[mascara blue]

Does anyone else do this? Either restrict eating and/or food groups to a ridiculous point lose weight quickly then go on an eating binge and gain it all back?? I've tried so many ways to manage this! I always start great, on 1200/1300 calories, log my food religiously, then after 2 or 3 months start reducing the calories which then leads to more weightloss and then restrict it more and then suddenly a stressful situation or not being able to log calories sends me spiraling down a binge session.

Am so depressed have to increase my ticker up by about 8kg and can't bring myself to do it! And its not like I am not aware I'm doing it! I keep saying "ok.. a few more days and when I get down to whatever the weight is, I go back up to 1200 calories" but I know that's not going to happen and it sucks!

Anyway that's my rant for the day. xo

[luckymommy]

I've done this a lot and I still do. I think it could have something to do with a perfectionist mentality. Wanting to eat just so, eating too little and then feeling like it's all too much of a burden to carry for a given amount of time.

I think it helps to give yourself a range with the calories. I have days when I need to go a lot higher so I'll let myself go up to 1600 or even 1700 calories, but the key is for me to keep on tracking and keep on feeling like I'm still on track. I need to feel in control.

I also get not wanting to change your ticker. It's hard to go in that direction. The good news is that if you can figure out what your pattern is and what you can do to break it, then you can make that ticker go in the other direction again.

For me, it helps to have a few good days under my belt before I do an official weigh in. As cliche as it may sound, I think it helps to just take it one day at a time.

[one small bowl]

Recently I have learned that there isn't just one answer to our weight problem. There are many issues involved and it is going to take more than one solution to work it out. Also, the problems and solutions will change over time.

I use to believe it was all a matter of finding the right diet. I believed it was all a matter of discipline. I believed that tomorrow I would finally get it all together and do this diet all the way to goal. I believed that once I lost the weight I would never gain it back again. I was wrong on all accounts.

Nothing will change until we truly change within. It takes planning, understanding the problems, learning better coping skills, practice stress reduction and learn to eat healthily to embrace health and wellbeing. What you do should be sustainable for the rest of your life, not just for a temporary change in weight. These are the things I am working on, and it is eyeopening to say the least. I was heading for a regain of all I had lost until I realized that all the things I did before were not going to work anymore. I was in a different place in my life and I needed to change my direction in all area's of my life. I had to re-work my approach to life's problems and stop my reactive need to self medicate with food and booze.

I feel as though taking that extra time to work on what was not working for me helped me stop the regain progression and try a new approach.

[Jester]

You;re not alone with this. I struggle with compulsive eating. I recently started counting calories and it has really helped, but I'm very aware of the temptation to restrict and eat under my goal calorie intake for the day. I'm making a strong conscious effort not to, because I know it's better for my overall health, mental health, as well as sustained weight loss, but it is so tempting. Most of my life has been more "feast" than famine, but once I start losing, it's hard not to go too far the other way.

At the moment I'm trying to remind myself that I'm doing this for my health, and a big part of it is conquering the compulsive eating and having a healthy attitude to food. Therefore, I know I can't let myself slide into undereating.

[inglesita64]

I have found that eating carbs (potatoes, flour, sugar, bananas) will trigger bingeing. I have eliminated by triggers from my food plan and I have not binged for 19 days now, something I had not been able to do since what? 1973?

[LondonGirl88]

I could have written this myself a few months ago. What has worked for me:
-Not restricting my calories to the point of needing to binge - usually 1600-1700
-Practice!!! Each day you manage to stick to it is amazing, remember how great you feel and how your not starving and not in a binge coma - this helps me get through!

[Mikan]

I am exactly like this. A couple months ago my ticker was all the way back up. This is the lowest weight I've been (154) in the past couple of years and I've hit it about 3 times, but never been able to get any lower.