Yo-Yo Here We Go.....Again!!!!

Right there with ya. Please share when you figure it out. It’s like car, I seem to either be gunning it 100mph or jamming it into reverse. For once in my life, would be nice to just stay in park.

I was just using his terminology @pierinifitness. I also don't like the word "cheat" because it is associated with doing something bad, which isn't healthy either. The point is that all or nothing thinking is unhealthy. A healthy relationship with food is not feeling bad about what you're eating. A good way to do that is to simply plan on having a day or two during the week when you don't have to be so rigid.

caelsav wrote: »

Why don't you just shorten the cycle? Eat clean/keep track 5-6 days out of the week, and then give yourself a binge day or two.

Lots of us don't have anything like that level of control! A binge day or two turns into six months of full-on BED (with associated self-loathing and other mental health issues).

I always hesitate before sharing advice, since just because it worked for me doesn't mean it would work for anyone else, but your post really resonates with me. I struggled with binge eating for as long as I can remember and was obese for my whole teenage/young adult/adult life. I tried more dieting programs than I could count but always gained everything back (and then some) at the end of the program.

The only reason I'm finding success for the first time in my life is that I'm taking it really, really slowly. At first, I put everything I ate into MFP without having a calorie goal just to educate myself on what I was putting in my body. Two months later, I gave myself a strict goal to stick to. Two months later I started counting macros and two months after that, I added regular trips to the gym. I know for a fact that if I would have tried to start my journey with all of these elements, I would have quickly gotten burnt out and gone back to my old ways. As far as what's been different this time around, I can really sum it up to one thing: I've never once found myself thinking "I can't wait until I've lost the weight so I can get back to my life".

Now don't get me wrong, I still binge every now and again. For me though, every time I fall off the wagon, my personal mantra has become "I'm playing the long game". It's a marathon, not a sprint. My weight might go up a bit as a result of a binge, but when I think of it in terms of the rest of my life, it just motivates me to make sure that most days are good days.

All this aside, I feel your pain and wish you all the best. At the end of the day, it will come down to finding what works for you, because no two bodies are alike. Best of luck to you, my friend!

Tbh the only thing that has helped me with binge eating is therapy. I can't speak for everyone but my binge eating is a mental issue, not "gluttony" out of enjoyment. There's nothing fun about it for me.

So in my opinion how to fix it depends a lot on what kind of bingeing you mean- if it's the kind where you feel out of control and eat even if you're full, I would def recommend therapy.

I relate to this post and many of these comments were very well said. Super interesting thread here.

It can be freaking hard to maintain because it requires such consistency for life. It’s not like we are Hollywood stars who have dietitians to smack the donut out of our hands (I’m just imagining).

I’ve been in your shoes too. When I get into a bad funk, I also quit going to the gym.

You seem very self-aware though and as you said it’s better to go 80% all the time than 100% some of the time. Maybe it would help you to buy single serve portions of your snacks and have them daily so that you know your treat is coming aka the 80%? Or only buy it when you know you’ll finish it so it’s not tempting you (not a mad binge, just a treat)? It’s helped me to increase protein, loosen up on my ideas of good and bad food, not have junk laying around, and increase my calories. It’s all a mental game. I’ve lost the 15 pounds I previously gained and you can too. Good luck to you!! You got this man

To me, maintenance IS re-gaining and re-losing the same 5 lb over and over. I, too, will go a month or two tracking loosely or not at all. Paying less attention always results in a gain for me, never a loss. I really like food, what can I say? Usually I catch it at 5 lb. One summer a couple years ago I let the gain get up to 7, which is no big deal, but after 10 weeks losing at 0.5lb/wk, I felt deficit weary and made a mental note to catch it sooner in the future.

Biologically, we’re not going to stay “parked” at one weight without fluctuations. On top of that, life happens. Personally, I don’t mind having periods of making more effort and periods of less as long as my body composition is in the range that physically feels comfortable to me. Maybe some people call this yo-yoing. I call it maintenance.

That notwithstanding, I do respect that true out-of-control binge eating (powerless to stop when part of you doesn’t want to be eating at all) is something totally apart from enjoying the occasional splurge. Emphasis on “enjoy.” If you’re not enjoying your eating pattern, it would be worth it to invest the time and effort in what will make behavior changes possible.

pontious11349 wrote: »

Anyway when I finally succumb to the treats, I inhale them standing up in the kitchen before I even get to sitting down and enjoying them with a cup of tea or whatever...I think in all honesty i do it so quickly so that nobody else see me. Like secret eating. Anyone else do this?

Oh hell yes. Unfortunately! I've never understood how people can eat 2 or 3 biscuits (cookies) with a nice hot drink. For me, it's a case of stuffing the entire packet in, hiding the evidence and then feeling guilty and stupid.