Evening overload...

YogaBoxer79
YogaBoxer79 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Overall I've been feeling in a pretty good place this year. Shifting my goal from weight-focused to nutrition/fitness-focused has really helped improve my overall mindset and health. Instead of aiming for a specific number on the scale, I'm paying attention to how my clothes fit and how my body feels.

One obstacle I continue to experience though is periodic binge eating. This tends to occur around once a week in the evenings after dinner and consists of excessive carb-loaded/sugary foods....breads, cookies, peanut butter, dark chocolate, etc. I often have to go to bed in order to stop myself.

At first, I attributed this to a too-restrictive diet and have since increased my daily intake goals twice. This has definitely helped to decrease my binge eating episodes, but has not stopped them entirely. I feel like I am eating more than enough. I do try to maintain a consistent healthy meal plan but not deny myself either, so I do add in a splurge here and there. I think sometimes these splurges instigate the binge so I'm not sure what to do. I could cut out the splurges in the hopes of sidestepping the potential binge, but worry that this will in fact create a "denial" situation, which would actually cause a bigger binge in the long run.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Replies

  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    Does anything happen on those binge days that might be a trigger?
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Do the binges happen immediately after the "splurge" or the following day?

    Would you be interested in restricting your food environment a little more, instead of the splurge?
  • YogaBoxer79
    YogaBoxer79 Posts: 14 Member
    Nothing special really stands out that I can think of to cause it. It does usually occur between Friday-Sunday when I've been sitting at home. I sometimes think it may be out of boredom or tiredness. When a splurge is the instigator, the binge occurs on the same day right after the splurge.
  • FlyingMolly
    FlyingMolly Posts: 490 Member
    edited January 2018
    Log your food before you have it in front of you, including splurges and even binges. It gives you time to put it into the perspective of the entire day and think about whether you actually want it. I logged a snack tonight, realized I might actually rather have a slightly healthier one, logged that, then ultimately decided I didn’t even especially want a snack all that much after all. Logging them first saved me 200 calories and a walk to the kitchen. :)
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Stress? I can tell that something is preying on my mind if I find myself reaching for the chocolate chips or the crackers. Usually before I've realized I'm feeling stressed about something.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Personally, I think the biggest factor is adequate calorie intake, and it sounds like you have checked and rechecked that. Another factor is habit. Is there a way to break the splurge-then-binge habit? A way to signal to yourself that you're done after the splurge (e.g brushing teeth, leaving the kitchen, starting in on a task/activity)? It takes a little effort, but you CAN change your habits. It sounds like you are off to a great start.
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
    Sounds like form of emotional eating to me ... either boredom, comfort or stress ... and each time you do it you set a president and it’s becoming a habit.

    I found I needed to break that habit ...after dinner when you sit down I started to drink herbal tea for volume, a Diet Coke for sweetness maybe a square of dark chocolate, then close my diary and brush my teeth .... and the most important bit ... stay away from the kitchen.. it took me 3weeks to break the snacking habit in the evening .... but now I get very stressed if I run out of coke ... guess the habit is still there
  • YogaBoxer79
    YogaBoxer79 Posts: 14 Member
    I really appreciate all the tips and suggestions! The binges haven't seemed to affect my long-term maintenance but I know they're not healthy and want to stop the behavior. I think it is most likely due to habit/emotional eating and am going to try a couple of these ideas.

    I do generally log my meals for the day ahead of time (to try and meet macros) but haven't tried logging binges ahead of time. That might be hard in the moment, but I'm going to give it a try. It's hard to stay away from the kitchen...my home is very small and open plan so, unless I'm in my bedroom or bathroom, the kitchen is right in my sight. :|

    I've tried brushing my teeth as a signal and that has seemed to work before, but haven't done it regularly. Think I'll try to alter my evening routine to do this right after dinner (rather than right before bed).

    Thanks again for the feedback! I'm hoping I can put these into action and see some positive results.
  • YogaBoxer79
    YogaBoxer79 Posts: 14 Member
    Hello all. So far it's been 12 days since my last binge episode. There have been a couple evenings I've felt a slight urge, but I've been able to avoid it. I've implemented a couple alterations to my plan. If I truly want to include a sweet treat on a certain day, I'm doing it in the afternoon rather than after dinner. I am also logging all potential snacks beforehand, which has helped keep things in perspective.

    It's only been a short time, but they were occurring every weeks up to this point, so hitting almost 2 weeks is a milestone. Thanks again to everyone for your helpful tips. I'm really striving to keep this going for the longrun.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Glad to hear you're doing well!

    I was wondering if you were getting sufficient sleep, exercise, and protein on the days you want to binge. What percent protein do you eat?
  • YogaBoxer79
    YogaBoxer79 Posts: 14 Member
    I don't always hit my macros exactly. I tend to fall somewhere between 20-30% each day. I exercise every day (rotating between yoga, kickboxing, weight training and HIIT) and tend to get 6-8 hrs sleep.

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