Chiming in that the terms "binge" and "cheat" make me uncomfortable when you're talking about a meal that does fit into your general plan/strategy (even if it is more than your daily routine, you are including it to try to ward off future unwanted "binges.") So I like "treat" better too. The Dukan people use "celebration meal" which is also nice. Or you can get testosterone-y about it and call it a "refeed" like the body builders do.

I have been fortunate not to suffer from binges in the way some have (sneaking bites of a bag of Doritos over two days until I polish it off is probably the closest). But I still allow one day a week "leeway day" in case of unexpected things like someone inviting me over for dinner, or a buffet at a work meeting. I think of it as part of my strategy.

Oh hey bronzeager-that's a GREAT term "leeway day". Binge and cheat always seem to me to imply that you're doing something wrong, which of course, makes it more taboo and always makes me want to do it even more. I really like "leeway day". Thanks for posting that!!

This past year to keep myself from bingeing, I gave up sugar. Which at first was hard because I've been a serious chocoholic for 40 years. But after the first month, it wasn't a problem any more. When I do eat sugar, it makes me eat more of everything. Doesn't matter what it is.

Having a planned 'treat' meal in your weekly schedule is a very healthy thing to do mentally and physically.

Making sure you don't have the foods that can be eaten on a binge in the house also is a big help.

Also, if you feel like bingeing, try drinking two glasses of water first and see if that helps fill up your stomach. Chew gum. Take a walk. Do some exercise. Call a friend. Go back and re read everyone's posts to you.

I have an 'off plan' day every Friday. I eat whatever I want, usually including a trip to the bulk barn where I let myself buy an assortment of candy and junk. I probably eat 3X my normal calorie allotment on Fridays. This works for me. I've lost 20lbs in the last 6 weeks and have had way less binge episodes as a result. I know that I can scratch that itch for candies, take out, whatever it is on Fridays and it gets me through the week.

I've been maintaining now for a very short 4 months but here are my two cents regardless!

I have time off. I NEED those days. If I go on Holiday (for a week last time) I eat as I want to on the trip. Not crazy 3 huge meals a day but food as I feel like eating. Fortunately my stomach seems smaller than it used to be and I put less crap in... I find by about day 5 I am itching to get back to my routine. Last trip I gained about 3 lbs but lost it all within a week back.

I take the odd meal "off" as in I go to a restaurant and eat whatever I want to. No restrictions. No Guilt. Immediately I get back to routine. Even when I am not hungry the next AM after the big mean I eat my routine breakfast which helps me get right back on plan.

I was never a binge until sick person but I have been known to eat entire bags of cookies/entire cakes/giant bags of chips/cases of chocolate bars... I think it is mentally easier for me to know that sometimes I CAN have those foods and I am not going the rest of my life without eating junk.

I know this is a somewhat old thread, but the part I highlighted in bold concerns me. Not just for the OP, but for so many I see here who struggle with binging (or any other multitude of addictions, for that matter). Treating the symptoms and ignoring the cause will not fix your problems long term. You might be successful in fighting past it right now and losing the weight, but until you fix the root, the binging (or other addiction) will always be a problem. It's only once you take care of the root issue that your symptoms will disappear.

I remember that the OP's plan didn't go well, from a follow-up thread.

I just wanted to chime in and say that I believe in therapy for binge eating and other eating disorders--but at the same time, sometimes there is no underlying cause in addiction. The addiction is the problem.

It's similar to alcohol addiction. An alcoholic can be in therapy for a long time and get nowhere because they are still drinking. It seems as though the bottom line is, stop drinking. Then see what happens.

If a recovering alcoholic came to me and said, "I'm planning to go on a binge--what do you think?" I'd beg them not to do it. It just seems like a crazy idea! And I think planning to binge on food is just as crazy. I guess the bottom line there is, stop bingeing--find a therapist--then see what happens.

Jay

I know analogies can be difficult and I get what you're saying Jay. But IMHO overeating should not be compared to or labelled as an addiction. Addiction is too complicated as a physical process (sorry I don't have time to post at length right now about all this).

Food can be a mood-altering substance but it in no way has the same effect as alcohol or any other mind-altering substance. I too would beg the alcoholic or drug user to not binge. They could cause serious harm to themselves and others as a result of losing control of their minds (blackouts are common among alcoholics) and bodies.

I binge on food sometimes to avoid bingeing on other substances. The food makes me feel physically sick and I'm "hungover" for a day afterwards. But I haven't done any damage to anyone but myself. And I don't believe, over time, that I've damaged my brain or changed my neural pathways by overeating. There is damage done by overeating but mostly to other parts of my body, not my brain.

Dagmar

I completely agree with this (except I don't binge on food to avoid other substances, I binge on food because I love it ).

As for this:

Not the OP, but I'd like to say that my reasons to binge are very clear to me: I binge when and if I feel deprived (which obviously makes it very hard for me to lose weight). I don't need to find out the reasons. I already have. It's simple: if I don't diet, I don't feel the urge to binge. How I'm gonna reconcile that with weight loss is beyond me. Sigh.

Mudpie, read THE END OF OVEREATING by Dr. David Kessler. You may change your mind about that. Scientific studies have shown that certain food combinations are literally addictive--they change dopamine levels in the brain just like some drugs do. They create the desire to get more of that type of food. Not surprisingly, these food combinations contain carbs, fat, and salt. The restaurant industry knows this. Think of this the next time you see a chain restaurant offering a bacon ice cream sundae.

http://eater.com/archives/2011/03/25...con-sundae.php

Also, a lot of heavy drinkers do damage "only to themselves," but that doesn't make it OK.

It sounds like you are arguing that binge eating is a harmless vice--at least in your case. I don't think it is.

Jay

Okay, but let's take it a step further. Why does feeling deprived make you binge? What's the deeper reason that makes that your response? When you feel deprived, what other emotions are you dealing with? Clearly, I don't expect you to answer these questions to me, but it's probably worth exploring on your own.

Me, I'm tempted to binge when I'm feeling stressed out or overwhelmed. It's like my automatic response is to stuff down the emotions with food in order to relax and make myself feel numb. I'm working on digging into the reasons why that's my response to stress, because I know that if I can't treat whatever it is, I'll never ultimately conquer the binge urge.

I've always been one who's either totally under control or totally out of control. As long as I'm tracking my food and being honest with myself, I do great. My instinct is still to binge when I'm feeling out of control, but if I'm tracking my food regularly, I don't give in to it. The moment I stop tracking is when I get into trouble. I recognize that I'm probably going to have to track my food every day for the rest of my life, and I'm coming to terms with it, but my ultimate goal is to lose the binge urge completely so that I don't have to deal with the gain/lose/gain/lose cycle for the rest of my life.

Not everybody who's overweight has this same issue, obviously, but I think that those who truly suffer from Binge Eating Disorder likely do. Behavior like that doesn't happen for no reason, you know?