Binge eating after losing weight - need help

[gotigers]

Basically to sum it up short, I'm about to be 24 years old, 6 ft and about 172 pounds.

When I was near 210 pounds I don't know what happened but I reistrcted my calories to about 1,200 to 1,400 per day, exercised a ton, and I lost a lot of wieght in about a two month time frame. I went from 210 to 166. I began eating more (about 1800 to 2000 per day), slowly gained to 172 (where I've been at for a while maintaing) but the binges are still stuck with me. I go fine and I have no cravings during the week but on Saturday I binge about 5,000 calories. Usually Sunday I get back on track but I have binged on Sundays as well. Usually it is on ice cream, chocolates, things like that. Then on Monday I can resume my workout and diet routine for the whole week without any cravings only to "relapse" on the weekends. I also find my sex drive is low during the week but after a binge I get that drive going.

I get intense cravings for ice cream, and chocolates. I guess my question is this - do I just start binging everyday and gain all my weight back (go back to 210, approx. 40 lbs weight gain) to stop the cravings and then try to lose it all again properly? I have been binging for this whole year every Saturday and I "crash" dieted for about 2 months. I don't get why I get zero cravings Monday through Friday but on Saturday something snaps. It is not "hunger" cravings either, it's cravings coming from somewhere else. I know hunger signs and these are not it. It is almost probably like what someone who smokes that can't get a cigarette gets craving wise, that's the best I can describe it.

Other ideas I've thought of could be an "addiction" to the sugars. I notice when I get these intense cravings tons of thoughts and emotions run through me uncontrollably, but once I eat those sugary food my thoughts and emotions are completely numbed and I enter an almost euphoric state. When I attempt to binge on other things like bread, I don't get this feeling. I also notice my binges are getting worse. Nothing satisfy the cravings I get except ice cream or chocolates.

Or is it going to come down to willpower and choice to fight it off. I am just curious if I will have these cravings for the rest of my life, and will I have to spend every Saturday for the rest of my life fighting off binge cravings.

Any suggestions on what to do? Am I just ****ed, should give up, and get fat again?

[lee__d]

yea, i go off my diet on the weekends myself sometimes. it's alot of wilpower and little bit of strategy.

best advice i can give, schedule cheat meals, have whatever u want for 2 or 3 meals per week. hopefully this is ebnuogh to satisfy ur cravings.

get out of the house on the weeknds so ur not around food, fill up the time w/ some activities.

[ejthomp]

Cravings and binges are signs of a bad diet.

Tell us about your Sunday through Friday diet.....1800-2000 calories of what?

[gotigers]

I don't know, I mean, I never crave chocolate or ice cream during the week. I mean when offered those during the week I couldn't even eat them (I have no desire for them). And then I don't know what happens, I just snap on Saturday. I eat about 1800 cals per day right now because I am trying to lose a little bit of fat I have left. I have concluded that:

1.) I am either addicted to these foods (meaning I get enough from the binge that the "sugar" stays in my system for the whole week, and slowly fades off - thus getting another "fix" on weekends.

2.) My body is in starvation mode and that is why I am getting these cravings.

3.) I lack willpower and I need to practice my ability to say no

4.) I should binge daily and gain all my fat back plus 10% on top of that to stop the cravings (I heard this is what needs to be done after severe restrction).

Also here is my diet example:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup oatmeal mixed with 1 scoop whey protein, 1-2 tbsp PB, and 2 tbsp. flax seed
Apple

Lunch:
Whole grain wrap with chicken, tuna, and two pieces of cheese
1 Sweet Potato
Pear

Dinner:
8 oz. chicken breast
Frozen bag vegetables (280 calories)
1 Scoop whey protein

Total cals is about 1800, 40/40/20 diet

[Verbalcody]

There is no willpower. Only weakness. If you REALLY didn't want those things, you wouldn't eat them... so stop eating that crap and keep up the diet, if that's what will make you feel better in the long run

[gotigers]

I dunno man, my sex drive is shot, I think about food often (I always on this site or reading into nutrition), I experience weekend cravings for junk food, I obsess over my workouts. My life is normal during the week and I ahve no issues with the above. On Saturdays though I just snap. I have read into starvation mode and I think that might be it. I have also read that in order to get out of it you need to gain all the weight back you lost plus an additional 10% in order to get over the cravings. That is scary to me.

[ejthomp]

I have read into starvation mode and I think that might be it. I have also read that in order to get out of it you need to gain all the weight back you lost plus an additional 10% in order to get over the cravings.

What in the H E double L have you been reading?

Whatever it is, please throw the garbage away.

Unless you weigh about 120 pounds...and can't get out of bed due to lack of strength and energy.... you're not in starvation mode..

[DirtGoose]

"4.) I should binge daily and gain all my fat back plus 10% on top of that to stop the cravings (I heard this is what needs to be done after severe restrction)."

lolwut

Why would you gain your fat back...What would be the point of all the **** you went through to get to this weight now. You have to fix your willpower brah, saying no is easy, but also a little cheating won't kill you in the long run. I agree with lee_d, schedule cheats. I cheat once a week and still manage to cut 1-2lbs a week.
Also you might wanna look into upping your fat intake. Low sex drive etc could be linked to that. Get your macros from your bodyweight not % of caloric intake.


..(also Im a n00b how the **** do you quote and all that sheeet)

[gotigers]

What in the H E double L have you been reading?

Whatever it is, please throw the garbage away.

Unless you weigh about 120 pounds...and can't get out of bed due to lack of strength and energy.... you're not in starvation mode..

I don't want to list specific websites (it's not this one btw) but the ones I have read state that all the symptoms I have are a result of starvation mode. I realize eating 1200 cals with my age, height, weight was damaging but at the time I was not thinking. So I read in order to get out of it I have to eat more and gain weight, or almost all of it back.

They link binge/sugar cravings, low sex drive, obsession with food/exercise, disordered body image to starvation mode, and I think that's where I'm at...

[lee__d]

"4.) I should binge daily and gain all my fat back plus 10% on top of that to stop the cravings (I heard this is what needs to be done after severe restrction)."

lolwut

Why would you gain your fat back...What would be the point of all the **** you went through to get to this weight now. You have to fix your willpower brah, saying no is easy, but also a little cheating won't kill you in the long run. I agree with lee_d, schedule cheats. I cheat once a week and still manage to cut 1-2lbs a week.
Also you might wanna look into upping your fat intake. Low sex drive etc could be linked to that. Get your macros from your bodyweight not % of caloric intake.


..(also Im a n00b how the **** do you quote and all that sheeet)

HIT THE REPLY BUTTON IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE POST UR QUOTING, sry bout caps. and the button next to that allows multiple opst quoting

[saint sinner x]

Basically to sum it up short, I'm about to be 24 years old, 6 ft and about 172 pounds.

When I was near 210 pounds I don't know what happened but I reistrcted my calories to about 1,200 to 1,400 per day, exercised a ton, and I lost a lot of wieght in about a two month time frame. I went from 210 to 166. I began eating more (about 1800 to 2000 per day), slowly gained to 172 (where I've been at for a while maintaing) but the binges are still stuck with me. I go fine and I have no cravings during the week but on Saturday I binge about 5,000 calories. Usually Sunday I get back on track but I have binged on Sundays as well. Usually it is on ice cream, chocolates, things like that. Then on Monday I can resume my workout and diet routine for the whole week without any cravings only to "relapse" on the weekends. I also find my sex drive is low during the week but after a binge I get that drive going.

I get intense cravings for ice cream, and chocolates. I guess my question is this - do I just start binging everyday and gain all my weight back (go back to 210, approx. 40 lbs weight gain) to stop the cravings and then try to lose it all again properly? I have been binging for this whole year every Saturday and I "crash" dieted for about 2 months. I don't get why I get zero cravings Monday through Friday but on Saturday something snaps. It is not "hunger" cravings either, it's cravings coming from somewhere else. I know hunger signs and these are not it. It is almost probably like what someone who smokes that can't get a cigarette gets craving wise, that's the best I can describe it.

Other ideas I've thought of could be an "addiction" to the sugars. I notice when I get these intense cravings tons of thoughts and emotions run through me uncontrollably, but once I eat those sugary food my thoughts and emotions are completely numbed and I enter an almost euphoric state. When I attempt to binge on other things like bread, I don't get this feeling. I also notice my binges are getting worse. Nothing satisfy the cravings I get except ice cream or chocolates.

Or is it going to come down to willpower and choice to fight it off. I am just curious if I will have these cravings for the rest of my life, and will I have to spend every Saturday for the rest of my life fighting off binge cravings.

Any suggestions on what to do? Am I just ****ed, should give up, and get fat again?

You have an eating disorder, this is known as B.E.D. (Binge Eating Disorder) in psychology when you train intensely accompanied by a very strict diet your mind will desire to re-compensate, I dropped 89lbs in six months and developed the binge eating disorder, I overcame the disorder and develop an activity disorder always working out till muscular failure, because I always felt empty inside. This is a behavior pattern that must be broken, in other words you must endure for 90 consecutive days, other might say 21 days I say 90 days will assure you will exchange the habit. This is a multi-faceted problem and must be engaged through a very well thought out plan, in order for you to be reactive you must first be proactive so ask yourself these questions:

1) What time of the day do these binges begin?

2) What causes the binges?

3) How do I feel before, during and after the binging?

4) What foods I eat when I binge eat?

5) When and where did it all began??

My outline of when I overcame the binge eating disorder was this:

PROBLEM SOLUTION

Binge eat late at night - Sleep relatively early at night

Sugar codependent - Add more fruits to astray from processed sugar

Working out intensely provokes binging - Decrease workout frequency

Eliminating cheat meals provokes binging - Add 4 cheat meals per week


My problem was that I simply workout intensely and ate restricted, and I ate foods I hated with a passion. You must astray away from the whole perfectionist mentality, binge eaters are perfectionist and will focus on one extreme to the other. 4 cheat meals a week I was consuming eventually I decreased all cheat meals once I've learned to balance it all out, these cheat meals were consumed before a workout session and they were under 200 calories to assure my body isn't consuming any ****. This isn't a sprint mate, there's no rush this is a lifestyle, you must develop the habit, you've stumbled throughout the years now it's time for your revival. Your priority, your main focus should be on the diet, you can intent to engage this problem without any professional help or aid, as in a therapist or a sports psychologist, but don't waste time mate. You know what it will take, you've demonstrated willpower before, this is a whole new battlefield, this isn't as simple as dropping weight and burning more calories then what you consume, this is an internal battle, psychological warfare by tenfold. You must search deep within your soul and find the necessary strength to carry through,. You need an emotional reason to change, BECOME THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE, it will be hell just like it was for me, but progressively you'll grow stronger....

[DirtGoose]

HIT THE REPLY BUTTON IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE POST UR QUOTING, sry bout caps. and the button next to that allows multiple opst quoting

lolcaps...u mad bro?

haha jokes, dunno how I didn't see before. Thanks man.

[lee__d]

lolcaps...u mad bro?

haha jokes, dunno how I didn't see before. Thanks man.

lol np, I AM NOT YELLING JUST TAKLING FIRMLY. haha

[gotigers]

The only thing is I don't think that binge eaters experience extreme cravings for ice cream, chocolates, cookies, and so on. I think binge eaters do it for emotional not cravings.

Also what about the lack of sex drive - when I binge that drive comes back till I resume normal non-binging eating habits. Like I said I am fine M-F. When Saturday hits I am a different person and all I want to do it eat ice cream, chocolates, and all that crap.

[ejthomp]

The only thing is I don't think that binge eaters experience extreme cravings for ice cream, chocolates, cookies, and so on. I think binge eaters do it for emotional not cravings.

Also what about the lack of sex drive - when I binge that drive comes back till I resume normal non-binging eating habits. Like I said I am fine M-F. When Saturday hits I am a different person and all I want to do it eat ice cream, chocolates, and all that crap.

Tell us about your workouts....

The only time I have had uncontrollable cravings for ice cream and sweets is the six weeks or so around my recent marathon. I was running 30-40 miles per week with a 15-20 mile run every Sunday. After these long runs, my body demanded calories... In my case, I didn't think this was unusual... my body knew what it needed. I haven't been running much since the marathon 2 weeks ago and this weekend I had zero cravings for crap.

Your body is out of balance...... You just need to figure out a DAILY calorie level that satisfies your body. If you are full every day, you won't need extra on Saturday.

[gotigers]

Tell us about your workouts....

The only time I have had uncontrollable cravings for ice cream and sweets is the six weeks or so around my recent marathon. I was running 30-40 miles per week with a 15-20 mile run every Sunday. After these long runs, my body demanded calories... In my case, I didn't think this was unusual... my body knew what it needed. I haven't been running much since the marathon 2 weeks ago and this weekend I had zero cravings for crap.

Your body is out of balance...... You just need to figure out a DAILY calorie level that satisfies your body. If you are full every day, you won't need extra on Saturday.

I usually run about 3 to 4 miles on the treadmill. Sometimes I do the stationary bike, elliptical, I am using in the gym for no longer than 40 minutes doing this stuff. I know my BMR is about 1800. Running 3 or 4 miles is going to only burn 300 to 400 calories max. If you include the BMR and exercise, that's about 2200 calories. Then with all the other things factored in (daily life), I could not be burning much more than 2,500 calories daily. My job requires me to sit down all day with some movement but nothing extreme. So me eating 1,800 is a 700 deficit from 2,500. I know most calculators say someone with my stats burns 2,900 per day but that is just way too high - there is no way I am burning that much. That would mean my BMR is 1800, then adding in 300 to 400 from the gym taking me to 2,200 - and then somehow sitting on my butt at work for eight hours is burning 700 cals???

[ejthomp]

Let's look at this from a weekly perspective.... Your body doesn't run day to day.

1800 x 6 = 10800 + 5000 = 15,800 calories per week or 2,900 calories per day. That is what you are eating now!

Personally, I can maintain on 3,000 calories per day...cut on 2,500 and bulk on 3,500....assuming my cardio level is constant....

You are not much smaller than me and you are younger....to think that you NEED 3000 calories per day to maintain.... is not unreasonable.....and if I ate the diet you list above, I'm sure I would have cravings too.

My suggestion? Try eating 2500 calories per day for six days and see if those cravings on Saturday go away or are at least reduced. It is better that you figure out a good maintenance level going forward than you continue to try and cut for six days than binge for one.

[gotigers]

Let's look at this from a weekly perspective.... You're body doesn't run day to day.

1800 x 6 = 10800 + 5000 = 15,800 calories per week or 2,900 calories per day. That is what you are eating now!

Personally, I can maintain on 3,000 calories per day...cut on 2,500 and bulk on 3,500....assuming my cardio level is constant....

You are not much smaller than me and you are younger....to think that you NEED 3000 calories per day to maintain.... is not unreasonable.

My suggestion? Try eating 2500 calories per day for six days and see if those cravings on Saturday go away or are at least reduced. It is better that you figure out a good maintenance level going forward than you continue to try and cut for six days than binge for one.

Wait, 15,800 divided by 7 (a week) is 2,257 not 2,900...

[ejthomp]

Wait, 15,800 divided by 7 (a week) is 2,257 not 2,900...

yikes.... great math skills on my part!!! What the heck was I thinking? Sorry!

[ejthomp]

My advice stands though. I think you are burning a lot more calories than you think and you need to figure out your current maintenance level.....

You need to keep a food log for 3 weeks....

Based on what you have written, I'm guessing you are eating more calories than you think.

[gotigers]

No problem man. I think you are helping. You could be right when you say I should eat more, and I could be underestimating my burn rate. If I am burning 2900 per day then me eating 1700 or 1800 per day is a 1,100 to 1,200 deficit...

However, what about starvation mode. Don't you think I am in it because I was eating 1,200 calories for almost two months and lost a lot of weight. I know I mentioned this and you guys said it was prolly BS but should I regain all my weight and the additional 10%? I mean, I think about food, nutrition, exercise often. My sex drive is gone. I drink a lot of tea recently..all of these are symptoms of starvation mode.

[ejthomp]

Starvation mode is BS. You've never been in it... You'll never be in it.. Let's get this BS straight..

First the definition of starvation mode is when the body's metabolism slows down by up to 30% due to starvation. It SLOWS DOWN... it doesn't stop.... to be in starvation mode YOU MUST BE STARVING....AND STILL LOSING WEIGHT!!!! You can't be in starvation mode if you aren't losing weight!!!! We're talking about less than 800 calories per day for months on end until your body has used up all of the non-essential fat stores, much of your muscle and is starting to consume itself.... PICTURE STARVING HOLOCAUST VICTIMS!!!! OR STARVING CHILDREN IN AFRICA WITH THE ARMS AND LEGS THE SIZE OF A COUPLE FINGERS!!! They have no energy ....they can barely walk...

For you that would probably take you down under 120 pounds... YOU ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO STARVATION MODE!!!!

You are just hungry... You are used to eating a lot of sugar and crap and now you aren't. Your cravings are just that....cravings...

[Gui35sa]

There is never, ever a reason to to just TRY to gain fat. I agree with most of the threads on this page, it's a matter of breaking your habit. You've effectively trained yourself to feel like that after doing it for a while. Just try your absolute hardest to suck it up for a few weeks and see if it resoles anything.

In addition, make sure you are eating your multi's and fish oils, they make a huge difference (for me).

[surfergirl36]

My suggestion? Try eating 2500 calories per day for six days and see if those cravings on Saturday go away or are at least reduced. It is better that you figure out a good maintenance level going forward than you continue to try and cut for six days than binge for one.

I totally agree with this. I don't think you are in starvation mode but I do think what you're experiencing is a result of a crash diet...too much, too fast. Your body is trying to get itself back to its normal set point. You need to stop the binging or you will gain back all the fat and then some AND it will be much more difficult to get rid of the second time around.

I would do exactly as EJ has suggested and eat at maintenance level for at least a week, maybe 2. Give your body a chance to even itself out and then you can decide what to do from there. If that doesn't work then you may have to consider that the cravings are filling more of a psychological need for you and approach it that way but based on your listed diet, I really don't think you're eating enough.

[sweepone]

Also what about the lack of sex drive -

Increase the good fats in your diet and what really helped me is to eat more lean red meat.

That being said I still lose my libidio when on a 500-600 calorie deficit long term...that is why every 6 weeks or so I eat at maintence for a week or two...helps balance it out.

[gotigers]

I totally agree with this. I don't think you are in starvation mode but I do think what you're experiencing is a result of a crash diet...too much, too fast. Your body is trying to get itself back to its normal set point. You need to stop the binging or you will gain back all the fat and then some AND it will be much more difficult to get rid of the second time around.

I would do exactly as EJ has suggested and eat at maintenance level for at least a week, maybe 2. Give your body a chance to even itself out and then you can decide what to do from there. If that doesn't work then you may have to consider that the cravings are filling more of a psychological need for you and approach it that way but based on your listed diet, I really don't think you're eating enough.

When you say my body wants to get itself back to it's normal set point, do you mean it wants to get back to it's original weight pre-weight loss (210 to 220 range?). I read an article that when you crash diet and suffer from binge eating the only way to get rid of the cravings/binges is to gain all the weight you lost back plus an addition 10% on top of that. So that would be going back to 210 plus gaining an addition 21.

[scottyhall]

Yeah dude. It sounds like your diet isn't near on point and you need to get more calories daily, likely more *balanced* calories. I would do like others have said and try eating @ maintenance for a while. You are pretty light for your height bro.

Now, I have a "bingy" personality and something that has really helped me is that I have started taking an intermittent fasting approach to my diet. Martin Berkain has a lot of good info on it on his site, leangains.com. I have personally found that I can really keep my macro nutrient ratios under pretty good control and it isn't so bad to eat sweets, etc...

What is your carb intake like during the week? Personally, if *I* do a boatload of cardio without eating carbs (to replenish glycogen) I have a BIG tendency to binge on sweets come the weekend. If I carb cycle (more on my heavy days) it seems to help also.

You're welcome to take all of this with a grain of salt though. I am lifting heavy 3+ times a week and trying to cut for a USAPL meet next month so my experiences may not necessarily translate to your activity,etc.... I'm also 14 lbs heavier than you and 4 inches shorter! LOL...

Hopefully this made sense and is helpful in some way.

Oh, FWIW I don't think you're starving.

[surfergirl36]

When you say my body wants to get itself back to it's normal set point, do you mean it wants to get back to it's original weight pre-weight loss (210 to 220 range?). I read an article that when you crash diet and suffer from binge eating the only way to get rid of the cravings/binges is to gain all the weight you lost back plus an addition 10% on top of that. So that would be going back to 210 plus gaining an addition 21.

No..I don't agree with that... it's not the only way. You need to eat more though and be consistent. Every time you binge, you set yourself back.

[gotigers]

The thing is the cravings are usually triggered. Like if I read too much into dieting/weight loss, look at pictures of deserts, I often start to "second" guess myself and develop the urge to eat ice cream and stuff. I find if I distract myself the cravings go away or lessen to the extent I can handle it. If I'm at the grocery store, confronted in the ice cream isle, my emotions build up so strong I pick a pint up, put it back, pick it up, put it back. I am really not sure what the issue is. The thing is sometimes I just phase into like another personality or something and I can't think clearly. I wonder if this is sugar abuse or something because it sounds a lot like a drug addiction or along those lines.

If I had a better idea of why I have these cravings and binges I would probably be able to overcome it. Like, if someone said "your binging because you have an addiction to sugar", then knowing the problem would empower me to beat it. The issue is I have no idea why I'm binging - starvation mode? too much exercise? addiction to sugars? some other unknown reason?

[Nesquik7]

Why cant you eat what you like? 6"0 170lbs 23 year old...you are doing some stupid things now.