How do I stop the weekend binge eating cycle?

My motto is that if it's not in the house, I won't eat / drink it. I purged my freezer / pantry of anything "processed" and if I want something to eat, I actually have to prepare it from scratch. I control what comes into the house by making a menu plan for the week and I create a grocery list based on my menu plan. (I do a lot of my meal prep on the weekends). If it's not on the list, I don't usually buy it. I realized that part of my problem was that I was bored with eating the same food all of the time, so, I branched out into the Paleo realm. (I like Paleo Leap and Paleo Tribe for their weight loss recipes. Their weight loss recipes tend to be quite different than what I am used to eating, so, that helped me a lot.) These meals also tend to be lower in carbs, higher in good fats and protein and keep me feeling satiated longer. Bingeing is sometimes related to blood sugar issues. I found that when I deviate from my diet, my body loses its energy equilibrium, making me crave more sugar / alcohol and it's a vicious cycle. (For me, it was also be hormone related.) By being aware of my energy level after I ate something and avoiding those foods that spiked my blood sugar, I was able to try to stick to things that didn't affect my blood sugar as much. (When my blood sugar spikes, I actually feel euphoric, followed by a crash.) I found that if I paired a glass of wine with some cheese and / or a slice of turkey to slow absorption that I didn’t drink as much. If I am going to be “drinking all night” I mix wine with some ice / seltzer water so that I am drinking less wine overall. (This also works with liquor. I put it over ice and add some seltzer water.) I also found that taking a probiotic supplement (I like FiveLac) helped me with cyclic sugar cravings / binge eating because my gut flora seems to be affected by yeast overgrowth and the yeast will make me crave sugar. Finally, my go to snack is a teaspoon full of natural peanut butter mixed with a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's full of healthy fat and scratches that chocolate itch. Hope this helps.

do you keep tracking during the weekend? Does that not help?

Plan and log in advance if you can. The only times I "treat" myself are when I've torched some cals and did a long workout that day. Even then, the treating has to be in moderation. One drink, a shared dessert, the healthiest-most vegetables- without a gravy- Chinese choice. Remember that when you eat out the calorie, sodium, and fat content are through the roof. Hang in there, it's hard. I would definitely find other ways to treat yourself aside from food so you still feel as though you are celebrating in a way. A new outfit? Pedicure? Coffee out with your girls? Choose something that feels rewarding.

For me, I have to make sure I'm not over-restricting. I eat what I want through the week and it makes it easier to stay on track on the weekends (I do still try to balance out the "junk" with healthy, nutrition dense foods). I also try to stay active - hiking, biking, or walking around town - so that I don't lay in bed or on the computer, eating out of boredom or habit. And if I decide to break my calorie limit for a day, I don't beat myself up over it. But it takes time - I've been on this journey 3 years, give or take, lost 140 pounds, and I'm still working on it. It's going to be different for everyone.

elisa123gal wrote: »

Make yourself work off the calories. So, get to the gym and do extra cardio for an hour each day until you make up the calories you ate. As you work them off .. your mind makes the connection that over doing it means more work later. You'll either rethink the overeating.. or if you do.. you will know you can work off the calories and stay on track.

I disagree with this; it feels like exercise bulimia/punishment.

I eat at maintenance on Friday and Saturday nights when eating out, typically. If I'm staying home, I usually don't have too much trouble staying at a deficit. It really is about creating different habits than those that made you overweight in the first place. I've also been doing intermittent fasting, which has helped me tremendously with my night bingeing. I'm doing a 16:8, which means fasting for 16 hours and an 8 hour window that I eat all my calories in, so 1-9 for example. I like eating larger meals, so this has been great for me.

cartersmom06 wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful advice! I am gonna plan for the weekend and keep the junk out of the house! If its not in the house, I won't be tempted! I will let you know how it goes!

Reaching your goal weight is only half of the weight loss battle. The other half is learning how to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Overly restrictive diets are generally a bad idea because they teach you nothing about moderation or weight maintenance. Cutting out the foods you enjoy makes losing weight a miserable process and more importantly, it leads to cravings, which lead to binges.

So unless you plan on living the rest of your life without the foods you enjoy, I think this is a bad idea that will likely set you up to fail. It's better to learn how to moderate your intake of treats, as many have suggested upthread.

cartersmom06 wrote: »

ClosetBayesian wrote: »

1. Are you restricting too much during the week?
2. Food is neither good nir bad. Weight loss is not moralistic. You are not "good" during the week and "bad" when you eat more than you need to.
3. Try this: for a week, pre-log everything you eat in a day, either that morning or the night before. Start your log with a piece of chocolate - a square of Dove, for example; you don't need to eat it for breakfast (unless you want to, I suppose), then build tbe rest of your calories (or macros, whichever) around that one piece of chocolate. When you do eat it - and this is important - enjoy every second of it, and acknowledge that you're going to have another piece tomorrow .

It takes time to get out of the "I can't have that because it's bad" mindset; eating it on a regular basis helps get rid of the "forbidden food " aspect. Additionally, pre-logging and planning your day around something makes you conscious of the fact that you have control over what you eat.

I am very strict during the week! I eat a lot of protein, veggies, drink plenty of water...usually always stay within my calorie range. I always plan a treat night Friday night for my son and I. Its usually pizza and a couple beers for me. Treat night, though turns into treat weekend and before you know it I'm back into the binge cycle until Sunday or Monday! I really hate the cycle! It make me so mad that let myself get so out of control!

I'm certainly not a counselor, but this sounds like there's an underlying issue why you're (as you say) "out of control". Maybe consider a bit of counseling or therapy to understand why you're self-sabotaging like this. If you're good all week then you certainly have the tools to be successful.

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

Perhaps you're being too restrictive with the foods you enjoy during the week? Figure out how many calories of "treats" you consume during a normal weekend, reduce that number to an amount that fits into your weekly calorie goal, and spread those treats out throughout the week.

Once you reach your goal weight, moderation will become a fact of life, so you might as well start working on that skill now.

This. Try eating what you're drawn to on the weekends during the week. Just keep an eye on calorie intake and make sure you're following serving sizes (so you know how many calories you're eating). Also, depending on how many calories you have a day you can also eat a little less during the week days and roll the extra calories to the weekends to accommodate the alcohol One beer is usually 200 calories or less so just 'pro-rate' that throughout the weekdays

It's helpful to not have the really tempting stuff around the house (for me self control is an issue with certain foods)..but I will buy single servings of them when I'm out (especially after a run). The quickie mart/bodega/candy shop will generally have more options for single servings of treat items (cheese, snack cakes, ice cream novelties, sponge candy, etc) than the supermarket will.