Binge Eating - HELP!

Nothing really new to add to the previous posts excecpt congrats on your progress so far. Repeating what others have said I don't really deny myself anything as far as food goes. If I want burgers, pizza Olive garden or what not I try to plan it in, log it first and see how much exercise I have to do to stay under my limit. That way I get to eat what I want and it helps to keep me on the straight and narrow so to speak. I have found that denying yourself unrealistically is a great way to sabatoge any diet/lifestyle change (I've done it) , so don't do it. People usually want most what they can't have more than anything else, and if food is singing your name I'll chance it and say you are not allowing yourelf the pleasures of eating. Wha't the old saying....Eat and be merry. Food shouldn't be thought of as the enemy all the time, it is a delight, not just fuel. Moderate, log, plan and enjoy. Just my humble opinion.

I usually eat a tiny bit of the food I want. It's like one bite, and not a super big one, like a petite one. After the bite, I throw it away, then walk away. But, then again, I'm not a binge eater. So, I don't see how that would help you....stare down the food, think about how many calories that it would cost you instead of having a nice dinner/lunch/breakfast because you wanted that high calorie snack. I also eat a small chocolate bar in the morning, studies have shown with people who eat a piece of chocolate with breakfast kill cravings for the rest of the day, so they lose weight faster than the ones that eat chocolate/sweets throughout the day.

Just remember you've lost 84+ lbs and how miserable you were at that weight.

For me logging all my food, when I see the calories going up and no exercise to counter it, it drives me crazy, so that is what keeps me balanced. I know it is hard, after losing 68 pounds it has been a challenge for me because a part of you wants to eat again. You can resist the urge just remember how you felt when you were heavier, you don't want to go back to that, so that will also keep you from binge eating.

I am a HUGE binge eater. I like my snacks. We have kids but you wouldn't know it to look in our pantry. We do not keep chips and the like in our house - primarily because of me. But I have kept myself in check by doing a few things:

1. I buy snacks for me - smart snacks. WW string cheese sticks, Jello fat/sugar free snack cups, 1/2 fat ice cream (HUGE fan), etc. Find your things you can't give up and don't deny them. Find healthier versions and measure out the servings in to baggies or snack cups. This way you won't be tempted to take another scoop, or 3, from the ice cream container.

2. Prepare. I make healthy snacks too. I eat my celery sticks (stuffed with a laughing cow wedge usually). I pre slice my veggies on Sunday for my snacks for the week. It really does help. But planning out your meals, and snacks for the week, helps. It doesn't mean that on Monday you'll have A for breakfast, B for morning snack, and C for lunch. It means that you have healthy options already picked out, prepared, and ready to go.

3. I eat about every 2 hours. You would think it's hard to do, but actually rather simple. An alarm on a phone or watch helps. I'm not talking full meals. For me, breakfast is the hardest meal to conquer. Getting up at 6am and preparing kids' lunches and breakfasts and getting myself ready at the same time. I don't want to eat so early in the morning after getting up. So I eat my breakfast over several hours: I eat within an hour of getting up - something small, like a cereal bar and maybe a little glass of non-fat milk to wash it down. 2 hours later, a piece of protein/fruit/or carbs (egg/orange/cereal), 2 hours later again, but I do not eat what I already consumed - but no double dipping (ex: no seconds on carbs). By lunch, I will have eaten a complete and full breakfast (all food groups). Repeat with my lunch (extending over several hours). Dinner is eaten as one meal. I find by dinner I am not ravenous, or even hungry enough to eat all that is on my plate in one sitting.

4. Have your snacks. After dinner, we have dessert, EVERY night. I LOVE ice cream, hence the reason why I pre scoop 1/2 cup snack cups ahead of time of a 'healthier' option. Jello pudding cups are great too (Cherry cheesecake - YUM!) I also have fruit sorbet tubes, frozen go-gurt, No Pudge brownies (these are a minute to mix and a minute to microwave 1 serving).

I've bought chips, cheese curls, and more at one time or another because I wanted them. The smart thing is that I always buy the healthier ones (baked lays) and I always put them in prepackaged, premeasured baggies for grab and go. With eating every 2 hours or so, I have found my cravings for these items to be way down. I've now gotten to the point where I RARELY want junkfood snacks. Even in instances where I have been up late at night at the store, and checked out with more than what I wanted (chips at checkout), I make better choices in choosing what to eat and I don't end up eating the whole thing. I think your tummy gets used to the ACTUAL serving size and your cravings subside after you've consumed it.

I should note that the 'prepackaged' sized that come from the manufacturers, like soda, is not usually for 1 serving. They can also be mismarked. I still can't figure out why the individual package of baked lays has more chips for 1 serving than what the big bag says 1 serving is.

I should note that I have just figured this out in the last few months. It was what was sabotaging me in my weightloss. Now that I've got a system down and under control, my food log is under calories every night and I am starting to loose. My trainer tells me that eating so often helps your metabolism work at it's best also.

I am a HUGE binge eater. I like my snacks. We have kids but you wouldn't know it to look in our pantry. We do not keep chips and the like in our house - primarily because of me. But I have kept myself in check by doing a few things:

1. I buy snacks for me - smart snacks. WW string cheese sticks, Jello fat/sugar free snack cups, 1/2 fat ice cream (HUGE fan), etc. Find your things you can't give up and don't deny them. Find healthier versions and measure out the servings in to baggies or snack cups. This way you won't be tempted to take another scoop, or 3, from the ice cream container.

2. Prepare. I make healthy snacks too. I eat my celery sticks (stuffed with a laughing cow wedge usually). I pre slice my veggies on Sunday for my snacks for the week. It really does help. But planning out your meals, and snacks for the week, helps. It doesn't mean that on Monday you'll have A for breakfast, B for morning snack, and C for lunch. It means that you have healthy options already picked out, prepared, and ready to go.

3. I eat about every 2 hours. You would think it's hard to do, but actually rather simple. An alarm on a phone or watch helps. I'm not talking full meals. For me, breakfast is the hardest meal to conquer. Getting up at 6am and preparing kids' lunches and breakfasts and getting myself ready at the same time. I don't want to eat so early in the morning after getting up. So I eat my breakfast over several hours: I eat within an hour of getting up - something small, like a cereal bar and maybe a little glass of non-fat milk to wash it down. 2 hours later, a piece of protein/fruit/or carbs (egg/orange/cereal), 2 hours later again, but I do not eat what I already consumed - but no double dipping (ex: no seconds on carbs). By lunch, I will have eaten a complete and full breakfast (all food groups). Repeat with my lunch (extending over several hours). Dinner is eaten as one meal. I find by dinner I am not ravenous, or even hungry enough to eat all that is on my plate in one sitting.

4. Have your snacks. After dinner, we have dessert, EVERY night. I LOVE ice cream, hence the reason why I pre scoop 1/2 cup snack cups ahead of time of a 'healthier' option. Jello pudding cups are great too (Cherry cheesecake - YUM!) I also have fruit sorbet tubes, frozen go-gurt, No Pudge brownies (these are a minute to mix and a minute to microwave 1 serving).

I've bought chips, cheese curls, and more at one time or another because I wanted them. The smart thing is that I always buy the healthier ones (baked lays) and I always put them in prepackaged, premeasured baggies for grab and go. With eating every 2 hours or so, I have found my cravings for these items to be way down. I've now gotten to the point where I RARELY want junkfood snacks. Even in instances where I have been up late at night at the store, and checked out with more than what I wanted (chips at checkout), I make better choices in choosing what to eat and I don't end up eating the whole thing. I think your tummy gets used to the ACTUAL serving size and your cravings subside after you've consumed it.

I should note that the 'prepackaged' sized that come from the manufacturers, like soda, is not usually for 1 serving. They can also be mismarked. I still can't figure out why the individual package of baked lays has more chips for 1 serving than what the big bag says 1 serving is.

Great ideas! I frequently "pre-package" my snacks - even the celery and cheese ones - to keep me from going overboard and it makes logging easier, too.

O I forgot to add, that if you have a craving see to it. You need just enough to make it go away. If you put it off all the time when you finally give in you will over indulge. So its okay to have a cheat day every once in a while. I also eat a lot more asian cuisine. It's healthy, filling and super delicious. I love stir fries because they quick and easy to make. And sushi is a kind of reward for me, yum.

xx