Falling off the wagon aka food demons

lorenzo_now · December 2021

So, yeah I went on a binge. Felt like a drug addict you see in the movies. If I could stand throwing up I would. So my question is now what??? Should I Fast tomorrow?? Will that balance this out? More importantly what about when I get these impulses?

Lietchi · December 2021

Getting to the root of your bingeing problem is what I would recommend.
Have you chosen a weight loss rate that is too aggressive? Are being too restrictive in the foods you 'allow' yourself to eat? Do you have emotional issues related to food (triggers,...)? Are you perhaps self sabotaging?

Fasting is just going to keep you in a binge-restrict cycle and really is the last thing I would recommend after a binge.

AnnPT77 · December 2021

I agree with Lietchi: Try to understand why it happened, address the root cause(s), improve your plan if relevant.

. . . then, just get back on your healthy routine (with any adjustments that the analysis of causes may suggest).
.
Trying to "make up for it" just causes more problems further down the line, most likely. Don't.

Besides, it's just food, not a sin you need to expiate. You ate more than you'd planned, more than you'd prefer to have eaten, and now you have an unpleasantly over-full feeling. That's enough bad consequences - no need to create more.

Drama about this is optional, and IMO not helpful. At this point, it's unchangeably part of history. You can analyze the situation, learn from it, improve your plans to reduce chances of unwanted repeats. Feeling bad psychologically about it burns no extra calories, changes nothing, feels yucky. Why do that?

Finding a healthy, happy eating routine is not an epic battle of good and evil, sin and retribution. It's just a set of problems to be analyzed and solved, in order to settle into new and more positive habits. When something goes awry, learn from it, then let it go, head forward.

lorenzo_now · December 2021

@Lietchi @AnnPT77 thank you both for responding and sharing a different perspective.

JBanx256 · December 2021

I'll cast another vote for the "don't fast" option here.

Sometimes we mess up. It happens. It doesn't negate your worth as a person and there's no reason you need to punish yourself. Horrible analogy but if your dog managed to get the lid off their food container and ate like a week's worth of food in one go, are you going to starve your dog the next day? Nah, of course not. Love yourself as much as you love your furbaby.

lorenzo_now · December 2021

@JBanx256 thanks

sarah7591 · December 2021

Agree....do not fast. I tell you what helped me. I was on the binge cycle for a while. Just eat enough to feel full. When I would binge I would restrict the next day which would in turn make me binge again. It was a vicious cycle. Best to you!

Xellercin · December 2021

You should NEVER fast to try and balance out a binge, that is severely pathological behaviour.

For some reason, food disorders seem to be the only serious, dangerous, health damaging compulsive behaviour disorder that people seem to think should primarily be treated through self-help and sheer will power.

If you find yourself doing things compulsively that you can't control, it's probably time to seek out professional support. Anyone with ANY other compulsive, self-destructive pattern of behaviour would be advised to seek help, no one would tell them to join a forum, or read a book, and just knuckle-down on the will power.

You said it yourself, you have lost control of your own actions. That's brutal, and scary, and there's no reason to try and tackle it alone.

xrj22 · December 2021

Don't fast. Do ask yourself what this binge is about. Is binging a longstanding pattern for you? Part of why you need to loose weight in the first place? Or is is something new because of the dieting? Or is it prompted by some other emotional issues going on for you right now? Just answering that will help to set you on the right path to preventing it in the future. Like with everything about dieting, don't look for quick fixes to make this diet work. Look for healthy lifestyle habits that you can maintain long-term.

makinlifehappen · December 2021

I used to have the binge impulse. For me it was late nights/early mornings if I couldn't sleep.

Long story short it took me years to find the right balance to eating to stay satiated and avoid it. When I say years I mean about 20 of them.

I did have a bit of a "binge" for christmas eve and christmas. Oddly enough when I consumed sugar this time in larger than normal quantity I could feel it make my heart pound.

I personally fasted after my cheat days' but that was planned before I decided to have cheat days to begin with.

Everyone above has given pretty good advice on binging though. Find out why first. Breaking the cycle is key. That makes it sound super easy and I am not saying it is, but once you do it you will think it was easy compared to before.

Falling off the wagon aka food demons

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