Developed an unhealthy relationship with food

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  • willow8220
    willow8220 Posts: 26 Member
    Yes I will restrict no more, once I take care of that I hope the desire to binge will fade, I have a long way to go but I dont care how long it takes. I want to take care of my body. I have already prelogged tomorrows food for the day
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Log everything. Eat all your calories. If at the end of the day you have room for ice cream, by all means, get ice cream.

    I stopped eating chocolate, for example, until my sister brought me a box and I ate the whole thing in one seating... so I bought a lot of chocolates. With them in the house, I knew they were not going anywhere, so it was actually easier for me to only eat a square or two at a time. Obviously, it doesn't always work, and I do have binge issues still (whether I restrict or not, to be fair), but once I figured out that it's ok to have whatever I wanted as long as it fit my calories, it really helped.

    But I lost 80 lbs. I gained 8 lbs back in the last 3 years but my clothes still fit the same so I don't feel too bad about it (still want to lose them though). I still binge once or twice a month (usually during PMS). I just walk a lot and eat less the rest of the time. The key really was to LOG EVERYTHING. Seeing those red number is honestly a huge wake up call.
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    Your post sparked something in me. You made me realize that I have been having my own unhealthy relationship with food lately. I've been trying to eat more nutritious, made-from-scratch, whole foods and increasing my veggie intake (for the good of my body since I don't naturally reach for veggies). Just a couple of days ago, I was craving my fave carby (practically zero-nutrition) ramen noodles. It was fine calorie-wise so I ate it, deciding to have a lighter dinner. Then, even though I was full, that triggered me to raid my whole office looking for all the "junk" (and doing my best to ignore the "healthy" pistachios").

    Last year, the folks here had helped me understand that 80% nutritious food is plenty and that it was fine to let myself eat about 20% of junk. I'm struggling with that this year and I really need to reframe my mind. I am considering PLANNING a small portion of some empty-calorie treat I love into every day. I think tonight, I am going to have a weighed-out portion of Munchies. Ooooo...it already put a smile on my face :)

    I'm tired of the guilt and feeling like I need to punish myself. Last year, I lost the weight easily and still enjoyed my junk food. Unfortunately, I piled back on 10 pounds over Christmas and have not been able to shake it since. Looking back, I think it's because of this whole restrict/binge/guilt/restrict cycle I have been on.

    So thank you OP for your honesty in posting. Something about your post helped me see what I have been doing to myself.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    I'll try to make it short and sweet: this weight loss thing, like most things in life, is a marathon and not a sprint. Your story sounds so effing identical to my own (over the course of years, in my case) that it's eerie. At one point, I got so sick of the yo-yo-ing. When I lifted heavy weights, it was a relief to finally say, "You need to eat!" It's all about moderation and it just takes a LOT of practice.

    Eat more when you feel like restricting. Eat a hell of a lot less when you feel like bingeing. Remind yourself that both the restricting and bingeing have pretty major consequences and it's not good for your body or soul.

    My two cents. Hang in there! I couldn't figure this out until I'd made a lot of mistakes and I truly cannot claim to have this thing totally figured out. Don't beat yourself up, either!
  • niamhjruss
    niamhjruss Posts: 4 Member
    edited April 2017
    I'm removing my comment because I reread your original post and you said your binge eating isn't at all emotional, so my response about emotional binge eating isn't topical. Wishing you the best in ending the restrict/binge cycle, sounds like you have lots of good suggestions on the thread!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I highly recommend the Half Size Me podcast. You'll find a few nuggets here and there about sustainability and some that mention binge eating. She does have a specific course about binge eating, but it's members only course and I can't vouch for it since I'm not a member.
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