Emotional eating or binge eating?
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loribethrice
Posts: 620 Member
I've been using MFP for almost 2 years now and lost 70lbs and was doing great sticking to my diet and everything. But, since March I have had at least 7 random days where I will want sugar SO badly that I have gone out and gotten a large cookie dough Blizzard from DQ with extra cookie dough and no fudge, bags of Hershey's Cookies'N Creme pieces things, chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, an ice cream cone from another place other than DQ, eat whole dozens of thumbprint cookies, and then feel so sick that I can't stand it. Then I'll be really good and stick to my diet and have another one of these days. I'm not sure what to do! I feel like it coincides with my issues sleeping because I've been having major hot flashes lately when I try to sleep that my doctors can't figure out. What do you guys do when this happens?! I've gained about 6lbs since March and I am scared to death I'm going to end up over 200lbs again when I've gone almost a year now in the 130s. It's making me scared and depressed which is just making me want the sugar more. I feel stuck in a huge catch 22.
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My advice is to find a substitute for your cravings. If you want ice cream, have fat free frozen yogurt or skinny cow ice cream. My examples are: When I want chocolate I eat 7 dark chocolate covered almonds (108 cals). Or a fiber one brownie (90 cals). I crave pizza a lot, so I still have it but have a big salad before and look at cals before hand so I can fit a few pieces into my diary. If you completely restrict your diet it will be hard to conquer (in my opinion). I think the better option would be replacing the things you crave with healthier options or eating smaller portions and fitting them in your diary for the day.0
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That's what I always did before. I've always made sure to have low calorie options. it just seems like lately I'm drowning in stress and not sleeping and hot flashes and all I want is the real stuff and I can't stop myself. I don't understand why this is happening after almost 2 years of doing well.0
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Cinnamon is supposed to help with sugar cravings. I have also read that people crave sugar because they are low on energy. So maybe a cup of coffee and a walk would help. I struggle with sugar cravings too, and the cinnamon thing helped some days.0
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Stress and lack of sleep can really dwindle your willpower. Maybe the better plan of action would be finding a way to manage your stress and increase your rest/sleep time. I know that when I am tired (which is really frequently with a baby) I tend to eat more. It's like I eat to stay awake. I've started chewing gum like crazy to keep my mouth moving. Lol You'll get through this! I don't believe for a minute that you'll get back to 200lbs because you know that you have a problem and you're trying to regulate it. You'll get through it! Just keep persevering and trying your best to make the healthier decisions, and make sure you log everything even if you go over.0
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I have the same problem. I tell myself I will stick to a healthy diet only to fail hours later. I think part of the problem is not having a lot of healthy food readily available. Really could use some ideas of healthy snacks to keep on hand.0
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DON'T stop trying! You've done awesome! Are you exercising? Hang in there and go back to the basics of what worked for you. YOU are in control not the food.0
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Thank you for posting this. This is me too. I do great for months, then one day I snap and binge eat like an animal that's been caged. Not because I'm craving it but because it makes me feel powerful or in control of SOMETHING when I'm dealing with so many stressful things that are out of my control. This sounds horrible even typing it and I'm embarrassed but... it is something I struggle with.0
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Remember to look back on all the progress you've made so far, that's incredible! I started this about 6 weeks ago, lost 4 pounds, then went haywire 2 weeks ago and gained 2 back. I was eating high sugar, high carb stuff in response to being extremely nervous about an upcoming class I was going to teach at my job for the first time. So I am starting over today and bought the book "I Quit Sugar" to help. I hate starting over but knowing a person can have as much success as you have is motivating!!0
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Thank all of you for your responses!
I do exercise 5 days a week which I hope is helping with this month long binge and keeping the weight gain under control. I've gained around 10lbs and I'm trying really hard to lose it again.
I ate an entire cookie cake with icing on it from the bakery on Saturday morning after I was done with work at 7am. The ENTIRE thing. It was huge. I felt so sick after, but I couldn't stop. I also had a large cookie dough blizzard with extra cookie dough from DQ the night before and a bag of Hershey's Cookies and Creme Drops at work Friday night and another before I went to work Friday evening. I did good last night and I'm trying to be good tonight. I keep chewing gum instead of eating extra food because I have to stop this cycle!! I think it really is my hormones that are causing me issues. It's scary. My gynecologist tried a non-hormonal birth control approach, but my body rejected the Paragard IUD, so now the only option is a hysterectomy. It's just adding more stress.
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winninglosing43 wrote: »Thank you for posting this. This is me too. I do great for months, then one day I snap and binge eat like an animal that's been caged. Not because I'm craving it but because it makes me feel powerful or in control of SOMETHING when I'm dealing with so many stressful things that are out of my control. This sounds horrible even typing it and I'm embarrassed but... it is something I struggle with.
Thank you for sharing that - it put words to a feeling I wasn't able to put my finger on. I'm having one of those binge days today and I was really trying to figure out why and its the control thing! There is so much in my life right now that feels scarily out of my control and I do feel some kind of power or control in eating - it sounds crazy, like 'why can't I assert that control by NOT eating everything in sight?' but what you describe really rings true for me too.
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I went low carb and a HUGE help for me was The Good Earth's sweet and spicy tea. It has a lot of cinnamon, and it really helped me with my sweets cravings. Now I am out of it
but if you can get it and you like Cinnamon, that really did it for me.
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Sounds like you know exactly what to do with food and exercise now you need to get to the heart of the matter as to why you are overeating. You need to let the guilt go because that is just making you more stressed and stress links to not sleeping as well. You need to start sitting down and figuring out what is making you overeat and what your triggers are for it. Obviously it is stress, but figure out what it is specifically and try to deal with it one step at a time the same way you dealt with losing weight in the first place. You sound like you are a strong women and even if it is a hormonal issue you can figure something out. It may take time but you are worth it.0
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I don't know how your diet is, but huge sugar cravings and hot flashes can be signs of something that has nothing to do with how your will power is... hot flashes are associated with kidneys and adrenal glands, sugar cravings to that degree candida or a deficit in protein.. it does work sometimes to have a few almonds or some healthy protein when your craving sugar and it takes it away.. just some advice but really a naturopath doctor would be the best to see here, especially after losing that much weight they would take your whole history, diet etc and help it along... good luck ! I know as a trigger eater that sometimes we just wanna be super hard on ourselves and blame ourselves into negative shame when were in those spots , but look past the behavior good luck 0
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I am so far 1 day binge free. I am trying a system where I pay myself $5 every day I don't binge instead of spending that money on a DQ Blizzard (which is always my starter food). I am trying to take back over my life. They think the hot flashes are from the amount of years I've been on birth control now because all my blood work came back normal except for my ferritin being almost non-existent and my TIBC being really high.
I don't eat nuts, fish, or shellfish and a lot of other foods. I have an eating disorder called Avoidant/Resistant Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) that used to be known as Selective Eating Disorder (SED). I've had it since I was taken off of the bottle, so it's been pretty much 26 years of my life since I'm 28 now. I mostly live on yogurt, mandarin oranges, oatmeal, cottage cheese, string cheese, and then some other random foods. It's a very small list though and became much smaller once I began counting my calories 2 years ago.0 -
I have succesfully logged in for 125+ days. I have never really logged my food (which I probably should, but I want to be able to do this journey without having to always pull my phone out during my meals... I tend to get over-compulsive.) But, iIn that time, I have lost a total of 21.5 pounds. I had started going to the gym - 4 days a week, which also contributed to my weight loss. However, within the last 2-3 weeks, I have fallen off the wagon, so to speak. I slowly fell back into my old habits, not really caring if I missed a gym day, and most recently (within the week), every night around 7-7:30, I lose all control and start chowing down. Very frustrating as everyone here can imagine.
What kind of gym routine/exercise program are you doing to help kinda keep the binge weight under control? Maybe I just got stagnent doing the same thing at the gym every time, and need a change in routine...0 -
I have succesfully logged in for 125+ days. I have never really logged my food (which I probably should, but I want to be able to do this journey without having to always pull my phone out during my meals... I tend to get over-compulsive.) But, iIn that time, I have lost a total of 21.5 pounds. I had started going to the gym - 4 days a week, which also contributed to my weight loss. However, within the last 2-3 weeks, I have fallen off the wagon, so to speak. I slowly fell back into my old habits, not really caring if I missed a gym day, and most recently (within the week), every night around 7-7:30, I lose all control and start chowing down. Very frustrating as everyone here can imagine.
What kind of gym routine/exercise program are you doing to help kinda keep the binge weight under control? Maybe I just got stagnent doing the same thing at the gym every time, and need a change in routine...
Good job logging in every day! I'm on day 307 of my streak. The first 9 months I did this I didn't exercise at all because I had to wait for my cardiologist to clear me and have a ton of heart tests done and I lost 45lbs in that time. Then I added in exercise and lost another 35lbs. I didn't binge back then though...it only started happening this past month and a half and even with exercise I've gained almost 10lbs. I do the recumbent bike every day and try to do 65 minutes. It usually equals to 23 miles and 400 calories. I used to do the rower daily, but it really started killing my knees so I switched. sometimes I also do the treadmill.
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It sounds like you're just beginning a binge eating disorder to me, it only gets worse unless you get a handle on it. It's a mental game. It's a bad habit. The more you do it, the more ingrained it becomes. The harder the habit becomes to break. Good luck, crazy brain (the voice that tells you to binge) is a beeatch.0
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I'm pretty sure I'm a binge eater because when I'm alone I'll binge on random food for 30+ minuets. Later I'll still eat my dinner as if nothing happened. I've noticed that there have been times that I have sulfur burps due to my binging.0
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I just weighed myself tonight and it was the first time in a few weeks. I weighed 144.0lbs and the last time I weighed myself on the 1st of the month I was 135. So I'm pretty devastated right now. I've been 3 days binge free so far and I'm hoping seeing that weight was a wake up call for me. I'm 5'9, so it's not like 144 is bad health wise but to me it's freaking terrible. I am just constantly starving...I've had this issue since I was very little. I think it's due to my dysautonomia because my brain doesn't get the signal that I've eaten food and a lot of us with this illness are always hungry because of it. But, when I get stressed out or over tired I'm even more hungry and all I want is sugar. I'm trying so hard to just ignore it now.0
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I am definitely a binge eater especially when I have PMS. I have learned to buy the mini snickers blizzard instead of the large or get the 50 cent bag of doritos instead of the $3.00 bag from Sams club. This does not always work I often find myself eating other stuff just because. I feel terrible when the binge is over so I try to do other things to keep my mind off the constant hunger. i drink alot of flavored water or plain water with the the sugar free flavors this helps. I love food a lot but when I am home with others I try to be more conscious of how they see me. I see me like a cow and I wonder if they see the same so i try not binge but when I am alone it is terrible. I exercise a lot so that I can have more calories so basically I am in maintenance. I have not gained so that is good but I have not lost. I need to get this under control these spells can last up to two weeks. I want to lose 30 pounds and it is taking forever!! I know what I need to do I just need to do it0
