Binge eating

TexasChic1998 wrote: »

Thank you all so much. I plan next time to remove myself from the kitchen or place and go on a walk or listen to music. I want to lose fat. Also I have been drinking lots of water. I know you all wish the best for me and my weight loss journey and I find it very helpful. Thank you sooo much. In the mean time I will continue to not “starve” myself to avoid those situations. I will also not beat myself up over these stupid mistakes and learn from them.

Watching my carbs and sodium intake I think will be very helpful for me. And to see the pounds shed off. 😊

Sounds like a good plan. I'd add one caveat, though: There's no particular need to micro-manage sodium or carbs, unless your doctor's said you need to do so because of a medical condition.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the all-salt diet ( ), but reasonable amounts of salt and carbs are fine. Whatever level of those you usually eat, it's important to recognize that if you eat noticeably more of either at some point, you may see a bump up on the scale for the next day or so, even if your calories are right where you target.

It's just a scale fluctuation, not fat gain, and it could even be hiding a tiny bit of fat loss on the scale. Just eat in a well-rounded, balanced way; hit your calorie target the overwhelming majority of the time; and recognize that the scale will move up and down day to day, sometimes for no obvious reason at all . . . even as it's trending steadily downward over weeks to months.

That's how the process works. No need to stress out over simple reality. It's the weeks-to-months trend that matters.

I binge too sometimes if I’m not eating enough protein and fat. Sometimes the cravings can be fixed by eating 2 eggs fried in olive oil. I’m a sugar addict so the bingeing just goes crazy every once in a while. 🙁 I’m in Texas too so I’ll send you friend request. Not sure how that works on here. Still figuring this stuff out.

The word "binge" is used a couple of different ways in society right now, unfortunately, but it sounds like you aren't using it in the more colloquial form to mean that you ate a little too much and you feel a bit bad about it. The little binges like that can sometimes be taken care of by switching your diet around a bit until you feel more satisfied. But it sounds like you're talking about the more serious type of bingeing. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/bed

When I binge, it sometimes feels like someone else has taken control of my body and I can't stop them. For me, binge eating is emotional and it almost feels more like a type of self-punishment or self-harm at times. Everyone is different with binge eating, but if you have the means and the access then a clinical therapist who has experience with BED or who practices cognitive behavioral therapy might be a good way to go because these kinds of emotional eating issues can be really insidious.

If you're not able to seek therapy, here are some things that helped me that may or may not help you. The important thing is to figure out why you're feeling so out of control and adapt the various strategies that work best for you.

1. Journaling how I felt around the times that I was eating (specifically looking for patterns and catharsis through writing instead of through eating)

2. Learning my warning signs to stop the binges before they happen. Once the binge starts, for me, all I can do is be kind to myself and ride it out without beating myself up or punishing myself. Once I learned my own personal warning signs, I had a much better chance of stopping the binge before it started or before it got too bad.

3. Log the good days and the bad. The idea is to break the all or nothing mentality. Sometimes I think I've ruined my diet and I log everything and discover that I'm right at goal or a little under still by the end of the night. And if I am over, I will know what my weekly calories look like and can make informed decisions about the rest of my days. I might eat a little less the other days to make up for it.

4. Watch out for the binge/restrict cycle. You don't have to punish yourself for eating off plan. You don't have to restrict or exercise those calories away. It's just one day. It's just food. It's a normal occurrence. Forgive yourself. Keep moving forward. This one is hard for me but it gets easier with practice.

5. Build some fun into my food plan. I get a candy bar every Monday. I get ice cream after dinner most nights. I include comfort foods like macaroni & cheese still. I add chocolate chips to my Greek yogurt. Feeling restricted by my diet made the bingeing worse. Feeling relaxed in my diet made it easier. It's worth looking into whether or not it's the same for you.

6. Delaying tactics. "I can have that, but not for an hour (or whatever amount of time works best for you)" Sometimes, the craving passes and I forget about it. Sometimes it doesn't, but I can eat in a more controlled manner when the hour passes.

7. Craving redirection. "Sure I want a candy bar, but this pb& chocolate protein bar is going to be great, too." Focus on what you know you already have planned. Think about how it's going to taste, etc. It might help take the edge off of some of those cravings.

8. Urge surfing: https://www.rasa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Urge-Surfing_FINAL.pdf

9. HALT: Don't let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. These are times when our willpower is at it's lowest and you're less likely to make the best decisions.

10. Set realistic goals. Are you trying to lose 20 pounds in 10 weeks or less? Are you trying to keep your calories as low as you can or skipping your earned exercise calories? I found that for me, the lower I tried to keep my calories the harder it was to make any food decisions. I was starving and hangry the whole time. Taking a time limit off of my weight loss was a game changer.

11. Overall, be kind to yourself and take your time. Most of us don't get it right on the first try. These are all strategies you can learn and practice if they work for you. If these don't work, then other strategies will. Just keep going. Keep trying. Keep practicing. Keep learning. Eating is a lifelong process There's no rush to get it all perfect right away.

Whatever way you go, I hope that you're able to find a way forward without the binge eating. It can be really miserable and everyone deserves a life without it.

What are you bingeing on? If its Hyperpalitable, high energy density foods, look into food reward value.