I know this might get moved to chicks in control, but I wanted more input from folks who don't usually binge, plus the ones who do.

So I had a planned "off" weekend. I do this on occassion. Then I reign it in and go back on plan.

Monday I binged a little bit. By no means did I pig out like I did on the weekend, but it was still not what I wanted to do.

Tuesday I was good. Strict, stayed on plan.

Yesterday I had another late afternoon binge. Probably didn't consume the calories of Monday, but still not good.

I've been running on the treadmill, about 3 miles every other day and doing a Jillian Michaels video in-between, with one rest day. I should be eating 1550 calories to lose. However, this week I feel like I am STARVING. And I don't get it. I'm wondering if I need to cool it on the exercise and that would make me feel less hungry, and get the binge monster at bay, or should I just up my calories by 100 or so, to compensate for the workout intensity? One thing I did that I thought would help was eliminating coffee. Right now I need to eat calories, not drink them. So I switched to plain green tea, no sweetner. Not that it kept me from being a little piggy.

I've been at this over a year, and rarely do I binge at all. So two days of falling off the wagon in three days time has put a giant red flag in my head that something is off (probably my brain )

Anyhow, thoughts guys? What do you all think?

Yes, your brain is off (I so LOL when I read that!)

I've had the same problem - I mean, not the off-plan, bingey problem, but the "OMG why am I so hungry?" problem. I think it might be wise to cut back on exercise - a little. Maybe cut down to 2 miles on the tread & then do JM for half the time & maybe rest 2 days per week? Do it for about a month, see how you feel/react. If it doesn't work/fix the problem, then try something else. Even when we've been at this a long time, we still have to "tweak" our routine/eating plans ever so often!

I had to stop any intense exercise to control my binges. I still do light arm weights and Chase after daycare kids and clean the house. Personally I know I need more binge free time under my belt before I try to get into an exercise routine again. I think you need to listen to your body and figure out what works best for you. Good luck.

I am so glad you posted this. I started jogging a week ago to train for a 5k and I stopped for now because it was making me feel like I needed to eat everything in sight. It made me ravenously hungry to the point that I was in tears. I'm back to normal now, so I would say maybe cut down on the exercise a bit and/or up the calories a bit to help.

As another possibility, is your period due?

I think you can try it--cutting back on the heavy exercise. Doesn't hurt to try and see if it makes a difference. I do think if you decide to cut down or out on the heavy exercise you should make sure you're getting out for a walk or something, just to keep your "head health" while you try and find a better balance.

I know I had to cut down my heavy exercise from 6 to 3 days a week, and those other three days I go for an hour walk. Definitely keeps me on track, without contributing to such a huge calorie deficit that I'm "bingy".

Good luck!

I get MAD hungry when it's my period time...esp. a couple days before...I would say don't STOP working out rather cut back the intensity...maybe just do a speedy longer walk rather than running 3 miles? HTH and good luck

Another possibility is that your binge weekend relaxed all your resistance muscles and primed to you be hungry and bingey during the week. That seems more likely than the exercise to me.

I get hungry after exercise also--ravenous really. I just make sure I have a solid snack planned or that I exercise before a meal. I also find that after a few weeks of regular exercise, the mad hunger goes away and my body settles in to a more acceptable rhythm.

But again, it sounds to me that the bingeing, not the exercise, is what has set you up for more bingeing.

Hmm...
TOM is due in 6 days. Usually I get crazy hungry and cravings around ovulation, though. But I guess I shouldn't rule it out. I'm going to take today off from exercising or do something lower impact than Jillian (maybe some light yoga or something) and keep the calories the same and see if that helps me not feel ravenous. Now that I'm thinking about it, each binge has been the same day that I run, so I think that has to be the answer...

Instead of cutting out the exercise, I would cut out the "off" weekend.

exercise does increase hunger but I would expect that the binge foods also impacted your blood sugar and caused cravings which manifested as additional hunger.

were you doing a comparable amount of exercise before the weekend "off"? And if yes, what was your hunger like then?

I would have to agree with this. I did a "day off" on Saturday and ended up binging Monday and Tuesday because I had ravenous cravings. Plus, my mood has been really off ever since. I think the stark increase in blood sugar throws your whole body out of wack. I don't think doing a whole day, or weekend, off is a good idea.. at least for me it seems.

I think it could be a nutrient thing. If you're working out that much, you need tons of micronutrients. I would try to incorporate greens. Here's a really good one that I'm about to start doing: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-green-drink

Another thing you may try is calorie cycling....so if you add an extra 100 calories, maybe just have one day where you eat 200 more and another where you'd eat 200 less (possibly on a day where you don't workout).

The only way to really know is to try. Hang in there though! Amazing that you can run like that! After running 1 mile in 10 minutes, I feel completely done for!

Everyone is different, but... here is my two cents (you decide whether or not to rub them together, lol):

Taking an off weekend is almost like reprogramming yourself. Maybe instead (so you still feel like you can "relax") take an off meal. Once you get blood sugars off, it brings you into real fighting mode between your head and your body. This happened to my friend when she did an "off day" (she called it her 'allowance day'). She ended up going to see her doctor (who was helping her through her program) and he suggested she do the off meal instead... also had her swap from high intensity workouts to lower intensity for a longer time for a couple weeks and allow herself all the lettuce and grapes she could eat if the "hunger" hit. It seemed to help straighten her back out to where she was totally on target again. Maybe the same is happening to you? With everybody being so different though, it's hard telling until you eliminate the possibles

It takes time for your body to adjust to the hunger from running. When I first started running I was hungry all the time and it was a struggle. Now I run a lot and don't have the same issues with hunger on my run days that I used to. If you keep taking time off your body will have to keep adjusting and it will be a constant issue.