The post I was GOING to make...

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Wakey618
Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started writing a thread a little while ago, to share my experience with a very intense craving for Peanut M&Ms and how I got past it. But as I am writing I am putting those scrumptious heavenly tidbits into my mouth and my tongue is ridiculously happy! But I am not.

I almost resisted by eating fruit instead. That helped for a little while. Then the chocolate craving hit hard so I let myself eat a small fun-size Kit Kat bar. Over the past few weeks I've been able to eat small amounts of chocolate/sugar without going completely off track so I thought I'd be fine. I'm not. At this moment I'm working on a new "story" to tell myself as to why IT IS OK to buy another bag... :'(
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  • MikeAV8s
    MikeAV8s Posts: 85 Member
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    OP, maybe try to give yourself a few each day???
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    Potion control. Unless you're going to binge. Then you shouldn't have any - don't keep them in the house and don't buy them for guests either.
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
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    MostlyWater wrote: »
    Potion control. Unless you're going to binge. Then you shouldn't have any - don't keep them in the house and don't buy them for guests either.

    There's a potion to help you not eat M&M's?!?!?! Hogwarts here I come!
  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
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    I'm at work and the M&Ms are in the vending machine. I'm almost done with my 2nd bag. I hope that I feel like total crap tonight so I can link that pain to this temporary pleasure I just decided was worth it.
  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
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    MostlyWater wrote: »
    Potion control. Unless you're going to binge. Then you shouldn't have any - don't keep them in the house and don't buy them for guests either.

    Yeah, binging has always been a problem. I played with fire and I got burned - just what a logical mind would expect.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Maybe you can try making it a treat? Tell yourself that you can have one bag of peanut M&Ms on Friday. That way, you have something to look forward to on Friday and you don't have to feel like you're totally denying yourself.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    How about instead of insisting that you must suffer and be punished for your moment of weakness, you take time to consider what led up to it and what you could do in the future to prevent it happening again. Remember that you are a human being and will never be perfect and that it is okay to fail and make mistakes from time to time.

    It is one hour out of one day out of a lifetime. It isn't that big a deal.

  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
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    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    Maybe you can try making it a treat? Tell yourself that you can have one bag of peanut M&Ms on Friday. That way, you have something to look forward to on Friday and you don't have to feel like you're totally denying yourself.

    I've thought about that but given my history of binging I've stayed away. Lesson learned.
  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
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    shadowfax_c11 wrote: »
    How about instead of insisting that you must suffer and be punished for your moment of weakness, you take time to consider what led up to it and what you could do in the future to prevent it happening again. Remember that you are a human being and will never be perfect and that it is okay to fail and make mistakes from time to time.

    It is one hour out of one day out of a lifetime. It isn't that big a deal.

    This is very nice and some good things to consider. One hour, one day...
  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
    edited April 2016
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    ...
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    Let yourself buy another bag...but it has to be after x amount of time. I definitely have problems binge eating. But I remind myself, that food will still be there in a few weeks. So I plan for it, on Saturday I'm gonna have x. That means I don't need to eat x today, or every day.
  • Wakey618
    Wakey618 Posts: 160 Member
    edited April 2016
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    9ffpiq5tfox6.jpg
    Oh. My. God!!!!!
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    Wakey618 wrote: »
    9ffpiq5tfox6.jpg
    Oh. My. God!!!!!

    What are your maintenance calories? 1642 is over your goal, but not really that high.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Wakey618 wrote: »
    9ffpiq5tfox6.jpg
    Oh. My. God!!!!!

    Oh please. What is your deficit? Let me guess you want to lose 2 pounds a week as your goal right? Well that red number means that this week you will only lose 1.5 pounds. IF every day you do the same thing.

    This is a non-issue.

    Perspective. Balance. Reasonableness. Practice these things.
  • SpiderGwens
    SpiderGwens Posts: 87 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Oh man, I've been there!!!! Peanut butter M&Ms are my kryptonite. I know that if I buy them, I will be defenseless against their siren call. I wish I had a better solution for you, but the only thing that works for me is not to buy them at all. It's easier to walk past them at the store than to resist binging on the whole bag when they're at home. If I'm really craving peanut butter and chocolate, I buy just one 2 pack of Justin's Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups (around 200 cals) and it usually does the trick!

    Don't worry about eating some today. No one is perfect 100% of the time. You are going to have days where your resistance is weak and you're going to go over your cals. It's okay. You aren't going to sabotage yourself with one mistake. As a former binge eater, I can tell you that the negative feelings associated with a binge are what hinders your progress more than the actual calories do. Don't feel like you have to punish yourself; just eat normally the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a clean slate.

    It took me almost a year to kick my binge habit. I still struggle with it some times. But I promise you that if you work at it hard enough and don't give up when you have a setback, you can beat it. Like someone else in the thread said, the key is to figure out what triggered your binge and to take steps to remedy it. Good luck! :)
  • valente347
    valente347 Posts: 201 Member
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    blues4miles wrote: »
    But I remind myself, that food will still be there in a few weeks. So I plan for it, on Saturday I'm gonna have x. That means I don't need to eat x today, or every day.

    This is a great mental trick that I use a lot as well. I hope to live another six decades and there will be enough days for those treats in that amount of time.

    And if you need to, allow the treat when it's harder to binge. See if you can wait to stop by the vending machine when you're on your way home for the day and eat the chocolate in the car or on the train. Your first bag is less likely to lead to a second one because you probably don't have that kind of convenience in your house.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    OP, sometimes when you invest too much emotion in food - guilt, regret, worthiness, etc - those feelings lead to overdoing it. "Well, I blew it, I might as well eat everything in the vending machine because I'm an idiot and a pig!" Have you ever tried giving yourself permission to have one serving of a "treat" every day? No guilt, just fit it in your calories?

    I eat a serving of something many people would consider "off limits" every day - chocolate, ice cream, a soda, chips. I'm fine with one serving, because I know I'm going to have some tomorrow too. And the day after. And I don't feel bad about it, because I planned it and stuck to the plan. I'm not saying it would work for everyone, just something to think about.

    And as someone else mentioned, make sure you aren't restricting calories too much. When I was losing, I set my goal to 1/2 lb per week so I could stay happy and on track. It was slow as all get out, but I was able to stick to it and now maintain it. Good luck!
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
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    @SpiderGwens I LOVE peanut butter MnMs too but we don't get them in the UK. I have to get anyone and everyone I know who travels to the US to bring them back for us. And the Easter special egg shaped bigger ones were Amazing!

    @Wakey618 I have chocolate pretty much everyday and everyday I have that cycle of want / trying to resist then guilt after finally caving in, but I'm trying to get to a mindset of realising that actually it's ok, it's not the end of the world, if I want it I should just have it and not feel guilty as it's not making me gain weight or stopping me from maintaining my weight. All things in moderation of course but sometimes I think actually you need to break that cycle of food-guilt.
  • samwiserabbit
    samwiserabbit Posts: 153 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Sometimes, not always, we binge because our bodies are freaking the freak out that we're not feeding them enough. Take it from someone (me) who has a lot of experience exerting and trying to exert my will to be thin over the needs of my body: Consider the long-term outcomes of the paths you're on, and don't underestimate your body's ability to control your mind.

    It's possible (I don't know how tall you are or anything) that these uncontrollable binges are a result of your body being desperately hungry. Plus, honestly, two bags of peanut m and m's isn't a binge. I know it can feel awful to see those red numbers, but like previous posters have pointed out, you're probably not even up to maintenance at this point. If you hate seeing the color red, set your loss rate lower. Better to lose 0.5 lb per week and feel great than try to loose 2.0 lb per week and end up pigging out on candy, giving up, or just feeling bad about yourself. If you set it at 0.5 and you always come in 50-100 cals under, you could lose more than you expect. Wouldn't that be awesome?

    ETA: If you want to feel not so bad about your candy splurge check out my entry for dinner on March 25, my diary is open. B)

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