Please advise me :(

Some of us use cheat days where, say, one day a week we go off the reservation.

Some of those who use cheat days try to still eat relatively cleanly, just at higher Caloric values, some of us say "damn the torpedoes".

Me? I incorporated a "damn the torpedoes" cheat day once a week. I personally found that by doing so, I gained a couple of benefits. For one, I didn't feel guilty, and guilt can have a detrimental impact on your overall psyche, making it feel like you are failing and therefore increasing the likelihood of just giving up. Second, after the cheat day, I had no urges/cravings for the next four days, and the final two were mild and easily offset by the knowledge that I had a cheat day coming up soon.

You already stated you are binging "every 8 days or so", so a weekly cheat may help. If you go with that, you may find yourself not going as absolutely crazy as you may have in the past, because it is *acceptable*, and hence no guilt.

I reached my initial target(s) doing so. (I say target(s) as once I reached the initial one, I reset, and then again.)

Having said that, I'm now debating an additional loss which, for me, is at the margin. Since it's at the margin, it is a little tougher. Accordingly, I am now also incorporating a IF (intermittent fast) day in my protocol.

Food for thought.

At least that kind is non-Caloric.

Is that something you think you could benefit from?

This is a lifestyle change that you are embarking on. It is going to take time. You cannot expect to go from one extreme to another. Give yourself some leeway with your diet. I agree some days that are a bit off are good. The weekends for me are my off days, going over and allowing myself to go over on the things that are "not so clean:smokin: " Then it is back to my usual routine.

A habit takes time to form. You will get there. Just be patient and do not beat yourself up when you have some days off. You wanna see a day off check out my diary from the last few days, sheesh:blushing:

Go to the library and find this book : Eating Less by Gillian Riley.

i look at this way... mfp tracks your cals and fat so as long as you dont go over your pretty set. I seriously cannot live without treats im a sweet person and diets always fail me because when i deprive myself i feel weak willed and pathetic and end up binging... with mfp i can have little treats here and there and as long as i track them i dont have to feel guilty about it.... i do try to make the best choices i can. For instance instead of munching on a family sized bar of chocolate rife with cals and ridicously big for one person ill chose a small bar of dark chocolate and svaour it so i feel satisified but totally not guilty!

then every now again its good to have a day where you have something really bad.... maybe that huge bar of chocolate, maybe a pizza or something. 'naughty days' can give your bodies metabolism a boost and if your changing your eating habits for life they keep you on the straight and narrow, because no one can cut out all their fave foods altogether.

ive been big nearly all my life and my relationship with food is unhealthy but mfp is seriously helping me SEE exactly what im putting in my body and how bad it is... i know a lot of people on here stuck rigidly to healthy foods but im not guilty about the fact i eat a little chocolate every day because my food diary is under my goal target i think we all have a seriously amazing tool at our disposal that could change our lives

First thing is to try to find out why you are binging. Do you feel starving? Bored? Unhappy? Deprived?

You can try keep a detailed journal and just jot a few notes down, or use the notes in the MFP diary to keep track of how you feel and when you are eating.

A spike or cheat day is a welcome relief when you are adjusting to a new lifestyle. As the above poster said, the 1st few days after a spike day (sun) is a breeze. I get my best workout in on Mondays. By the time i get to Fri I started to want relax my eating habits, but push through and before i know it, it's Sunday. It's a great break for my body as well as my mind. I reach my higher calorie needs by eating more throughout the day of the same healthy nature as the rest of my week, but it's nice to net 2300-2600c instead of 1300.

This is not an all or nothing battle. You can eat a few cookies and readjust your day accordingly. Just as an example (not an attack) After eating the cookies you ate, you could have followed up with a salad with lots of greens and veggies and some tuna or chicken breast on top. Just because you eat a cookie or 4, doesnt mean the day is a bust. Even if in the end you go over the important part is accepting that you are human and thus imperfect, embrace the challenge and don't lose focus.

You have a warrior inside, just gotta tune into her Hang in there, you'll figure it out. There is a lot of good adv ice in this thread and on the forums!