In need of some help

I feel like I am stuck in a bad cycle, I eat really well and excercise for a few days, then I binge really badly on all sorts of junk for the next few days, then return to my regular healthy habits, I don't purge but I can't seem to stop myself from just shoveling food down even when I know I am full and will feel shitty. Does anyone have advice? I keep a food journal but I always seem to find excuses to eat tons of food.

Sat. Apr 5, 1:04am

I watched a show tonight.. I can make you thin.. when you feel like binging think of that food now do something digusting to it.. like pizza with hair all over it or roaches.. now eat that food with that mental image and press your thumb of your left hand to your left index finger. now press your thumb of your right side to your right index finger and imagine a time you were so happy and fullfilled in your life..

now when you want to emotional eat or binge go to that moment by pressing your right thumb to your right index finger and remember that time when you were so happy.. its suppose to help with the emotional eating.

I know it sounds disgusting to mess up a image of you favor food by putting hair or bugs or whatnot .. but if it helps you control the urge to binge.. andmake eating that food a choice not a compulsion. I will give it a try.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 1:46 AM

That sounds so negative PP. What terrible adivec to give someone. It's so out of context too. That's the way anorexics avoid food. They make scrapbooks with pictures of fatty (and delicious) foods and pictures of morbidly obese, obese, and overweight people beside them. Then they look at those pictures together to keep themselves from eating them. They call it THINSPIRATION. Look it up.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 9:35 AM

I think it's a great idea! These are foods we are not supposed to be eating... to be truly healthy, ever. I'm going to try it!

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 10:04 AM

9:35 - it is common sense. If you eat fatty food, you're going to be fat. Look it up. :)

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 10:06 AM

PP, when did I say that eating fatty foods didn't make you fat? Obviously they do, but it is mentally unhealthy to create imaginary negative connotations for those foods. Why not just exert a little natural self control.

That would be like saying that because someone has an alcohol problem they should envision themselves drowning in it every time they want to have a drink. Those negative images are not good for us.

How about every time you want to eat those fatty foods think about how much more you want to be thin, or to be able to run up a flight of steps without getting out of breath, or wear that summer dress proudly and comfortably, etc.

Positive images are so much more affective than negative ones. That's all.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 10:35 AM

9:35 & 10:35 here again. I just want to add that it doesn't make sense to envision fatty foods as evil because these foods are not the enemy. These foods are not trying to attack you in the night and jam themselves down your throats. Whomever is trying to lose the weight is the one who might need "hair all over or roaches" not the food. It's that person's association with food that is negative, not the foods themselves. blaming the food is just another part of the overweight person's blame game.

This is not good advice for someone "in need of help."

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 10:41 AM

Who decides what is helpful?

Shouldn't the person asking for help decide whether or not the advice is helpful? What works for one, may not work for another, but I think the person in need can weed out what info they want , right???

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 12:44 PM

PP, I don't know. I think it's fair to intercept and give my advice about the type of advice other people post.

It would be like if some youngster came on here and asked how she should lose weight and someone posted that they should eat 500cals a day, and then someone else came on and said "Yeah, that's a great idea. That'll work for sure." Don't you think it's reasonable for someone to step in and say : "I don't think that's healthy." How can you know that the person receiving the advice won't appreciate me looking out for him or her? I think it's only kind to let someone know if you think something seems unsafe. Especially when it's being given as advice on a normally rational, healthy, training site.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 2:51 PM

Also the OP seems to have vanished. I don't think she's been back since she posted her original cry for help. Who knows when she'll come and read the wacky advice people are giving her.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 2:53 PM

If you're bingeing because you're hungry, then you are restricting your calories too much on your "good" days. Very common phenomenon.

If you're bingeing for emotional reasons, you need to work on finding other ways to cope that don't involved food.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 3:58 PM

I saw the I Can Make You Thin show and the technique of envisioning the most disgusting thing and attaching that image to a food you crave. The strategy is for foods people feel out of control around - not all 'bad' foods.

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 8:03 PM

Me Too

Hey OP,
I know what you mean. I find myself stuck in the same cycle!
What I've been doing is trying to think of alternatives- like when I feel a binge coming on, I think, what else could I be doing right now? Then I go to the nail salon even if it's during the week, or jump in the bathtub and soak, or read a favorite magazine. The point is I think we feel like even though we SHOULDN'T eat this stuff, we can't think of anything else to do, so we do it. It's totally comforting, it's weirdly about power, and then after, powerlessness. So, try to break the cycle by doing something you wouldn't otherwise do in that moment. Put a piece of gum in your mouth so you can satisfy that somehow. Part of the comfort is tasting something and chewing it. I think that's why some adults suck their thumbs! :)
Good luck, OP, and know that this too shall pass!
CJ

Saturday, April 5, 2008, 9:14 PM

Hey 2;53 OP here, I the original thread yesterday so I dont consider checking the next day, vanishing.
Anyway, thank you everyone for your advice, healthy or not. I think even thinking of this advice and this thread will help. I just need to focus on the end results. Think do I want this muffin, or to take off that extra pound? I can;t keep making up excuses which is what I think is the hardest part. Stress from exams, previous work outs, "treating" myself all add up to munching. Its the hand to mouth mindless eating that really affects normal eating cycles and something that needs to be broken. Thanks a lot everyone

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 11:19 AM

Hi OP- I was like that for a long time too. I did a mental reset...That is, I now think about how I want to treat myself....I mean, I want to treat my body in a way that it will be at its best, look great, function at its max. (I mean, you only get one body, and you are the steward of it....no one else can take care of it for you.) So now when I want to eat something I shouldn't I think....What is this going to do to my body? Is this leading me back to poor nutritional choices, toward a lifetime of being fat, toward diabetes and heart disease? What would be better for me? What makes it worth bypassing the Fritos or chocolate cake or fried calamari? ME! I treat myself like I am a precious commodity...because I am. I am not sure if I am explaining this too well. I read You On A Diet...and it totally changed the way I think about food, and my relationship to it.

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 1:59 PM

1:59 pm here again. Hello, people. Fatty foods do not make you fat!!! Eating more calories than you expend makes you fat, no matter what type of foods they are. Fatty foods (the ones with "bad fats", like saturated fats) should be minimized because of their effect on your arteries, increasing risk of colon cancer, etc. Also, if you want to feel satisfied (not hungry), you can really pack in the calories with fatty foods. Eating something lo-fat & high-fiber like vegetables or oatmeal gives you that feeling of fullness with WAY fewer calories.

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 2:09 PM

PP, no. If you want to be thin you should never ever eat fatty foods. Thin people do not eat fatty foods. Thin people eat like rabbits eat. If you want to be thin you should learn to think and eat like a rabbit. Hop, hop, nibble nibble, hop hop. You can spend your whole day just hippity hopping in the grass eating leaves, and then you'll be able to look extra swexy in your little black evening gown come easter.

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 2:51 PM

Sorry, 2:51, you are just wrong (cute & funny...but wrong.) I like the whole looking-sexy-in-my-little-black-dress thing, but I think eating to be thin should also mean eating to be healthy. If you want to eat healthy and be thin, you just have to eat the right types of fat in moderation. Salmon, sardines, olives, avocado...these are all healthy foods which are high in fat. Fat, of the appropriate type and in the appropriate amount, is part of a healthy diet. There is life beyond rabbit food.

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 3:14 PM

2:51- what the heck? Thin people do eat fatty food. Fatty food does not make you fat. It's all about calories. It's just that thin people eat in moderation and know when to stop. They have a healthy relationship with food and don't use it to cope with their emotions. If they overdo it, they don't have this all or nothing approach and then binge.

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 3:28 PM

OP - Same here !

I hear you - I am so ridiculously good for days and weeks, and then blow it on some goofy weekend ! ! My solution : have a plan of attack - the below won't come acress well and it is only partial - (I have 8 weaknesses not 2) But I think about where I fail easiest and what am I going to do, then before I go to that place (My house and work I only have healthy stuff so no worries there) I go over my plan ! ! MAKE A CHART - shouldn't beating your downfalls require some planning ?

Diet Downfalls and Weaknesses

Location Problem Solution
eating out Bread, Chips, dessert, entrée One piece bread or four

chips - entrée salad & take 1/2 home split the dessert and take a couple of really small bites

Weekends Instability, snacks, relaxed attitude stay focused, good bkfst,

no snacks - double check yourself on Sun. night!

Monday, April 7, 2008, 10:30 AM

Control your environment !

Your house and workplace should not have any food that is bad in it - throw it all out ! !
No chips in the cupboard - cakes in the fridge - pretzles in the drawer at work - toss it all and buy no more ther now 75 % of your problem is gone.

Monday, April 7, 2008, 10:33 AM

TIPS FOR YOU OP

I say have one cheat meal a week and other than that be perfect - your brain is flipping out, because it thinks it is gonna starve to death. So let is blow off steam once a week.
Also - Better to take your diet down a notch and then slowly get tougher rather than do the starve and binge.
Oh and rabbit food is better 'cause there is so much more volume - have it on hand!
Would you feel fuller and better on :
- 1 Snicker bar (250 cal)
OR
- 1 whole apple, 1 carrot, 1 dill pickle, 1 red pepper, AND 1 whole banana (250 cal.) !

Monday, April 7, 2008, 11:15 AM

Almost all diets tell you this...have a clean environment...but if it's not in your home, it's in the break room at work. Or your mom makes your favorite mac & cheese when you visit...or you go to the movies & want those jr mints & popcorn. The temptation is everywhere. Getting past the temptation goes beyond removing it from your immediate environment. (Although if it helps, by all means, DO IT!) You have to get to the point where you say 'no' to that stuff because you want to take care of yourself more than you want the instant gratification of a chocolate chip cookie.

Monday, April 7, 2008, 11:21 AM

PP on the one hand I agree, but still, I am all about control !...
With habits and environment and so forth - and THEN you attack those weak points with your willpower. Like the vending machine at work... I NEVER even get ONE thing there - it is a habit - it has become invisible like it isn't there - now I hear you on the random cookie thing - that is killer - like some evil monster jumping out of the bushes to tear your plan limb from limb - then you have to have your wits about you !! !!
But if I can control the nature of 75% of the food around me - I certainly will and it helps me a lot.
Diet success begns in the grocery store.

Monday, April 7, 2008, 11:44 AM

I agree. Vending machines are evil. I work in a hospital, and even there it is full of nothing but chips and candy. Evil.

Monday, April 7, 2008, 7:07 PM

No doubt - and even at gyms !

I once worked out at a gym where the Vending Machine was full of American Bodybuilding products only - like protein shakes and energy drinks and stuff - Now that is the way to go !!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 9:51 AM

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