For the last five days I've had a lot of trouble with my self-control. I keep eating ice cream, cookies, etc. And I am very far beyond my daily allotted calories. Sooo my question is do you all have any good strategies you use to put a stop to binging?
Step 1: Get all of the junk OUT. Raid your cabinets and fridge and throw it all away!! It's not wasting it. Eating crap is wasting it. Better in the garbage than on your A$$.
Step 2: Plan ahead. Have portioned meals and snacks ready. Don't leave room for excuses. I cram my fridge with fresh produce that'll spoil if I don't eat it. Not eating that IS wasting it! It's quality nourishment, unlike the junk from step 1.
Step 3: Do you like tea? Yogi detox tea is good stuff. It's slightly sweet and helps stave off cravings for me. I don't know how well the detox part of the equation works... but it helps get me out of the mindset of mindlessly munching my face off and into the mindset of slowing down and sipping.
You can do it!!! Come here and post if you feel like eating.
Step 3: Do you like tea? Yogi detox tea is good stuff. It's slightly sweet and helps stave off cravings for me. I don't know how well the detox part of the equation works... but it helps get me out of the mindset of mindlessly munching my face off and into the mindset of slowing down and sipping.
This is my trick too! Drinking something hot like tea calms the binge feeling and appetite.
And also like ValRock, get the binge-issue stuff OUT. If it's there, you'll eat it. if it's not there, it's unlikely you'll make the trip to the grocery to get it
Thank you all for the advice! I've got the tea and filled up two empty milk jugs with water for tomorrow - I'm going to try to drink tea or water every time I get a craving and just wait it out! And Brandis, wow, that'd take a lot of guts! Haha, I don't know if I ever want to subject myself to that kind of pain, but hey, if it'll get me on track I'm game to try it!
I have no experience with real binging. When I eat 'bad' it's either convience (on the road) or really tired and having bad stuff infront of me. So I don't know if my advice works the same for you but i think ValRock covered it pretty well.
It sounds like you gave into it already, but for the next time when you feel like you just need/want to go overboard on junk stuff and don't feel like fighting it for whatever reason. For me it being I've been good for long enough to allow myself a junk-night. Plan it! I buy a bag of cassave chips (lower in calories and higher in volume than normal chips) and a pack of choco baton cookies. It's only 600 calories total. My junk-nights before the weightloss were a pack of really bad cookies and my favorite chips and would total to about 2000 calories. For me having just one pretty well planned 'overboard' night takes the pressure of eating right off. It works for me.
Some of these made me laugh. Like better in the trash than on your a@@ and eat in front of the mirror naked. I was reading this because I´ve had an off week too and have binged A LOT, and ate like 2 or 3 thousand over my calories on several days...=(
I think breaking into "new" decades and even just eating at a deficit for many days in a row puts people into "FEED ME" beast mode. It's frustrating and feels terrible, but I think most people do have occasional binges and it's not really as big a deal as we make it out to be.
I also love Yogi tea! Wow, it's amazing how this turns out to be one of those supplements / diet aids that actually works and we all independently love...
I identified what my binge-triggers are (anxiety around work -- I end up wanting to munch while I type -- and exhaustion at home). And I figured out ways to engage those anxieties (cleaning up my email inbox, going on 3FC, going for a run, practicing yoga).
I don't buy large quantities of anything I have binged on in the past. This, for me, is dry cereal, pita chips, and trail mix. No particular reason for it to be true, but it is: I can keep ice cream in my kitchen, but not cereal (including the healthful "high-fiber" kind!).
Also, if you have a buddy you can call when you realize what you are doing, that helps. I usually call my sister and she talks me off the food ledge or my best friend and go for a hike.
Throwing the junk in the trash is also good. If you really struggle with binging, open the packaging before throwing the items in the trash and then put something gross on top.
Also, remember that even if you start on a food eating craze, you CAN stop. You might have eaten a cookie or a whole box of cookies (or potentially more) but, you don't need to go back for more. The eating is in the past and you can't un-eat it BUT, you CAN stop further binging! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
Whenever I'm tempted I ask myself "Would I eat an apple right now?"[or insert healthy food choice: banana/cut up veggies, etc] That helps me decide if what I'm doing is emotional eating or not. I'm a huge emotional eater. I've also stopped eating/snacking in front of the TV. Tons of empty calories as you're not focused on eating and don't realize all the handfuls/bites that are going in. Make sure you stock the fridge with good choices so they're always around.
I find that keeping a journal and writing about why I want to eat helps. For me it is often because something is bothering me. A lot of times it's really that work is stressing me out and I'm not actually hungry.
stopping a binge
