Ah, it's Monday. Once again it is a fresh new week and once again I went badly off-plan over the weekend. This never used to be a problem but the binge eating is still happening frequently enough to be considered a serious health issue.
On Saturday we visited with both sets of parents at Mike's parents' house. I had four large glasses of Fume Blanc and was completely trashed by the end of the night. I ate a decent dinner but would not stop eating the chips and dip beforehand. At dessert I ended up eating two large pieces of home made apple pie and one medium piece of pumpkin pie, all with home made whipping cream and vanilla ice cream.
Yesterday I figured, "Hey I'm off-plan so why not?" That was the mentality, at least. What a silly way to think! Mike and I were out on the town so I suggested we go to Thai food for lunch. We each ate a full plate of pad thai and even shared a plate of chicken fried rice. We were actually too full to eat the rice at the restaurant so we ate the rest at home that evening.
Then I wanted ice cream for dessert. I went to the store and bought us each a pint of Ben & Jerry's. We each ate our pints.
Did anything good come out of last week? Yes, I got in a total of 20 AP's which is a lot for me. It feels great to be back on track with exercise! I also spent 5 days in a row of being 100% on plan and feel good about that. I just need to eliminate binge eating somehow. Are there even tips for getting over that?
I am hopeful for this week. I feel encouraged with the exercise because of how well I did last week. It makes me feel like I can do it again this week without problems. It is Teacher Appreciation Week but I think I will just choose one small treat each day rather than the 10 different treats they will provide. We will be celebrating Mother's Day on Saturday, too.
Posted By: Leanne_Nalani
Comments to this post:
05/07/2007 15:16
Yes there are
There are loads of tips for getting over binge eating. I would suggest trying books, groups, or a therapist - depending on your budget and your preferred approach. I found books and a therapist worked for me. I still binge very occasionally, but I now know what causes it so I can work on eliminating the triggers, or satisfying the needs in other ways. Congratulations by the way on an amazing weight loss!
Well, I think you will have to dig deep and find out WHY you are binge eating in order to stop it. Are there issues that you don't want to deal with? Is there something else that your body may need? What are you trying to satisfy?
I agree with Raspberry above. I hope you can figure out what it is. I know it's a very hard and personal thing to do. Good luck!
Ditto with everyone else above. I'm sure there is an underlying cause for it. I know it is extremely difficult to eat well on weekends, especially when alcohol comes into play. Thankfully you keep on track during the week - that's something.
I know that when I get off plan now on the weekend, I try to limit the "cheat" to one meal, instead of throwing the towel in for the whole day.
Good luck with your soul-searching. I hope you find some good advice today.
I hope you enjoyed it! Don't feel bad about the binge! You can't be good every day! Look at the bright side: summer is coming and there will be a bountiful supply of fresh produce! And its BBQ season so you can grill some chicken, fish, beautiful veggies, etc! I tend to eat healthier in the summer; I think its the heat and not being as hungry.
Anyway, I'm doing good. I'm not as bummed as I was last week, but thanks for your supportive comment! I am cutting back on blogging; haven't stopped exactly. I don't have as much to say since I'm on a break! I have been eating way off plan since Thursday! I was good yesterday, though. Just had some ahi tuna and ceviche for lunch and somehow I skipped dinner. Again, it must be this friggin' heat!!
The binge thing happens to the best of us so don't panic. I have this writing someone said and it makes alot of sense "this is a lifestyle change and we're human and we're going to occasionally give in. Ya know what? We have to live. We cant deny ourselves something good every now and then. My advice, just suck it up, jump back on the wagon and plan one day at a time. Its not the end of the world when we mess up our food for a day, its when we get back into the habit of messing up everyday that causes problems."
So it happens from time to time, the important thing is you are understanding it and you are allowing yourself to start fresh, thats crucial. I know you can do it, keep up the good work and have an awesome Tuesday!
I can totally relate. I feel like I'm going through the exact same thing lately! Is there something in the air? :-P
In all seriousness though, I think it's really important to get to the root of why we're doing this - what is the cause/trigger for the binge eating. I have found that usually if I feel deprived of something, like I can't have it - that's when I want it even more. So I try not to deprive myself, and force myself to savor whatever it is I want in moderation if possible. Of course, this doesn't always work, so at times, the best thing is to not keep it in the house. I actually think one of the positive things about your BnJ's binge is you had to LEAVE the house to buy it. Sure, two pints for two people is more than you needed, but at least it means you really wanted it.
Another common cause for me is the, "I've already blown it for the day, may as well continue to eat now because I've ruined it and I can restart tomorrow," etc. syndrome. I don't know the best way to get past this one, but here are techniques I try. I remind myself how I feel after I binge eat and I remind myself how I don't want to go there again. (For example, the last time I had a really bad binge I felt bloated and gassy for days afterward..). I also try to think to myself about how good I feel being lighter and leaner.
Finally, I try to get myself out of the kitchen if possible when I find I'm binging. I try to do anything else, like go check my email, even sit down and watch tv, anything to at least postpone eating the last thing in my hand until *after* 5 minutes have passed. If I can make it the 5 minutes, I can usually get past it.
Do you have a certain time of day you usually binge eat? For me it's the evenings, usually AFTER dinner. So knowing when it happens can help keep you aware, and being aware is half the battle really.
Unfortunately, the hardest thing about binge-eating is that you know you're doing it - even at the time - and it's hard to stop mid-binge! You feel guilty and can't stop at the same time. If it makes you feel better, you are NOT alone in this.
Keep reminding yourself all the positive things you are doing. Great job on getting back to the gym! You can do this. Just take it one day at a time. Make a pledge to yourself to make tomorrow a a non-binge day. Make a plan for what exactly you'll eat. Take care =)
I think we binge eat because we're stress about something. Maybe you're stressing about the wedding or something going on in your life. But if it's temproary, then I wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes a habit.
I try to think twice before binge eating and I do the same thing noddles suggested by thinking how you feel after you eat all of those heavy food. For example, my husband wanted to get ice cream for dessert at the mall, but I had a rule to myself that I would only have that once a week and I already had one last Friday. I had allergies and I know eating ice cream will make it worse, so I didn't have any. It really makes you rethink about your eating and I kept finding food that will help my allergies like fruits full of vitamin C.
If I had a pound for everytime I'd indulge in an eating binge I'd be a millionaire by now. It happens to us all the time, ESPECIALLY once we've had alcohol, because our bodies need water once we've drunk to balance out the alcohol consumption, but we misread that (being overly tipsy) and believe we need food and so even more importantly we WANT food, even if it's off-plan food. This is because we have no real sense of rationality when we've been drinking! It's what I experienced on Saturday night and felt so guilty afterwards, though fortunately the next day I was so ill from alcohol poisoning that I couldn't keep any food down so I think that balances it out.
We all like to binge at times and it's what Paul McKenna labels as a form of "emotional hunger" (I'm reading his books at the moment) And as emotional hunger can't ever be satisfied, it's why we binge, because we feel we need more and more to satisfy it, even though it never can be satisfied! The best thing to do next time is to shake it off and think of something you LOVE to do, and just do it straight away. The fun of doing the things you enjoy will quickly take your mind off wanting to binge and will help you stay on the path. Hope this helps.. though to be honest I doubt you need advice from me or any of us.. you know what it takes, just try and remember how you dealt with the need to binge previously, as it obviously worked otherwise you wouldn't have lost all the weight in the first place! Take care, x x x
I don't have any wise words for you since this is a demon I haven't battled and won, yet. But, I just want you to know you aren't alone. I'm a binger, too.
