We all make mistakes, for me it tends to be right around a certain time of month, but it can also be triggered by my own tendency to compensate for overeating the day before. This compensation can sometimes get out of hand (I've been anorexic before, so I've done the whole 900 calories a day thing), and if I am not careful, I can end up having another, and sometimes worse, binge.

So I have had a bad couple of days. I overate on Tuesday, nothing drastic, and then I decided to just take down my calorie consumption the next day to ease over it. The resulting hunger at night caused a slight binge (four oatmeal cookies, which were low fat, but still really caloric and filling). Today, I tried to eat breakfast, just so I wouldn't end up hungry again, but there were bagels in the office kitchen, and yes, I ate one. For those of you who might be confused about how many calories are in a bagel, they have more calories in them (a regular one) than a glazed doughnut.

That is probably more information than you wanted to know but I have to wonder to myself, how do you recover from a binge, so that you break the cycle. I've done it before, and I will do it again, but I was thinking we could get some suggestions together about how people who are struggling can get some ideas about what to do right on the day after the binge. I think the knowledge that I am not controlled or damned by these binging sessions is an important message.

One for every five pounds lost :

forget that you binged the day/night before.
Just make it a normal day, without feeling guilty, without spending more time thinking about what to eat than you would've without the binge. That's what helps me.

The only real thing to do the night after a binge is carry on the next day as you normally would.
I think it would benefit you a lot to read a book called "Skinny Chicks Don't eat Salads" by Christine Avanti. She talks about how people go on diets and eat the wrong things for breakfast, feel guilty, then cut out a meal and/or drastically decrease their intake for the rest of the day. She explains how blood sugar spikes can cause binges, and how if you don't get the correct amount of protein and carbs every 4 hours you risk storing fat and/or binging.

Hugs.
I agree - go on with your day. Let go of the guilt and move forward. Today is a new day!

Put it behind you and get right back on track.

I have to agree also- if I binge the next day I am just super careful about sticking to the normal plan! Sometimes a small spike here and there in calories seems to help. A lot of people calorie cycle as well and that seems to work for them

I feel like as much as 'get back on track' is the only thing to do maybe some like...emotional suggestions? Because I feel like sometimes there are more emotional reasons behind a binge than just lapse in control and it still hurts after the binge, and even more so because of the binge? Am I making sense? I don't know how to explain what's in my head and this may possibly be a dumb suggestion.

Bunny -- I don't think it's a dumb suggestion at all. You're very right, there are emotional issues behind binging that "getting right back on track" won't solve. Sometimes, those emotional issues are so strong, they require counseling. Other times, simple reflection and identification of what caused the binge and what the consequences of the binge were may be enough.

I think a helpful post-binge strategy has two parts: (a) get right back on track (lol) without punishing yourself...but then there's part (b) spend some time reflecting on WHY you binged. What happened immediately before the binge? What kinds of things did you eat? What made you stop? What were you feeling before, during, and after the binge? This list could go on and on. Self-reflection may be helpful for some and not for others...I think it depends on how honest you're willing to be with yourself and how willing you are to make changes based on the answers you give yourself.

For me, the last time I binged, I took a serious look at WHY I did it. One thing stood out again and again, I had no accountability system and being accountable to myself (the ideal solution) was not cutting it. I had to find someone else to be accountable to. But again, this is just my personal reasons why...different people can have different reasons, but you won't know until you ask yourself those hard questions.

For me, a binge was usually preceded by an all or nothing thought pattern. What I have been trying to change is letting binges become extreme, even going on for weeks. In other words, instead of just eating an extra snack, I'd have an extra meal and then one or two desserts. After going on Atkins for a year and losing about 30 pounds I have realized that I needed to given up white sugar, avoid simple and HG carbs and try to eat only what I really want. My difficulty has been late night snacking. I'm trying to be kind to myself and take a "wait and see" approach--maybe my late night snacking won't stop weight loss if I keep my calories reasonable and keep working out.

It's like what Carl Jung said--"It's better to be whole than good."

Thansk for listening.