Preventing Binging Tips?

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madisynclaire14
madisynclaire14 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all-
So here's my dilemma…
I go on a great streak of eating great, exercising, etc, but then maybe after a little over a week I snap and lose all my motivation, and start binging.. you get the picture.
Then i'll feel really guilty and the whole process starts over again. This is driving me crazy!! Any tips on how to prevent it?

Replies

  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
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    Honestly? Up your calories and fit in foods you like. In order to reduce the binging you gotta reduce the restricting. Work on removing the guilt and shame around eating and the binging *should* take care of itself IMO
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    Keep low calorie treats in the house. For me it is e.g. hummus with bell peppers, or low calories cookies, or a quest protein bar.
    Stef.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    Honestly? Up your calories and fit in foods you like. In order to reduce the binging you gotta reduce the restricting. Work on removing the guilt and shame around eating and the binging *should* take care of itself IMO

    This.
  • LH85DC
    LH85DC Posts: 231 Member
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    I'm going to echo one of the tips above. If you're having trouble with binging (especially if it isn't a problem you usually have or had before joining here), then the first thing that you need to do is make sure that you aren't restricting too much. Is your deficit too big? (hint, if you're young, active and trying to eat only 1200 or 1300 calories without eating back exercise calories, your deficit is probably too big). Are you trying to restrict too many food groups, or trying to go low carb or low fat? All of these things can contribute to binging. Personally, I know that if I restrict carbs too much I get ravenously hungry, and then have trouble avoiding going overboard.

    If you don't think that those are your problems, then you might consider looking into mindful eating techniques, or talking to a therapist to make sure that you aren't developing disordered eating habits. But I'm going to guess that it's 95% likely that your problem is that you're being too restrictive and then binging correct (or overcorrect) the problem.
  • bc2ct
    bc2ct Posts: 222 Member
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    I've recently realized that eating late at night is the danger zone for me. I will tuck into endless snacks (unnecessary calories and bingeing) and then I have silent reflux symptoms (diagnosed with GERD & silent reflux) the next day. My new binge-prevention strategy is to stop consuming food after 7pm. I don't need the energy, I can put away enough food to meet my goals during the day, and I am wayyyy less likely to binge because this tends to be mindless behaviour for me (i.e. I am watching TV or reading and eating a brick of cheddar or a jar of cookie butter. So far it has been really effective!
  • iowasweetie101
    iowasweetie101 Posts: 17
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    Make sure you have cheat meals! Eat more calories. Eat more protein and fiber. Drink your water. Find healthy alternatives to your favorite foods. I struggle too but less so when I follow these rules!
  • EvanElric
    EvanElric Posts: 34
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    Honestly? Up your calories and fit in foods you like. In order to reduce the binging you gotta reduce the restricting. Work on removing the guilt and shame around eating and the binging *should* take care of itself IMO

    This. Try to have more variety in your diet. I found myself eating the same food everyday, while day dreaming about all the delicious food I couldn't have. When I finally allowed myself to have a "cheat day" it led to a massive binge that lasted over a month..
  • sunshine1082
    sunshine1082 Posts: 85 Member
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    I just took a glance through your food diary, and for the days when you've logged food, you're eating fewer than 800 calories. I think I saw one day where you logged only 300 calories. Unless you just aren't logging everything you eat, you need to up your calories. Your goal is 1350. Start trying to hit that every day (plus eating back some, if not all, of your exercise calories) and see if that lessens your urge to binge.
  • quicknick12
    quicknick12 Posts: 10 Member
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    Ahh this sounds all too familiar to my situation. I would get on a roll have some success, then get encouraged to keep it going or get more results I would become too restrictive and eventually use up all my willpower (and be starving and deprived of food...food is healthy and necessary, not an evil) then I would have a binge episode and be overwhelmed with guilt. I would then go even more restrictive to ease the guilt and undo any damage done during the binge, then get back to near where I was before, and have another binge episode. The cycle would continue until recently, after having a few cheat meals not quite binges, I wanted to get serious again but instead of killing myself being too restrictive, I simply eased into my healthy habits, nothing extreme. I have not had any issues or binges and its been over a month, despite eating out frequently and drinking and being in situations where in the past I would over eat.
  • VanillaBeanSeed
    VanillaBeanSeed Posts: 562 Member
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    Im struggling with this right now.

    Ill have a day where food is the only thing on my mind. ill eat everything, even if it doesnt really taste good..
  • starrylioness
    starrylioness Posts: 543 Member
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    I used to binge eat also. I find it helps not to keep foods I enjoyed overeating in the house. Pasta was my biggest problem so I just don't buy it. Same with processed cookies and chips, etc.

    Some healthy low-cal things to snack on helps too. I love baby carrots and they're low cal.
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    If its not binging due to restrictions your placing on yourself & just that you have serious issues with hitting the food hard. Try increasing your water intake. Don't buy trigger foods & keep them in the house. Don't demonise any particular food if you can help it though. Reflect on if its linked to emotional eating & maybe work through this.

    It all depends on what you define as a 'binge' really. For me I had a +1,000 cal one the other day. I don't restrict my intake below my daily 1500 goal & I frequently go over by a few 100. However, for me personally setting my exercise cals burnt to 1 helps somewhat as I know I have a bit of a buffer there. I can't just log & eat back 50-75% of it. For me binging is something I kinda accept & know I'll probably always struggle with. I just try to act accordingly & if I can't rein it back in that day I try to make adjustments the next.
  • chsa22
    chsa22 Posts: 33 Member
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    I think everyone goes through this at one time or another. I would say whatever your favorite food is, treat yourself in moderation. I would go nuts if i really deprived myself from my favorites.
    For example, my weakness is chocolate. So now, I have a couple of dark chocolate dove pieces with almonds each day. It's much less calories than i used to consume when i wanted something sweet, but i'm still satisfying my craving.
    Or, if it's something like ice cream (which i also have a great love for :)), and you know you can't stop at just a few spoonfuls, just keep it to once a week and you can have a little more than that and not feel guilty. (guilt should not be a part of this btw. easier said than done. but be kind to yourself, don't feel guilty about eating something 'bad', and don't call yourself 'bad', or call a day 'bad' because you didn't eat the healthiest of foods. if you cave and binge a little, bounce back and it will all balance out.)
    So, like the 80/20 rule. if you are exercising and eating healthy (as in whole foods, not just low calorie processed foods) most of the time, then 20% of the time, you can enjoy your favorite treats. again, you can apply this daily, or weekly, whatever works for you.

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