Dealing with a week long binge

pizzawanter
pizzawanter Posts: 20 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I was doing really well up until a wedding last week. I was relaxed about it and went into it with the mindset of having a good time, eating and drinking as much as I wanted, logging everything and getting back on track the following day.

However, the next day my partner and I ordered takeaway for dinner and basically since then, for the past week, I've been eating all the crap I can get my hands on. Last night we had a few drinks which made it all even worse, and I ate so much I felt sick!

So today I'm determined to draw a line under the past week and get back to my normal healthy eating habits. The thing is once I have a binge like this it really messes with my hunger levels. I know by about 3pm I'll be so ravenous I'll have to eat dinner, then I'll likely give in to my hunger and have a few really high calorie snacks, and end up going to bed feeling disappointed (and probably still peckish!).

I know in a few days everything will settle again and get back to normal but it's just getting there is going to be such a struggle. Does anyone have any advice for today and the coming days to get back on track?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited October 2017
    Plan and prepare meals? Not have any really high calorie snacks around?
  • pinkperil
    pinkperil Posts: 5,072 Member
    You're already aware that you can do no more than draw a line on the past week and that's great but also try not to second guess how you are going to feel because you do sound defeated before you start. A couple of years ago I went on the 5/2 diet to kick start my weight loss and the biggest lessen learned was to pause and think before every move towards food..... am I hungry, do I need this, do I really want it, what's it going to do to me then have something like a bowl of grapes in the kitchen so you can pop one in your mouth, drink a glass of water and leave. It's a discipline that once you get your head round it does truly work. Good luck!
  • MinuitMinuet
    MinuitMinuet Posts: 156 Member
    Planning doesn't always work.. It is a good start though. I second the low cal snacks. Or you may have to remove yourself from it all. Go to the park and walk, or a mall if that's your thing, just avoid the food court. Go somewhere super expensive to eat, somewhere you wouldn't even be tempted to waste your money, and order a diet drink. Write, draw, read.. Call a friend and see if they can come over. Explain your dilemma and get their support.

    Or.. eat. Change your mindset to eating at maintenance and challenge yourself to eat below it but don't feel frustrated if you eat at it.

    I know what you are going through. I've been binging for the past week as well.. But I know why.. I've been eating carbs. Back to fat and protein for me. Lousy will power!
  • smh_cliff
    smh_cliff Posts: 146 Member
    I've been similar due to a week off work and a few days away. In about an hour I am going to walk the 2 miles or so to a shop and stock up on fresh salad bits for lunch the next couple of days.
    (I'm then going to the pub near the shop for dinner but a roast should be manageable and I'll pass on dessert lol.)
  • pizzawanter
    pizzawanter Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks for the encouragement and advice!

    @kommodevaran yes I have planned out today's food and have a list for groceries tomorrow. It's just sticking to it that's the issue!

    @pinkperil that's a great idea about having some grapes to munch on. I do try to stop and think before snacking but maybe having a healthy quick alternative will help distract me!

    @MinuitMinuet and @smh_cliff hopefully you can get back on track too, sounds like you both have the right mindset and planning! How about we check in here again at the end of the day to see how we got on?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    pizzawanter wrote: »
    @kommodevaran yes I have planned out today's food and have a list for groceries tomorrow. It's just sticking to it that's the issue!
    Why is it hard to stick to? Have you planned meals you don't want to eat?
  • pizzawanter
    pizzawanter Posts: 20 Member
    No I only plan meals I enjoy eating. I eat them then snack on top which pushes me over my calories.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    pizzawanter wrote: »
    No I only plan meals I enjoy eating. I eat them then snack on top which pushes me over my calories.

    Have you tried playing around with what kinds of things you snack on and when and why? I gained weight through a combo of drinking too much, going out too often, and snacking when I got home. It’s taken a lot of trial and error to get to a place where I’m losing weight but also still enjoying the things I used to enjoy. Some things I stopped keeping in the house (wine is now strictly a “with dinner and special occasions drink”, chips are for road trips only), and substituted some others (full size microwave popcorn to small bags to pre-popped and single serve). I also found that a small, high fat snack olives and cheese in oil) will tide me over far longer than a carb or protein based snack. As is often said around here, this isn’t just about losing weight as fast as humanly possible, but about changing my relationship to food so that I don’t regain as soon as I go off my “diet.” Good luck!
  • smh_cliff
    smh_cliff Posts: 146 Member
    pizzawanter wrote: »
    @MinuitMinuet and @smh_cliff hopefully you can get back on track too, sounds like you both have the right mindset and planning! How about we check in here again at the end of the day to see how we got on?


    Well, I did have dessert, and a beer! But it was a birthday treat from my boyfriends parents and I didn't want to be on diet mode. Got home and logged it with my best guess, and it's not *too* bad!
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    Did you log the take away and all the other stuff you've been eating this week?
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    Perhaps writing/journaling might help. Something so simple as a reasons to stay on the plan vs reasons to binge. List all of your "whys" on one side of the paper..look better, new clothes, healthy skin. Vs "why nots"..because chips taste so good, because everyone else is drinking & eating cake. Try and talk to yourself as if you're talking with a friend, so no name calling or bashing.
  • pizzawanter
    pizzawanter Posts: 20 Member
    Yes I've logged everything. It's not pretty! 9,000 calories over maintenance. I'm up half a stone on the scale but I know a few of those pounds will be water weight.

    So today I've managed to stay within maintenance (didn't want to restrict too much in case it backfired). Hopefully the hunger levels will drop back to normal over the next few days.

    Writing about it on here has really helped, thank you everyone!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited October 2017
    pizzawanter wrote: »
    Yes I've logged everything. It's not pretty! 9,000 calories over maintenance.

    You do know there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so the most fat you could have put on over the week is about 2.6 pounds (and probably not even that, since conversion of calories to fat isn't a 100% efficient biological process)? The rest of the half stone would be water weight.
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