Suggestions for binging???

Bleahigh
Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there! So I have been logging my food for about a week now.. I am pretty new to learning about what food and how much food my body needs. I will do great for a few days and then I tend to binge on a day when I am feeling weakness in some way. I am really struggling with sugar cravings and this dang binging!! Any suggestions on not binging?? I want to make eating healthy a lifestyle but everytime I start feeling good, I mess it up and feel so crappy for days after binging (which you would think would make me not want to binge)... Anyone been through this and have any help suggestions??? Please!
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Replies

  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    personally, i have found that eating breakfast helps to control my appetite and help me make better food choices through the day. also, grazing helps me not be so hungry, and not binge at meals.
  • MrsLannister
    MrsLannister Posts: 347 Member
    edited May 2015
    For me, I find binging is the result of depriving myself of something I really want. I can do it for several days, but the craving gets stronger and stronger until I give in and then I binge. On the other hand, if I just have a reasonable amount of the thing I am craving as soon as I crave it, and still keep within my goals, then not only do I not binge, but I don't feel like crap for eating stuff I want.

    Unfortunately, I am currently working with a nutritionist who does not understand this concept. She wants me to cut all starches, including high-protein grains. When she saw a small piece of cake on my log she lectured me for about 10 minutes.
  • cotewalter
    cotewalter Posts: 111 Member
    My suggestion is to not keep foods around that you tend to binge on. Keep healthy alternatives handy. When I was starting out i eliminated all junk foods in the house. I generally shy away from sweets until my wife bakes something and it's handy. Or her friends give her sweets. Luckily I can't stand chocolate so when they give her those, I am safe! :)
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Honestly it just takes practice. Self control is like any other muscle, it only gets stronger if you exercise it.

    Make sure your "healthy" eating isn't overly restrictive, that only encourages binging after a few days. Work reasonable treats into your daily/weekly goals so you don't feel deprived. And there's nothing wrong with eating sugar in moderate amounts. You just need to be strong enough to say when enough's enough.

    -I do this my pre-portioning out my chocolates (my weakness is chocolate covered raisins) into baggies with all the nutrition info written on the bag, When I need a fix and I can work it into my calorie goal, I take out ONE baggie, close the cupboard, sit down, and slowly enjoy it. And when it's gone, it's gone.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    Have you completely eliminated the foods/treats you like causing you to feel deprived? I do best when I can have a couple hundred calories allocated to a treat I like every day.

    Is your calorie goal too aggressive? Opening your diary to the public could help us give you more specific advice.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    See I don't really eat a breakfast either. I will have an apple and don't really eat until lunch! I struggle with that one because I hate mornings. But if that is what it takes! Like eggs and healthy cereals?

    I will eat a piece of the thing I am craving and than cannot stop... No self control. It sucks. Like I had 1 oatmeal creme pie the other day(after doing so well eating!) and ended up eating 3 :-/ I need to discipline myself.. But yes when I deprive myself of it, I do awful.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    My diary should be public! And yesterday was the only day I really completed and logged it throughly. The reason I was doing so well was because I wasn't buying any sugar ad I had a craving and went out to buy a whole box.. Which I should have not. I really need to work on self control. That is my biggest goal right now is self control and allowing myself to eat a small amount of what I want- not multiple pieces.

    I am also really trying to learn what I should be eating that is healthy and learning about carbs, fats and proteins. Thankfully my sister is very knowledgable in all of this so I have some background knowledge but I am still learning so much about my diet!
  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
    It's going to be trial and error for a bit until you figure out what foods work best for you. I went though this when I first started too. I'm having to restart now since I was out of commission for surgery and was eating whatever my husband made for us.
    Now that things are back to normal, I like to try and eat as much produce and lean meats as I can, that personally satisfies me the longest. And I usually work until about 5-6, but my husband works even later. So at around 4 I try to have something like a handful or nuts or a Greek yogurt so I don't eat everything as soon as I get home and can still have dinner with him. You just have to find something that won't make your blood sugar crash hard and make you want to eat all the foods. And do this before you have been finding yourself binging.
    And this won't work for everyone, but I have managed to put myself into pre-diabetes and I have found that cutting out wheat products that raised my blood sugar so much have helped me keep hunger in check.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    Do I need to goto the dr to see what my blood sugar is? I am still learning so much about food and what is good for my body and what is not. It is a lot of learning! I really appreciate every ones help because I cannot get started alone! Should I be eating small snacks throughout the day or a few larger meals? I hear so much information I don't even know what is correct these days.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Bleahigh wrote: »
    Do I need to goto the dr to see what my blood sugar is? I am still learning so much about food and what is good for my body and what is not. It is a lot of learning! I really appreciate every ones help because I cannot get started alone! Should I be eating small snacks throughout the day or a few larger meals? I hear so much information I don't even know what is correct these days.

    Your blood sugar fluctuates vastly throughout the day, so going to the dr for that will help in zero ways.

    The only thing that is "bad" for your body is too much of anything. There are no bad foods, only bad portions.

    If eating small snacks helps you from getting too hungry and overeating at mealtimes, then go for it. If 3 main meals a day keeps you better focused, then stick with that.

    If you don't like breakfast, then don't eat it. It's not "the most important meal of the day", as many people believe.

    All that matters is maintaining a calorie deficit. Keep consistent with your diary logging, do it every day. EVERY DAY. Even if you have a slip-up day. Stay consistent, stay honest, and you'll get in the habit and it will get easier.
  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
    If you haven't had a physical in a while and insurance covers it you should. I'm not saying you have consistently high blood sugar, but some foods will cause temporary spikes and if it spikes too high and then drops, that's when you will get hungry again.
    You haven't been at this too long, it's a learning process for everyone. Some people work better with small meals and others like to eat a huge meal at the end of the day, so just test out either way for a week or two and see how it works for you.
    Feel free to add me, there are a few people on my friends list that I would recommend. Support helps!
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    Bleahigh wrote: »
    Do I need to goto the dr to see what my blood sugar is? I am still learning so much about food and what is good for my body and what is not. It is a lot of learning! I really appreciate every ones help because I cannot get started alone! Should I be eating small snacks throughout the day or a few larger meals? I hear so much information I don't even know what is correct these days.

    Whatever works for you. It's going to take some trial and error for you to figure that out. Personally, I skip breakfast and eat a big lunch, a medium sized dinner, and save the extra calories for evening snacking. I find that I tend to binge when I'm out of calories - I'll say "Oh, just one cookie won't be the end of the world" and next thing I know I've eaten six. By saving calories for the night, I never find myself in that position, and if I want a cookie I fit it into my calories.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    Bleahigh wrote: »
    Do I need to goto the dr to see what my blood sugar is? I am still learning so much about food and what is good for my body and what is not. It is a lot of learning! I really appreciate every ones help because I cannot get started alone! Should I be eating small snacks throughout the day or a few larger meals? I hear so much information I don't even know what is correct these days.

    Your blood sugar fluctuates vastly throughout the day, so going to the dr for that will help in zero ways.

    The only thing that is "bad" for your body is too much of anything. There are no bad foods, only bad portions.

    If eating small snacks helps you from getting too hungry and overeating at mealtimes, then go for it. If 3 main meals a day keeps you better focused, then stick with that.

    If you don't like breakfast, then don't eat it. It's not "the most important meal of the day", as many people believe.

    All that matters is maintaining a calorie deficit. Keep consistent with your diary logging, do it every day. EVERY DAY. Even if you have a slip-up day. Stay consistent, stay honest, and you'll get in the habit and it will get easier.

    Thank you so much for that! That really helps. I just need to learn my body and give it time. People make it seem so much harder with all the specifics and that is why so many fail. I want this..
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    I really cannot wait to begin this again now that I know a little more now and have people to help guide me! I have been starting to learn what my body does not like and what makes it feel good. Sugar definitely makes it feel awful but I am ready to get on my feet again. I remember too, that when I was working out, I didn't want to eat sugar because I was feeling great by working out. So today I will be starting and that will help my choices of what I decide to eat due to how I feel when I will work out!
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    I find that binging can have two suspects:

    Physical - not eating enough throughout the day and then gorging later on
    Emotional - not actually hungry, but feeling the need to mindlessly dive into something (this is more my issue). Or feeling deprived. Feeling you "deserve" a treat.

    Once you identify exactly why you behave a certain way, it is a lot easier to solve the problem.

    I am an emotional eater. I eat healthy, reasonable (and filling) portions throughout the day, so I know it isn't truly hunger. But if I find myself alone in the house (which is rare with a husband and 2 little kids), I am likely to "treat" myself. I try a few tactics to help:

    I don't buy a lot of sweets in the first place. Even though we do have some sweets, it's not a lot of variety. So there is chocolate, but eventually the same type of chocolate gets boring. If I had 5 different types of sweets, it would be easy for me to end up eating them all. Avoid lots of variety in the house.

    I plan on eating something indulgent every day, but it's a small, reasonable amount, and I pre-log it. Lately Ive switched from plain chocolate to a chocolate covered protein bar because I was looking to increase my protein. And it's delicious and only 190 calories. Perfect.

    In the past, my husband would go to bed early once in a while and I'd stay up and gorge. Now I usually just go to bed.

    If I find myself alone and bored, I try to stay busy until the craving passes. Sometimes it doesn't and I end up eating a little more than I intended, but generally I'm still in deficit that day or at least for the week.

    I pre-log everything the night before. So last night I entered all of today's meals and snacks. I'll edit as needed. At 4'11 and close to goal, I only get 1250 calories a day for a .5 lb weekly loss. Since I pre-logged about 1400 calories (that is ideally what I eat to feel satisfied), I knew this morning that I'd HAVE to exercise enough for those additional 150 calories. And then if I binge and eat even more, that's even MORE exercise if I want to stay in deficit, and I know I just don't have time for more.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    That is a great idea to pre log it! I definitely have the emotional factor! I do the same thing you just mentioned.. After my boyfriend goes to bed or he is not home, I just am bored and binge with whatever is in sight. I really need to stop bringing it in the house! But he isn't interested in eating healthy right now- but I have been for quite some time. I just really need to be dedicated to myself! Maybe when I feel the obligation to eat- I will do some push-ups or planks or something to do that is beneficial. I hate this feeling! Not worth it at all... I really need to start exercising as well and make that a daily routine.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    edited May 2015
    The MFP email had an article with tips on managing binge eating: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/how-to-break-free-from-binge-eating/

    I was really stressed at work yesterday, and although I had some triple chocolate cookies in the freezer, I had a chocolate raspberry smoothie instead. It did the trick with no sugar crash.

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  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    I stopped eating sweets completely because when I tried to have a little, it caused massive cravings and I binged. I just don't buy them at all now, don't keep any in the house. The cravings were tough for a week or two, but then they went away completely.

    I know a lot of people on this board say when you "deprive" yourself, you end up binging. But it is not like that for everybody. It is the exact opposite for me. "Treating" myself is what causes the binging. "Moderation" leads to binging. I stopped added sugar completely...and no binging.

    Try moderation. If it works for you, great. If not, give it up completely.
  • Bleahigh
    Bleahigh Posts: 15 Member
    That is exactly how I am! I eat a little and I eat the whole thing! Even after a week or two of clean eating- I still have the addiction once it is in my mouth. I guess I just need to learn what works for me.. And what i can substitute for to help the cravings-like a protein bar. I want to try that to see if it helps that sweet tooth I get-and also gives me the protein I lack. It will be hard but I need to not have it in my house- no matter what, even if I get the craving..
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    I stopped eating sweets completely because when I tried to have a little, it caused massive cravings and I binged. I just don't buy them at all now, don't keep any in the house. The cravings were tough for a week or two, but then they went away completely.

    I know a lot of people on this board say when you "deprive" yourself, you end up binging. But it is not like that for everybody. It is the exact opposite for me. "Treating" myself is what causes the binging. "Moderation" leads to binging. I stopped added sugar completely...and no binging.

    Try moderation. If it works for you, great. If not, give it up completely.

    This is my same problem as well. When I've lost weight successfully in the past its been from cutting it out almost completely with the exception of a cheat day (which I know a lot of people hate). The problem now is that I'm trying to do the same thing and I'm finding the cheat day just makes things worse and then its 10x harder to get back on track. So I'm thinking it's time to cut it completely.

    I do want to give the "moderation" thing I good shot before I do that. If I can learn enough self control to do this without cutting out all of the foods I love I think that will make me much more successful.

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