Help binged

Hi all

Ive been following mfp since be july and ive lost 30lb, ive still got 80lbs to go, i can hoestly say its been an eye opener in terms of portion sizes!

I went on holiday and since coming back ive rey struggled to get on track, im genuinely hungry my day starts at 6am finshing at 10pm long days but i know tts no excuse, i just dont understand how ive been fine, then all of a sudden monster cravings and hunger!

My loss is set to 2lb a week, amd i thought this was the best thing given how much i have to lose, (5f9") currently at 233lb.

Anyhow i could feel a binge coming on, ive rsisted kept busy and eaten carrots, veggies to try and satisfy. Myself, just come home from work and ive totaaly binged whilst cooking my tea, im talking toast, dark choclate, crips, ive consumed 600 calories whilst stood cooking! Feel totally out of control and absolutely rubbish about myself, why why why do i do this!

Im on 1280kcal and im finding it hard to get 3 meals and snacks, ove have breakfast at 7am but i need a low cal snack at 10/11am lunch at 1pm snack at 3.30pm dinner at 6.30pmmy calories just will not stretch......

Not really sure what im asking on here, just wanted to vent

Replies

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    One binge will not derail your previous loss. Just don't let it set the tone for every day. It happens to all of us. You just start again at the next opportunity (meal/day) and get back on track. Maybe if you are finding it difficult to reach your calorie goal this could lead to binging. Why not set it to 0.5-1 pound loss per week since this is typically more flexible.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You do that because you lose control because you are hungry. And 600 calories is not a binge.

    If you want to not eat chocolate and crisps, don't buy it.

    And up your calories. You are below what your body can sustain, that's why you are hungry. Just a small increase will make it easier to stick to and if you stick to it, you will lose at max speed. Eat 1400 calories, look at what you eat and maybe meal frequency too, and absolutely find out if you really have to work all the time unless you are sleeping. (I bet you don't.)
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Venting accepted here! :)

    1) Is it your time of the month?
    2) Is there extra or added stressors going on that are different?
    3) Your calorie deficit is not setup to aggressively is it? Meaning you need a few more calories to get through they day and might want to lower the deficit a bit?
    4) Do you exercise? If you do have you changed it, in short may be making you a little more ravenous than usual?

    Eating while cooking always takes extra discipline for me especially when baking or just making my favorite dinner.

    You will get the hang of it, you figure out what to do, and if this is new to you, it will get better with time. Calorie counting may seem like that is all you have to do, but it still does require your mind to be in the game. :):)
  • KrazyLeeLee
    KrazyLeeLee Posts: 2,885 Member
    I'm having alot of trouble with the TV eating myself. I crave salty crunchy something fierce when I'm watching shows
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    I will have to watch portions and weigh myself regularly for the rest of my life, so when the going gets tough, I don't hesitate to make it easier on myself. IOW, up your calories a little!
  • A 3 to 4 hour window before a healthy snack in the morning may be the problem, it might be better if you snack at around 9:30 AM, instead of waiting till 10, or especially 11. That is too long sometimes.
  • sbl1881
    sbl1881 Posts: 213 Member
    I ate an extra 1,500 calories on Sunday. On Monday, I put it behind me, ate normally (didn't restrict to make up for it), and went to the gym. While the scale did go up initially, it is back down to what it was before. Just put it behind and get back on your program. I'm certainly not condoning binging by any means, but if it happens, it happens.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    You do that because you lose control because you are hungry. And 600 calories is not a binge.

    If you want to not eat chocolate and crisps, don't buy it.

    And up your calories. You are below what your body can sustain, that's why you are hungry. Just a small increase will make it easier to stick to and if you stick to it, you will lose at max speed. Eat 1400 calories, look at what you eat and maybe meal frequency too, and absolutely find out if you really have to work all the time unless you are sleeping. (I bet you don't.)

    THIS!
    Also, if you up your calories by 100-200 a day you can fit in a small amount of chocolate or crisps. This doesn't work for everyone, but for me if I can have a small daily bite of chocolate I'm less likely to binge on an unsatisfied craving.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Don't let it derail you, you have done so well. 30lbs is a big drop.

    Just get back to logging properly again.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Hi all

    Ive been following mfp since be july and ive lost 30lb, ive still got 80lbs to go, i can hoestly say its been an eye opener in terms of portion sizes!

    I went on holiday and since coming back ive rey struggled to get on track, im genuinely hungry my day starts at 6am finshing at 10pm long days but i know tts no excuse, i just dont understand how ive been fine, then all of a sudden monster cravings and hunger!

    My loss is set to 2lb a week, amd i thought this was the best thing given how much i have to lose, (5f9") currently at 233lb.

    Anyhow i could feel a binge coming on, ive rsisted kept busy and eaten carrots, veggies to try and satisfy. Myself, just come home from work and ive totaaly binged whilst cooking my tea, im talking toast, dark choclate, crips, ive consumed 600 calories whilst stood cooking! Feel totally out of control and absolutely rubbish about myself, why why why do i do this!

    Im on 1280kcal and im finding it hard to get 3 meals and snacks, ove have breakfast at 7am but i need a low cal snack at 10/11am lunch at 1pm snack at 3.30pm dinner at 6.30pmmy calories just will not stretch......

    Not really sure what im asking on here, just wanted to vent

    I wonder if you need to tweak your food choices to include more satiating foods. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Also try:
    1. setting your weekly weight loss goal to 1.5 pounds per week
    2. consider eating at maintenance for a few days if you are premenstrual
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    Back in the days when I was counting calories, I also found myself constantly craving and sometimes quite hungry. This was especially on top of cutting out triggering foods such as cokes, cheetoz, ice cream. Imagine how bad it could have been if I included them.

    I eventually realized that such cravings were inevitable and making a lot of sense. I was badly, ineffectively managing my calories. Meaning, I ate when the body didn't have to and I ate at a superficial quantity, not to meet nutritional, energy, emotional requirement but simply for the sake of meeting the daily calories.

    Things changed substantially when I changed my eating habit. These days I simply eat heartily based on energy and other needs' requirement and then "cut out" eating when it's unnecessary. No more out of control cravings; foods taste much better and satisfying, especially quantitywise. Another bonus is I gain so much more free time from "cut out, reduce" days. No more crazy thinking over what to eat.
  • archermfp87
    archermfp87 Posts: 8 Member
    600 extra calories isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, unless it's daily and even then you're already at a 1000 calorie a day deficit so you're still on track for a loss, albeit a smaller one.

    I've lost 24lbs in just over 2 months and I haven't been perfect. Sometimes I just need a day of not giving a fck. It isn't ideal but it can work as a mental refresher. I wake up the next morning and I want to be back on track. I enjoy the process of weighing and counting rather than getting fed up with it or feeling deprived (even though I still eat the foods I like - just not in the big, satisfying amounts that made me fat in the first place). It works for me, I just need to exercise some self control so that it's just a one day thing rather than extending into a binge week.

    So brush yourself off. Sit down tonight with the app and plan tomorrow's food as best you can. Think about how you can get the most out of your calories. You might feel more in control and that might help curb the extra snacking/"binge". But don't feel bad or beat yourself up over it. What's the point in that?
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I get up early at 4:00 AM and on most days run. I then eat a monster breakfast of oatmeal with fresh strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, chia seeds, almond milk and a half banana. By 9:30 I am so hungry I get shaky. I have come to call this a calorie crash. The only way to get trough is with a snack. I eat a serving of almonds that is about 200 calories followed by water the rest of the morning. My point is to get some snacks that are measured to get you through without the binge. Tree nuts are effective for me because they are filling and have good for you fat content.
  • loulouowens
    loulouowens Posts: 103 Member
    edited September 2016
    Hi
    Wow thank you for all your lovely replies! Didn't think anyone would bother.

    I'm still feeling pretty rubbish about it and it was actually 800kcal over


    When you have eaten badly for so long it takes some adjusting, such as mind game!

    I'm very uneasy about upping my calories in scared I will put in, and if I lose too slow I may become disheartened. I've been around 1300 since starting so I can do it.

    I've set my diary to open and would be grateful for any tips or constructive criticism

    Going to go for a walk now with my dog, and clear my head a bit. Be back later

    Thank you so much X
  • szkodzt
    szkodzt Posts: 124 Member
    All really great advice! I will add that you should maybe try adding some protein and/or fat to your diet. Eggs, cottage cheese or nuts are great snacks to help keep you full. You just have to make sure you limit your portion sizes.
  • VT802VT
    VT802VT Posts: 18 Member
    I found that my problem was video games. When i played, i ate so much..If i have nothing going on for the rest of the night, i go outside and walk around playing Pokemon Go until I'm ready for bed. Avoiding binge at all costs, and if i slip up, i figure out what the problem is and i fix it. Some people simply have no self control, and you need to put in a lot of extra effort to change your life style.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    I think your food diary looks pretty good, actually. You are like me in that you appear to like to have most of your calories at night. You could set yourself to 1.5lbs instead of 2 and get 100-200 calories more a day if you are so hungry you can't control a binge. It's gonna make things take a bit longer, but that is preferable to guilt binges.

    I bet it's harder to control the cravings at night because you are busier during the day.

    I found this to be a hard truth, but when I eat at a calorie deficit...I'm always hungry. A lot of people on here said they changed how they ate and dieted without being hungry. I never found that to be true for myself, so my goal was to have tolerable hunger. I rather take 20 weeks to lose 10lbs than lose 10lbs in 5 weels and then have an uncontrollable feeding frenzy.

    That said your if you want to stay at 1300 I think you need to balance your meals a bit more. Eat more at breakfast and choose more filling foods. By the time you get to dinner you are probably starving since you are only eating like 600 calories for lunch and breakfast combined.

  • loulouowens
    loulouowens Posts: 103 Member
    Again thank you all so much, I do tend to eat more at night, I love to cook and my dinner is important to me with the family.

    I do need a litre more balance through the day.

    I've just been on a nice walk and earned 327kcal so feel a little better, of course I won't be eating these back!
    X
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    OP just curious, about 95% of your weighed food is to the "whole" gram or mls. i.e. 55, 60, 70, 90, 100

    Do you weigh out food and liquids in exacts? I was just curious as it looks meticulously done.. :)
  • loulouowens
    loulouowens Posts: 103 Member
    Hi

    Yes I use a digital scale and weigh in grams X
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Hi

    Yes I use a digital scale and weigh in grams X

    I was asking if you actually weigh the food to the exact whole number? If so nicely done. I do not try that hard, if I get 13 grams or 56 grams or 102 grams or 18 ml, I do not take away or add, I just go with that number and run. LOL

    Best of luck!!!!! :)
  • exr_nick
    exr_nick Posts: 16 Member
    I wish my binge was only 600 calories :smile: Last Saturday I was at my father's 72nd bday with the best of intentions ... but with the wine, homemade peach pie.... well you get the picture. Ugh 1500 over for that day! But this was the interesting part ... the next day I was not craving that many calories, and things are still on track.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Congratulations you are doing awesome and the great news 600 calories isn't really a binge, just overeating :)
  • loulouowens
    loulouowens Posts: 103 Member
    Morning all,

    Woke up this morning feeling a lot better, re focused and positive, and I'm sure its to do with all the lovely replies on here!

    Popped to supermarket this morning, and bought some low cal snacks, Rye crispbread & Cheese, High Protein Yogurts and some organic rice cakes with dark choc (sweet Craving). Tried to make sure the snacks doesn't exceed 50/60 calories so i can incorporate a 2 a day without blowing my budget.

    I think that was a big problem for me the lack of snacks, I was going from 6am until 12.30 then until 6pm, So my meals will be slightly lighter on the calorie front, but it will allow me to eat more regularly, hopefully stopping that starving feeling/binge :)

    Once again, thank you for all the positive and helpful replies, it means the world.
  • donnapal79
    donnapal79 Posts: 30 Member
    Your calories seem really low. I'm the same height and am losing steadily on about 1600 a day.