Ok, so I have NEVER been a binger. I got overweight by just eating the wrong things all the time, not so much by over eating or over indulging in sweets. But man, last night, I had one. They STINK! I swear I ate just about everything sweet I could get my hands on! I had cookies, then I had Goldfish crackers, then I had cheese curls... It was awful. I kept telling myself I didn't need them, but I seriously just could not help it! How you guys deal with this? I have never had this happen to me and I'm not sure how to handle it if it happens again. Just curious what you guys do if/when you feel that feeling coming on... Thanks!

Extacee I do the same thing a couple of days before my cycle comes darn near every month. As long as it's not an ongoing thing, you will be okay. I would get on the whole foods today and water as heavily as you can--some extra cardio may be a good idea too.

Its not easy to stop yourself once you get into that binging mindset, but it helps if you make a concentrated effort to eat something that is going to fill up your stomach and still give you a little of what you want. For example, when I crave salty foods, I have popcorn, sweet foods, animal crackers. You get a little bit of the salt or sugar, the feeling of eating, and eventually your stomach will get full. Also, try to force yourself to drink as much water as you can while you're eating.

You could try it with fruits and veggies, but that never really works.

Extacee, it sounds weird but one other thing that helps me is keeping the "good fats" in my body at all times. I regularly indulge in raw almonds, dark chocolate, black olives, avacado, olive oil and sometimes peanut butter. I do this in strict moderation and find it helps my cravings go right out the door most of the time. I also feel "satiated"--if that is spelled correctly. My body doesn't feel like it's running on carrots and lettuce. It feels satisfied and full mostly.

I hear from a lot of women that this happens around that time of the month, maybe that's what it is. I don't get that time of the month because of my birth control method, so it's hard to tell if that's what it is or not. Oh my God, it was so awful! I have a whole new feeling of sympathy for people who regularly bing, it's so hard to stop. I honestly ate so much that I got sick to my stomach. Urgh, and with Thanksgiving having just passed, this has by far been my worst week since I started. Oh well, onward & forward right?

Extasee, you'll do fine! I'd suggest two things:

1. Try to figure out what triggered it. Avoiding the triggers is so much nicer than trying to muscle your way through cravings.

2. For the next several days, focus on eating really healthy, whole foods and no junk, more than on how many calories. I personally don't need to restrict whole grains, but I would keep to a few small portions for a few days. Lots of produce. Re-set your appetite and taste buds.

3. I thought of a third thing Make sure you stay active too. I wouldn't try to go out and exercise extra hard or long. Just make sure you're moving every day.

You'll be back to normal soon!

The only thing I can think of that would of triggered it was that I was home all day w/ my daughter. Her babysitter was sick, so I had to stay home from work. But I usually do really well on weekends, so I don't know. I just hope I don't get one again! Thanks for the support & advice everyone!

Not to worry, these things happen - as you said, look ahead and get back into the groove. And from experience I would add: yes, do make an effort to eat healthy in the coming days, but don't try to overcompensate too much as that might set up a vicious cycle of deprivation and binging. Believe me, I've been there.

Binging has been an intermittent problem for as long as I can remember, and I've found that I have basically two different triggers:

a) It's a physical craving - that means I've deprived myself of healthy fats (second everything ThighsBeGone said on that topic!) or went too low on my calories, or it's TOM. I've learned to fix these cravings with healthy-fatty, low- or no-carb energy dense foods in smallish amounts. For example, I'll add a tablespoon of very good olive oil to my salad instead of my usual tiny amount of oil or salsa. The very best remedy for me seems to be a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter, though. Your mileage may vary!

b) It's a nervous reaction to some anxiety, anger, boredom or stress. Those are way trickier, because as some very wise chicks on this board keep saying, if hunger isn't the problem, food can't be the answer. Sometimes I manage to work through my feelings or distract myself with exercise or organizing/cleaning, but when I feel I absolutely have to eat to calm myself down, I go for the biggest possible volume/lowest calorie count ratio. For me, that would be air-popped popcorn, sugar-free jello with a bit of fat-free yogurt, iceberg salad or raw veggies - i.e., stuff that keeps my hands and mouth busy for a while and fills me up for a negligible amount of calories (that I still figure into my daily total). It's not ideal, but it doesn't do as much damage as diving headfirst into the cheez doodles.

Like I said, that's how it works for me.

Good luck, Extasee!

I find that when I am treating my body really well nutritionally that it doesn't USUALLY want to binge. Sometimes hormones get in the way (TOM), but my body is actually very good...I was just mistreating it all these years. Stupid me. Oh well...that was then, this is now.

All the girls who posted above me have given you all the good advice I would have dispensed with so don't have anything more to say except I hope you are feeling better today!

I felt a binge coming on last night. I think it was because I barely consumed ANY fat during the day and my TOM is approaching. I starting getting shaky when I was trying to cook dinner and I got SO frustrated that it turned out horrible. I was about to eat everything in sight, but instead I went to Taco Bell and ordered a Fresco style Burrito bowl with no chicken, no rice. I brought it home and added 1/2 cup of brown rice and some veggies and I felt SO much better.

The advice given by everyone so far is great. Drinking water during a binge definitely helps, as does binging on 'not so bad for you' foods. I've recentely discovered FAT FREE Ice Cream with no sugar added. So, when I take an extra scoop I don't feel so horrible the next day.

Thank you guys so much! I think I might try keeping air popped pop corn in a tubberware container for when I feel the need to "munch". I appreciate all the help you guys gave me, it's been a hard week. I gained 1 lb :-( I know it's not much, but it's the first week since August that I haven't lost weight, so it's kinda like reality hitting that I won't lose every week. But I'm going to try to really stay on track & get back to losing, the 180's is right around the corner for me!

Do you work some of your favorite foods into whichever program you are on? I think it's impossible to change your lifestyle if you don't enjoy some of those things from time to time. So, if you have cut them out completely perhaps you can add a sweet treat in in the evening.

Some of my favorites are a scoop of ice cream, a skinny cow, a sugar free pudding cup, no sugar added hot cocoa, some black licorice, etc.