I feel a binge coming on. HELP!
MessyApron
Posts: 206 Member
I have been diligent with my tracking and activity for the past week or so, but now I'm feeling the inevitable backlash starting to creep up on me.
On the upside I'm actually noticing and acknowledging that this is what's happening instead of fooling myself into giving up for today starting again tomorrow. I also recognize that binges will still occasionally happen as I'm recovering my binge eating habits.
What I'm after is tips and tricks on how to minimize the damage, and maybe some success stories or strategies to help you dust yourself off and keep moving forward instead of stewing in regrets and self-reproach.
On the upside I'm actually noticing and acknowledging that this is what's happening instead of fooling myself into giving up for today starting again tomorrow. I also recognize that binges will still occasionally happen as I'm recovering my binge eating habits.
What I'm after is tips and tricks on how to minimize the damage, and maybe some success stories or strategies to help you dust yourself off and keep moving forward instead of stewing in regrets and self-reproach.
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Replies
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Are you trying to cut your calories to low? It is quite often a binge trigger.4
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What have you done in the last week that's making you want to binge?1
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Here's what has helped me. Tell yourself you can have whatever binge food you are craving tomorrow but not today. This helps me a lot. Because I'm a now or never type. If I'm at a party I used to binge because I knew those specific coveted yum foods will not be available after that day/event. If you can honestly tell yourself the food isn't going away and can be had at a later point it eases your mind away from the panic of "I need to eat all of this right now to feel good". If you fool yourself into believing you will still get it but not this instant it can often give you the time you need to get into a different head space and remember your goals and get yourself back on track without a huge derailment. Worst case you still do eat it tomorrow but at least you proved that your self control is getting stronger.
Know it's going to happen? Start eating crunchy things like carrot sticks and celery. I hate those but forcing myself to eat them reminds me that I'm currently out of control and I force myself to eat 3-6 of each telling myself I can still have the whole batch of cookies but only after the veggies. This does two things, it fills you up with less calorie dense food first so even if the cookies win you will likely eat less since you put something with volume and nutrients in first. Even if you overate by 3,000 calories it's still way better than 5,000.
Often when you eat something, anything really to satisfy hunger it can snap you back into reality and if it happens before the binge you didn't have to eat a pint of ice cream before you realized it, you only ate some crunchy veggies. I say this because I know my binges are usually brought on by true hunger. It's often time to eat already and instead of trying to eat a normal meal first to feel full I would go straight for the crap I was craving. Sometimes I so badly crave chocolate or peanut butter but if I eat my chicken sandwich and grilled peppers first/instead the binge desire goes away, since I was just mistaking normal hunger or being ravenous and out of control. I tell myself I can still have the chocolate later but not now, because now it is time for a healthy meal.
Try to eat something with better nutrition before a binge don't go straight to binge food. Often it will stop the binge, or at least keep you from downing a couple thousand calories of simple carbs and sugar. Eat protein and fat in a regular meal first. No one craves steak on a binge but eating something healthier and filling first will offset the damage when you reach for low volume and high calorie cookies/desserts/ice cream. Or it may even stop the binge! I've had a lot of success with forcing myself to eat a healthy protein filled meal before I lost control. I regained control and have stopped almost entirely with binge eating.
I hope these help!11 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »Are you trying to cut your calories to low? It is quite often a binge trigger.TavistockToad wrote: »What have you done in the last week that's making you want to binge?
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If I keep my hands busy or just leave an environment with food it has personally helped to cut down on binges. My current "go-to" is taking a protein bar and water and driving out somewhere to hike. I know in the woods there won't be any trigger foods for me yet I have one healthy food if I am actually hungry. I've also been known to go to art galleries, bookstores, anywhere entertaining yet where I can only eat what I already have on me. A former therapist suggested sitting down and writing a hundred words about how I am feeling and how the binge would make me feel and then using what I wrote to decide if it is worth it.4
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I find eating at maintenance on hormonal crave days stops me from tipping over the edge into all out chaos, better to have a possible minor effect on long term progress than binge over maintenance, slip into old habits and quit. It tends to even out across the month and doesn't seem to be affecting my weight loss.4
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It's hard because if I cheat a little I'm like oh the whole day is ruined.
@31shines I identify with this so much it hurts. I know it's throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but I still do it. How does one get away from this kind of all-or-nothing mindset? Focusing on the progress I've made so far helps some of the time, but my inner perfectionist still seems to want to wave that white flag anytime I make when the smallest misstep.0 -
I don't binge, but when I feel myself wanting to eat something when I'm not hungry, I do something that it would be insanely hard to eat during. So, my current favorites are a bath, a face mask (the sheet kind), a hand and foot mask (again, sheet-masks) and manicure. You can't eat if you literally can't go to the kitchen to get food. Hang in there!3
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@Mini_Medic It's funny you should mention carrots celery and crunchy foods, because I have had some success in the past with choosing to spend my binge urges on carrot sticks, since almost all of my binge trigger foods are crunchy foods.1
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I find eating at maintenance on hormonal crave days stops me from tipping over the edge into all out chaos, better to have a possible minor effect on long term progress than binge over maintenance, slip into old habits and quit. It tends to even out across the month and doesn't seem to be affecting my weight loss.
Great tip! Thanks!
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I chew gum. But what really helped my afternoon binges was eating Cheese, turkey and crackers. Usually 1 to 2 oz of cheese, 2 oz of deli meat turkey, and half serving of crackers. Very good snack, and seems to hit all areas.2
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I don't keep food in the house that's easy to binge on, last night I felt the urge to binge, but the only things that didn't require cooking (I was also in a lazy mood) was a few squares of 90% dark chocolate and a handful of olives, it was within my calorie budget so it really didn't matter that I binged on it.
Maybe you should keep some slightly healthier choices of snacks to binge on, for whenever you get the urge to binge..
Hope that helps1 -
I do too. I think my problem today is that I haven't eaten enough protein (something I struggle with) so now I'm hungry, dizzy, and have a slight headache. Every time I feel like this I just want to eat and eat until it goes away.0
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I like to get on the phone with someone and talk things through if I'm feeling the urge to do something I know I will regret later. I'll call my daughter, my mom, a friend and just talk about how I'm doing, ask how they are, get conversations going. It distracts me long enough (especially if I call mom!) and by the time I'm done with my phone call (kinda hard to stuff your face as you're talking), the craving is usually over. If it's not, I'll walk down to the bay and watch the pelicans dive for fish or the people in bikinis play volleyball in the sand...anything distracting!0
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Is it a binge because you miss a certain food item or because you are hungry?
If you're hungry, I totally agree with @31shines
If you really miss a favorite food, let yourself have it in moderation from tiem to time so that the "need" for it isn't so desperate. If you love cookies, have a cookie on a good day just fit it in to your calories.
It has to be a lifestyle change and who wants to sign up for a lifestyle where they never have their favorite things?
You got this!3 -
My go-to is drinking a bunch of water. Not an insane amount, but say 20-30 ounces. Then I do something to keep myself busy for about 5-10 minutes and the craving is usually gone...or at least greatly diminished.
Good luck, and thanks to everyone else for the helpful tips!2 -
Thank you to everyone for your input and support; I no longer feel the urge to binge bearing down on me.
I had a glass of iced coffee sweetened with stevia and added 2 scoops of collagen to improve my protein macro. Then I took a 20 minute walk in the sunshine. That have me the oomph to go to the grocery store for some good healthy food and snacks, and put together a satisfying dinner when I got home.
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Go for a walk until the feeling goes away or you burn enough calories it doesn't matter.0
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