yet another "last" binge
 

Well, yeah... I don't know why but somehow I got the idea that it would be a good thing to have a "good bye binge" before starting over tomorrow.
I knew al along that it was a stupid idea, I just couldn't convince myself to not do it. I bought bakery stuff, chocolate and licorice... and on my way back home, I knew I should just throw the stuff away. I didn't, but I have only eaten half of what I bought.

It's only 3pm here, so if I have a light dinner and maybe go for a walk later, I should be fine. I just feel stupid for giving in.
I am going to start over now.
I wish I could stop the binging. It's gotten much better already. Less frequent and not as big as they used to be.

:hug:

This is the behavoir that has lead to my gaining 20 pounds in the last 2 years instead of losing. I think eating healthy the rest of the day and taking a walk is a good idea.

I don't think you should tell yourself "one more time".

food, unlike many drugs and alcohol actually serves a purpose, and there is a rush attained with having a splurge.

Instead of telling yourself "never again". Make a plan to have a "free" day.

your weight might bounce up a little afterward, but unless you eat like 6000 calories, you will not likely gain too much weight. On the free day, schedule maybe a dessert with every meal, or have one big satisfying meal not just junk. To me having one big satisfying meal, would be like when I go to the buffet, I start out with salad (lots) and then I move on to the entree, then I finish with some fruit and lastly dessert.

most of all you have to get out of the mentality "food is bad".

this is not coming from someone who doesn't understand. I have made many late night trips to the convenience store to buy icecream, donuts, and candy bars. The only thing that stops me, and it might work for you, is telling yourself "not today, but I can have it on ----day".

I learned this while doing intermittent fasting. I would tell myself on "on" days, tomorrow you can have that if you still want that".

it stopped the binging behavior for me, also eating junk with meals is more satisfying.

I don't ever tell myself "one last time" because I know this is something I'll deal with the rest of my life. I have gone through very long periods of NOT binging (6+ months) but then sometimes I just get overly stressed and decide to eat everything in sight.

Is it the best way to deal with stress? Definitely not, but you know what? In the long run, it hasn't hurt me in terms of my body composition. In fact, allowing myself to way overeat on a rare occasion has actually improved my body composition and helped me to see that moderation is the best approach. I now work treats into my meal plan and have found that these episoded happen much less frequently.

I've stopped beating myself up over them. It happens, and I move on. If you think about it, isn't that what Thanksgiving or Superbowl Sunday are? A huge binge? Why is it okay to eat 3500 calories at once on those days? Because society accepts it?

Now I just do as best I can day to day and love myself regardless. It's actually been very freeing.

I have done this 'one last time' thing so many times and it was never the last time and it never led to healthier habits. It only continued the cycle of binging and guilt.

Start small, it's a difficult thing to over come and something you'll always be aware of but I think telling yourself 'one last time' will only add pressure and stress.

I once listened to an interview with some doctor who was an expert on willpower (not sure she was a medical doctor---maybe a Ph.D.). She said that the "I'll start tomorrow" mentality is quite common in people who have a bad habit that they want to break. One strategy that she recommended as having worked for others was to tell ourselves that whatever we do now, whatever we do today, we will also do tomorrow. The problem with many people is that we envison some idealized self in the future, some self that is much stronger and less apt to give into temptation. She felt as though it's important to accept our true self and acknowledge that by telling ourself, for example, "If I eat this doughnut now, that's fine, but I will also eat a doughnut (or other treat) tomorrow as well. My self now is no different from what my self tomorrow will be." Doing that seemed to bring home the reality for many people that we are who we are now. There is nothing magical about tomorrow that will change us. That's why it's important to act now the way we envision ourselves acting tomorrow. I have thought of this at times when I'm tempted to eat something "just for now" and it has helped me to resist temptation.

So true!

F.

I think everyone's been guilty of this at some point or another. Binging loads your system with sugar and makes it HARDER to resist in the long run, so that defense/excuse is out the window. What is a "good" or "starting over" day like? Restriction and using "clean" food as punishment will not prevent future binges.

I try to eat around 1700kcal, have 5 portions of fruit and vegetable per day and eat no overly processed foods. And I don't want to snack out of boredom.
The last days after the binge went really well actually.

You seem to be on the right track. That "one last binge"...who hasn't been there? And lin43 said it right, you need to take responsibility for your actions today, instead of hoping for a magical tomorrow when you'll suddenly find the will power to resist your cravings. Still, it's great that you're acknowledging it was a bad idea and you're ready to start your weight loss journey with strong forces.

I kind of do this, but it's not that i binge because i'm planning to diet...it's more the other way around...i binge and panic sets in and i get motivated to diet. It hasn't necessarily been a bad thing...usually it's been weeks of bad eating, and then it all comes to a head where i have a bad binge and i say enough is enough, i MUST start dieting tomorrow. It does give me some motivation.

Well, that one binge I posted about wasn't actually my last binge - but soon afterwards my binges became much smaller and much less frequent. I can't remember when I last binged. There were some days during the last months were I felt like I had eaten too much, but not many.

I don't know what exactly made me stop. It's like my life got too busy to think about food. I started to eat without thinking about it, just ate when I was hungry. Had chocolates and bakery stuff when I felt like it. I just stopped controling my food intake for a while. And I lost some weight!
Also, I can't eat when I am stressed anymore. I used to be a stress eater, but now I need to remember to feed myself whenever I am stressed.
The last couple of weeks have been very stressful for several reasons and now with exams coming up it will take some time till I can relax.
I hope the urge to binge will stay away.

We've all done it. Heck, one time I went to a diet center and their advice was to eat anything and everything I wanted the night before because I wouldn't be getting anything like that for weeks or months. No wonder weight loss is such a challenge when the "experts" lead us down the wrong paths some times.

I'm working on letting myself "binge" on high carb veggies when I feel the need. For instance, I'll let myself have a baked potato, but then use butter buds instead of the butter and sour cream that I used to have. Or I'll let myself have corn (which I love). Last night I cooked up two cans of green beans so I'd have left overs and ended up eating both cans.

So, the behavior modification still needs some work, but I'm trying the approach of substituting the better for the worse.

Man, oh manicotti, I cannot tell you how many last binges I have had. It's ridiculous.
"I'm going back to school in a couple days, might as well enjoy the time I'm home bu eating bread and cookies until my stomach feels like it's shredding open"
"I just finished a big science project, it's a special occasion, I might as well eat a ridiculous amount of chocolate and peanut butter"
"It's a holiday"
... You get the point :\

It's taken me 2 1/2 years to realize that I can't keep having these last binges. It's so silly, isn't?
Congrats to you for not eating everything you bought though :)
I'm on Day 3 of binge free now, and I am going to keep going! Best of luck to you on your journey!