OK So I Binged Again Any Advice?
lisakatz2
Posts: 538 Member
After an 11 day streak of staying within my calories/macros, I binged again. I felt really hungry after dinner and ate 4 fun size candy bars, 1/2 a lemon bar and a small piece of cherry pie. I want to learn from this.
I was slightly above my calorie allotment to begin with, for the first time I started MPF (not including the one previous binge). So I don't understand why I went on a sweets rampage.
I'm 5 foot four inches and 198.5 now and my calorie allotment is 1800. I've been hitting my macros (pretty close) healthy fats and protein included.
Can someone look at my food diary and troubleshoot?
I have been very active, brisk walking for an hour each day. Should I cut back? Is it making me hungry?
I haven't been feeling stressed. It's not stress eating.
I can't ban these types of food from the house because my husband likes them. He's very thin/lean and can afford the calories. I was doing quite well until last night.
I was slightly above my calorie allotment to begin with, for the first time I started MPF (not including the one previous binge). So I don't understand why I went on a sweets rampage.
I'm 5 foot four inches and 198.5 now and my calorie allotment is 1800. I've been hitting my macros (pretty close) healthy fats and protein included.
Can someone look at my food diary and troubleshoot?
I have been very active, brisk walking for an hour each day. Should I cut back? Is it making me hungry?
I haven't been feeling stressed. It's not stress eating.
I can't ban these types of food from the house because my husband likes them. He's very thin/lean and can afford the calories. I was doing quite well until last night.
3
Replies
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After an 11 day streak of staying within my calories/macros, I binged again. I felt really hungry after dinner and ate 4 fun size candy bars, 1/2 a lemon bar and a small piece of cherry pie. I want to learn from this.
I was slightly above my calorie allotment to begin with, for the first time I started MPF (not including the one previous binge). So I don't understand why I went on a sweets rampage.
I'm 5 foot four inches and 198.5 now and my calorie allotment is 1800. I've been hitting my macros (pretty close) healthy fats and protein included.
Can someone look at my food diary and troubleshoot?
I have been very active, brisk walking for an hour each day. Should I cut back? Is it making me hungry?
I haven't been feeling stressed. It's not stress eating.
I can't ban these types of food from the house because my husband likes them. He's very thin/lean and can afford the calories. I was doing quite well until last night.
You can't "ban" them but you can ask your husband to support you by not bringing them into the house, or hiding them and eating them out of your sight. At least until you develop appropriate habits. This is a health issue for you and I would expect he would support your efforts to live a healthy lifestyle.
Good luck.8 -
Well the lemon bar and cherry pie need to stay in the fridge so they can't be hid.
There's a large hunk of chocolate cake still in there!
I apologize in advance, but your response doesn't address the subject of maintaining habits.
I'd rather not demonize food.
4 -
If you want a different answer than Theoldguy1 gave you, you're looking for a therapist, not an online group.
Your husband may enjoy those items, but he doesn't need them. He can still support you by not keeping them in the house right now. No one is demonizing food. No one said those are bad foods. They are high in calories and are temptations for you.
Don't stop walking. Exercise is good for your body and mind!
Maybe see a therapist.4 -
Well the lemon bar and cherry pie need to stay in the fridge so they can't be hid.
There's a large hunk of chocolate cake still in there!
I apologize in advance, but your response doesn't address the subject of maintaining habits.
I'd rather not demonize food.
I didn't demonize anything. My suggestion was to ask him to keep them out of the house until you develop appropriate habits. Is he buying these things or are you making them?
Should not be an issue for a loving spouse to help his partner. If you feel you can't ask him, yes then therapy may be appropriate.2 -
Firstly, I'm going to pretend I didn't read the above comments and try to offer a fresh perspective.
Different things work for different people, and people's food failures vary as well.
You have to play to your strengths and analyse your own behaviour more.
When you put yourself in a "going on a diet" mentality and don't think long term, you're more likely to fall off the wagon. When we control ourselves too much we feel deprived. Deprivation causes binge fests like that, it's a slippery slope I've been on. I have a 7 year old, we always have tasty treats at home. Can't change that.
Let yourself eat some candy every once in a while and eat more filling, tasty and healthy snacks and try to build healthy habits. Don't demonise your spouse or the food, live a little and try to exercise more and control calories at the same time. Watch portions. You can do it 💪9 -
Thanks Maeesa. Maybe if I budget in my calories a small piece of candy or two ("fun size") I won't binge?
It's a thought.4 -
That sounds like a great idea. I ate two pieces of baklava worth 300 calories yesterday and didn't feel guilty about it. I adjusted my daily consumption and exercised a bit more than usual.6
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Thanks Maeesa. Maybe if I budget in my calories a small piece of candy or two ("fun size") I won't binge?
It's a thought.
Unless you're never going to allow sweets into your life ever again, banning foods is not really a great solution. It's just generally a good idea to lose weight the way you intend to maintain that weight loss. White-knuckling your way past all "naughty" treats forever and ever isn't sustainable. For me, I have a small sweet treat pretty much every night. Usually a couple of Dove chocolate squares, but I like to diversify
It fits in my calories and does wonders for my mental health when I'm in a deficit. Knowing that I have a treat at the end of the day usually keeps me from overindulging at other times.
Ultimately it's all about experimenting and trial and error to see what works for you. Give budgeting in some sweets a try for a week or two. Worst thing that happens is it doesn't work and you try another approach. Life goes on, right?5 -
Thank you COgypsy, I'm going to give it a try!
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Hi
Reading the above comments & having tempting treats around, I know where you are coming from - brought up two hungry, growing sporty lads & have OH with a sweet tooth.
I’m have always had to calorie count & regularly struggled with cycles of control / binge eating on those kind of foods too, especially on an evening!
My binge eating remains a “work in progress” & I’m 57!
Due to health issues, I have had to be serious & start cutting carbs & sugar, so I cook & freeze alternative, healthier treats for us… it does take some work & planning though!
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Well, my binge eating has been a "work in progress" and I'm 61!
What kind of healthy treats do you prepare, Creamtea? (love your name!)
I love crumpets with butter and jam, scones, and the like (High Tea stuff). And I'm American!1 -
1) I do agree your husband could assist with putting such treats out of sight, out of mind. Maybe the highest shelf if he is taller than you. It doesn't solve the problem, but it helps.
2) What is your current TDEE? If you've been tracking for a while and your average intake is 1800, what is your current rate of loss and you can work out TDEE from that. I'm curious how big a deficit you're aiming for. The higher the deficit, the harder it will be to avoid periodic binges.
3) I glanced at your diary for the last couple of days. Very nice. Plenty of fruit, oatmeal, meat, yogurt, high protein, very good. Maybe you could cut back a little on the almonds and avocado. They are quite high calories, and I wonder if a different snack option like a granola bar might be more filling for you.
I don't know how active you are during the day, because I notice you're having a lot of calories for breakfast. Those are good quality calories, but I wonder if some of them like the half banana etc. could be had later in the day instead to satiate you more then.
4) I assume you're drinking plenty of water? That will help a little with satiation.
5) Don't stress too much about this little binge. It's good that you tracked it. Next time you have the feelings, can you grab a bottle of water and go for a walk? Anyway, I don't fully subscribe to the theory of average calories. I'm not dismissing it, but e.g. I've seen several YT vids of people doing a huge binge one day and tracking their progress over the next week or two, and the surplus of one day does not correlate directly to weight gain of that amount. They fidget more, their body temp goes up, etc. I don't encourage deliberate cheat days, better to have a sustainable diet that you enjoy, I'm just saying don't beat yourself up over a little slip every so often if you're on point most of the rest of the time.2 -
Creamtea42 wrote: »Hi
Reading the above comments & having tempting treats around, I know where you are coming from - brought up two hungry, growing sporty lads & have OH with a sweet tooth.
I’m have always had to calorie count & regularly struggled with cycles of control / binge eating on those kind of foods too, especially on an evening!
My binge eating remains a “work in progress” & I’m 57!
Due to health issues, I have had to be serious & start cutting carbs & sugar, so I cook & freeze alternative, healthier treats for us… it does take some work & planning though!
Hi again!
Re name - yeah….it does reflects my love of high tea stuff you have mentioned!
I suppose, as a love of baking, my way of making these “forbidden foods” differently & I can say often tasty& healthier snacks usually emerge - really to try to lower carb them - using different flours in stuff - almond, coconut…even putting in beetroot, courgette. My carrot cake should be called vegetable flat cake! Lol! Is nice though!
I do still bake as I always have done, but I have to try to sweeten things with vanilla essence, put in cacoa powder, very dark chocolate, coffee in stuff…. Still made a simmel type cake for easter - had very little refined - had dates in & just a smidge of honey.
Have to admit, some things do turn out better than others! Some need the carbs & sugar to be edible too!!
1 -
I may be off here but my back of the napkin calculation is coming at under 1000 Cal in candy.
240 for the fun bars (sometimes it's better to take the Mr Big hit than to go down the baby bar slippery slope)
A commercial lemon cake/bar would be under 500 Cal so half would be under 250.
Small piece of apple pie same thing -- let's say 350
You're probably at 850 and safely under 1K Cal which is in the over-eating sweets but not nearly into binge territory.
Since on MFP there are people who actually do binge: as in an uncontrollable intake of a variety of foods with no ability to stop... not as in overeating tasty candy... you may want to modify the term to over-eating candy at the end of the day as opposed to bingeing
So. You're at maintenance or just above.
On one hand I would call this a non event. 11 days below maintenance ONE day slightly over is good enough progress.
The unsettling part would be that it may have been un-planned.
On one hand you say that it is not mood oriented. On the other hand it is something you didn't want to do yet did.
Were you tired? were you angry? were you thinking about something? Was something else going on?
ONE OF THE THINGS WE WIN by doing while losing weight is trying to figuring out ourselves a bit. It doesn't mean that we always (or even sometimes) change our behavior or control it... but it does help if we figure ourselves out.
I **KNOW** that if I am tired and cold and even a little bit "discomforted" the likelihood of scarfing down 1-2000 Cal in Candy and cookies is exponentially increased. I can sometimes head it off by changing things up (go to sleep when tired, not hang out in the kitchen), or by grabbing something(s) that are high volume somewhat time consuming and not very high calories: make and eat a batch of sugar free instant pudding or even a second one.
You could have YOUR treats that are different than hubby's treats. Or some of HIS treats. A single non deficit or slight overage day is not the end of the world. It is actually a non event. Three or four in a row is a different story.7 -
Retroguy2000 wrote: »1) I do agree your husband could assist with putting such treats out of sight, out of mind. Maybe the highest shelf if he is taller than you. It doesn't solve the problem, but it helps.
2) What is your current TDEE? If you've been tracking for a while and your average intake is 1800, what is your current rate of loss and you can work out TDEE from that. I'm curious how big a deficit you're aiming for. The higher the deficit, the harder it will be to avoid periodic binges.
3) I glanced at your diary for the last couple of days. Very nice. Plenty of fruit, oatmeal, meat, yogurt, high protein, very good. Maybe you could cut back a little on the almonds and avocado. They are quite high calories, and I wonder if a different snack option like a granola bar might be more filling for you.
I don't know how active you are during the day, because I notice you're having a lot of calories for breakfast. Those are good quality calories, but I wonder if some of them like the half banana etc. could be had later in the day instead to satiate you more then.
4) I assume you're drinking plenty of water? That will help a little with satiation.
5) Don't stress too much about this little binge. It's good that you tracked it. Next time you have the feelings, can you grab a bottle of water and go for a walk? Anyway, I don't fully subscribe to the theory of average calories. I'm not dismissing it, but e.g. I've seen several YT vids of people doing a huge binge one day and tracking their progress over the next week or two, and the surplus of one day does not correlate directly to weight gain of that amount. They fidget more, their body temp goes up, etc. I don't encourage deliberate cheat days, better to have a sustainable diet that you enjoy, I'm just saying don't beat yourself up over a little slip every so often if you're on point most of the rest of the time.
Retroguy, you always say things that make a lot of sense. Hubs used to hide the chocolate in a high place that was near impossible for me to get to, even on a chair on my tip-toes. I think it's time again.
I thought about it, and I think the reason I binged was because I was feeling tired and a little irritated from the work day. The hot weather always makes me feel draggy, and I walk 15 minutes from my bus stop to home. It's been in the 80'sF the past couple of days and it leaves me drained. Today I drank a lot of ice cold water, took a cool shower, slipped into my workout clothes, and did some mobility exercises/stretches. I felt a lot better. Tonight I'm going to fire up the aromatherapy lamp before I go to bed.
I don't know what TDEE is. What I can tell you is that I've been losing a 1/2 to one pound a week. I think that is a reasonable rate of loss. My short-term plan is to get to 180 (I'm 198.5 now, started at 203) and readjust the calories from there. My long term goal is to get to 120 and be below 18 percent bodyfat.
Some people think this is unrealistic but I know a woman older than me who is buff as hell. I like the look. Yes, I strength train!
In terms of activity, I strive for a minimum of 30 minutes brisk walking daily, oftentimes an hour. This doesn't include the 15 minutes to and from my bus stop. I have a desk job, but I make sure to get up and move around a bit every 15 minutes.
Thanks for the words of encouragement about the binge. It could have been a lot worse. I agree with PAV about the calorie count. probably 850-1000 calories extra, not too bad. The important thing is to learn from the experience and move on.4 -
I may be off here but my back of the napkin calculation is coming at under 1000 Cal in candy.
240 for the fun bars (sometimes it's better to take the Mr Big hit than to go down the baby bar slippery slope)
A commercial lemon cake/bar would be under 500 Cal so half would be under 250.
Small piece of apple pie same thing -- let's say 350
You're probably at 850 and safely under 1K Cal which is in the over-eating sweets but not nearly into binge territory.
Since on MFP there are people who actually do binge: as in an uncontrollable intake of a variety of foods with no ability to stop... not as in overeating tasty candy... you may want to modify the term to over-eating candy at the end of the day as opposed to bingeing
So. You're at maintenance or just above.
On one hand I would call this a non event. 11 days below maintenance ONE day slightly over is good enough progress.
The unsettling part would be that it may have been un-planned.
On one hand you say that it is not mood oriented. On the other hand it is something you didn't want to do yet did.
Were you tired? were you angry? were you thinking about something? Was something else going on?
ONE OF THE THINGS WE WIN by doing while losing weight is trying to figuring out ourselves a bit. It doesn't mean that we always (or even sometimes) change our behavior or control it... but it does help if we figure ourselves out.
I **KNOW** that if I am tired and cold and even a little bit "discomforted" the likelihood of scarfing down 1-2000 Cal in Candy and cookies is exponentially increased. I can sometimes head it off by changing things up (go to sleep when tired, not hang out in the kitchen), or by grabbing something(s) that are high volume somewhat time consuming and not very high calories: make and eat a batch of sugar free instant pudding or even a second one.
You could have YOUR treats that are different than hubby's treats. Or some of HIS treats. A single non deficit or slight overage day is not the end of the world. It is actually a non event. Three or four in a row is a different story.
PAV, I think your assessment is spot on! Thank you, your post is very insightful!2 -
Whenever someone binges or overeats.. I think it’s helpful to think on why. Is it true hunger or Appetite?
Psychologists use the terms physical hunger or psychological hunger.
For a well nourished adult who gets multiple meals a day and adequate calories.. I think it’s important to think about the difference between the 2.
Also, in this case.. candy and desserts were chosen.. was it the feeling of a craving or not being satisfied ? Would any other option have satiated the “hunger?”
Everyone is different, only you can answer that. True hunger could be satisfied with any food. A craving is satisfied by something your mind really wants.. in this case candy and pie. Your husband doesn’t have to hide the chicken breast and carrots … he does hide the snickers possibly because those are the items that have a different impact on you psychologically.
Perhaps thinking on why you make those choices in the moment would help to avoid choices that don’t make you feel empowered or in control.
3 -
Thank youRetroguy, you always say things that make a lot of sense. Hubs used to hide the chocolate in a high place that was near impossible for me to get to, even on a chair on my tip-toes. I think it's time again.
I thought about it, and I think the reason I binged was because I was feeling tired and a little irritated from the work day. The hot weather always makes me feel draggy, and I walk 15 minutes from my bus stop to home. It's been in the 80'sF the past couple of days and it leaves me drained. Today I drank a lot of ice cold water, took a cool shower, slipped into my workout clothes, and did some mobility exercises/stretches. I felt a lot better. Tonight I'm going to fire up the aromatherapy lamp before I go to bed.
I don't know what TDEE is. What I can tell you is that I've been losing a 1/2 to one pound a week. I think that is a reasonable rate of loss. My short-term plan is to get to 180 (I'm 198.5 now, started at 203) and readjust the calories from there. My long term goal is to get to 120 and be below 18 percent bodyfat.
Some people think this is unrealistic but I know a woman older than me who is buff as hell. I like the look. Yes, I strength train!
In terms of activity, I strive for a minimum of 30 minutes brisk walking daily, oftentimes an hour. This doesn't include the 15 minutes to and from my bus stop. I have a desk job, but I make sure to get up and move around a bit every 15 minutes.
Thanks for the words of encouragement about the binge. It could have been a lot worse. I agree with PAV about the calorie count. probably 850-1000 calories extra, not too bad. The important thing is to learn from the experience and move on.
TDEE is how many calories you burn daily. If you're on 1800 and losing say 2/3rds pound, then your TDEE must be 0.67 * 3500 calories higher each week, which is 335 each day. Give or take. So your TDEE is around 2135.
Good stuff with the walking and exercise, and moving around from the desk.
That 18% bf goal sounds unrealistic though. That's nothing to do with you, just saying that's quite low for a woman. I saw a vid with Coach Greg Doucette measuring the bf % of Alex Eubanks and his gf, and she looked like a fitness model, probably has tons of followers, and she was 23% iirc. A quick Google will show you healthy bf % ranges for women start a few % above 18.0 -
How did coach Greg measure the bodyfat percentage? I was BOD PODed many years ago, in my younger gym rat days. At the time (i was in my mid 30's) I weighed 120 and was 19.5 percent bodyfat. The BOD POD is much superior to calipers.......it's like the water dunk without the water. At that bodyfat percentage I still had a bit of a stomach and was kinds smooth (too much cardio I think). The lowest/leanest I've ever been is 110 lbs, with metal calipers I came in at 17 percent. You could start to see my abs. However, 110 was too tough for me to maintain.0
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For me, binges are all about mental hunger. I have to dig deep when the urge comes on to see what it’s really about. Sounds like you did well on that this time.2
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I'm familiar with sugar binging, shout out to hormonal dysregulation, hopefully you find a solution, I did, but it was that crazy ketogenic diet
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CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »For me, binges are all about mental hunger. I have to dig deep when the urge comes on to see what it’s really about. Sounds like you did well on that this time.
Thank you crazymermaid! I think I got this! 2 -
SafariGalNYC wrote: »Whenever someone binges or overeats.. I think it’s helpful to think on why. Is it true hunger or Appetite?
Psychologists use the terms physical hunger or psychological hunger.
For a well nourished adult who gets multiple meals a day and adequate calories.. I think it’s important to think about the difference between the 2.
Also, in this case.. candy and desserts were chosen.. was it the feeling of a craving or not being satisfied ? Would any other option have satiated the “hunger?”
Everyone is different, only you can answer that. True hunger could be satisfied with any food. A craving is satisfied by something your mind really wants.. in this case candy and pie. Your husband doesn’t have to hide the chicken breast and carrots … he does hide the snickers possibly because those are the items that have a different impact on you psychologically.
Perhaps thinking on why you make those choices in the moment would help to avoid choices that don’t make you feel empowered or in control.
SafariGal, this was a very cool read, and very useful! Thank you!2 -
Just weighed in! 197! Looks like the binge didn't put a dent in my progress.
I have been under my calorie intake for awhile so I guess it all evened out. 3 -
neanderthin wrote: »I'm familiar with sugar binging, shout out to hormonal dysregulation, hopefully you find a solution, I did, but it was that crazy ketogenic diet
I can't deal with ketogenic diets. I need carbs. The lowest I can go with carbs is around 100 grams, otherwise I get tired, shaky, and irritable. No amount of protein or fat seems to help.
2 -
neanderthin wrote: »I'm familiar with sugar binging, shout out to hormonal dysregulation, hopefully you find a solution, I did, but it was that crazy ketogenic diet
I can't deal with ketogenic diets. I need carbs. The lowest I can go with carbs is around 100 grams, otherwise I get tired, shaky, and irritable. No amount of protein or fat seems to help.
Yep that's exactly what happens when your using carbs especially ones from refined sources for energy and you go lower than normal. That won't change but hopefully you don't reach out for sugar, but it's pretty common so I hope you figure it out. Whole foods might be a good option and replace most of the refined foods your eating, but again it seems most people find that as hard as the low carb route because you have to give up on all those tummy refined and tasty carbs and replace with things like beans, legumes, vegetables and fruit, which are not really that popular in the American diet apparently, basically people are not finding them very appetizing.1 -
I've cut down added sugars in my diet to almost nil. The only added sugar I eat on a regular basis is my Chobani yogurt drinks, which I intend to replace with plain, low fat Greek yogurt when I hit my 180 goal.
I eat whole foods in my diet: oats, vegetables, fruits, almonds, avocado. I feel better and healthier when I eat this way. I love lentil soup and vegetarian lentil chili too, but I purchase them instead of cooking them cause I'm too lazy. Amys makes a good canned vegetarian chili and I believe it's 200 calories a serving (half a can). 2 -
It was skin fold calipers, done by an experienced person. That should be very accurate for non-obese people.How did coach Greg measure the bodyfat percentage? I was BOD PODed many years ago, in my younger gym rat days. At the time (i was in my mid 30's) I weighed 120 and was 19.5 percent bodyfat. The BOD POD is much superior to calipers.......it's like the water dunk without the water. At that bodyfat percentage I still had a bit of a stomach and was kinds smooth (too much cardio I think). The lowest/leanest I've ever been is 110 lbs, with metal calipers I came in at 17 percent. You could start to see my abs. However, 110 was too tough for me to maintain.
Here is the vid I was thinking of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN6JeVt81mo 0 -
Actually an interesting hunger test for me is baby boiled potatoes and a bag of California mix veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
420Cal buys you 750g of the veggies and 250g baby potatoes, or 1kg/2.2lb of food.
Tbh I usually go with 360g of baby potatoes and bump it up to 500 Cal and have it ready to snack on in between candy bars 1 -
Load up on the protein. There’s lots of high protein sweets recipes that can satisfy the sweet tooth2
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