For the past 3 days I have been overeating, esp on simple carbs. SO MUCH BREAD. Hopefully what I have gained is water weight, I don't think I exceeded 3500 cals in 1 day. I don't understand, have I gone nuts? I try to fill up on the protein after the carbs - good meat and veggies, and then I go back to overeating all of it.
I tell myself, What are you doing? OK you overate this one day, why are you doing this the next day? and yet I have been =(

OK I've been doing a little thinking. I think that its because I've been trying to totally overhaul my diet. Making all these trips to the farmer's market, drinking cod liver oil always thinking about nutrition. Also, I was at a stall. All those things were just overwhelming me, and overeating provided relief, but also made me totally unhappy right after.
I just need to relax on my diet. If its not all 100% organic or totally good for me...its OK as long as most of my diet is healthy.
A few days won't ruin everything right? ;_;

Hey Pixellate!

I think one or two days off is fine, just make sure you get back to the diet.

I've found that planning meals a day in advance and having set times and set calorie amounts to eat (i.e. 8am breakfast, 10am snack, 1pm lunch, 5pm snack, 7pm dinner) has helped me and also few others I know.

Also, are you drinking enough water throughout the day? Sometimes we confuse hunger for times when we're actually thirsty.

Alternatively you could perhaps stick motivational photos or your mini goal weight near where the carbs are stocked in your kitchen. So it'd force you to rethink your decision whenever you're near them.

They also say that cravings only last for 15 minutes. So if you can wait out 15 minutes, perhaps drink water in the meantime, you might find that you won't want the carbs after all!

[EDIT] I just saw your second post. I think it's important to have a diet that we can realistically stick to, instead of being completely health concious all the time. I also try get enough protein as I can in my diet, (usually through protein shakes, skinless chicken breast and more fish) but ultimately my main goal is to stick to my personal calorie level which is 1200-1300 calories a day. I think we should all take it one step at a time as well. Farmer's market and organic food sounds like a great idea, but we don't have to do it all at once right??

I hope I've helped somewhat! ><

Its ok to take a mini break and go off plan for a few days ^_^ Keeps us from going absolutely bonkers. I'm actually eating offplan the next week but within maintenance calories.

If your not used to the carbs then what you gained will go back down after you stop eating them. I love em123's idea of sticking motivational pics near the food that you crave.

I find that because I split my calories into so many eating times(ie snacking most of the day) That I never get hungry because i'm always eating every hour or two. And it helps keep me from overeating

Losing weight is a lifestyle change and you shouldn't be unhappy doing so. You may need to switch your course and find a plan that you can stick too easier For mine, I just count calories. Nothings off limits but I don't go over a set limit. This works for me because its an easy and relaxed plan. I would go completely bonkers on a strict diet xD...

Good luck getting back on track

Thank you! I am just going to focus on calories and eating protein and veggies. Weight loss is hard enough as it is, so I'm gonna keep it simple. I'm super bloated...like probably over 4-5 lbs right now. Makes me sad but I have to rationalize. There's no way that I ate over 14000 over what I burned in the past 3 days.

Eep I know the over bloated feeling. I had a horrible week, and I now look like I'm 3 months pregnant. Hopefully it goes away within a couple days because I did not eat enough calories to TRULY gain 3 pounds.

The key is to just move on after a bad day/week. No one will ever be able to eat perfect everyday for the rest of their lives. Just make a plan for the following weeks (sounds like you have by realizing taking things slow might be best for you!) and stick to it!

These "bottomless pit" periods absolutely happen. Sometimes you can deduce what triggers them (stress? TOM? etc) and sometimes they occur without any rational cause. The nice part is that they don't last forever, and you can recover very quickly from them.

I am having a bottomless pit day today! Oh my God, I am SO hungry! And I have been all day! I have been eating reasonably good things (salad, homemade courgette lasagna, a piece of whole wheat bread with almond butter, some nuts, etc) but I feel like I could eat the contents of every cupboard in my kitchen.

I'm glad I'm not alone! I agree with krampus, these things are sometimes brought on by something, eg attempting an all-or-nothing diet change, and in my case, I'm sure it's related to TOM!

You'll be fine after a few days back on track, and I'm sure I will be too.

Oh man I need some chicken or something!!

One thing I do to help with hunger is drink a glass of water between meals when I'm feeling hungery.

Ah we all have these days.. if it makes you feel better i am having one of those weeks lol
have been exercising.. but also due to TOM EATING all around me...

back on track tomorrow... i promise

I have been getting these too lately.. even though I've just been eating healthier foods at home it seems like I eat a TON. If you eat enough asparagus, Greek yogurt, and Lean Cuisines, the calories still add up.. oy. Today I'm at 1340 and trying not to eat anything else but ug, I just want something.

So today I just got my period. Yest I also ate some more simple carbs. But I've been staying at my calorie limit at maintenance. I could go lower, but urrrg my period just makes me wanna eat eat eat. So I've been eating lower cal foods, like boiled leafy vegetables in water (I drink both) and egg whites, along with my regular meals, so that I don't go overboard and ruin my progress. Not even checking the scale, with all the broth, and veggies, and water weight, its not gonna look pretty lol

I call the eat, eat, eat, can't stop eating, can't stop thinking about food experience "rabid hunger." And for me, rabid hunger is always caused by either


1. hormones - "that time of the month" (for me this is about 4 to 6 days before the period starts and 2 to 3 days into the period).

2. carbohydrates (especially sugars and other quick-digesting carbs).


Birth control (some bc pills work better than others) and eating paleo most of the month, and low-carb during the monthly "danger zone" when I'm most susceptible to rabid hunger.

I've found that even a bite or two of sugar (especially in foods that combine the sugar/fat/salty flavor/nutrient combination that David Kessler talks about in the book, The End of Overeating) can trigger rabid hunger.

Rabid hunger (and the compulsive eating that often results) seems to be a lot easier to prevent than it is to stop in its tracks.