Can't eat in moderation

I'm an emotional eater too. Usually around my anxiety. For me, it never mattered how I structured my diet if I wasn't working on my mental well-being too. I find that I'm a lot more successful with my diet if I'm actively working to calm my anxiety and stress, which is a good practice anyway. For emotional eaters, emotional health and stress relief has to be a part of the equation alongside diet and exercise.

Just own it and move on .. It happens. Don't make it a habit.. No need to feel guilty its just FOOD.

GO for a run in the same day or lift... Continue with life.

You have literally described my life-long battle and the reason why I am never successful. I do not recommend allowing yourself this one large binge because for me that does usually turn into many days, then I felt guilty and lazy and just give in. On the other hand, if you can just eat a little more than you are suppose to ONE day a week, then I commend you! I am pretty sure that the healthiest thing would be to incorporate a little more food/treats everyday and I know this can be difficult, but this is all about changing our habits to healthier ones. It just takes time and patience!

This is fine. While you are just as capable as anyone else of learning new behaviors as you need to, there is also nothing wrong with just finding what works for you. There isn't any reason to feel stressed and deprived. There are lots of options that can work while eating within a calorie deficit. If your weekly average is a deficit, you will lose - and the closer to goal that average is, the more effective it will be. No problem.

Eat pizza. Be happy. Or don't and be happy. It's your call.

(If you choose pizza, let me know what time....)

I know eating a balanced diet every day is considered the best way by many, but everyone is different and you need to find a way that works for you. If the healthy balance every day isn't working for you then try what you suggest. Some people do calorie cycling and although it's a bit different to what you want to try, it can work.

Here's a couple of things I would suggest (although only suggestions based on my experience so feel free to ignore lol).

I'd personally aim to net at least 1200 calories on the low days.
I'd have a light breakfast and lunch on my heavy calorie day, just because if you started the splurge early in the day it would be quite easy to go WAY over even like 3,000 calories. I'd then go for pizza and ice cream for dinner so that there are only so many hours left in the day. I know I could personally blow over 3,000 calories easily if I thought I could eat whatever I wanted all day long.

I'd get weighed first thing in the morning (I do weekly weigh ins) of my splurge day so that by the time I got weighed again, any retained water from high sodium would have disappeared over the week.

I’d still count all my calories up and make sure that I was still in a deficit based on weekly total calories.

And, if I found it too hard to get back to healthy eating the following day or found the splurge was lasting more than one day I would have to re-evaluate.

Good luck!

I've learned that I'm just not able to do things in moderation. I know I'm the type of person who will eat a whole pizza, a whole carton of ice cream, a whole 6 pack of beer or an entire bag of goldfish crackers. I know I CAN eat properly all the time, but I know that will most likely overeat when I feel deprived. I will eat my emotions at any turn of events. Perhaps, I will stick to a diet 6 days a week and then splurge one day a week to keep things in check.

Anyone else have this issue? How do you control things? All or nothing? Is it completely unhealthy to eat 3000-3500 calories one day a week and reduce that amount from your total calorie needs on the other days for a balance over the week?

Like I'm supposed to eat 1400...What if I eat 1050 6 days a week, plus exercise calories... and then one day a week have the crazy day of eating? I just know having one treat a day never works. It's like a flip switches and I overeat.

As long as you are at a deficit for the week, you will still lose weight. I do this myself, I like to have drinks and nibblies with my husband on his day off once a week, and eat under my calories (not by huge amounts) the other 6 days. So far it is working for me

I do it by keeping my "binge" foods harder to get. I only have a small package in the house or need to go out and buy it. When I go out to buy it I don't buy a large and bring it home. I will go to the pizza place and eat one slice or go to the ice cream stand and order one small cone. When sitting alone at home it is easier to shovel more food than when you are in public.

OP, what you describe sounds like an addiction. I'm addicted to food, especially overeating it. I treat food like a drug, which is what it is to me. Sadly, quitting cold turkey isn't an option. So I have to face my addiction every day and take responsibility for it.

Yesterday, I was actually negative on calories because of a massive workout. This morning, I ate a slightly larger breakfast, knowing that today will be another massive workout day for me. What I didn't do was go to McDonald's and eat 4 sausage McMuffins, which is what the "addict" me wanted to do.

If you're addict, you have to face your addiction and be responsible for it.

I've learned that I'm just not able to do things in moderation. I know I'm the type of person who will eat a whole pizza, a whole carton of ice cream, a whole 6 pack of beer or an entire bag of goldfish crackers. I know I CAN eat properly all the time, but I know that will most likely overeat when I feel deprived. I will eat my emotions at any turn of events. Perhaps, I will stick to a diet 6 days a week and then splurge one day a week to keep things in check.

Anyone else have this issue? How do you control things? All or nothing? Is it completely unhealthy to eat 3000-3500 calories one day a week and reduce that amount from your total calorie needs on the other days for a balance over the week?

Like I'm supposed to eat 1400...What if I eat 1050 6 days a week, plus exercise calories... and then one day a week have the crazy day of eating? I just know having one treat a day never works. It's like a flip switches and I overeat.

My mom never told me that I had a twin out there!

I don't generally have trouble with keeping my diet in check Monday through Friday supper but once Friday night rolls around - WATCH OUT. The weekends are my kryptonite. A couple of weeks ago I walked to the gas station, bought a bag of Doritos and promptly inhaled. There are certain foods for me where I have zero control and do not understand moderation. At. All. For me it's all things salty and crunchy. I can put a pack of cookies or chocolate down and walk away but not chips or crackers. You get me near a bag of Frito Lay Potato Chips with French onion dip on stand-by...oof. There's a reason my husband calls me "Emily-Bag-O-Chips." Sigh.

I've been trying to figure this out for a few weeks, maybe a month and think that it's mostly drink related. I'll have one maybe two drinks on the weekdays but the training wheels come on Friday after dinner. Drinking leads me to overeat. P.S. I just came to this realization within the past few days. My new goal for the weekends are going to be to limit alcohol and see what that does for my binging.

In all honesty, I don't think it's a big deal to have one day way over if you're under or at your goal for the rest of the week. Even with my craziness I'm still going down (slowly but still going in the right direction.) You have to do what's right for you. For me, I have to get this in check because, as one of my MFPers pointed out, once I reach my goal I'm going to slow down on exercise and if I continue to binge the weight will creep back. I need to get my relationship with food healthy if I'm going to maintain this new life that I've been building for myself.

Feel free to add me if you like. Good luck!

There's nothing wrong with getting more calories on certain days and less on others. Add up to what you need for the week.

Binging is just not healthy

If by "binging" you mean going over on total calories for the week, and by "just not healthy" you mean causes you to gain weight, you're right. But I think you mean eating a lot in a sitting. That's perfectly fine. I do it every day, I just usually only eat twice in a day.

Eating a lot in one sitting and still being fine on calories for the day is ok.

What is unhealthy is what the OP said, "eat a whole pizza, a carton of ice cream, 6 beers....". Eating what you want in moderation is fine, but it is not a good habit (for most people) to have a day a week where you go dramatically over on your calories. Those days are setbacks and if they go unchecked, become a lifestyle.

ditto!!

Eating 6 times a day and eating 250 calories each time to add up to 1500 calories is NOT the same as eating once and eating 1500 in one sitting. And eating healthy 6 days a week and having whatever and how ever much you want on the 7th day will keep you wanting those same foods all the time making it harder to eat healthy the rest of the days and damange any progress you had for the week. My advice: All the foods that you want to eat like that STAY AWAY FROM. If you can't eat pizza without eating it all-stay away from the pizza!! Give your body a good solid chance to lose some weight and get used to not having those things before you start adding them back in again-if you stay away from pizza for 2 months and eat healthy the whole time you will probably find that you couldn't eat as much as your used to anyway and that you have gotten better at portion control in that time!!