Day of Binging, hate myself, why do I do this?

atibrat · August 2013

I have been committed and doing well for almost 3 weeks and today I binged all day long. I have no idea why, I feel horrible from what I ate and horrible that I did it. This is where I always just want to give up. I think what is the point.

This is the first time I have logged it all - no wonder you feel so bad after a day like today and faced it but I hate myself right now. I know what I need to do... drink lots of water, make some healthy vegetable soup tomorrow and go forward but I sit here and wonder why would anyone do this to themselves. I didn't start out today saying oh I am going to eat 300 grams of sugar today and go over my calories by 600 or more.

I don't know if my body or brain just said ok today I make up for lost days. I have not been depriving myself at all just making good choices so I can't understand the reason for today.

I did log it and face it and at this point it only made me feel worse to actually see it.

Anyone else been here, done this and moved forward?

Jen8781 · August 2013

I regularly do this, it's why we are all here in the first place, you are not the only one and habits of a lifetime are not going to be broken easily, it has taken me a month to get in the swing of it, logging the bad days as well as the good is useful as when the scales don't lie, at least looking back at the diary can show why and help face our demons! Don't feel bad, accept we are not perfect and this is a marathon and not a sprint

Slow weight loss with a realistic goal is likely to be more successful xx

usmcwifeall4me · August 2013

You can do it! Don't let one day discourage you. You don't have to deprive yourself either, I use portion control...for example with chips, I get baked Doritos or Popchips(BBQ flavor is the best) and I take out one portion and put the bag away so there is no temptation.

lifethatgrows · August 2013

I binged last night too - it happens. Forgive yourself. Try to figure out what made it happen, but if you can't, that's okay too. For me, I was hungry. And then I still didn't eat. And then I got even hungrier, and soon, I was so famished I was willing to eat anything. I ate a pile of junk food, and from there it spiralled. Next time, I'll make myself a snack to avoid getting so incredibly hungry. But binges can be triggered by other things, too, stress, sadness, loneliness, tiredness, any number of things. Maybe you were just tired of dieting!

Whatever the cases, here are some tips for recovering from your binge:

Eat all of your normal calories tomorrow. Don't try to compensate. It will backfire, and the guilt from a second binge is not worth it.

Get some light exercise. Don't torture yourself or try to work it off, just go for a walk or a swim.

Now that you've faced how many calories you ate, trust your body to deal with them. You've overeaten a lot during your life, I'm guessing. One day will not ruin your progress. Live and let go.

Remember that for up to four days after your binge, you may crave junk food, carbs, sugar and salt. Be extra strong, stick to your plan, and by the fifth day you'll be far past it.

Last, and most importantly - you have so much more worth than your weight, what you eat, or don't eat, and whether or not you binge. Take a moment to remember all the other things that you value in your life, because you're a beautiful, whole person, with a lot going for you! A binge won't make anyone love you any less, and it shouldn't stop you from smiling, either.

If you need any more support, feel free to add me!

KarenJanine · August 2013

Just put it behind you and move forward. Logging is a great way to be accountable for your binges. Keeping a mood diary may also help identify what triggers binges.

Put things in perspective - you only went 600 over your goal for one day, which probably took you to near maintenance depending on your deficit, you may even have still been under maintenance. You'd have to eat 3500 over maintence to gain just 1lb of fat.

aquarabbit · August 2013

You did this because you're human and you make mistakes. No need to beat yourself up over it. Like you said, you've been doing great and sometimes, these things happen. I think that most important thing is that you logged it and were honest about it. Which shows amazing progress for most of us. In the past, that sort of accountability and honesty probably weren't there as much. At least it wasn't for me! Something that I found is that if I feel like I'm on the verge of a binge, I'll pretty much do it. I'll give myself my maintenance calories for the day instead of my deficit. And I throw sugar and sodium out the window. It makes it easier to have a "binge" day without the guilt afterwards. At least for me. It's great that you're going to keep at it. Don't worry, everyone has moments like these. You're in good company!

brandon_2A · August 2013

I can relate. Many times I've tried to lose weight before I'd end up starving myself and then lose all self control when I finally couldn't take it anymore. I would physically feel worse after I ate all that junk, plus feel the guilt of what I did.

This time I figured out a healthy eating plan where I don't get hungry so the urge to binge doesn't pop up as often. When it does I eat something good. I have finally started seeing results and now, in my mind, it's not worth undoing all, or even part of, my hard work.

Good luck. We're all human.

SiXiam · August 2013

Generally people binge on diets because they do multiple things wrong.
1) They deny themselves foods they enjoy
2) They cut calories too severely
3) They exercise too much after not doing much of anything for a long time
4) They were born human

Yes, 4 is the worst! We are human after all and it happens, but let's move to what we can control.

Number 3: It may be a good idea to not do any exercise or the same amount before you started your diet. This seems foolish, but often its a good idea to establish good dieting habits for the first 2 months. You can always work harder, but people need to establish a pattern first

Number 2: This is hard for people, because we are all inpatient. With 3500 calories in a pound of fat and a 500 calorie daily deficit, that means only a pound off a week. A year to lose 52 pounds. Or 26 pounds a year with a 250 calorie deficit. Best thing I can tell you here is it is a slow process. You didn't gain it overnight and you won't lose it overnight. Also that first couple weeks of easy weight loss is usually mostly water weight & salt. Its a harsh truth, but you have to be in this for the long run.

Number 1: Is my hardest lesson. I made two pizzas on saturday. I ended up eating 1 and a half of them. It was certainly a binge and I was way over my calories that day. My first reaction is to not eat as much the next week. Then I thought about it. No, I'm going to make another pizza! This time I'm going to make that pizza fit in my daily calorie allotment. I feel that's a better lesson than just eating less. Also desserts are hard for me. So every two weeks or so I'll make homemade cookies, assuming I didn't do anything else foolish. Yeah, I usually go over for two days, but it makes it very unlikely to binge because I know I'm going to eventually eat my desserts no matter what.

QueenWino · August 2013

Don't hate yourself! A lot of us make some crazy impulse decisions or binge out of the blue, but maybe a bit of the pressure just gets to us and takes over. I decide on a day when I can't seem to do the right thing, or I just feel such cravings, that it will be the day to cheat and that is my life. I don't look back now and suffer it like I did before when I failed at weight loss attempts. I won't let myself have more than 2 days off track, and even then I make sure to have eaten something in my healthy world, to keep my goals alive. After 2 days of maybe not the best food, like pizza, wine, beers, cookies!, I just get my healthy menu planned out, hard boil the eggs, and eat well. Make sure you are enjoying your food enough each day and that you don't feel like you are 'dieting.' Also, the verdict is in that discipline is the worst way to attempt to lose weight; there is a study that said the most important thing to keep people on track is to remove temptation. If I go to the bakery and buy a bag w/4 huge cookies and get home but am alone in the house w/them, I literally have to throw them away. I bought an amazing bag of the best cookies a few weeks ago and ate my serving. Then I ate another serving (one more cookie), and then I couldn't stop thinking of those cookies. I wanted to put them in my pantry, have one a day, and enjoy them appropriately. Instead I put them in my outdoor garbage can and sighed very profoundly that I had to do that to maintain the control of my food that I needed. You will keep moving forward and this will just be one of those struggles you've learned to deal with further down the road.

MrsFowler1069 · August 2013

Every day is new. Love yourself, love your progress. It'll be okay. You're better off than you were before - and you've done that.

tekwriter · August 2013

I found myself overeating today also. I did stay on my plan but ate too much. I wasn't feeling well and had to go to the Dr. and skipped lunch. I didn't want to pay to eat out so just went on. When I got home I felt so bad I just ate a piece of fruit and laid down. But I over ate at dinner time. So I know what caused it but, It is not the first time I have done it. I do wish we could find a way to trick our minds into not defeating us.

sarasmiles124 · August 2013

I have those days all too frequently. The last couple of days I've taken steps to regain control, but its challenging and your right it can be diffcult not to come down on yourself, but you have to remember, your human and we all have moments of weakness. It's about how you pick yourself up after. I am choosing not to hate myself or my body anymore. I just have to work on building up total self acceptance.

atibrat · August 2013

I have never known anything like MFP before. There are so many supportive and caring people on here. Thank you so much.

Looking back over the last couple of weeks I have not deprived myself but have been low on protein and I got a little over confident the other day and bought Rocky Road Ice cream and Magic Shell. Had it for breakfast and lunch today. Yes Chocolate is my DRUG of choice. What I do not think I ever realized before is that it has a hang over effect much like getting drunk. I took a nap this afternoon and woke up feeling like I had spent a night of heavy drinking.

The ice cream and magic shell are on their way to the garbage. Next time I want Ice cream I can go to an ice cream shop and get one scoop for now.

Thanks everyone I still feel sick but I don't feel guilty. Looking forward to a healthy meat and veggie slow cooker meal or something tomorrow.

I also think that before I started MFP that eating that much chocolate would not have made me feel this sick so my body is making changes thanks to this wonderful website.

sarasmiles124 · August 2013

You are going to do great. Just keep at it and don't ever hesitate to ask for support when you need it. I have gained back 40 lbs over the last year and am facing this challenge head on again because I remember how good I felt when I was healthier. For the last couple of months I have just steadily gained because I was binging daily. It feels so much better now that I have been paying attention to what I eat these last couple of days. I don't feel so bloated and I am not feeling triggered.

Be proud of the accomplishments you have made so far, no matter how small. They are all important steps to becoming a happy, healthier you. Add me if you would like, I can always use a new friend

.

Jaine86 · August 2013

I agree with everyone else. Take each day as it comes try your best and if you need a treat have one. Just try to portion control as much as you can. Don't beat yourself up tomorrow is a new day!

katrina668 · August 2013

I have recently had a bad week with binging and cravings. But even more debilitating than the act of binging is the self loathing demon inside us all. There will be times that you will just eat what you want without thinking but the best thing to do is to just move forward. Take it one day at a time and don't deprive yourself. We're all here for you!

ArtemisRuns · August 2013

We all have days like this and the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is patience and determination. Just start up today like nothing happened. I can't see your diary but if you are too severely restricting your cals, you might be more prone to binging simply because your body is real hungry. Last night I went a bit over...had an extra meal of pasta and some buttered movie popcorn. :embarassed: It wasn't in my plan, but I have to say my body felt so good after eating, I didn't regret it one bit. Sometimes your body tells us to eat a little extra and we don't, we deny, and that adds up to a binge over time.

Don't be hard on yourself. Dust off and keep moving. You will get there!!! FR sent!

lippy12477 · August 2013

Don't get down on yourself or give up. I get those days at times, but have learned that if I go right back to it the next day and keep on track, I can lose a little more weight the next weigh-in. I have read and heard that sometimes our body needs a jumpstart from the lower calories and if we have a high calorie day (once in a while-not every other day, but say once every couple of weeks), then you can still lose weight, if not more the next week.

skinnymalinkyscot · August 2013

I I had a day like that on saturday. my family and I had gone along to a summer fayre in a quaint village and I matched everything they ate, my justification at the time was they can eat it and be skinny and its only one day. So we started lunchtime with a barbecued beefburger and cheese in a bread roll, followed by an ice cream from the ice cream van, then we saw a tea and cake stall and sat down and had 2 slices of homemade victoria sponge with fresh cream, it was a boiling hot day so 2 ice lollies followed, around 4 oclock we went to the pub on the village green and had 2 glasses of wine, at this point once alcohol entered the equation it all went downhill, got home around 7pm and was starving so for speed we ordered a domino pizza , I do believe the calorie count in one slice would feed a small village for a week. yes, id blown it big style , that night I had to sleep propped up with acid reflux and spent Sunday sipping water and feeling very sick

But I learned some valuable lesons for the next summer fayre or daytrip , firstly I cant eat what I want on a daytrip I need to plan ahead, that includes buying a salad bowl and pre cooked chicken or similar to eat quickly for dinner when we get home hungry and tired.

I also cant eat what I like just because everybody else can, so next time I would eat the burger with no cheese, have ice lollies rather than ice cream, diet coke instead of alcohol and a cup of tea and a savoury scone instead of the fresh cream cake,

maybe i would still go over slightly but I too threw caution to the wind and pigged out,

The downside is I can see I wont register any weight loss this week from the scales and that's it really I want those scales to move, so I forgive myself and keep going. But I dont hate myself and I say to you please dont hate yourself either, just learn from the experience and move on.

Its interesting the analogy you made with feeling as though you'd had a heavy night drinking and a hangover effect as junk food does have an effect on the liver its called fatty liver and its cause not just by alcohol but rubbish food also.

diannethegeek · August 2013

There are as many reasons people binge as there are binge eaters. In the end, only you can figure out why you do it.

First check should always be physiological. Are you eating too little for your activity level? Depriving your body of food groups or things that you love? Nutrient deficient? It might be a good time to take a hard look at your diet and see if it's working for you.

Or, it could be psychological and that can be harder to work with. I'm a binge eater. I eat when I'm emotional. I eat when I'm feeling anxious or upset. Try to figure out what you're feeling when you overeat. Journaling was one thing that worked for me, but there are tons of ideas out there.

Someone recently posted a good acronym to help binge eaters: HALT. Don't let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Those are the times when your willpower will be at its lowest and you're more likely to overeat. Whatever it is that triggers your binges it's important to try and stop it before you get to the binge stage. Because if you're anything like me, you won't stop once you get started.

danarandallreed · August 2013

I hit my 30 day mark yesterday and it turned out to be the worst binge day I have had, even before starting MFP.

I can say that on Sunday, I was angry and lonely, so I think it is associated with that. I also came down with a summer cold yesterday. With all of that combined, I binged.

I hope you can get back on track. That is my plan. Today I am moving forward like it never happened. I choose to control my choices, I won't allow my choices yesterday to control my overall progress.

I was disappointed in myself, but I have to release it. You really do have to just let it go. When you don't let it go, it follows you into a week of binging, then its a month of binging, and the cycle continues.

Day of Binging, hate myself, why do I do this?

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