Binge Eating & lack of motivation !!! Need help

anabellarella
anabellarella Posts: 58
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 180cm tall and weigh 80kilograms.
I've made it to my MFP goal which I never thought would happen but surprisingly did but I still want to drop another 5kilograms and try to maintain staying between 75-78kilograms.
Problem is, I've reached a point in my weight loss journey where I have lost all my motivation and I've jumped on board the "binge" express. And I think this is because my brain knows that I've made it to my MFP goal (but not my "actual" goal).
Last week I made it to 77 kilograms. I was very happy and proud of myself. I ended up binge eating the following three days and gained it back (bringing me back to 80kilograms) because I figured "what the heck" ill lose it all again the following week (this week). Trying to stick within my calories I gave in again (today) and ate a whole tub of ice cream, biscuits, etc. and this has been happening for the last two months or so. I'm going back and forth. And I feel absolutely horrible about it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, is there anyone else out there in a similar position as me. I also have a bit of an obsession with food (meaning that food is all I think of) and this was never the case when I was 90kilograms trying to get down to 85kilograms. My happy experience of losing weight has turned in to a nightmare. I've worked far too hard to get where I am now and it's just horrible. Has anyone overcome this? The binge eating is becoming a weekly thing. It started on the weekends and now it's happening throughout the week and happening continuos days. I always end up dropping the kilos again but that's only after intense cardio sessions at the gym and strict calorie intake. Knowing I'll lose the weight I've gained from binging tells my brain "oh look, you've made it to 77kilos again, you can eat anything again" and then I binge again. I hope I'm making sense.

Please let me know if you've been on the same boat as me. I've tried everything from adding the foods I binge (ice cream, chocolates, etc) in to my daily intake but that never worked. It only made me want it more. I've also tried binging only on "health foods" but again, that just led me straight to the "bad foods". I also live with my family, so I can't exactly chuck all the bad food out either. Stories of overcoming this "binge train" would be helpful. I just feel really stuck and if I keep this up I'm heading for "weight gain".

Replies

  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    How many calories do you eat on a normal day?

    I think reading your story, when your working out, your also restricting your calories - So your body is saying 'Feed me' Feed me'

    Eat the majority of your workout calories back!
  • WishUponAStarx
    WishUponAStarx Posts: 41 Member
    bump!
  • workout_ninja
    workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
    Im in the same boat as you, I got down to 72kg and a BMi of 23. As soon as I realised I was a "healthy" weight, my restrictions went out the window and I binged ALOT - I didnt even have that many restrictions, I would still eat chocolate and crisps just limited them to once or twice a week. but as soon as i hit my goal, I was eating them everyday and then trying to run them off so i didnt put weight on. I gave myself a few weeks of this and I am currently sitting at 73kg and trying to get back on track and lose the last 5kg I want to lose. Its hard as your brain will allow for excuses because your healthy. I have no advice for you im afraid - just keep trying!
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
    Hi, firstly congratulations for getting to goal. I am 100% in the same situation. Yesterday i weighed in and gained a load of weight from a week of serious binging, i never used to binge before - ever. It's like if i go over a bit i think to hell with it and go crazy! I think i have realised that i prefer losing to maintaining and i have found my mindset is that i reach goal, binge, gain and then am back in my own 'comfort zone' of losing again. Its like a game but cant be healthy. Personally i have found that increasing my cals to maintenance is making me want to eat more. I am not sure why as it doesn't make sense. Currently i am trying to lose again, i wish i could advise u on what to do and wish u the best of luck. I want to keep an eye on this thread to see if u get any good advice for me to steal!
  • kazaki24
    kazaki24 Posts: 1
    Hey I know how that feels and it's a crappy cycle to be on cause foods always on the mind and we get that feeling of control like you said, and think "oh ill jus eat all this and lose it durin the week" but it always turns into a regretable choice. A couple things I find that help is to find ways to distract yourself and if you find a binge comin on, go to the bathroom mirror and take off your shirt and get a good look and think about if you truly are at a healthy weight you're content with etc that you feel you can get away with a binge or not and what the benefits of them are. Also eat veggies..lots of em. Upu wont have room for junk food lol and will lose cravings. Food disorders suck but they can be treated [:
  • qhaleesi
    qhaleesi Posts: 14 Member
    I'm in the exact same position (except I'm shorter and therefore weigh less), the binging, the restricting, the thoughts about food... and I hope we both overcome this!
  • seashel812
    seashel812 Posts: 25
    Eating lower carb works for me. I feel full and satisfied on less calories and my cravings for junk food have gone way way down. I always think it's amusing that when people talk about what they binge on it's never broccoli, fruit or protein. No it's the sugary icecream, cookies and such. I think for certain people those foods can be very addicting.
  • joanna_82
    joanna_82 Posts: 151 Member
    Maybe have a think about the real reason you are bingeing. I have had a lot of problems with binge eating in the past and I know it isn't anything to do with food- its a reaction to an emotional thing or a way of coping with something.
    Personally I know the reason I binge is a reaction to having very low self confidence. Eating large amounts of unhealthy food is a way of punishing or hurting myself. I've been trying to work on my self confidence and looking after myself and in that comes healthy eating. Its is hard advice to take, but if you feel you want to binge, you need to stop, sit down and just think about what's going on for you at the time and whether you can do anything else to make it better. Bingeing never helps! Going out for a yummy meal with friends to your favourite restaurant is a much better way of enjoying food for a 'treat'. Bingeing isn't a treat or a nice thing at all. It is a very negative, guilt filled experience that doesn't do anything for you.

    Hope that helps a bit.
  • runningcat76
    runningcat76 Posts: 82
    There is a binge eating support group on MFP - there's lots of us - you are not alone.!!
  • TIUClare
    TIUClare Posts: 62 Member
    I'm stuck in a crazy binge-eating loop. I'm nowhere near goal, but I seem to be bingeing on a daily basis now and I don't seem to be able to snap out of it. I ate a tonne of bread products yesterday just because... well I don't even know why. Plus side is that I had declined an earlier urge to binge, so it could have been twice as bad, I suppose. I managed to plough through so many calories (like 1400 in one sitting). I'm so tired of being this out of control.
  • TIUClare
    TIUClare Posts: 62 Member
    There is a binge eating support group on MFP - there's lots of us - you are not alone.!!

    Thanks - I shall go sign up.
  • uglyclub
    uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
    I'm recovering from an eating disorder, but this happened to me while recovering. I couldn't stop binging and all I could think of was food. Every time I binge ate, I'd compensate by under-eating the next day. And that would make me binge again. I was stuck in this horrible cycle and I thought things would never get better.

    It's been more than a month since I started eating more calories and the binges have completely stopped. I still think about food a lot but not as much as I used to. Could it be that you're eating too little calories?
  • misscem94
    misscem94 Posts: 114 Member
    It could be that because you have been lowering your calories for so long, your body feels that it is time to 'catch up', so to speak. If you have been restricting quite a lot, that could explain the onset of the binge eating.
    I used to have some form of eating disorders when I was in my teens, which involved binge eating and then some anorexic behaviours. Because I have had some treatment, I know how to stop it dead in its tracks.

    Check you are drinking and eating enough in the first place, as we sometimes mistake thirst for hunger. If you struggle, as you say, to eat treats in moderation, stop buying them for a while. I found this to be effective! If you find you are eating out of boredom, go and occupy yourself with something. I like to go on my PS3 or crosstrainer - both places without food available!

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