Tips for once a week binges - don't want it anymore

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MaddMaestro
MaddMaestro Posts: 405 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've stayed steady at 177 for a while, but the reason why I'm not losing any more weight I believe is because of one or two days a week, I will eat ALL THE FOOD because..reasons. lol. At least I'm not gaining, but it is hindering my progress for loss.

Any tips for "weening" away from these once a week binges? I thought if maybe I ate closer to my daily goal on an everyday basis instead of under my goal it would help. (allow for more snacks)

Granted, it's only been one week since I've allowed myself to do that, so maybe I need more time? Not sure.

Replies

  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
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    I would suggest eating at least your "base" calories, and on days you do some cardio eating back about 1/2 your exercise calories. You do need to fuel your activity.

    What is "a while"? If it's been a week or 3, this might just be a normal kind of plateau we all hit at some point. Just make very sure your logging is correct, as that can really mess us up in a way that's hard to notice.

    But if today is an example of something you're calling a "binge", it looks pretty innocuous to me. If you're aiming for a 1 lb/week loss, that's a 500 cal/day deficit, meaning you only ate 190 cal over maintenance. That's not going to overcome your deficits on other days.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    Learn to manage it. I eat 100 cals less every day and then on Friday or Saturday night I'll eat a 100g block of dark chocolate while watching a movie (about 600 cals).
  • ent3rsandman
    ent3rsandman Posts: 170 Member
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    MaddMaestro wrote: »
    I've stayed steady at 177 for a while, but the reason why I'm not losing any more weight I believe is because of one or two days a week, I will eat ALL THE FOOD because..reasons. lol. At least I'm not gaining, but it is hindering my progress for loss.

    Any tips for "weening" away from these once a week binges? I thought if maybe I ate closer to my daily goal on an everyday basis instead of under my goal it would help. (allow for more snacks)

    Granted, it's only been one week since I've allowed myself to do that, so maybe I need more time? Not sure.

    You pretty much answered it yourself, but just in case you need to hear it from another person, you can't just stuff yourself every few days; you'll end up eating back the calories you saved up. As for eating under or near your daily goal, it doesn't matter. If you want rooms for snacks the next day, eat a little under your daily goal and add your calories into the next day's (ex: 1600 is a 500 calorie deficit for me. If I eat 1400 on day 1, I can eat 1800 on day 2 and still maintain that 500 calorie deficit).

    That being said, if you're guilty of binging you might want to look into intermittent fasting. There's nothing special about it; you just time your meals so that they're closer together and then go without food for the majority of the 24-hour period. It doesn't work for everyone, but as a binge eater it has made it easier for me to stay on track.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    MaddMaestro wrote: »
    I've stayed steady at 177 for a while, but the reason why I'm not losing any more weight I believe is because of one or two days a week, I will eat ALL THE FOOD because..reasons. lol. At least I'm not gaining, but it is hindering my progress for loss.

    Any tips for "weening" away from these once a week binges? I thought if maybe I ate closer to my daily goal on an everyday basis instead of under my goal it would help. (allow for more snacks)

    Granted, it's only been one week since I've allowed myself to do that, so maybe I need more time? Not sure.

    How much more weight do you want to lose total and what's your weekly weight loss goal set to?

    Sounds like you are undereating, and this is triggering overeating. So do eat to your goal, and make sure your goal is appropriate for how much more weight you want to lose. For example, if you are working on your last 20 pounds, don't try to lose more than a half pound per week.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Perhaps you should looks at what causes you to binge. If stress could you distress with yoga?? If peer pressure could you get your friends to go out dancing rather then eating and Drinking? If depression would journaling help or a walk in nature? Figure out what underlying cause of binge is and work from there.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I boredom eat on the weekends. The cure is to have lots of interesting things to do.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    OP -what is the daily goal that MFP gives you? And how far under that are you eating on non-binge days?
  • BluenoserGal
    BluenoserGal Posts: 55 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    I boredom eat on the weekends. The cure is to have lots of interesting things to do.

    This. I am an unconscious eater, particularly when I am watching TV or reading. Result, I read less and don't watch TV as much on the weekend. Or I do more exercise to counter balance.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Use a small deficit every day.
  • NJJforCass
    NJJforCass Posts: 17 Member
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    I am a weekend drinker and eater - I allow myself some red wine, and a take away one weekend night.......and sometimes lunch out with my husband.....and some salted peanuts (guilty pleasures lol)......Quite often I have put on weight after a weekend, but it is usually all gone by mid-week - so probably just water retention.....and overall, I am still reducing weight and trimming up..

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  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    Up your daily calories by 1-200/day
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 563 Member
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    Try raising your calorie goal as high as you can and still lose (slowly) and don't eat much below or above that goal. Also, eat back your exercise calories. This can allow you to fit in treats on a regular basis so you don't feel all frantic to eat all of them after depriving yourself, and it allows for the possibility of better nutrition as you lose. For me, 1450 calories works fine, and I always eat back all of my exercise calories. I still lose, doing that.
  • Loug1983
    Loug1983 Posts: 89 Member
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    As others have said if you're under eating and then over compensating later then eating closer to your goal will help.

    If you're like me and you just have a tendency to stray at the weekend then the best way I have found is to keep busy, earn extra calories through activity while keeping yourself from boredom eating. It allows you to have a planned indulgence and helps keep on track, I have started doing this the last couple of weeks and after months have finally started seeing the scale move again.

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