What do you do on a day when you can't stop eating?

Don't feel bad about those calories.I struggle with the same thing, about twice a week on average. But I try to listen to my body, and if that means eating more calories, I just go ahead, but try doing the healthier options. And yes, like rabbtjb pointed out, I save some calories from the previous days, just in case.

Agreed. Cleaning out the junk food from the fridge and cupboards and filling them up with healthies helps enormously. Maybe that's not something new, but once you get down to doing it, it's really great.

Lots of hot tea, salads for snacks. I try to change my environment too if possible. Go for a short walk.

Nothing works for me. I've tried it all, lol. Frankly the best thing for ME is to follow my craving (typically... complex carbs). Otherwise I just eat other things hoping it will go away, but it won't, and I end up just eating more in the end than if I had given in right away.

But that only happens when I ovulate or when I have PMS really... and typically I naturally tend to be less hungry the next day at least, so I usually mostly make up for it that way.

I just eat. There are days like this. You just pick right back up and get it together the next day.

My best tip is distraction. I'll find something to do. I'm in to crafts so will start making something. Or go for a walk or paint my nails.

If after an hour or so I still want to eat my arm then I am probably genuinely hungry and will just try and make the most of the calories I have spare. Something protein heavy if possible. Although sometimes I just think sod it and eat what I like. One day over calories and the rest of my life to go.....it ain't a big deal.

If you've lost 60lbs, you're doing something right and really should be giving others advice rather than seeking help! Don't look at single days in isolation at all. I used to weigh in on a Friday, and log whatever happened at the weekend so I could be sure to balance it out over the week.

It sounds like your bad days are a little more unpredictable. Just log it and make a plan to make up for it over the next week or so. Don't beat yourself up, you're already doing great!

It sounds like stress was the trigger to yesterday's eating. You've already found some stress management techniques to deal with these problems in another way. Decide now how you will deal with stress the next time using one of the methods you've found effective in the past, and just give it a try!

Don't just go for protein, go for carbs too. When it's from lack of sleep, your body is craving energy in the form of food, which carbs directly provide. I find it's easier to give myself a big o' bowl of pasta than sit knawing on nuts, chocolate, crisps before I eventually cave and decide I should have a meal... Better to cut it off at the source ASAP!
Also, if I am up all night, I've usually achievement something with my uni-work so I'm not TOO hard on myself.

If this is something that happens frequently I'd start to look into the causes of it.

If you think it's related to sleep (lacking sleep can reduce your ability to exert willpower and it can increase your cravings and the combination of those two factors can make dieting tough at times) then you should look at methods of improving sleep quality and/or quantity.

As far as damage control I would probably look at ways to better manage your food environment. So for example if you make things like fruits and vegetables and lean protein sources prevalent in your environment, and you make energy dense, heavily refined foods scarce or inconvenient in your environment, then you're more likely to consume the former vs the latter. And most people aren't capable of going on a broccoli and apple binge.

I don't like the idea of a one hour buffet, so to speak. Pure speculation on my part but that seems to be a way to encourage binge eating.

the last thing to do is beat yourself up. Change your environment and go for a walk.

I've had a terrible terrible day today. But I know that going for a walk, drinking loads of water and eating protein helps me.

There are a couple of approaches I'd use. It truly depends how regularly this happens. If its a weekly (or more frequent) thing, I'd look at reasons it's happening so frequently. The number one thing would be my overall caloric deficit. I am still trying to lose 2 lbs a week with 15 lbs or less to lose? If so, I maybe rethink my goals and accept a slower rate of loss. Am I doing a lot more exercise or just generally more active then usual? If so I probably need to eat a little more to compensate. Am I getting in a good ratio of macro nutrients and enough micro nutrients? If not, I'll readjust what I'm eating. Often times increasing protein and fat can lead to increased satiation. Other times, increasing overall carb intake will help stop those insane carb cravings. This is largely individual so play around and see what works for you.

If it's not a question of what or how much I'm eating, here's a great question to ask: How long have I been in a deficit? If I've spent more then 10 weeks in a deficit without a break, I take one. A 2 week diet break (where you increase calories to maintenance) can be quite helpful both physiologically and psychologically. Maintenance breaks might be one of the best dieting tips that no one is doing (or at least not enough people are doing). I take them usually every 8 weeks of dieting. If you have lots of weight to lose, you can stretch it to 10-12 weeks.

Now if this is not a regular occurrence, and happens maybe once a month. I wouldn't worry too much. Eat a little bit more and don't sweat. It's not the one of's or the rare occasions that determine long term results. There are 365 days in a year and if your hitting your goals on most of the days, the few days a year you aren't are going to be of little consequence. The only way these rare days can mess you up is how you react to them. Some people can let one binge turn into 2 turn into 3 turn in to abandoning their diet. Don't let that happen. If you have a binge, just move on. If it's not a regular occurrence don't even think about it. Just get right back to hitting your goals the next day. If these binges start to become more frequent, ask yourself the question I mentioned before.

TL/DR: If it happens a lot, find out why and correct. If it doesn't happen a lot, don't worry about it and move on.

I've found this helps me a lot.


Also sugar free chewing gum. Distracting myself works too.

Oh how I hate hungry days - I try and load up on filling food and non-junk if I can. So nuts, bananas, soup and tea all help me, and rice cakes are a life saver that stop me craving crisps. I realise if my belly is full and I'm still craving, there's not much I can do about it, so distractions such as walks help me. Sometimes though you just need to eat, and should listen to your body. Don't beat yourself up, the next day is a fresh day to start again.