Overcoming a binge?

rldeclercq4
rldeclercq4 Posts: 269 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've had a lot of success since joining MFP, to the tune of over 100lbs lost in 2016, but these past 10 days or so have been such a struggle for me. I'm eating everything in sight, soda, candy, chips...all foods I was eating regularly at my worst. My daily logging has been sporadic and I've been less motivated to exercise too. I do feel as though I'm about to come out on the other side of this and maybe I just needed to get some old bad habits out of my system... My question is what advice do you have for overcoming this type of struggle. What tools do you use, how do you motivate yourself?

My plan is to reflect every morning on my goals, pre-log as much as I can, and weigh in daily until I feel confidently back on the wagon. Thanks for your input

Replies

  • fraserkr
    fraserkr Posts: 110 Member
    edited July 2016
    100 lbs lost -- BRAVO! I think you have a useful plan to overcome this period.

    at times, I find myself growing tired of constant attention to what I do (and do not) eat, logging the food and supplements and tracking everything. Then I recognize how helpful the process really is and I get back on track. Going to the gym seems to help the most b/c it's a reminder of my goals and I feel so much better after working out.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Long term motivation is definitely one of my struggles...right now I'm looking to Halloween and thinking about being Harley Quinn and using that as my motivation to stay on target with food and exercise...after that it will be time to chant the "beach bodies are built in the winter" mantra since I totally LOVE the beach and can get motivated for new swimwear...really, it's all about finding what YOU are most interested in...favorite super hero or sports guy to emulate??? A pair of jeans or shirt you'd like to be able to wear??? Some kind of reward for making it to that next 5 lb goal??? What got you this far, and how can you tweak that to keep you going???
  • ajaygrover626
    ajaygrover626 Posts: 3 Member
    What works for me is just go out and start walking casually indoors or outdoors. I tell myself - let me just walk for 10 minutes. For whatever reason, it starts giving me positivity and motivation because I realize how easy it was to do this 10 minutes and I end up doing 30 minutes. Now when I get back to eating, I do not feel to waste my mild walking effort by eating lot of junk food and I start cutting. That's how I get back up to my logging/workout/CICO routine and continue the weight loss journey. And BTW, you are doing great! 100 lbs is not easy. Just keep going!
  • fitnessdogs
    fitnessdogs Posts: 5 Member
    I binge every day by eating sugary pastries and coffee. Maybe you will find there answer and tell us :)
  • FitAndLegit
    FitAndLegit Posts: 6 Member
    Great job on the 100lbs! No easy feat! I, myself, have been through the struggles of binge eating, mostly when I have seen the progress I have made and think its okay to splurge a little. But the amount of splurging begins to take me backwards. Then, I try to take a moment and remember why I'm on this journey and start all over again. Good luck!
  • ziesergirl_66
    ziesergirl_66 Posts: 1,015 Member
    as a 20+ yr binge eater, for me, it will always be a struggle. health issues plagued me this spring. I decided to be pro-active. what is working this time? 1. I have a 'reminder' that is on my phone. I see it EVERY time I access my phone. It's mostly for motivation and keeping me on track. 2. I removed all trigger/binge foods from my house. My focus is clean eating, high fat & protein, low carb & sugar. 3. I have a long history of mental illness. I've been able to stay off meds since making exercise my morning priority. Exercise is my drug.

    You have to find what works for you and keep searching til you find it. Don't give up. If you want results, put in the work to make it happen. Good luck!
  • TaurusGoals88
    TaurusGoals88 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm also a horrible binge eater! It's something I have struggled with for a long time, but only recently realized it is an actual eating disorder.

    My new thing is keeping a 'binge count' - it's nothing fancy, because I can get too detailed very easily and get lost in tracking too much. Basically, I just keep a count of how many times I binge. I use a calendar, but anything will work really, even just a piece of paper or note in your phone. It's just the date and a count of how many times I ate so much it hurt that day. Doesn't matter how much I ate (calories/macros), because a binge is harmful on your body no matter how or what it is. Once I have a day or two, I can start to set mini goals. For example, if I binged 3 times today, tomorrow's goal is to only get a count of 2. I have that goal on a white board in my house so that I see and read it throughout the day, keeping it top of mind. Every day I meet a goal, I set a new one. Eventually I start to see I'm only going off the wagon once or twice a week, and I feel really good about that when I can actually see it! The only thing that motivates me is seeing how much *kitten* I'm kicking; I can't go off how much I think or feel I'm falling off track. I have to see the facts and take out the emotions.

    Hope this makes sense! You look amazing, and you totally got this! :)

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