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binging

i feel so horrible right now, i fell off the wagon about a week ago and since then have not been able to stop eating!!!!! ahhh...i am so far off track its not even funny, and i cant seem to get back on again. i dont know what my problem is, i always do this no matter what, i'll do really well for a few weeks and then just gain the few lbs i lost right back,...and thus the cycle begins again : (

Fri. Dec 23, 1:45pm

This time it can be different. But you do have to believe in yourself. You can do this. One week of being off track means nothing in the grand scheme of things. It is not too late to get back to your program. Do something nice for yourself (not food related) and renew your spirit. We are here for you.

Sulik24

Friday, December 23, 2005, 2:23 PM

Maybe everytime you do it it can be for a shorter duration until you don't need to do it at all anymore. What happend yesterday was yesterday, it's over. By reaching out you've already loosend the grip this behavior has on you. Start this day fresh.

Friday, December 23, 2005, 2:38 PM

Amen, sister. Not only is every day a new day, but every meal is a new meal. There is always time to start over.

Friday, December 23, 2005, 2:42 PM

I know what you mean! I'll start to drop a bit, the jeans will get a little looser and though I'm excited about it I ruin it. Here's a couple of my obeservations about it.

heavy = comfortable (as in what I'm used to), skinny= attention= discomfort
I don't deserve to feel this good.
I don't want to shop for new clothes.

What is it like for you?

Friday, December 23, 2005, 4:17 PM

I know what you mean. But you have to get to the place where you want to get the "hate weight" off. Something is making you do the self-destructive thing of overeating. We all make the conscious decision to eat unhealthfully when we do- the question is WHY? Are we really more comfortable heavy, or are we using that as armor, literally and figuratively, against feeling everything inside of us and hiding from the issues that are deep inside? Don't be afraid to be hurt, to be emotional, to TAKE A STAND. This is your life. Don't let issues control you and hinder you from the best you you can be. I say this from experience, it's an on-going struggle, and it takes bravery every day. I committed to my journey a short time ago, and I am resolved to stick with it. Because I won't let past traumas (my issues) hide me from the world. We can have it all- but are you ready to face it all?
Hugs,
Sophie77

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 10:16 AM

original poster

thank you everyone....all your comments are so great. its like i'll lose a few lbs and feel more comfortable and then i lose the motivation to get where i really want to be..and then i start being negative and tell myself i'll never get there and of course it's a self-fulfilling prophecy at that point. you are right though. there's this quote i heard the other day that i thought was very fitting -- you either get busy living or get busy dying. if not now, when?

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 12:21 PM

this is such a hard thing to ovecome because it is often such a deeply rooted habit. I notice that i have an especially hard time when I am feeling fat already--if I am bloated (like during my period!) I am much more likely to give in because skinny feels so far away. One trick I use if I am feeling "weak" --like I want to eat, even if I'm not very hungry, but I am fighting with myself about it, is to cook a huge bowl of vegetables with a little olive oil and salt, and each as much as I want. I get the satisfaction of eating, My body feels good, and it often helps with the bloated feeling and the cravings. Anothier thing that often works is to drink like 3 glasses of water--I find I want to eat the most when I am thirsty. Hope these help, if anyone else has a method for getting over the rough spots, please share!

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 12:47 PM

I have found if I am eating what I need to and on time, breakfast 7-8 Lunch 11:30-1 a snack at 3-4 and dinner is early 5-7 if I eat between the time above I am fine, If I eat protein every time I eat I am fine, but when I don’t and I get off schedule it is binge time. I have gone thought this many times, till I learned what works for me. don’t give up, learn your patterns. If before every period you want a big fat cheeseburger, and you don’t feel like working out at all, go with it, and know that you must add a few more workouts in during the other weeks of the months, and eat a few more salads. Don’t stress over this, just learn from it, so next time it is easer.
Jen

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 1:47 PM

One day at a time

Although your goals might seem not even near the horizon, you'll get there one day at a time. The fact that you realise that you go off track on your eating and binge is an accomplishment. We feel lousy and guilty. Remember that terrible feeling and let that carry you to tomorrow. Treat yourself just a little better. Reach for that natural 'high' feeling after a workout. You'll be okay.

- barbara.j

Monday, December 26, 2005, 8:59 AM

You're not alone, hon! Some of us (myself included) suffer from the same cycle. I'm pulling for you!

Monday, December 26, 2005, 4:02 PM

When you're craving something that you "shouldn't" have, figure out a way to make it a little bit better. When I'm craving a cheeseburger, and a salad just isn't going to cut it, I eat the cheeseburger, but I skip the bun. Red meat is good for iron, and protein is good, and there's dairy in the cheese. Sure, there's a lot of fat - but fat is very filling, and I probably won't want to snack much afterwards. Skipping the bun will save approx. 150 calories, more if it's a place that grills the bun w/ butter, which brings the meal closer in caloric content to the salad.

If it's chocolate, first I'll try having a cup of hot cocoa, made from Swiss Miss Diet hot cocoa - 25 calories per packet, instead of 150-ish in a packet of regular. At least half the time, I can stop there. So, half the time I eat 25 extra calories instead of hundreds.

Salty/snacky - a 100-calorie bag of light popcorn will usually do the trick. Sure, it's simple carbs, but it's not a bag of chips.

Really snacky - a whole bag of light popcorn - still only around 250 calories for the whole thing, and if it's around dinner time, it can easily replace my dinner for that one night. Not nutritionally sound, but very comforting in front of the TV, and it's not going to cause a weight gain - in fact, it usually causes a loss, b/c 250 calories is less than my typical dinner.

Thursday, December 29, 2005, 11:34 AM

Binging

My binging seems to be mostly at night. I can eat a balanced satisfying dinner and 1-2 hrs later will start with perhaps one cookie which escalates to a dozen, then followed by several bowls of cereal, followed by a piece of cake or a sandwich. I don't stop until I either: feel so full I can't move, feel so disgusted with myself, or run out of food. When the food starts coming forth at Thanksgiving, I actually gain 10 pounds from then until Christmas. There are also days that I'm totally out of control, but mostly it happens at night. There are some nights when I'm driving home from an evening work shift at midnight and am planning on what I'm going to eat when I get home even though I'm not hungry in the least. I'm new to this website and wonder if there are any groups out there with members who also have this problem. I believe there's actually a syndrome called "night eating syndrome".

LHM

Thursday, December 29, 2005, 9:26 PM

I am the queen of binge eating. And it just doesn't make sense. Before I even "attack" a pack of Oreos or bag of Tostitos, I say to myself, "Jessica, you are in a bad mood, and if you overeat, you will feel lousy." I even tell myself how much better I'll feel in the morning if I stay away from the fridge before bed. BUT, I still can't help it! I eat, eat, and eat, eat, eat, and eat, and my prediction always come true. No matter what I do, it just doesn't seem to work.

The only "method" I've come up w. that works maybe half the time is to make human contact. Either I'll go visit a neighbor, call someone on the phone, or (sorry if this is awful) have sex w. my boyfriend. Connecting w. another person is usually satisfying enough to avoid a bingefest (especially if I go for the latter option).

Friday, December 30, 2005, 12:43 AM

This is so interesting because sometimes I do the night eating thing too, like I just can't get enough. Lately, I've been trying to tell myself, OK, you want to eat, eat something with lots of nutrition, even if it has lots of calories. Sure, it's great to say - oh, eat a big plate of veggies, but that usually has no appeal when I'm feeling like crazy eating. Usually I'm not getting enough protein or good fats, so when I do that I feel better and the desire to binge subsides a little. Yes, human contact is sometimes the thing that I'm needing too.

Friday, December 30, 2005, 5:35 AM

I am definitely a night snacker too - I could go through a TON of food, like the rest of you! But, I don't, because I don't ever bring it into my apartment. There is no reason to keep a box of cookies or a cake or chips or whatever at home. If I have leftovers after a party, etc., I make sure my guests take it all home, and I never take home goodies from others' parties.

In my freezer, I keep tons of frozen raspberries and blueberries, which I'll pour in a bowl and eat like ice cream (but, frozen blueberries stain your tongue, so don't eat them before you're going out!!). I keep 100-calorie bags of light popcorn in the cupboard, and ff sf chocolate pudding in a box, not ready-made b/c I'd just eat it constantly and it still has calories! I also try to keep fruit - apples, clementines, bananas - and low carb vanilla yogurt, which I think tastes like dessert. I don't even keep granola bars, power bars, etc., b/c they're high-calorie and easy to eat too many. Sometimes I'm totally frusterated b/c I'm craving food but nothing that I have, but, the next morning, I'm always glad that my cupboards and fridge are as empty as they are!!

The key is that, if you're actually hungry, the fruits and veggies will taste good; if you're just munchy, you won't feel like eating them.

Good luck!!

Friday, December 30, 2005, 3:09 PM

I definitely deal with the same stuff, but am slowly learning that indeed, every day is a new day and just because I ate too much last night, it doesn't mean I have to eat like that today. I have a tendency when I'm doing well to think I'm "cured" from my bad eating habits and then I slip up and start getting lazy and then eventually binge again. I have to realize that this is going to be part of my life and I have to figure out a way to get over it without berating myself and punishing myself by continuing the behavior. And, really, it's pretty human to binge every once in awhile--as long as it's not on a regular basis.

Sunday, January 01, 2006, 10:27 AM

1) i agree with whoever it was above who said, don't stress about this! don't let yourself feel bad over it! it's in the past, you can't undo it, what you can do is do better from here on out. feeling bad about yourself is part of what got you to an unhealthy state, and it's definitely a self-fulfilling prophecy. sleep well, exercise and eat well tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, you'll be feeling a whole lot better about the world!
2) the big bowl o' unlimited veggies is a great plan AND, if what you were looking for is tortilla chips or something, just top the veggies with a pat of margarine and a tablespoon or so of soy sauce (bragg's amino acids if you can get them in the health food store - essentially soy sauce with no additives). that way it'll be salty, you'll get some fat, and you'll fill up from the fiber of the veggies. at first, it's not the same, but a cup or two in? you'll forget about wanting the chips, just from being fullllll.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 1:14 PM

I love the comment "Every meal is a new meal" that is a great way to think about it!

It is much easier to eat than to diet, otherwise we would all be skinny, right? You just have to jump back on track. I have no words of advice, other than to keep trying.

I quit smoking last year and do you know how many tries it took? Niether do I, because it was way to many times to count. I kept falling off the wagon, but the important thing is I kept getting back on it until I was successful!

Good luck, let us know how things go!

Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 1:18 PM

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