and it seems to be working thus far.

i have a huge huge problem with bingeing. usually i can't make it even a few days without going berserk.

i was trying to restrict too much i think. not allowing myself to eat certain things. one week it was flour, another it was no meat. the next no dairy. i couldn't handle it. and i'd only make it a few days and then go crazy and binge. and in turn feel like crap.

so last week, i decided to have 2 goals, exercise and not binge. i generally eat pretty sensibly as it is, so i figure if i can just cut out the bingeing, and slowly make better and better choices and cut back on portion sizes little by little, i'll be able to stick to it better.

and it's worked. i've gone a whole week now without bingeing. that's not to say that i haven't had some snacks. i have eaten frozen yogurt, some candies, etc. but. i've been eating so much less, and i think it's because i dont feel as deprived. i'm trying to listen to what i really want, and i'm finding if i allow myself to eat that, then i'll be satisfied with even a normal portion rather than large amounts of foods that i don't even want.

last week, i wanted pizza so badly, but i refused to get/make it. so instead, i freaked out and binged on random crap in my house til i was full and still not content. this week for lunch i've eaten my own "pizza" and it's been amazing. a whole wheat pita with lots of vegs and lowfat cheese. and i'm content. not stuffed to the gills, not hungry. and i dont want anything else to fill that void.

i think i may have found something that i can live with.

Awesome! That's what it's all about right? Experimenting until we all find that unique combination that works for us and becomes a plan that we can live with day in and day out. Great job!

stellart -I am with you. It took me awhile to ge that. I don't restrict myself too much. I tried South Beach 6 times before I gave up. I would binge after 2-3 weeks. I know myself; not the diet it was me. Now, I eat my daily allowance of candy and eat healthy otherwise and I am back to losing weight. I go out to eat. I can have what I want at the restuarant - consudering calories and health and I dont feel guilty for flour, the wrong dressing and etc - which leads to a binge for me. Also, I found when I "binge" - eat 2500 calories in one day, I just make up for it in my other days - eatting 1400 cal a day to make it up!!!

Good for you that you found what works for you!!!

thank you so much for the encouragement. this is a really big deal for me. i really felt so depressed and out of control with my bingeing. i hate that feeling.

its only been a week so far, so i'm not sure if i have even lost anything yet. but i'm ok with that. i'll get there on my own time. if it takes a year to lose 10 pounds, then it takes a year. but i'll get there. i am just so proud that i haven't binged in a week. that's astounding to me. and take today for instance. i ate well all day. my snacks consisted of an apple, and then raw broccoli w some lowfat cheese. that's even considering that someone bought some bakery items and left them on the kitchen table. and i just passed them up like it was nothing.

i seriously think by telling myself not right now, instead of never! has been a key point.

so we'll see if i lost any weight, but one thing is for sure, i just feel better. no bloating. no stomach problems.

/takes deep breath

sigh

Yay I'm glad this is working for you! It works for me... honestly I do get a little frustrated because not depriving yourself really does make you lose so much slower and particularly when I've indulged in a few too many high-calorie foods. But I think that never saying never and just saying "later" to foods helps me. Of course, I am trying to space out "later" to be farther and farther away.

There was a point where I would eat restaurant pizza 2-3 times a year and only buy ice cream on my birthday. I'd love to get to that point again.

I remember someone once said that if you ask someone in France to associate a word with cake, they would say "celebrate." In the US, people say "guilty" or "bad." I just want to rethink of indulgent foods as just as something to have sometimes or even rarely instead of flip-flopping between "never!" and "must have right now!!!"

stellart - I have been OP/binge-free for a little over a month now. The easiest thing was for me to stop telling myself no. My motto is "I can't say I'll never eat anything EVER again, but I CAN control how much of it I put in my mouth".

If I want chocolate, I'll eat it and work it into my plan. Same thing with pizza, ice cream, and those other goodies. This is suppose to be for life - not a temporary fix! I can't live the rest of my life telling myself NO to certain foods, because honestly, we know eventually down the line I will want them. For example I really wanted chinese. Well, I GOT CHINESE. But I bought steamed shrimp and broccoli with a thing of brown rice [it's a part of their diet health section]. It was good, filling, low-sodium and calories!

I think that is why it has been easier this time around. When I told myself no, like you, I'd binge on everything BUT the food I was craving.

i hear that. i have this association with food that it's either bad or good. it's not just food. i need to really rethink that. food is food is food. it shouldn't have an emotion attached to it.


exactly!!! and somehow i felt that i was doing something better than giving in to what i wanted. but at the same time, i was bingeing on other foods. so it was detrimental, anyway.