Binging Confession

Are you hungry when you eat over goal? I find that the random snacking was driven out of habit and boredom for me. Whenever I'm just sitting around and think I'd like to eat something when it's either not my meal time or isn't something I'd planned into the day, I stop myself and listen hard to figure out if I'm hungry or it's something else. If I'm hungry, I figure out a way to work in a snack or shift a meal time. If it's boredom or habit, I find something to do with my hands that keeps them occupied and distracted. Crochet, cruising the internet, reading, jigsaw puzzles.... whatever works for you to take your mind off of food and put something in your hands.

Yeah, that zombie thing can happen. Get up and move to a different place or start on a project. Most of the time for me, that happens if I have had sugar/ carbs.

Sounds like self-sabotage to me. I did that a lot too. Binging never is the actual problem, it's a symptom of something else.
In my case, boredom triggers mindless overeating but my real problem was self-sabotage; When I was about to reach a goal I would sabotage myself (because I didn't think I was worth it)
A lot of underlying emotionnal causes to this.
Anyway, we have to change our mindset. Get rid of the: "I worked out, I deserve this item of treat food". (Not the same thing that: "I have a party, let's work out to earn some calories". Tiny change that makes a lot of difference in the way we experience things)
Food isn't a reward.

Then, there is the: "I ate this, I might as well eat this and that and start fresh tomorrow". Tomorrow turns into next weekend, then next monday, then first day of next month.

Everyone goes through this. But it can be overcome.

AnthonyThrashD wrote: »

I'm not hungry when I do it, not sure if it's boredom, it's a weird drive, as if I'm a junk food zombie

If you know it's not hunger, that's half the battle. When you get the urge, look yourself straight in the face (literally or figuratively), and say, "I'm not hungry. I'm not going to eat. I'm going to win today. My will is stronger than this urge." And then find something to do that engages your brain to get it focused on something other than food. I used to get the mindless munchies A LOT. It took a lot of work and a lot of mindfulness, but it hardly happens at all now, and when it does, it's a lot easier to resist. It really helped me to think about what I hated about my weight and the goals I'm working toward when I had to resist eating when I wasn't hungry. And not in terms of numbers, in terms of things like "I need to take a plane ride for work this summer; I want to have extra room in the seat and not be embarrassed" - shame can be a great motivator.

Is a 40lbs loss a big goal for you? (I mean, of course it's a great achievment but does it mean anything special to you?)
I have the worst time staying at 67 kilos (about 147lbs). That's the lowest weight I can remember being at as a teenager. I sabotage myself EVERY SINGLE TIME I reach it again. And it's not even UGW!!
It's way more a mental thing than a food thing.

I'm currently about 8lbs above that weight and I twisted things by focusing on goal BODY rather than goal WEIGHT.
I focus more on what I want on an aesthetic and fitness level and forget about the scale.

Works like a charm. Hope this helps!