Starve All Day, Binge at Night

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hollyfoord
hollyfoord Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So over the past year I've lost 90 lbs. with another 50 to go. Been following a low-carb, high protein diet during the week with weekends being a bit of a free for all where I'll basically consume 3000 calories in a day because my mindset is 'EAT WHILE YOU CAN'. I've also been known to spit 'bad' food out after chewing instead of swallowing it...

What the week has devolved into though is me basically not eating for the entire day so that I can binge eat mindlessly while watching Netflix at the end of the day. It's not even necessarily unhealthy food, it's the sheer quantity I'll consume (Ex. 2 1/2-3 chicken breasts wrapped in lettuce dipped in a high fat garlic aioli & 4 servings of yogurt along with a whole cucumber). Is it horrible to eat like this? I can still be under my calories by doing this even though I'm blowing it on the weekend.

I'm a mess. HELP!
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Replies

  • sbrandt37
    sbrandt37 Posts: 403 Member
    edited March 2017
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    It's not "bad". Nothing about what you are doing is bad. But this all-or-nothing eating pattern seems like it may be setting you up for failure, because you are not developing the skills required to eat in moderation, which is important for healthy eating and weight maintenance in general. Can you lose and maintain doing what you are doing? Yes, obviously, because you are doing it. Is it likely to serve you well in the long-term? I believe not.

    I think the reason you are bingeing in the evenings is that you are fasting during the day. Your body is craving food and you are satisfying that craving. I recommend eating moderate amounts more frequently. I suspect you will not have such intense cravings at night, and will find that your eating naturally stabilizes.

    I would also recommend moving away from bingeing on the weekends, for the same reason. It seems like it will be awfully hard to move to maintenance with that mindset. Maybe set yourself a higher calorie limit--perhaps maintenance--on the weekends and stick to that instead. That will train you to hit the "right" amount while still indulging a little, without just going crazy.

    You may have to fight the urge to eat mindlessly while watching TV, but that's not so hard if you just make a rule that you don't eat while watching TV.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    That's how I eat too, but it's not mindless. I pre-log a shitload of snacks and dinner and make sure I stay within my calories and macros but I do most of my eating at night. I prefer to be hungry with the promise of food later vs be hungry and have no more macros. The only thing you're doing 'wrong' is doing it mindlessly. Reign it in but eat when you want.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    Also if you fast most of the day you need to make SURE you're drinking a ton of water because being dehydrated AND hungry is a guaranteed binge. I know from experience lol
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Currently I do intermitten fasting, which is eating dinner fairly early (by 6pm) and then fasting overnight (while I sleep) and then breaking that fast around 10-11am. I do this about 2-3 times a week. I can tell you that on those days I feel sluggish and sleepy in the afternoon. This won't be something I continue forever, it's just a tool right now.

    You can continue to do what you are doing and eat at a deficit. Or you may want to try planning smaller meals throughout the day and see how that feels. Everyone is different but hormones, cortizone levels, etc. may be affected in the long run.

    Congrats on losing the weight!
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    Also wanted to add that if you prefer volume get tf away from keto. It's a ton of fat and little volume and personally if you added more fibre and nutritionally dense carbs you may find you're more satisfied mentally. I mean honestly, no one should be dipping their chicken in aioli haphazardly because it's "allowed" You probably had 500 cals just in mayo tbh
  • ramonramirez1975
    ramonramirez1975 Posts: 36 Member
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    @happysheri that is working for me too.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    hollyfoord wrote: »
    So over the past year I've lost 90 lbs. with another 50 to go. Been following a low-carb, high protein diet during the week with weekends being a bit of a free for all where I'll basically consume 3000 calories in a day because my mindset is 'EAT WHILE YOU CAN'. I've also been known to spit 'bad' food out after chewing instead of swallowing it...

    What the week has devolved into though is me basically not eating for the entire day so that I can binge eat mindlessly while watching Netflix at the end of the day. It's not even necessarily unhealthy food, it's the sheer quantity I'll consume (Ex. 2 1/2-3 chicken breasts wrapped in lettuce dipped in a high fat garlic aioli & 4 servings of yogurt along with a whole cucumber). Is it horrible to eat like this? I can still be under my calories by doing this even though I'm blowing it on the weekend.

    I'm a mess. HELP!

    Congrats on the 90 pounds! Did you have a different method for losing that?

    While a lot of that is not inherently bad, because you feel bad about it, it is bad for you. Cheat days on the weekends would be bad for me as well. I sometimes do like to eat more on the weekends, and I exercise more those days.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,945 Member
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    Have you recalculated your calorie goals recently?

    While your binge cycle is concerning, more concerning is the inner dialog you are having and the chew/spit thing is right up there in the disordered relationship with food list.

    How about setting your goals for "Lose 1 pound per week." I had to do that when I was six months into my weight loss and still eating 1200 calories. I was tired, binging, irritable, I felt uncontrolled around food.

    I wasn't eating enough.

    You'd be surprised what another 300-400 calories added to your daily goal will do. Give it a try. In addition, I can't starve all day and then eat at night. I also do Intermittent Fasting 16:8. It's how I naturally like to eat anyway, but it gives me a set schedule and keeps my kitchen prowling to a minimum.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    The problem is the weekend, when you consume 3000 calories for 2 days and either greatly reduce or completely eliminate your weekly deficit that you may have built up with your 5 days of 20/4 intermittent fasting. Either quit watching television or find a better way to control your restless hand.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Even if your calories all even out, and all the math works out, I'm pretty concerned how emotional you are around your eating.

    I used to be a binge eater (but not purger) so I can relate to the mindless eating you describe. It feels numb but just under it is a lot of feeling of being out of control. It tends to catch up later. It's not necessarily even the eating itself that is the problem but the emotions that surround the eating.

    I'd really recommend getting some psychological help around this. Even if you are succeeding in your diet, the deep feelings surrounding your eating will eventually undermine you. You need to be able to eat without feeling guilty for eating, or be "all or nothing" or feeling like you have bad brakes.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Chewing up food and spitting it out is alarming behavior.

    Yeah, huge red flag.
  • hollyfoord
    hollyfoord Posts: 30 Member
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    Never heard of intermittent fasting before now. Definitely something I'll look into to see if I can 'slide' into that as a way to regulate my habits into something productive & get away from bad behaviours. Also, agree I'm very 'emotional' about food - trying to fix that too...
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    I agree with the person who said you have an unhealthy relationship with food. it is all about balance. It just isn't natural to starve all day so you can eat as much as you want when you watch t.v. at night. i think you know that.

    It is hard to put food in its place and not make it the centerpiece of life.
  • TheRambler
    TheRambler Posts: 387 Member
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    happysherri wrote: »
    Currently I do intermitten fasting, which is eating dinner fairly early (by 6pm) and then fasting overnight (while I sleep) and then breaking that fast around 10-11am. I do this about 2-3 times a week. I can tell you that on those days I feel sluggish and sleepy in the afternoon. This won't be something I continue forever, it's just a tool right now.

    You can continue to do what you are doing and eat at a deficit. Or you may want to try planning smaller meals throughout the day and see how that feels. Everyone is different but hormones, cortizone levels, etc. may be affected in the long run.

    Congrats on losing the weight!

    how are the results? I started this about 8 days ago and I'm getting thinner, but I'm also eating very healthy. I'm not sure if it's the fasting or food selection.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I kind of eat like that...I don't "starve" during the day...but there are moments when I'm uncomfortable. I'm definitely not eating 600 calories lunches. I have a coffee for breakfast, about a 300 calorie lunch, 200 calorie snack, and the rest is eaten at night.

    I eat whole cucumbers all the time too!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Please seek some professional help. There are a number of disordered thoughts and actions going on here.

    Chewing and spitting food out is horrendous!!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    What you are doing isn't bad, but the reasons you are doing it might not be the best. Some of the language you use makes your eating seem out of control. Control is a good thing.

    I eat very light during the day (usually around 300 calories) and the rest of my calories at night while watching TV. Even though I am no longer trying to lose weight I eat at a deficit throughout the week so I can eat over maintenance on the weekends. I fast on Mondays. I realize that some would consider this not an ideal way to eat but it seems perfectly normal to me and has been working. But I don't binge and I control my intake for weight maintenance and health.

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