I’ve become a monster. Need help!
getfitwith_aish
Posts: 44 Member
I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
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Replies
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4years? I would think so too! Diet breaks are essential! It will be okay. Take two weeks off from your dieting. Hugs
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Step back, take a deep breath, and just
This isn't the end of the world. Relax. You might have put on a pound or two from all this, but they're easily lost again. Starting tomorrow, just climb back on the wagon and move forward as you did before. You're still much better off than someone who has never had to lose weight because you've done it before, so you KNOW you can control your eating again.
If you're an emotional eater and there are stresses in your life that are triggering this behavior, take steps to de-stress. If you can afford it, take a day off from work. Get a mani-pedi and/or a massage. Treat yourself. Let go of everything else for awhile and give yourself a "me" day. And don't think for one moment that you don't deserve it, because if you're this stressed then it's not a luxury, it's a necessity.4 -
Don’t feel bad, 2 weeks of being not so good is nothing when you take into consideration the 4 years you’ve been doing good. If it makes you feel better, I ate like that for the past 21 years. 2 weeks won’t make any difference in the long term :-)
Now that you know how sick you feel when you overeat, just keep that in mind tomorrow and start fresh. Do whatever you do to get motivated again!3 -
Think back to those four years, and the last months/weeks, and try to spot what might have caused the chocolate binges. Overrestriction and stress are the usual suspects.6
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What every one else has said - you're okay, nothing abnormal nothing to be too upset about. You've done a great 4 years and it's brilliant that you've recognised your habit change now rather than a years time and undone all that progress like others usually do. Take a break and then come back at it clear headed 💕 4 years, god damn you're inspirational!0
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getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Seems like you're having a rough time, but the words that wake me up the most often come from people i know and see on a regular basis. Find someone you know and see often that says unnecessary health related things. For me it'll do it if a friend said "are you sure you want that? Its loaded with calories." Or " bruh you gonna get fat eating all that."7 -
makkimakki2018 wrote: »getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Seems like you're having a rough time, but the words that wake me up the most often come from people i know and see on a regular basis. Find someone you know and see often that says unnecessary health related things. For me it'll do it if a friend said "are you sure you want that? Its loaded with calories." Or " bruh you gonna get fat eating all that."
If shes having binge problems after 4 years of restriction the last thing she needs is to associate MORE shame with eating "bad foods". Awful, terrible advice. And incredibly rude friends.
OP, I was maintaining for about 2 years, then earlier this year I got down to the most lean I have ever been. I liked how I looked but it took a lot of restriction to get there. Then I had an emotionally stressful trip and just snapped and I'm just now coming out of a two month binge cycle. I've tried a lot of things to just stop, I panicked, I restricted even more, I threw out a ton of food, I bought more food telling myself this was the very last time, I poked and prodded my body and weighed obsessively, told myself I was weak and gross and terrible. Top tip? None of that works. It just adds to the shame and keeps the cycle going.
You need to find what has messed you up emotionally and derailed your routine, what hole are you trying to fill with food? You don't need to feel bad, you don't need to be ashamed. Something is wrong, either with your relationship towards food after watching what you eat for so long without a break or it's stress or depression, nobody just eats 3000+kcal and then beats themselves up about it because they want to. A reset has to start with sitting down and really really thinking about what makes you so upset/ down that you're turning to cookies for comfort. Do you need to take a break from restrictive eating? (gaining a few pounds in the short term will not kill you, your mental health is so much more important) Do you need to look at your home or work life and figure out where you can make things less stressful? Do you need to see a doctor and have your hormone levels checked?
My problems were based in anxiety and now I know that I can start getting better. I hope you find your solution soon!23 -
If you're not sure what has triggered this phase of binge eating, like others have said, take a step back and analyze your behavior, recent events and your emotions. For me this is the hardest part, as it usually means coming to terms with something you're trying to evade.
Food restriction is usually a big cause too - the more deprived you feel the more food you will need to listlessly chow down on. The trick here is to continue eating NORMALLY after this binge as you'd usually do. Do not restrict, just continue with your typical week and if you feel like another treat at some point then make it work. Let your mind and body know they can have treats and that you will not deprave them of foods they enjoy, and concentrate on solving whatever is happening in your life that is making you feel *whatever*.
Stay calm and don't beat yourself up! We've all been there and you're human and not alone on this journey
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Could there be something medical going on physically? Do you get check-ups with a doc?1
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Sometimes you've just got to do it! It could be hormones or it could just be cravings if you've been denying yourself certain foods, who knows.
You won't undo 4 years of work in 2 weeks, even with a 3000 calorie binge, so just put it behind you and try to get back to where you want to be. If you think you are craving then grab some 100 cal treats that you enjoy and build them into your plan.
You know you can do this, you're just having a blip.0 -
makkimakki2018 wrote: »getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Seems like you're having a rough time, but the words that wake me up the most often come from people i know and see on a regular basis. Find someone you know and see often that says unnecessary health related things. For me it'll do it if a friend said "are you sure you want that? Its loaded with calories." Or " bruh you gonna get fat eating all that."
If shes having binge problems after 4 years of restriction the last thing she needs is to associate MORE shame with eating "bad foods". Awful, terrible advice. And incredibly rude friends.
OP, I was maintaining for about 2 years, then earlier this year I got down to the most lean I have ever been. I liked how I looked but it took a lot of restriction to get there. Then I had an emotionally stressful trip and just snapped and I'm just now coming out of a two month binge cycle. I've tried a lot of things to just stop, I panicked, I restricted even more, I threw out a ton of food, I bought more food telling myself this was the very last time, I poked and prodded my body and weighed obsessively, told myself I was weak and gross and terrible. Top tip? None of that works. It just adds to the shame and keeps the cycle going.
You need to find what has messed you up emotionally and derailed your routine, what hole are you trying to fill with food? You don't need to feel bad, you don't need to be ashamed. Something is wrong, either with your relationship towards food after watching what you eat for so long without a break or it's stress or depression, nobody just eats 3000+kcal and then beats themselves up about it because they want to. A reset has to start with sitting down and really really thinking about what makes you so upset/ down that you're turning to cookies for comfort. Do you need to take a break from restrictive eating? (gaining a few pounds in the short term will not kill you, your mental health is so much more important) Do you need to look at your home or work life and figure out where you can make things less stressful? Do you need to see a doctor and have your hormone levels checked?
My problems were based in anxiety and now I know that I can start getting better. I hope you find your solution soon!
I have to say, this is great advice.
While I haven't stuck to any plan for YEARS, I have done so for months. When I'm exercising and watching what I eat, I feel better and in control. But *something* usually starts my derailment. I'm never really good at figuring out what that is. Sometimes it's not me and it's the holidays and so many foods from my youth that I start on that and, like an addict, I really am almost helpless against it. Other times, it is stress or anxiety. Something at work or with my health pushes me over the edge mentally and then I can no longer deal with "managing" my eating. Or I need a "treat" for comfort. And it quickly goes off the rails from there, much like the OP is describing. My really big downfall is going on a binge and stopping. If I could stop it after a day or two, that would be one thing, but I will end up falling off and it goes on for MONTHS. That's what I need to work on. Stopping it in its tracks when it starts.1 -
Yes, I've had this happen! This is what works best for me:
Pick a day a few days from now. Maybe Monday since it's the start of the week. Give yourself permission to eat however you want until that day. If you want a giant chocolate chip pancake, eat it. Pizza loaded with double cheese? Eat it. Whatever you want, eat it. Then, on Sunday go grocery shopping and get your normal healthier (meaning more on track with your in-check eating) food in order to prepare for Monday. On Monday, go back to eating on track.
For me, at least, giving myself permission to go crazy kind of takes the allure away and by Sunday afternoon I'll be thinking "oof, I can't wait until tomorrow."8 -
Lots of great advice in here. I'm not going to give advice per se, because everybody is different. But I will say what I do when I find myself having a "day". I remind myself that it's a day. I never try to compensate for that single day, or several if it lasts longer....ever. I remind myself that my worth is not tied to perfection in this stuff.
I log everything for that day. If I overate by 2000 calories, I just consider it a 2-4 day delay in the process. That's it. If I have a goal of dropping 10 pounds in 10 weeks (70 days), all that it means is that it's going to take 72 or 74 days. Not worth fretting about and not worth beating myself up over.
I can't make the correct decision if it's in the past. But I can make the next one. It's always the next one that counts.7 -
getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Imagine where you'd be a year from now if you made the change a year ago today
^ that's always helped me focus, I guess maybe the opposite for you imagine how you're going to look a year from now if you keep doing what you're currently doing.... is that truly what you want? you don't have the mental will power to break through this new habit? Are you saying you aren't strong enough as a woman to hold yourself accountable??
I hope that helps, some times tough love works for me.3 -
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makkimakki2018 wrote: »getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Seems like you're having a rough time, but the words that wake me up the most often come from people i know and see on a regular basis. Find someone you know and see often that says unnecessary health related things. For me it'll do it if a friend said "are you sure you want that? Its loaded with calories." Or " bruh you gonna get fat eating all that."
If shes having binge problems after 4 years of restriction the last thing she needs is to associate MORE shame with eating "bad foods". Awful, terrible advice. And incredibly rude friends.
OP, I was maintaining for about 2 years, then earlier this year I got down to the most lean I have ever been. I liked how I looked but it took a lot of restriction to get there. Then I had an emotionally stressful trip and just snapped and I'm just now coming out of a two month binge cycle. I've tried a lot of things to just stop, I panicked, I restricted even more, I threw out a ton of food, I bought more food telling myself this was the very last time, I poked and prodded my body and weighed obsessively, told myself I was weak and gross and terrible. Top tip? None of that works. It just adds to the shame and keeps the cycle going.
You need to find what has messed you up emotionally and derailed your routine, what hole are you trying to fill with food? You don't need to feel bad, you don't need to be ashamed. Something is wrong, either with your relationship towards food after watching what you eat for so long without a break or it's stress or depression, nobody just eats 3000+kcal and then beats themselves up about it because they want to. A reset has to start with sitting down and really really thinking about what makes you so upset/ down that you're turning to cookies for comfort. Do you need to take a break from restrictive eating? (gaining a few pounds in the short term will not kill you, your mental health is so much more important) Do you need to look at your home or work life and figure out where you can make things less stressful? Do you need to see a doctor and have your hormone levels checked?
My problems were based in anxiety and now I know that I can start getting better. I hope you find your solution soon!
Your method works too, but i wouldn't be too fast to bash someone on their opinions and what works for them. Keep calm and drive on.8 -
Don’t feel bad, it happens to everyone. I went on a month long hiatus where I ate everything and anything which was completely unlike me, put on like 4lbs and had to step back and see what the original trigger was. I realize now I had been too strict on myself for too long. July 4th was the catalyst for a month of binging unlike anything I’ve done before. So now I’m back to my meal prepping but this time if I want a candy bar bad enough I’m not going to tell myself no, I’ll buy the candy bar and enjoy the *kitten* out of it! Life’s too short to tell yourself no all the time but also I realize that I shouldn’t say yes to every cookie because that’s no good either. Having a balanced and sustainable life style is #1! I’ve also been listening to a lot of “food positive” podcasts to get me out of that restrictive mind set.1
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makkimakki2018 wrote: »
Your method works too, but i wouldn't be too fast to bash someone on their opinions and what works for them. Keep calm and drive on.
To someone already feeling ashamed of their eating habits or in recovery from disordered eating, advice like that can send them into an even deeper spiral or trigger a relapse. It needed to be countered. I am speaking from personal experience.7 -
makkimakki2018 wrote: »
Your method works too, but i wouldn't be too fast to bash someone on their opinions and what works for them. Keep calm and drive on.
To someone already feeling ashamed of their eating habits or in recovery from disordered eating, advice like that can send them into an even deeper spiral or trigger a relapse. It needed to be countered. I am speaking from personal experience.
What works for you doesn't work for everyone though, and since everyone is different and reacts to things differently you should just speak your opinion and no need to bash others cause of theirs. Tough love works, just not for you and that's fine.8 -
makkimakki2018 wrote: »
Your method works too, but i wouldn't be too fast to bash someone on their opinions and what works for them. Keep calm and drive on.
To someone already feeling ashamed of their eating habits or in recovery from disordered eating, advice like that can send them into an even deeper spiral or trigger a relapse. It needed to be countered. I am speaking from personal experience.
Again I'd like to remind you that she is asking for help and opinions. So i did just that there is no room for bashing others on their opinions. I don't just go around telling folks "hey thats stupid, what he/she said is wrong now listen to me". At the end of the day its up to the OP to figure out what works for them.7 -
A couple good podcast that have been helping me are,
• Food Psych
• The Love, Food Podcast
• Nutrion Matters Podcast0 -
I agree with those who said four years is a long time to be on restricted calories, but you now know how much you need to eat for maintenance.
Take a break. Eat at maintenance for a few months and then come back to weight loss. The body doesn't like prolonged restriction and it will fight you for those calories when you get to a lean body.
I have 1000 calories over days at least once a week, and I've been in maintenance for many years. It simply doesn't affect my long-term success and I want those too-much ice cream days. I don't know, some people are able to completely quit on treats and some aren't.
I'm in the "aren't" camp. There will be treat days in my life forever. Some days that will mean I go WAY over...just this week so far since Monday - I'm on average OVER by 700 calories per day. If that results in a one pound gain this week I will be really surprised. And if that's what happens, I go back to not doing that as often. It always works out...but not if I spend time beating myself up over it. Then I've added emotional stress/stress hormones and all bets are off.2 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »
What works for you doesn't work for everyone though, and since everyone is different and reacts to things differently you should just speak your opinion and no need to bash others cause of theirs. Tough love works, just not for you and that's fine.
If you read my post you will see that I am juuuust on the other side of the exact same situation OP is finding herself in. I have very immediate personal experience and I have done countless hours of research the past two months desperately trying to find solutions to this exact problem. I am of the opinion that "tough love" as you call it does not and will not work in this situation.
This is obviously something I feel very strongly about and I am unfortunately unable to ignore or pass by advice that could be harmful.1 -
Here are some links on emotional eating:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/emotional-eating.htm
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat
You have to bring down your cortisol levels (high cortisol causes you to crave carbs and sugar).
It's all about the Hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) and it's not your fault!
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis is involved in primary response to stress through an interaction between the midbrain and the adrenal cortex. In acute stress all adrenal hormones may become elevated, including cortisol, DHEA, as well as progesterone, aldosterone and andostenedione. In chronic stress, cortisol continues to remain elevated, while other hormones drop. The high cortisol levels may actually cause corticoid receptor resistance. If stress continues, adrenal exhaustion will occur, resulting in a drop of all adrenal hormones. Shifts in adrenal hormones affect every other regulatory system.
See the website: https://www.yourhormones.com/homeostasis-systems/
I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy their supplements however...
If you are not under tremendous stress and this just cropped up out of no where, get a physical to check to see if you have something wonky going on with your adrenals.
If it is stress, try to eat less carbs and sugar and more protein and good fat - this will help you handle stress better and feed your brain and nourish your body... that may be all you need to do.
Saturated fats play many important roles in the body chemistry. They strengthen the immune system and are involved in inter-cellular communication, which means they protect us against cancer. They help the receptors on our cell membranes work properly, including receptors for insulin, thereby protecting us against diabetes. The lungs cannot function without saturated fats, which is why children given butter and full-fat milk suffer less often from asthma than children given reduced-fat milk and margarine. Saturated fats are also involved in kidney function and hormone production.
Saturated fats are required for the nervous system to function properly, and over half the fat in the brain is saturated. Saturated fats also help suppress inflammation. Finally, saturated animal fats carry the vital fat-soluble vitamins A, D and K2, which we need in large amounts to be healthy.
For Cooking
Butter
Tallow and suet from beef and lamb
Lard from pigs
Chicken, goose and duck fat
Coconut, palm and palm kernel oils
For Salads
Extra virgin olive oil (also okay for cooking)
Expeller-expressed sesame and peanut oils
Expeller-expressed flax oil (in small amounts)
For Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Fish liver oils such as cod liver oil (preferable to fish oils, which do not provide fat-soluble vitamins, can cause an overdose of unsaturated fatty acids and usually come from farmed fish.)
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Tedebearduff wrote: »
What works for you doesn't work for everyone though, and since everyone is different and reacts to things differently you should just speak your opinion and no need to bash others cause of theirs. Tough love works, just not for you and that's fine.
If you read my post you will see that I am juuuust on the other side of the exact same situation OP is finding herself in. I have very immediate personal experience and I have done countless hours of research the past two months desperately trying to find solutions to this exact problem. I am of the opinion that "tough love" as you call it does not and will not work in this situation.
This is obviously something I feel very strongly about and I am unfortunately unable to ignore or pass by advice that could be harmful.
Personal experience is just that YOUR personal experience, online research doesn't make you an expert.
With your logic, I should be allergic to the same things that you are allergic to.....4 -
getfitwith_aish wrote: »I’m not sure if I’m emotional eating but my food habits have become the worst! First of all, I’ve been working out and watching what I eat for almost 4 years now. But last 2 weeks I stopped working out and stopped cooking. Instead I just go to the vending machine and keep eating chocolates. Today was horrible. I ate 3000 calories of chocolates and chips. I feel sick. I know I don’t have to ramble here. But I really want to. I need some kind of words that will stop me from doing this . Has anyone been through such a phase? In my entire life, today was probably the most horrible day when it came to eating. I can’t believe I dumped so much junk food in less than 12 hours. I know this all sounds stupid but just wanted to be accountable so I could find some ways to do a reset. Help me!
Did you have a trigger event two weeks ago? I had a trigger event Nov 2016 and ate emotionally for a few weeks afterwards.
Normally I manage stress with exercise. I suggest you force yourself to start working out again. (I often have to force myself to start, but am always fine once I get going.)
How many pounds do you still need to lose before you reach your goal weight and what is your weekly weight loss goal set to?
As we lose weight, we need to adjust our weekly weight loss goal down or we will be under-eating, which can definitely trigger a binge.1 -
You haven't said what exercise you normally do, but I would encourage you to start back on that while exploring what else is going on. And do not try to start "back to normal" workouts. Just promise yourself you'll do 5 minutes, or whatever--b/c once you get going, you are likely to continue. And BE OK with just a few minutes if you find yourself giving up. Getting yourself to the point of exercise is a habit, and the 5 min will keep you in that habit until you can get back in a groove.
Be kind to yourself. Ask someone else to be extra kind to you, too, b/c you need it right now. I'd probably burst into tears when trying to explain to a friend, and the crying would be a release and might help me figure out what the heck I needed to do next. Good luck.2
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