Binges

If you're bingeing then just cutting down slowly should help, 7000 is a lot, and just minor cuts should slow down the weight gain. No, you shouldn't starve yourself because you'll just be hungry and start back up doing it again. Plan out your meals in advance, don't have snacks around the house that you'll get into. Out of sight out of mind generally.

You also should look into why you're bingeing in the first place, and start from there. If you're eating for comfort or sadness maybe you should ask for an antidepressant. They can help with appetite suppression and in general make you feel happier because food causes the same stimulus as antidepressants will. If that's already filled then you shouldn't be eating for that reason.

I know how you feel OP! I used to binge late at night all the time especially round the times that you mentioned. I thing I hated most about the binging was not that I was gaining weight, feeling ill or looking bloated but that I had zero control over my eating habits. I tended to binge 99% at night after dinner, because even though I was full and satisfied I still had created a pattern of extreme sugar cravings. I weaned myself off binging by allowing myself to eat sugary things during the day when I actually needed the energy and making a cut off point for food after I finished dinner at 8 or 9pm. That meant I may have overindulged on chocolate and treats in the day but I was surrounded by family or friends so it wasn't the same type as the lonely binge eating I was doing at night. Now I know I can pick up a sweet anytime (even a barfi) and just fit it into my macros makes the whole 'sinful' appeal much much less.

TLDR; Used to binge at night, allowed myself to 'binge' only during the day before dinner. Eventually cut down on sweets cos I was spoiling my appetite for real food/not engaging in unhealthy binge behaviours eg. eating alone in an isolated area.

You mention specific hours of the day that you're binge eating: that implies there is something about that time of night which is triggering it. Maybe you're feeling lonely. Maybe it's the time by yourself and you're ruminating. Obviously, I can't say because we don't know each other.

However, in order to get to the root of the problem, you're going to have to identify what it is specifically that is triggering the behavior and why it is during those particular hours. It's something you may not be able to do on your own and may require the assistance of a licensed therapist.

Consider getting help.

I have a certain time of the day where I binge. Between 3pm and the 9pm. I found that intermittent fasting works for me. I eat all my calories between 7am-1pm. And then nothing until the next morning. But that's just my experience.

One day at a time... ALWAYS remember!! start by NOT beating yourself up! Focus on TODAY and the decisions you will make - each meal, snack, whatever it may be... IF you have to first start by just smaller portions of the not so healthy choices then that's a step in the right direction... If you want more personalized ideas and insight send me a message as I would be happy to give further insight/guidance.... MOST IMPORTANT whatever you do DO NOT I say again DO NOT GIVE UP on you!!

Before i started my diet at the beginning of the year i was in pretty much the same situation with food as you. Except that i did have my sleep under control by this stage of my life. I agree with the above poster - try to make yourself go to sleep earlier. At least go to your room and take no food with you and do not venture out again if you can help it. I find reading a good book really helps prepare you for sleep. Using the computer late at night does not because of the quality of the light. I would suggest to get this off to a good start that you stop using the computer from dinnertime onwards until you have got your sleep in order and then try to get off it by 9pm at night.

But i've made a recent discovery. Fasting will quickly correct your out of control appetite for sweets. QUOTE: Sugary junk foods stimulate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse (8). END QUOTE The other thing that you probably need to understand is that your appetite regulation has been thrown out of whack by the amount of sugar you are eating. The only way to stop this is to cut down drastically. Once you get your sugar intake under control, try to maintain your daily intake at 6tsp or less in total of sugar. I can't find the article about it that i read once but if you search on 6tsp sugar you will find plenty.

When i started my diet, i did a one day fast and thought i'd do them periodically as i went along but i didn't do any more. I felt i didn't really need to since i got on the diet wagon and things well so well. But on more than one occasion i have noticed how a fast has really quickly help me adjust my appetite.

In the last few months, i've been experimenting with various dieting strategies just to see how they feel e.g. low carb and now 5:2 fasting. I did low carb for six weeks which i liked at 100 carbs a day and then i went to 40 carbs but after two weeks, i just threw in the towel. I think low carb is probably a great diet for people with diabetes or insulin resistance. And on low carb you can't eat much sweet stuff either.

I had a shaky return to normal eating after my low carb experiment but with the support of some friends i know here (in our group 3fc pals) i got back on track. And then i decided i'd do another fast to cement my new direction. I had wanted to do a water fast but lunch time came around and i wanted to eat so i ate a big meal which satisfied me and i got back to fasting. I ate less than 1000 calories and that was it for the day. I was totally fine. That's when i discovered one of the pals was doing 5:2 and she mentioned the daily acceptable calorie intake of 500 calories. I thought ok but i will just have one meal like yesterday. I did better the second day with calories in my one meal under 700. Next day i returned to my normal calorie controlled 3 meals a day.

We chatted more about fasting and i decided to start doing it weekly. And then i watched the tv show which is on you tube - EAT FAST AND LIVE LONGER - watch it!!. Even if i am unconvinced about all the stuff about longevity and so on, i realised it would be worthwhile thing to try to continue and be very helpful with maintaining my new low weight as well helping me get down to my goal weight in the first place which is still 10 pounds away.

The author Dr Michael Mosley promotes the 5:2 fast which is often called intermittent fasting. This means two days fasting and 5 days eating normally with an eating window of hours you can eat and fasting for the rest. Now that you've experienced restraint, and are feeling optimistic, its not hard to do. I have elected to eat nothing after 7pm on those 5days because i want to eat three meals a day. But others stop eating earlier in the day. If you are going to do this, eat your sugar with your meals and avoid snacking on sugar foods completely. Having a small dessert will satisfy your desire for sweets but i would suggest eating something after the dessert. I even found eating my dessert serve first was helpful. At first I didn't like being left with the deliciousness in my mouth with nothing to quench the desire. If you eat it first and follow it with your meal, or at least maybe have a small piece of cheese after your dessert, it will immediately quench your sweet tooth flare up.

In all this if you don't want to quit sweets, you will have to accept that restraint about them is going to be necessary and you have to come up with strategies that will work for you and not trigger a binge. I make rules for myself and stick to them rigidly. I never break my rules because that's the thin end of the wedge for me.

But for weightloss with fasting its actually easier to manage if you can monitor what you eat in some form or another e.g. calorie counting, food diarising with weighing and or using hunger ratings which is a type of intuitive eating system. I elaborate on the latter in our 3fc pals group which you are welcome to join.

When cutting calories for your 3 meals or eating window, don't try to cut it severely. Ensure you eat enough protein foods and do not binge on bread of pasta or rice. Keep portions of these foods modest. Increase the quantity of your vegetables. Learn how to cook them in delicious ways. Learn to enjoy the sweetness of fresh or stewed fruit.

my strategy re sugar has been to "quit" it but i have some exception clauses. I can eat sugar foods when it is offered to me at a friends house or if i am eating out with the family or friends at a restaurant. In any situation where i can have sweets, there is a strict one serve limit. I would try to keep it small. You must try to reduce your psychological dependence on you sugar. Try to train your self to have disdain for it. AFter all it doesn't add any essential nutrition to your life. And there are plenty of other ways to get food pleasure.

After three months of successful dieting with only fruit this year, i brought back in dried fruit. But i quickly realised i would have to be restrained with it so i have just one dried fig or fresh date and generally avoid snacking on dried fruit.

I think it was a few months of no sugar at all before i accepted my first opportunity to eat a cake. And so far this year i've eaten it only 7 times. It could have been more but in the beginning i rejected lots of offers. because i had to build up my strength commitment and resolve.

Now very recently i've entered a gourmet cooking phase and started to think about cooking sugarless desserts. That for me means no sugar, honey, syrup or artificial sweeteners. All these things are very sweet and keep your sweet tooth dulled so that you need a lot of sweetness to please it. Now i can have porridge with no sugar at all. anyway so now i have just made one sweet tart which is high in calories because of butter, pine nuts and almonds which are in it. For sweetness i used sultanas, glace ginger. And then i cut the portion size into a bite sized piece. Well its is a delicious tarte and i shared with everyone i know so that i would get through it sooner. I even store the box of them in my father's fridge so i am not confronted iwht them even though i feel much stronger about resisting stuff now. I intend making more sugar free desserts by just adapting the other recipes in my book. One thing i liked was a maroccan orange salad. Which is orange with rose water.

Anyway all this goes to show that you can recover from sugar binging. But you have to want to do what is necessary. I highly recommend having a go at the fasting and for motivation, watch the documentary. Also join the fasting group 5:2 and join my group 3fc pals. Chatting regularly on these groups and forums helps maintain focus especially when you are feeling weak. Also you learn a lot this way.

Unless you need exercise for other health reasons, you do not need to do exercise to lose weight. I have not done much this year re exercise and it hasn't slowed my weightloss one bit. A pedometer though is said to be a good tool for helping you move more. I haven't bought one yet.

Also: things that cause cravings are:
1. general hunger from going too long without food in normal circumstances (not when fasting) don't wait ttoo long between meals. always be prepared and find healthy food asap if you get hungry.
2. get enough sleep
3. deal with stress quickly. talk to someone particularly a councillor if you are overwhelmed by problems. try to find solutions and address your problems. the stress will melt away really quickly.
4. depression. take medication and find a therapist.
5. unappetising diet and processed highly refined foods. Eat whole foods and in well prepared menus and recipes. Avoid a diet of processed foods.

Good luck.