Advice for avoiding binge eating?

itsthenewhealthyme
itsthenewhealthyme Posts: 16
in Motivation and Support
I realize this topic has probably been touched on before, but I'm looking for some advice on how to prevent binge eating. I was on a very restrictive and, looking back, unhealthy diet before (700-900 calories per day for around 2 weeks). I then joined MyFitnessPal and decided to lose weight in a more healthy way (and have a better relationship with food) so I'm on a 1200 calorie diet now. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I'm only 5'0 tall - I need a lot less calories than taller people. :)
Ever since I upped my calories I've been binging; I'll be fine for 2 or 3 days and then I find myself caving in and letting lose. I feel adequately fed on 1200 but for some reason it leads to me overeating. I just had a pretty stressful week, which might explain the binging, but I would like to stop and I'm looking for ideas on how to do that. I've tried increasing my protein intake (I'm almost always under) but it hasn't really helped much. Anyone have ideas on how I can beat the binging? It is much appreciated :)
Also, if it helps, whenever I binge it is mostly on high-carb, high-fat foods. Does this mean I have a deficiency in my regular diet that is causing me to crave carbs so badly?
Enjoy the rest of your Sundays... :)

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I'm 5'2" and 125 lbs., and I eat way more than 1,200 calories. You're bingeing because your goal is way too aggressive for your size.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. per week (1 lb. if you have 30+ lbs. to lose), and be patient.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • MzFyreKitty
    MzFyreKitty Posts: 93
    I keep things that I would "binge on' out of the house totally
    I gave up all my trigger foods. I rarely crave things that are unhealthy anymore...HONESTY
    I keep busy to keep my mind off food... read a book, watch a dvd, talk to a friend, go out for a walk, play a game...go out dancing (but I don't drink alcohol so hard for me to get a lot of calories from alcohol)
    Clean the house!
    Drink a lot of water, to keep you full. If you are still feeling a craving then eat something healthy eg. If you are craving something "sweet' eat a piece of your favorite fruit. For something salty we use air popped popcorn and spray with "I can't believe it's not butter spray"


    The thing that has helped me was giving up "Trigger foods" though... I can't even eat a tiny bit of chocolate without eventually wanting to eat a bag:( I honestly feel better when I got the junk food out of my house and life

    I have read and was taught in nutrition classes when I was going to school to become a RN that you should eat 10-12 times your weight in calories (so if you weigh 180 then 1800 for a woman normally) and if you don't lose weight after a week or two to cut that by a couple of hundred calolries until you are losing. Anyone else thinks this sounds like sound logic? Starvation diets don't work, are you under a Doctor's supervision?
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
    My binge eating is psychological not physiological. Journalling is a good way to delve into what you are feeling and working to work out your triggers.
  • JassiBear
    JassiBear Posts: 268 Member
    Happened to me too on 1200, so I upped my daily by 150 calories. Your body is fighting you back........ and its almost like weening a crackhead off of crack. Your body is very very very angry and it is trying to protect itself from "starvation"...... its like some ancient defense mechanism that we adapted to survive. Stay in control and after the first 7-10 days it wont even be hard anymore if you stick with it..... it will become "second nature" and your body will stop fighting you so much.
  • squiffy113
    squiffy113 Posts: 7
    I too have the psychological binging problem. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out a way that works for me yet. Good luck!
  • itsthenewhealthyme
    itsthenewhealthyme Posts: 16
    Thanks everyone for all of the great advice! It's really nice to see people care because this has been hard on me. After reading your posts I realized that my daily calorie goal is too low - I'm only looking to lose about 10 lbs, but I had my goal set for 1.5 lbs a week for some reason! I don't know why. I think I'm going to slowly up my calories to around 1400-1500 per day, see how that works for me. I might even eat at maintenance for a week or two just to "re-set" and get back to a normal eating habits, then start to gradually reduce. We'll see how it goes. I was fixated on losing 10lbs by August, but now I've decided I'm okay with it taking a month or two longer because I want to be healthy :)
    I like the idea of keeping a journal. That would probably be beneficial to me, since a big part of the binge (for me at least) is psychological...and I do enjoy writing :)
    I'm also thinking I'll do a rewards system of sorts, where every week I go without binging I'll treat myself to something... like a movie night or bubble bath. It sounds sort of silly but will give me something to look forwards to. I've also planned out my meals/snacks for tomorrow, that way I'm not as tempted to veer off course. Trying to up my protein so I feel fuller. I will make sure to drink lots of water!!!
    Thanks again for all of the advice! It has made me feel a lot more optimistic about my situation! :)

    @squiffy113, I hope you find a way to help stop your binging problem. Binging is the worst, and it's so hard to stop/control it because so much of it is mental. Best of luck!

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