all. if hte pants get tighter something is going wrong and you have to rethink your strategy.

I don't think it's really about the food, calories, or carbs. You are sabotaging yourself and unless you tackle and deal with the reasons behind it, you will continue to do so.

Being at home thinking about food all day is a recipe for disaster. You must keep your mind and body busy in order to be successful. I'm not a doctor, but you sound like you might be depressed. Depression can definitely make it impossible to meet your goals. You might consider seeing your doctor to see if a mild prescription might bring your energy and moods up.

Yes, sitting around doesn't help. NO to meds. Please don't hand out this advice!!! Depression, low energy, hopelessness, etc can be cured with diet. Yes it can! There are a whole bunch of us right here on MFP that have done just that, along with many other illnesses.

It is not for us to say whether someone needs medicine or not. I simply suggested seeing a doctor. Depression is a very complex condition and should be evaluated on a case by case basis. Saying that someone should not take meds for an illness and that it can be cured by diet is a disservice to all who read this. Depression is real. True depression is not something you just snap out of. There is a stigma attached to taking medication for depression that makes people feel ashamed because they got help. WHY??

Do not tell me what advice to hand out. It is not your place. It is not your place to judge those who reach out for help with their depression and are prescribed something that improves their life. Medication is not shameful. Looking down on those who take it is.

I'm in the same boat. Today was really bad. I went over my calories by 300 and I haven't done that in awhile. I don't have any advice just wanted to say I feel the same way!

this is not bad.

people need to stop trying to live up to these ridiculous standards. nobody is perfect, going over by 300 hardly makes the day "really bad". change your mindset.

weight loss is a long term project. what matters is how most days are. everyone has occasional slip-ups and nobody should ever get discouraged by those. that's what leads to a bad relationship with food, binging, and other detrimental behaviors.

just go an extra 150 under tomorrow and 150 the next day to balance out your 300 surplus today.

Sounds like I've been in the proverbial boat with lots of other people. I was really struggling with staying within my calorie count (1600) until about 10 days ago. Then I decided to start to figure out this macro thing. My cholesterol was way up. The good kind (hdl) was super high, the bad, and total were also high so I decided to do an experiment. I cut my fat intake from 30+% that I was eating due to daily intake of good fats from nuts and olive oil to 20% and upped my carbs to 50%. I've been trying to get 30% protein and am finding protein foods take away my cravings. I don't know if the numbers are good or bad, but I'm simply amazed at how I look at food these past few days. I don't choose my food based on how many calories I have left, but I do make sure it works with my macro goals. It's like I have less desire to eat high fat food because I know it won't serve my purpose of getting my cholesterol numbers down. It means looking at food as fuel, not as something that will fill an inner need other than hunger. If I'm hungry, I eat. But I know I can't go rummaging through the frig or cupboards looking for something that I can't justify eating. For an evening snack I might have albacore tuna with pickle relish and multigrain crackers. It really works for me. I also love fat free lime or vanilla greek yogurt with a tablespoon of chocolate syrup (150 cals...no fat). I'm going back in 10 days for another blood profile and I'll see if this made a difference. Even if the numbers don't change, I'm going to continue watching my macros and trying to stay within them most days. I believe we can take control of our health but it's all about the choices we make and where our goals are on our priority list. Good luck to everybody.