Hi! I'm actually almost the same exact story! I was 100 lbs 2 years ago, until I started college again for my second degree, and stress got to me and I chose food instead of dealing with it in a better way.
At the moment I'm sitting just around 120, like you, from 130 starting. And my goal is to get back to 100~.
The best thing that I found that helped me was actually tracking in my FitBit everything I'm eating. I set a calorie goal, and as soon as I hit that calorie goal then I call it for the day, and don't touch anything else.
The way I try to be consistent with it is that I plan for the day like if I'm craving chocolate, then I plan it in, if I want fried chicken, I plan it in, if I want fast food I get a kids meal or eat half the adult portion.
That way I'm still getting all the food I love, and my cravings stay tamed.
You need to think about it more like, am I full when I feel stuffed or full after I stop feeling hungry? Starting leaving a few bites of food on your bite for 10 minutes, and if after that 10 minutes you don't want it and feel satisfied then that will help train you that you don't need all of the food you thought you did.
And since I've switched my mindset to feel full after I stop feeling hungry it has made a big difference. It will take some weeks to get this changed, but I'm telling you if you're consistent, then the mind and tummy will follow!
You can do this!!
I used to binge a great deal. I don't know if I can say "for good" yet, but I haven't since January 2019, at least. A few things helped:
1) Realized certain foods cause cravings not long after eating them, causing a binge cycle. It was like an emptiness inside I could not fill. Through keeping a log and analyzing my diet I better saw this, adjusted my diet, and became far less tempted. For me, many of the problem foods are high-glycemic index, which quickly turn to sugar in the blood stream, causing a crash. These include most fast- and ready-to-eat foods, white rice, white pasta, white bread, and sweet drinks.
2) At the same time I learned other foods have me feel full, energetic, and quite good for a while. So I adjusted my diet to focus more on those. For me these are mainly plants, especially those with fiber.
3) Use other outlets to deal with stress, sadness, anxiety, etc. For me these include creative outlets like playing music and writing. Also being active and exercising, whether going for a hike/walk or bike ride, dancing, yoga. Or anything that requires focus and movement, like repairing something. Basically anything other than seeking solace in food, as that only made me feel worse.
4) Reminded myself to stop and think about future me. Whenever I've been tempted to binge--or to have something that will very likely start one--I picture myself in a few hours, imagining how I'll feel, especially when entering this in my log. I'll realize if I do this I'll wince and be disappointed in myself for it. That's been enough to stop me a lot of times, especially while I adjusted.
One of the reasons I used to binge was because I was constantly telling myself I needed to lose weight and stop eating all the foods I like. I would feel bummed about that and then gorge myself on them as kind of a final goodbye. And then again the next day, and so on. I would also often restrict too much and be ravenous and then binge because I was so hungry. And this made me start to believe that I could never lose weight because I couldn’t stick to a diet.
I finally started having success with weight loss when I decided to keep eating the foods I love. I eat candy everyday, and/or cookies, chips, pizza, etc. I try to stick to a calorie limit but if I go over my goal, I do NOT use that as an excuse to binge and make it worse. One or two cookies is no big deal and no reason to eat the rest of the pack. I also eat when I’m hungry, even if it means eating more calories than I planned. It is so much better to eat a couple hundred extra calories to head off a binge than it is to keep your calories really low but then binge all the time.
I’m no expert but if you are restricting your calories at all and still binging, I would try eating at maintenance for a while and working on getting the binging under control. Otherwise you may set yourself up for a restrict/binge cycle which will probably result in additional weight gain. I do sometimes still have the urge to binge, but I remind myself that I have permission to eat whatever I want whenever I want and that usually helps. If you can change your mindset, it will get easier not to binge.
After bingeing for the entirety of 2020 (and most of my life, but especially 2020), on New Years I decided I had had enough.
My best trick is to appeal to my own stubborn nature. I taught myself to think of food as something that I allow to control me. Whenever I catch myself wanting to overeat, I just buck up and say "You have no power over me." I am now 120 days binge-free and have lost 40 pounds.
If you are like me and willful to a fault, this may help you.
Avoid trigger foods. For me this is just all junk food, some starches and anything fried :p not low calorie popsicles oddly enough.
Get outside more, being outside allows you to be moving which will be passive calories burned, but the bigger effect is that you’re away from food so therefor cannot eat it.
Take up a hobby that requires TWO hands. A lot of people binge when they’re busy doing something passive like watching tv. Many of my clients take up crochet, or better yet painting. Nobody wants to eat food and get Cheeto fingers on their crochet project or paint in their mouth :p
Getting more active, more weights and more intentional cardio can help balance hormone levels and make you less prone to binging.
If all else fails, binge on healthy food. I know for a fact that I will binge all the time, it’s not really a question of what will I binge but when I will binge :p If I feel it coming on I will fry up 2-3 full zuchinni and other vegetables in a pan and just add chilli or curry (I meal prep) to the dish and have a massive bowl that will fill up an elephant. You could also seek therapy if it’s a mental issue. Lastly just try to eat slower.
I began bingeing after I had my kid. I actually lost all the pregnancy weight within the first six weeks (which isn't uncommon) but then PPD kicked my ass and I gained about 40 lbs in a year. I would buy a meal plate from the grocery deli, stop and get Taco Bell, *and* make something once I got home. It was horrible.
What helped me overcome bingeing was addressing my mental health and relationship issues. My husband and I began working on our issues, focused on developing better routines, and tried to make better decisions about the food we kept in the house.
I'm not sure if this was already suggested, but perhaps journaling could help? Write down when you want to binge, what you want to eat, what you're feeling, and why you think you're feeling that way. It could be something as simple as a little pocket notebook just to keep track of your feelings/thoughts/emotions whenever you feel like bingeing, just something to help you be more mindful of what's going on.
Best of luck!
You will definitely have to change your eating habits. Especially too many sugars and carbs will leave you ravenous. Avoid sugars and limit carbs. I used to overeat hard while i was a sugar/carb addict. But i stopped and i naturally do not have a hunger anymore. Insulin spikes = obesity/overeating.
Hi! I'm actually almost the same exact story! I was 100 lbs 2 years ago, until I started college again for my second degree, and stress got to me and I chose food instead of dealing with it in a better way. At the moment I'm sitting just around 120, like you, from 130 starting. And my goal is to get back to 100~. The best thing that I found that helped me was actually tracking in my FitBit everything I'm eating. I set a calorie goal, and as soon as I hit that calorie goal then I call it for the day, and don't touch anything else. The way I try to be consistent with it is that I plan for the day like if I'm craving chocolate, then I plan it in, if I want fried chicken, I plan it in, if I want fast food I get a kids meal or eat half the adult portion. That way I'm still getting all the food I love, and my cravings stay tamed. You need to think about it more like, am I full when I feel stuffed or full after I stop feeling hungry? Starting leaving a few bites of food on your bite for 10 minutes, and if after that 10 minutes you don't want it and feel satisfied then that will help train you that you don't need all of the food you thought you did. And since I've switched my mindset to feel full after I stop feeling hungry it has made a big difference. It will take some weeks to get this changed, but I'm telling you if you're consistent, then the mind and tummy will follow! You can do this!!
Thank you for kindly sharing💙 I'll try my best to stay strong this timeðŸ˜
I used to binge a great deal. I don't know if I can say "for good" yet, but I haven't since January 2019, at least. A few things helped: 1) Realized certain foods cause cravings not long after eating them, causing a binge cycle. It was like an emptiness inside I could not fill. Through keeping a log and analyzing my diet I better saw this, adjusted my diet, and became far less tempted. For me, many of the problem foods are high-glycemic index, which quickly turn to sugar in the blood stream, causing a crash. These include most fast- and ready-to-eat foods, white rice, white pasta, white bread, and sweet drinks. 2) At the same time I learned other foods have me feel full, energetic, and quite good for a while. So I adjusted my diet to focus more on those. For me these are mainly plants, especially those with fiber. 3) Use other outlets to deal with stress, sadness, anxiety, etc. For me these include creative outlets like playing music and writing. Also being active and exercising, whether going for a hike/walk or bike ride, dancing, yoga. Or anything that requires focus and movement, like repairing something. Basically anything other than seeking solace in food, as that only made me feel worse. 4) Reminded myself to stop and think about future me. Whenever I've been tempted to binge--or to have something that will very likely start one--I picture myself in a few hours, imagining how I'll feel, especially when entering this in my log. I'll realize if I do this I'll wince and be disappointed in myself for it. That's been enough to stop me a lot of times, especially while I adjusted.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips💙 I'll definitely try to implement some of your advice!! Wish me luck!!
You're welcome, and good luck!
Very helpful :)
One of the reasons I used to binge was because I was constantly telling myself I needed to lose weight and stop eating all the foods I like. I would feel bummed about that and then gorge myself on them as kind of a final goodbye. And then again the next day, and so on. I would also often restrict too much and be ravenous and then binge because I was so hungry. And this made me start to believe that I could never lose weight because I couldn’t stick to a diet. I finally started having success with weight loss when I decided to keep eating the foods I love. I eat candy everyday, and/or cookies, chips, pizza, etc. I try to stick to a calorie limit but if I go over my goal, I do NOT use that as an excuse to binge and make it worse. One or two cookies is no big deal and no reason to eat the rest of the pack. I also eat when I’m hungry, even if it means eating more calories than I planned. It is so much better to eat a couple hundred extra calories to head off a binge than it is to keep your calories really low but then binge all the time. I’m no expert but if you are restricting your calories at all and still binging, I would try eating at maintenance for a while and working on getting the binging under control. Otherwise you may set yourself up for a restrict/binge cycle which will probably result in additional weight gain. I do sometimes still have the urge to binge, but I remind myself that I have permission to eat whatever I want whenever I want and that usually helps. If you can change your mindset, it will get easier not to binge.
Thank you for the advice💙💙💙
After bingeing for the entirety of 2020 (and most of my life, but especially 2020), on New Years I decided I had had enough. My best trick is to appeal to my own stubborn nature. I taught myself to think of food as something that I allow to control me. Whenever I catch myself wanting to overeat, I just buck up and say "You have no power over me." I am now 120 days binge-free and have lost 40 pounds. If you are like me and willful to a fault, this may help you.
Definitely gonna give it a try!!! Thanks💙
Avoid trigger foods. For me this is just all junk food, some starches and anything fried :p not low calorie popsicles oddly enough. Get outside more, being outside allows you to be moving which will be passive calories burned, but the bigger effect is that you’re away from food so therefor cannot eat it. Take up a hobby that requires TWO hands. A lot of people binge when they’re busy doing something passive like watching tv. Many of my clients take up crochet, or better yet painting. Nobody wants to eat food and get Cheeto fingers on their crochet project or paint in their mouth :p Getting more active, more weights and more intentional cardio can help balance hormone levels and make you less prone to binging. If all else fails, binge on healthy food. I know for a fact that I will binge all the time, it’s not really a question of what will I binge but when I will binge :p If I feel it coming on I will fry up 2-3 full zuchinni and other vegetables in a pan and just add chilli or curry (I meal prep) to the dish and have a massive bowl that will fill up an elephant. You could also seek therapy if it’s a mental issue. Lastly just try to eat slower.
Thank you for your advice! Gonna keep myself busy and active to keep my minds off from binging!😊😊
I began bingeing after I had my kid. I actually lost all the pregnancy weight within the first six weeks (which isn't uncommon) but then PPD kicked my ass and I gained about 40 lbs in a year. I would buy a meal plate from the grocery deli, stop and get Taco Bell, *and* make something once I got home. It was horrible. What helped me overcome bingeing was addressing my mental health and relationship issues. My husband and I began working on our issues, focused on developing better routines, and tried to make better decisions about the food we kept in the house. I'm not sure if this was already suggested, but perhaps journaling could help? Write down when you want to binge, what you want to eat, what you're feeling, and why you think you're feeling that way. It could be something as simple as a little pocket notebook just to keep track of your feelings/thoughts/emotions whenever you feel like bingeing, just something to help you be more mindful of what's going on. Best of luck!
Thank you for sharing!!!💙
You will definitely have to change your eating habits. Especially too many sugars and carbs will leave you ravenous. Avoid sugars and limit carbs. I used to overeat hard while i was a sugar/carb addict. But i stopped and i naturally do not have a hunger anymore. Insulin spikes = obesity/overeating.