How do you get back on track after a food binge?

Do not feel guilty, remember how you feel. This is a learning process. Just chart what you ate and turn the page of your book. Think of different strategies. Arg.... I wanted to binge so I showered looked in the mirror cut my bangs... They are very straight and blunt. Not good. Tomorrow will be better.

I just log it and move forward. If I notice a trend of specific days I'll see if I maybe ate less before the binge, did I have a particularly stressful day, etc. That way if there's a reason for it, I can avoid in the future or at least try to mitigate the potential for a future issue.

Fatvaporizer wrote: »

I was wondering how you, as an individual, react after going on a binge eating spree. We struggle and focus on maintaining our diets and eating within our daily calorie range, but there are those days for everyone where they just go off the board and eat anything/everything they like, sometimes without any control. So, after doing that, how do you pick yourself back up and get back on track? What are some things you tell yourself or do in order to not feel too guilty or regretful, and tell yourself that it's okay.

I brought up this topic because, as you guessed, I JUST went on a binge and ate some salty (sodium-filled) chips with high-in-calorie cheese, and some chocolate (high in calories), and sunflower seeds (not sure if it's fattening or not, but still), ALL AFTER I ate dinner. So here I am, feeling all guilty, like my progress has been reset. Quite irrational to think that way, if you think about it, but it's hard not to feel that way after going on such a binge.

Log it, move on, don't beat yourself up. This moment, this breath.....

I don't really have days where I just eat everything in site...sure, I have days when I'm going to be over...no biggie...that's called living life. I know that it is unrealistic to be 100% on all of the time and don't have an all or nothing mentality about any of this...it is what it is and tomorrow is a new day. I tend to be a big picture guy and don't get wrapped up in the minutia of this day or that day...it's not like going to a BBQ at a buddies house and overdoing it is going to somehow undo my fitness and overall nutrition.

I don't look at it as needing to get back on track...occasions here and there are just that and they are largely irrelevant to the bigger picture. I will never understand I guess how splurging here and there somehow derails everything...I just don't understand that mentality I guess.

I had a binge night as well (pizza, chicken wings, soda, cookies, popcorn) and honestly I don't think I'm going to have trouble getting back on track tomorrow. The one advantage I'm finding with serious binges (rare as they have become) is that I generally don't crave snacks and "bad" foods for several days after and tend to end up losing 25% more over the following week. I'm bummed about the volume of food, but at the same time it was part of a Netflix-&-sofa date night with hubby & after not eating all day & working an eight hour shift (not to mention running a weekly deficit) I was pretty darn hungry. Bottom line: I made bad dietary choices tonight, for the next few days I'm going to log more diligently & do some extra biking, and most importantly I'm going to get on with my life. (On a side note, while it was definitely a binge, the volume was about half of what I would have had a year ago. Progress is progress regardless of a bad day.)

Sometimes you have to scratch that itch. Sometimes I'll log it, but a lot of times I won't. Regardless, I will start over the next day and continue to stay within my limits, exercise, and not beat myself up. No matter what, I continue to log, and take a look at what was going on when I was bingeing. I'll binge when I feel out of control about something, and eat to my feelings. I just have to remember that feelings are not fact; that what is going on is better addressed than not addressed. This, too, will pass.

I also had a binge day yesterday. Started when my son (25yo) bought Gyros for lunch while I was packing to move (occasionally I allow myself to eat it). The binge behavior didn't begin until dinner. I thought I'd be healthy & have fruit & nuts. I measured ¼ cup of cashews, then went back again & again—eventually eating 1½ cups like popcorn while I watched a movie. Then ½ cup of my son's forbidden Cookies & Cream ice cream (he really forbids). I then ate four Outshine Strawberry frozen bars, one after the other.

When I binge, I still record it all to keep things in perspective. The calories may be less or more than my guess. Then I can look back a few days for any trends I otherwise might miss. Stress eating from impending move and the previous day I had major migraine nausea and didn't get enough nutrients & calories. Not excuses, just looking at behaviors over time. Identifing issues helps me moving forward to avoid similar pitfalls. I try to stay positive. Remind myself how well I've done since I started. I've only used My Fitness Pal a few months, but I began losing weight prior (over 60 pounds from one year ago and 95 pounds total).

Celebrate your successes! Today's a new day of opportunities!