The more I try to count my calories, the more I binge

Options
2

Replies

  • Making_changes7
    Making_changes7 Posts: 194 Member
    Options
    Why do you have those things in your home ?

    I don't. I will literally GO TO THE STORE just to give into the cravings. It's actually f*cked.
  • cottonta1l
    cottonta1l Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    The only time I ever had a problem with that is if I wasn't eating enough during the day. If you're genuinely hungry, I say eat more.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Options
    It's all mental. You know like the phrase "what you think about, you bring about." Two things you can do: 1) get involved in a bunch of rituals like brushing your teeth, drinking water before realizing that it doesn't help 2) overcome it.

    It's hard but like all good and bad habits, they have to be practiced.

    Or keep boiled eggs in the fridge and eat the whites. or something like that.
  • jwooley13
    jwooley13 Posts: 243
    Options
    Very hard to give any advice without your diary open.

    You likely need to eat more protein during the day, or up your daily intake altogether. If it's just a routine thing for you and you are eating enough during the day, then it's a question of will power. Throw away the high fat, high sugar, processed "trigger foods" to eliminate the temptation. Pick up a hobby like drawing or knitting to keep your hands occupied. Find a treat that you enjoy that won't blow your daily calorie budget (mine is a bowl of frozen berries with honey - it replaced my ice cream routine).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
    Options
    I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you did what most people do and you put sedentary and 2 Lbs per week and MFP spat out a 1200 calorie per day goal...that's a perfectly fine goal if you are tremendously oversweight/obese...plenty of fat stores to make up the difference.

    You would appear to have very little fat to actually lose and your ticker would suggest the same...you can't be that aggressive when you're not overly fat.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Options
    Like you, I love a snack at night. It doesn't even matter how late I eat dinner. I still want a snack right before bed. I try to eat less during the day so I can have a snack. Last night I made ice cream sandwiches. Try 1/4 cup of whatever ice cream you like with 1 graham cracker broken in half. It's generally (depending on the ice cream) under 150 calories and definitely counts as a treat in my book.

    If I'm out of calories, I'll go to the gym at 9:30 or 10 when my kids are in bed. By the time I get home and take a shower I'm usually not hungry anymore. I don't like to eat right after excercising.
  • cherigaudet
    cherigaudet Posts: 6
    Options
    I have experienced this very thing. For me, there were two problems. One, I was trying to stay on a 1200 calorie budget, which was simply not realistic given my activity level. And two, I was going long stretches of hours without eating anything, so by the time dinner time rolled around, I was RAVENOUS.

    So I increased my calorie budget to 1500, which is way more realistic. And I'm spreading out those calories throughout the day so I'm not ravenous at dinner time.

    I also chew LOTS of sugarless gum and drink seltzer water to trick my body into thinking it's eating. :)
  • mhartzen
    mhartzen Posts: 4
    Options
    I feel the same way! sometime I've noticed that helps me is to make sure I only keep high fiber low calorie food around the house so that when I snack, I only have healthy/low calorie options. The moment I buy something sweet or fatty (it's usually ice cream), I only want to snack on that. Good luck with everything!!!!!
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Options
    Go to sleep.

    Oh man. I've tried this. I end up not being able to fall asleep because I'm thinking about the food that I never snacked on a night. So I get up, snack, and THEN I'm able to fall asleep. Otherwise, I lay in bed for hours. :'(
    dont buy the junk food
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    Options
    I eat one or two medjool dates at night when I'm craving junk food and sweets.

    They taste like candy and are incredibly delicious, but aren't filled with any weird or artificial ingredients.
  • gotolam
    gotolam Posts: 262 Member
    Options
    Go to sleep.

    Oh man. I've tried this. I end up not being able to fall asleep because I'm thinking about the food that I never snacked on a night. So I get up, snack, and THEN I'm able to fall asleep. Otherwise, I lay in bed for hours. :'(

    Okay. I used to be just like you. Since my teenage years, I've had sleep problems. Early on (when I didn't ever care what i weighed) I got into the practice of eating a bowl of soup every night as a "snack" (It was prolly like 700 calories) and that helped me sleep. It was so bad that as recently as last year, I was still eating Ramen Noodles three or four times a week before going to bed. This has been going on the better part of the past twenty years. It got so I COULDN'T sleep without eating something.

    What I've found is that it's much easier to control my cravings in the morning than at night. By pushing back all of my meal times, I've been able to narrow the window between dinner and bedtime; which has significantly helped this problem.

    If you have supper with your family, don't forgo that. Just split your dinner. Eat half with your family and enjoy that time with them. Then after the dishes have been done, kids put away...eat the other half.
  • Rosamber
    Rosamber Posts: 2
    Options
    Must admit now that I am keeping a record of calories consumed every day I find am thinking about food far more often than before. I haven't binged yet and only keep healthy foods in the house so if I did have a craving then it wouldn't be serious. I have been entering food after I have eaten - maybe doing it once later in the day would help take my mind off it? I also agree with the ideas of having a glass of water or cleaning teeth or finding something to do.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • Nix143
    Nix143 Posts: 522 Member
    Options
    Boring but lots and lots of protein leave me stuffed. And I drink gallons of decaf green tea in the evening. And there are NO snacks in the house. I've tried, moderation ISN'T my middle name just yet.

    Good luck.
  • MegE_N
    MegE_N Posts: 245 Member
    Options
    Must admit now that I am keeping a record of calories consumed every day I find am thinking about food far more often than before. I haven't binged yet and only keep healthy foods in the house so if I did have a craving then it wouldn't be serious. I have been entering food after I have eaten - maybe doing it once later in the day would help take my mind off it? I also agree with the ideas of having a glass of water or cleaning teeth or finding something to do.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    I find I'm the same - I think about food far more than I ever did when I was gaining weight. But I find that it helps me. I check my pre-loaded diary throughout the day and jazz myself up - "If I can stick with this, it's going to be such a good day!" sort of thing.
  • Soggynode
    Soggynode Posts: 1,179 Member
    Options
    Boring but lots and lots of protein leave me stuffed. And I drink gallons of decaf green tea in the evening. And there are NO snacks in the house. I've tried, moderation ISN'T my middle name just yet.

    Good luck.

    Gotta agree with Nix143, the extra protein is what is knocking down my cravings. My cravings were not at night but mid-late mornings. I changed my breakfast from cereal, bread, etc... to meat and eggs. I can get to lunch without any difficulty at all now. I hadn't thought about decaf green tea... sounds like a good evening drink to try.
  • screwmenopause
    screwmenopause Posts: 170 Member
    Options
    Hi,
    saw your post. I get it - I was a binge eater too. it's hard to track calories, but do yourself a favor...a BIG favor...when you binge...write it down and calorie count EVERYTHING you ate. EVERYTHING. for me, seeing how it all adds up so quickly kept me honest w myself. Also, after you've logged your calories for the day....click "complete entry" at the bottom of your log. this tells you - "if you eat and exercise every day like you did today for the next 5 weeks you will weigh...". I over ate and didn't workout one day, I recorded everything anyway....when I hit the "complete entry" tab....it had me weighing what I weighed when I started MFP! ugh! that did it for me. that told me how these extra pounds added up over the past couple years and made me overweight.
    I hope that helps a little
    good luck!
    remember too....string a couple successful, clean eating days together and before you know it - BAM - you will be on the road to long term success :wink:
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Options
    I do the same thing sometimes, although it has gotten much better lately. It's like being so aware of the calories used to make me freak out and eat randomly at the end of the day. Idk why. I did this at first, so I started making sure I had about 300 extra calories for after dinner. Then I would eat a quest bar, a fiber one brownie or something that felt like a treat but wasn't actually junk food later on that night when I had the urge to snack. I eventually got past it. It was just a mental thing.
  • shankasaurus
    shankasaurus Posts: 116 Member
    Options
    Following for the helpful advice.
  • jason_adams
    jason_adams Posts: 187 Member
    Options
    Late night eating is a problem for me. Due to my activity levels in my formative years, I was able to consume LOTS of food and not suffer for it. Different story now, but the "bedtime snack" is a habit that I struggle with constantly.

    Now when I want one, I drink another glass of water (I have a soda maker at home, so it's usually "fizzy" which makes it feel more like a treat), then get ready for bed and actively think of things that AREN'T that snack. That currently does the trick, every time.

    Other times, I too have gone to the store for treats. I'd buy them, bring them home and put them down and get busy with something else that would require my full focus (studying or playing games). I'd usually forget about the snack and put it away later on when I didn't want it anymore. If that failed, I ate it.

    If your craving is habitual, you can also plan for it. Just make sure you're actually eating enough food overall!
  • KSA10611
    KSA10611 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    I have experienced this as well, I notice it more at work than at night. My office buys food, sodas, candy for the office on a regular basis. I do not buy this food for my own house and I normally do not crave it, but I would find myself "sneaking" a soda or a back of chips into my day. Once I started I had a hard time stopping. I was getting so frustrated with myself that I would end up eating more than I wanted. Then I watched Hungry for Change, a documentary on Netflix, and I learned a trick that I had never heard before. They state over and over again that weight loss and a life style change are geared by our natural instinct of feast or famine. We have been a perpetual state of feast and when we start telling ourselves we can't have something our body responds to that as famine. They suggest telling yourself "I can have this, but I do not want it." I have been using mantra for a while now and I notice my cravings are slowly dissipating and I am not snacking as much. Weight loss is a huge mental game and it is understanding how to speak to your body and mind that will help you get through the rough patches. Remember to focus on the small changes you notice rather than continually thinking about what you cannot have or what you might be missing. This is a struggle that is going to continue, try to learn what works for you and always know you aren't alone! Good luck.

Categories