How do you guys move on from a binge?

"Sometimes my binges can be like 6000 calories, sometimes I overeat and I'm at 1800 calories by 10am..."

It sounds like this is an ongoing issue. If you are binging on a regular basis, have you spoken to a therapist about this? I don't think any advice you can get from MFP will help that much if you really need professional assistance.

I log it because I want the data. If I don't have a great estimate, I'll still log something so I know what happened that day.

I eat my other meals if I'm hungry, I eat very lightly if I don't (I don't want to slide into excessive hunger so I'll always make sure I'm not completely skipping meals).

I don't do extra exercise unless I'm truly craving it. The point isn't to punish myself or "make up" for it, my goal is always to understand what happened and treat myself kindly while I regain my emotional balance.

In for the answers here, too. Here's what I do.

1) Recognize that the behavior arose from mental circumstances. I ponder what I was thinking and feeling, and what factors gave rise to those thoughts & feelings. I think about other ways I have responded to those kind of circumstances in the past that worked better for me, and what other ways I might respond in the future that might work better for me. Specifically, "better" in this context means having a sense of control over my own choices.

2) Assume an attitude of curiosity about my reactions, not shame/blame. I do not beat myself up or indulge in feeling bad about my choices. Instead, I direct my thinking to understanding what exactly was going on in my head.

3) Listen to my body. A 1000+ calorie binge probably doesn't feel great. I give my body the care that I think will feel good. That might mean a gentle walk. Or a little hydration. Mostly just give my body patience and time.

4) Avoid compensation. Above all, this is not a math problem to be solved. It is a cognitive/emotional knot to be untangled. I don't try to fix the math with excessive exercise or excessive restriction. When it is time for my next meal, I eat it if I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry I adjust (delay or downsize it). I stick to my exercise plan. If I feel like going a little extra, fine; I do that. But in no way do I come up with a plan to work off several thousand calories. The solution is in my head, not in the numbers.

5) I try my best to log it. I just said this is not a numbers problem, but I'm a numbers person and logging it gives my data over the course of several months more integrity. Some people may not care about observing their own TDEE based on actual data (vs. model-based estimates). For me personally, I noticed a thought like "I won't count it just this time" in the middle of a binge. Over time, I came to learn about myself that I actually will count it later. So when the "This won't count" thought pops up, almost simultaneously there pops a countervailing "Yes it will" thought. It actually helps me nip an urge at the bud stage before it grows into an out of control thicket.

Have patience with yourself, OP. Behavior change is absolutely possible, but it takes lots of trial and error and practice. Embrace your next binge episode as an opportunity to learn more and make progress in this work. :flowerforyou:

alexmose wrote: »

Agree with the others of how to bounce back from a binge: don't over-exercise. Don't undereat (trust me this leads to more binges). Also 6000 calories...I really doubt your binges are that high, unless you are eating multiple, full-size triple chocolate cakes....

Here is how I beat my binging habit: I found a way to eat that works for me that does not lack any micro/macronutritents and still fitting "treats into my meals".

For example, I used to binge peanut butter literally all of the time. Now, I ensure to keep 2 tbsp in my diet daily. Sometimes, even if I am not feeling the PB, I have it. Keeps me from going at it again at 3am. I also take a few supplements to ensure my body does not "crave" the nutrients I am not feeding it. The magnesium supplement I take is super helpful for that and I have heard fish oils work for others.

So, what exactly are you bingeing on? Perhaps your body is having a nutrient deficiency you are not even aware of!

6,000 calories would be just 3.8 pieces of Cheesecake Factory's Red Velvet Cheesecake.

I have no idea what OP is eating or in what quantities, but 6,000 wouldn't be an absurd amount for a binge -- in the more literal sense -- where someone is eating large quantities of food, some of it quite calorie dense. When I was struggling with binges, I once ate approximately 1,500 calories of margarine during a binge and that was just on top of the other stuff I ate.

Binger here. 6,000 calories sounds about right. I've done it many times throughout my life. For a year and a half, I've had it mostly under control. Have lost 80 pounds & kept it off. Even with some ferocious binges of the 6,000 calorie variety.

What I do:

I do try to log, but I'll be honest. That works for the first 1,000-ish calories of the binge, after which it can quickly collapse. I don't think logging a binge is a critical success factor, at least for myself.

The thing that IS a critical success factor is getting up the next day and getting RIGHT back on plan. Get on scale, eat right, hit calorie target, and most importantly, do my cardio workout. I never try to make up calories or undo damage - what's done is done. Trying to fix the past is a recipe for disaster with a diet. I can only control what I do going forward.

I want to double down on the importance for me of getting back on the scale the very next day, no exceptions. My binges can (and have, many times) produced weight fluctuations of +14 pounds. Meaning if I'm 245 lbs, after a binge I can be 259. Usually it's around 11-12 lbs. Takes 4-5 days to drain off the water and "get back to even". This can be very demoralizing, and after a binge I really don't want to see the number at all, especially that first day after the binge.

Before I finally got serious in May '19, during a diet I would do scale avoidance after a binge, and that is where everything would fall apart, because scale avoidance leads to further binging, which leads to further scale avoidance - next thing I know, it's a year later and I've gained 40-60 lbs. Getting back on the scale NO MATTER WHAT has saved me from that awful cycle. I do HATE seeing my post-binge weight, but just getting it over with and staying accountable to the scale is the most important thing to me. It's made all the difference. Can't say whether that would be the same for anyone else, but for me it is.

I do think knowing that a weigh-in is coming at 9 am has saved me from dozens of potential binges since May 19, because I really don't want to see the damage the next morning.