Hi everyone, I recently hit an all-time low weight of 252.4 lbs. (my lowest adult weight ever!) on Thursday, November 13th and was so happy and shocked, only to spend every day after binge eating, and regaining nearly 10 lbs.! As bad as this is, it is just a repeat of my behavior, whenever I hit a low weight I gorge myself on food. I don't really understand myself, the best I can figure is I am trying to punish myself with food . This isn't just about being smaller for me, it is about my very health, and I am sabotaging it. Can anyone else relate to post-weight loss food binges? Why do we do it? How to stop it? I just need help, I hate this.
I used to do this as well, so I understand how frustrating it can be.
I've had some issues with abuse, so I assumed the issue was that being smaller made me feel insecure. Now I'm now thinking that it may has less to do with a reaction to the number on the scale than the things I used to do to reach that number.
In order to stop bingeing, I had to learn to delve deep into why I binge whenever I had the urge to do so. There are a number of reasons, but the one that seems to apply here is that once my diet becomes boring or I deny myself everything, I binge. The closer i'd get to a milestone, the less variety my diet would have. I'd see that goal in sight and I'd start stripping away all the fun stuff and incorporating foods I didn't care for because they were low cal.
Once I'd get where I was going, something would snap I'd go on a tear of eating everything i'd denied myself.
This time around, bingeing hasn't been a problem. One of the differences is that although I celebrate milestones, I don't allow myself to "sprint " for them, so to speak. My WOE is for life, not just until the weight goes. I've accepted that the important thing is to eat right for me, and weight loss will follow (eventually ) at the pace my body decides is acceptable.
I do exactly the same thing. Every single time I reach a new "lol", I freak out and gain ten lbs and then work my way back down, only to repeat. I'm currently on attempt #3 in the past calendar year to get below 150 and stay there. For me, it demonstrate a fear of failure. I'm terrified of the 140's. I'm scared I'll fail- so, if I don't go in them, I'm not enabling myself to find out what would happen.
I think the fact that you are aware that this is a pattern for you is totally a step in the right direction. I'm sorry that it is frustrating you though. I like what streudel suggested. Consider the WHY behind it (which you are already working on doing, so good for you! ) I often tell myself "oh, I lost a lb...I deserve a treat!" Well, I'm not a dog and don't need to reward myself with food, as someone here on 3FC once told me! I now try to tell myself that I deserve weight loss. I am good enough and worthy of being in control, more so than being worthy of a cheat day. Try it!
Thank you so much to Streudel & NorthernChick13 I really appreciated reading both of your messages, thank you for making me feel less alone in this battle. I almost didn't post, I am weird about starting topics sometimes but I just needed to vent and seek help with this issue. Tomorrow is a new day, I'd like to post here again tomorrow to report how that day went.
I have to say this is unknown territory for me @ weighing under 260 lbs., and this year is the first time in several years (since 2005 to be exact) that I've consistently stuck with a weight reducing way of life. I just celebrated my 9th month on my Weight Loss Journey on the same day I hit that number 252.4 lbs.
I do the same thing and after reading the responses I may just understand a bit better.
I have reached 252 three times and I immediately go back up 10 to 20 lbs.
I am working on my third or fourth attempt to get under 250 this year alone!
So 252 is also my trigger point for regaining what I have lost.
So if you don't mind I will walk besides you and we can take this journey together to get pass that 252 barricade
I did a poll in the 20-somethings forum once and categorised some weight loss habits. One of them I called "The Treater", people who reward themselves with food. It was one of the most voted on categories, you are definitely not alone! I am one of them, I give myself a free pass for a while when I see an all time low. I've gotten better at it, but it's still a hard habit to break.
Ultimately this is a mental challenge, you have to summon the focus in yourself to stay on track. We all know that eating lots causes weight gain, so you have to have the strength to say "NO!" It's ok to have a cheat meal once a week I'd say, but that's it! The rest of the time should be on plan or we'll never reach our goals. I try and think of myself at my goal weight, I know that future me didn't give up and give in to temptations just because she saw a loss. We can do it! Really question yourself before you eat something, ask yourself "is this going to benefit me in any way? Is this going to help me achieve my goal?" if the answer is no, then don't bother eating it - you'll only feel badly about it later.
I can totally relate to this and struggle with BED. Discovering why you binge eat definitely requires some deeper psychological work but here's an idea for the time being...if seeing weight loss triggers you then stop weighing yourself. I think the scale is a great tool to see progress and I have used it compulsively, but for someone with disordered eating issues it can also be very problematic. I'm only just realizing how badly it affects me personally. I would keep doing what you've been doing weight loss wise and put away the scale for at least a month. And when you do weigh in, prepare yourself for it. Recognize that this is a situation that could trigger a binge and anticipate the urge to reward yourself with food and decide how you'll handle it before it happens.
I binge too sometimes, it's because I am ravenously hungry. Sometimes it's better not to have a snack at all because it whets my appetite and I can't stop. Sometimes the urge to stuff my face was so great that I just wanted to give up and accept being overweight.
The only way to never trigger these binges is to have full meals which sort of defeats the purpose here, I still need to find the balance of cutting portion sizes but not cutting too much.
It's been getting better since I have found better foods that you can eat more of or even binge on. I kept a watermelon around all the time when they were in season, now I keep various kinds of lettuce, low calorie soups, etc.
This is the one area of weight loss I know very little about but my assumption is that your issue is not physiological but psychological.
My point is that while you're continuing to lose weight that you attempt to address whatever might be driving this. In many cases, as I understand it, there was abuse early on. The abuse doesn't have to be physical to be extremely harmful to one's psyche.
...I assumed the issue was that being smaller made me feel insecure. Now I'm now thinking that it may has less to do with a reaction to the number on the scale than the things I used to do to reach that number.
This happens to so many people and we all like to fool ourselves for a long time that we are somehow scared of being thin, or scared of letting go of our fat. After believing this for a long time I now realize it's not true. Weight regain is so prevalent that it can't be true. We can't all be afraid of being thin. My theory is that rebound binging stems from over restriction. Combine that with set point theory (in which your body tries to maintain a steady weight regardless of your efforts) and it leads to a lot of diet failures.
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Originally Posted by gymrat05
I can totally relate to this and struggle with BED. Discovering why you binge eat definitely requires some deeper psychological work but here's an idea for the time being...if seeing weight loss triggers you then stop weighing yourself. I think the scale is a great tool to see progress and I have used it compulsively, but for someone with disordered eating issues it can also be very problematic. I'm only just realizing how badly it affects me personally. I would keep doing what you've been doing weight loss wise and put away the scale for at least a month. And when you do weigh in, prepare yourself for it. Recognize that this is a situation that could trigger a binge and anticipate the urge to reward yourself with food and decide how you'll handle it before it happens.
I've reduced my use of the scale by 90% at least. I went from weighing myself and logging my weight regularly to only weighing myself once every 4-8 weeks. And even then, the smallest shift in weight either way has a debilitating effect on how I function afterwards. Any change at all sends me into a binge. If I gain a pound all heck breaks loose and I binge. If I go down one pounds it sends me into a dieting frenzy to keep it up that ultimately leads to restriction, which ultimately leads to a binge. Keeping away from the scale helps me maintain my sanity.
Thank you to everyone for replying back . It has been a hard week, I am still eating over my prescribed calories (according to MFP) but I am at least not binge eating right now. Sally Pineapple omigosh been there, doing that lol, in my case it was mostly hitting 260, when I neared it, I would freak out and overeat unconsciously. Now, I am finally in the 250's and it is hitting me again. I ended up gaining 7.6 lbs. over those 3-4 days of binge eating. Getting back on track slowly, I want to reflect on this thread in the future when the urge to binge hits me again.
I have found that the best way to lose weight and to keep it off without bingeing is to make lifestyle changes rather than dieting.
Make sure you are cooking your meals in less fat such as using fat free cooking spray or investing in an airfryer.
Eat more of the healthy food than the bad stuff - I eat chocolate everyday but I also eat a lot of fruit, veg, chicken etc.
And most of all reduce your portion sizes and enjoy your food.
And another good tip to eat less and lose weight is to eat lots of homemade soup with fat burning veg (brocolli, butternut squash etc) and then start your meals with this and then you'll find you'll eat a lot less on the main course and eat a lot less food/calories.
From making lifestyle changes I have found that I have gone down to 1400 calories a day without missing out and I still eat mcdonalds and chocolate when I get a craving for them.
One thing that's encouraging is i talked to a relative who lost 80 lbs a few years ago and has kept it off. He said that after a while of being thinner, the cravings started to go away and now whatever made him want to binge is gone. I hope when I get to a good weight and stay there, it will be easier than it is now.
You're not alone. I've been dealing with the same behavior in myself. I hit my lowest of 266 lbs on the 12th and within 4 days was back up to 272 lbs. Granted part of the gain was due to TOM and stress eating for the past 2 weeks, but there's also something going on in my head. Everytime I hit a new 10 lb low (70's, 60's, 50's, etc) something clicks and I start eating more. I've made it back down 268, but am worried it will go back up again.
I really appreciated what a lot of you wrote. It helped me understand it a little better, but I still haven't figured out why my head thinks the way it does. What's behind the fear of being that low?
When I was stable at my lowest weight as an adult (just under 160lbs) I felt great. I never felt the urge to binge. I did what I did to lose weight, I had been successful and I knew what I was doing. If I felt like a cookie, I ate a cookie; hot chocolate one night? I had some. THere was no crazy restriction followed by crazy binges. I honestly felt *great*. So yes, there is hope!
Binge Eating after losing weight...
) I often tell myself "oh, I lost a lb...I deserve a treat!" Well, I'm not a dog and don't need to reward myself with food, as someone here on 3FC once told me! I now try to tell myself that I deserve weight loss. I am good enough and worthy of being in control, more so than being worthy of a cheat day. Try it!
