Help, Help, Help - how to break binge streak.

No offense, but telling anyone to simply keep the junk out of the house is easier said than done. We have no idea if the OP lives alone, has a spouse or partner, has a roommate. I am pretty good about buying good stuff, my DH while he eats only *some* of it (*edit i.e the good stuff *I* buy) he still buys stuff that I really wish he wouldn't because I sometimes find it tempting as it stares back at me in the fridge or cabinets. I have indulged at times, within reason and if/when it fits into my calories. Other times I didn't keep tabs on it, just ate ate ate it, went over goal, didn't log it, sometimes logged it.

Unfortunately I do not have the answer. It's different and personal for each person. But you are not alone, trust me.

Bump?

Don't have the junk food in the house. That way, if you feel the need to binge, you have to go to extra effort to get the food. So don't buy it to start with and don't have it in the house. If there is anything left now throw it away or give it away.

Unfortunately when the need to binge descends logic thought often disappears so it can be almost impossible to choose healthy or lower calrie foods to eat if the 'nicer' junk food is there, so you really need to remove the junk from the house.

Try keeping some deskinned bannas in the freezer. You can blend them with a bit of milk to make a reasonably tasty 'ice cream'. Also frozen grapes.

Stock up on some fruit teas (raspberry ones are great). This takes the edge of the need for sweet food and fills the tummy. Drink water.

Others things to each: Crackers and a bit of cheese with a dab of sweet chilli sauce; air popped popcorn;

The other thing is perhaps try and find something else to occupy your mind/hands - go for a walk, have a bath or read a book. Or come on here and post. Doesn't matter what you post, just keep your hands busy.

It is really hard to overcome, so just take it one day at a time. Good luck xx

For the stress-go workout. I can feel a huge difference in my stress levels when I do that and it helps keep the eating under control.

If the junk is gone now (no matter how it happened) try not to bring it back in the house for awhile-especially your trigger foods. I have kids and a husband and there are chips and they get doughnuts every weekend and we had homemade pizza last night. But those aren't my triggers. I can't have cookie or moose tracks ice cream in my house. So it's not here.

If somebody else is bringing it in-ask them kindly to help you by not having that stuff in the house for awhile. Ultimately though,the motivation does have to come from within you. Just like Blowyourmind says-you have to decide if you want to eat that stuff or if you would rather not.

go to Wal Mart and look at the fat people, then buy a shirt that fits your goal body and put it on...does it fit? if not, STOP

I recommend writing out a list of why you want to lose weight and how it will change your life and then turn to that list when you feel discouarged or need more motivation to get back on track. The reasons to lose weight have to be greater than the reason to eat those things.

Also you CANNOT skip meals. Most binging is from skipping meals, starving yourself and then you get out of control hungry and eat those things. If you CRAVE chocolate, start drinking more chocolate protein shakes and it can greatly curb those cravings.

Watch this documentary...

10 Things you need to know about losing weight
https://player.vimeo.com/video/18339967

In it they mention that a chemical in the brain called ghrelin is released that triggers the desire to binge and eat those unhealthy things if you skip meals! My take on it is because you know they inject fast energy (sugar rush) into your body and when you starve yourself your blood sugar drops so low that you gravitate towards them to get the FASTEST RELIEF. So eat regularly and you can better fight it. It's not just about self control, chemicals in your brain fight you on it if you skip meals!

I recommend eating every 4 hours. I'm a very big guy and what works for me is a lean cuisine and a protein shake and I simply cannot eat anymore because my stomach is completely full.

If you still struggle, DO NOT GIVE BACK YOUR GAINS. For the love of god, please don't. If you have to, go buy some sort of weight loss pills because many have things added that boost energy and curb appetite. Start fighting it by curbing your appetite.

Something I remember when I was in high school was I took XENADRINE and lost a lot of weight. What it had in it was a very strong appetite suppressant. When I was in high school we had ridiculous amounts of junk food in the house and it didn't matter. I literally ate out and anywhere I wanted all the time. I couldn't afford lean cuisines or healthy foods, I ate what was around and I still lost tons of weight simply because I ate much less of it! The truth is you can eat whatever you want if you eat less of it and still lose weight. Consider trying to either curb your appetite with pills or do what I do and beat it to the punch by eating every 4 hours!

GOOD LUCK!

start drinking large amounts of water, get outside head for a walk, run whatever, come home add the exercise into your fitness pal
start tomorrow's breakfast in fitness pal this evening ,knowing you already have your day planned ahead helps to stay on track.
you may laugh....but if you ever have a binge like that again brush your teeth get the taste out of your mouth it helps with cravings when the taste is gone. Hope this helps..

. Consider trying to either curb your appetite with pills or do what I do and beat it to the punch by eating every 4 hours!

GOOD LUCK!

HORRIBLE ADVICE

I used to think this way, but now I strongly disagree. Go on bodybuilding.com forums and search it out and you'll see many who have lost a lot of weight have been on a number of appetite suppresant type things. They are proven to help and I know they aren't the best way but for the love of God, DO NOT GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK AND LOSE ALL THE PROGRESS YOU'VE MADE. Go to a GNC and see what they have and try it out to see if it can get you back on track if you are having that hard of a time. I hear OXY ELITE PRO is pretty good. Do your research and see what works for you IF YOU NEED IT.

But like I said, you don't have to have it, you can do it by not skipping meals and upping your protein intake.

When I go way off the wagon with food I do two things:

1. Forgive myself for it and realize it will not make me gain 20 lbs unless I keep it up.
2. Drink a cup of green tea

Don't know what it is about the green tea but it calms me and allows me to refocus and even double my efforts to make up for the binge days.

Hope that helps a little.

Breathe

Double-check your morning intake - I binge less when I have a good (i.e., high protein) breakfast.

Double-check your overall intake - I binge less when I'm eating enough.

Therapy works once you find a good therapist. In the meantime - consider what you are trying to get out of that food (or the process of eating it). What are you expressing with your actions - hopelessness, fear, frustration?

Best of luck to you!

I say log your entire binge in your food diary and see what the total impact is. It puts it in your face and could really help you realize the damage done. Start thinking in terms of what else you could have instead for the same amount of calories through out the day and it will help put things in perspective!

Love all the suggestions and this post. I have this issue too. Love emotional eating --- NOT
Keep the suggestions coming please.

Any time I feel like eating junk, I try to get refocused and motivated. I talk to my husband about how I'm feeling and I hit up the success boards.

I have junk in my house because my husband eats it and sometimes its hard. Making myself refocus can really help though.

You are close to your goal weight, so honestly, if you're hungry, you should not feel ashamed about eating. I can understand the craving to eat a bunch of junk though. I get that way sometimes too.

My suggestion is to take a look at your macro nutrients. Are you getting enough protein, fat, carbs, etc? Eat lots of nutritious foods FIRST, and then if you still want some chocolate, chips or whatever kind of junk food you have lying around, you can, but you'll be less likely to eat an entire bag of something if you've already had your meat, veggies, etc.

When you are close to your goal weight, the weight loss is going to be very slow, so don't feel bad if you hang out at 130 for awhile.

No offense, but telling anyone to simply keep the junk out of the house is easier said than done. We have no idea if the OP lives alone, has a spouse or partner, has a roommate. I am pretty good about buying good stuff, my DH while he eats only *some* of it (*edit i.e the good stuff *I* buy) he still buys stuff that I really wish he wouldn't because I sometimes find it tempting as it stares back at me in the fridge or cabinets. I have indulged at times, within reason and if/when it fits into my calories. Other times I didn't keep tabs on it, just ate ate ate it, went over goal, didn't log it, sometimes logged it.

Unfortunately I do not have the answer. It's different and personal for each person. But you are not alone, trust me.

I'm going to have to disagree. Even if the OP has a spouse/children junk food is not good for them either. Just don't buy it as simple as that. Buy fruit, veggies, nuts, etc. Doesn't matter if you are underweight, overweight, young or old you do not need potato chips to live.