So tired and could eat everything in the cupboard!

I had a day like this yesterday. I planned food carefully to fit a calorie budget... then walked in the front door after work, flopped down on the floor, and dreamt of pizza. What helped was remembering that if I didn't cook the green vegetables that night, they weren't going to last; that and thinking about how pleased I'd be with myself if I didn't give in to temptation.

You can do it! If you're exhausted, it's okay to give yourself a boost once in a while and it won't hurt your bottom line. Constant deprivation is no way to create a long-term lifestyle change. But for now, if you can take a deep breath, remind yourself of why you're doing this, and think of how pleased you'll be when you go to bed having stuck to your guns, you can get through this feeling!

(Edited to add: if I'm feeling really hungry and don't have many calories left, drinking something with few or no calories can help. I love tea, but almond milk can be really filling, and you can stir in things like sweetener, coconut syrup, honey or turmeric if you have the calories to spare. Low-sugar or sugar-free juices can also be good. Sugar-free sodas aren't the greatest option, but they can be better than nothing if you just need to scratch a craving itch.)

Take a closer look at why you're hardly sleeping at night. I bet when you get better/more sleep, you'll be less likely to overeat. My advice for now is take a nap.

If you're going to give yourself wiggle room, your TOM is the perfect time. Your body uses more energy during that time frame, anyway! Haha!

Best of luck, sweets!

OP you do need to figure out what is going on with the sleep. My best advice on that is do not nap in the day time. This hurts sleep at night unless you can do a 5 - 10 - 15 or 20 minute max. Do you have any other symptoms that accompaying less than effective quality of sleep?

Might be worth getting to doctor for. All my sleep issues are age and hormonal related, but nonetheless it does suck to be tired and feeling not so great.

I drink plain water during the day, but I also have water with Propel or Crystal light (with the caffiene). I needed some extra electrolyte properties for the amount of sweat I do a day. The Crystal light is something I drink once a day, and keeps me from the diet dr pepper.. LOL

Secret binging in the past? This is a bit scary to me (sorry never had that) but it seems like you know exactly what may trigger it and it is in the forefront of your thoughts.. so I do not see a problem with anything other than move on from a bad day (we ALL have these) and keep movin' and try to figure out the sleep.. I think sleep is just as or more important than any other thing we do other than eat.. so I get that about the eating and sleep..LOL

There is a lot of conflicting information. Some of it is bunk. Some of it is good. Sometimes both extremes of the conflicting info are both right, and you just have to find out what works for you and your body.

Barring certain inflammatory disorders and such related to diabetes or thyroid issues, it's very easy to start with the Calories In<Calories Out plan.

Depending on how much you have to lose, you may want to lose a bit slower in order to fight the urge to binge and the fatigue. But maybe you have medical issues that are hazardous to your immediate health and should lose as fast as you can. I don't know your exact situation.

It's very easy to set your MFP account to "lose 1 lb/week" then log your exercise, but "eat back" only half of those exercise calories earned.

So let's say if you change the setting to "lose 1 lb" it gives you 1400 calories. You log 300 calories at the gym. This gives you an overall target according to the app of 1700 total calories. BUT, because you're only "eating back" half of your exercise calories, this would mean a TOTAL of 1550 for that day.

If you weigh your food on a digital scale and follow the above, you might find you're tired less and crave less overall.

No gimicks, no special schedule or special foods. Just log honestly every day. It's that simple (at least for most everyone).

kazz882 wrote: »

Thanks WBB55, I don't have any health problems but I do have a lot of weight to shift! but I didn't get this size overnight so I am not expecting a miracle to happen, I needed to change my whole lifestyle and eating habits so I plan to make small changes and just try to be healthier.

I find small, sustainable steps are best, myself. Things like cutting out daily sodas or alcohol, upping your salmon and whole grains... even doing these can help. Simply logging honestly every day is a good step, no matter what deficit you have. Being able to accept that birthdays and Christmas happen and it's ok to eat 3000 calories on special days, but logging it and then getting right back to your planned calories the next day is -- to me -- more important in the long term than how fast one loses or whether someone's net calories are 1500 or 1650 or other details like that.

You don't have to miserable or hungry or give up foods you love.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, drastically changing your calorie allowance may set you up for failure. If you were initially eating 2000 calories or more during the day, and you cut your intake by 50% or more, your body is going to miss that 50% and protest. You will lose weight if you cut it by 20%, and then adjust accordingly as you plateau. Bigger bodies need a higher caloric intake than smaller bodies in the beginning stages of weight loss. As you said, you didn't put it on overnight, and it is not going to come off and stay off that way.

When you set up your account, did you use the MFP calculator?