Candy Binge - Now What?

My day started out okay. I began with a coffee and english muffin (1/2 spread with jam, other 1/2 with Better n' Peanut Butter) for breakfast. Went to work, every now and then I would nibble on some chicken and pasta salads (curse me for working in a deli lol), for lunch I had homemade chicken salad on a low calorie (110) bagel. (base of chicken salad was 1 tbsp. fat free miracle whip)

But then I started to get munchies. I had a sugar cookie from the bakery, some homemade chocolate covered cherries, and a few Hershey's miniatures my boss left for everyone. After work, I stopped at a store to pick up my usual specialty diet items, as well as some ice cream I've been wanting to try since summer. lol

I got home, I dove into the ice cream cuz it was soft and melty on the top and sides (best time to eat it lol), after that watched a tv show with my mom while binging on holiday candy my family keeps around. (and I do whine and complain endlessly when they bring that stuff home argh - it goes in one ear and out the other!)

Anywaayysss, so now that I'm sugar loaded, carb bloated, and all that other fun stuff, what do you recommend I do for damage control tomorrow? I already have plans on hitting the gym first thing, but what should I do about food? Should I try to stay REALLY low on carbs for a day? My usual daily intake is around 1,400..  should I lower this to maybe 1,200 the next couple of days?

Thanks for listening to my whining!

try eating a couple servings of fruit for breakfast. It is easily digested so the energy goes straight to you instead of to digesting an english muffin and will kickstart your metabolism, especially if you are working out.  Staying low on carbs is probably a good idea, but don't cut them too low, because then your body will crave them and you'll be ravenous. try oatmeal for midmorning or something. hope your day goes better tomorrow, i have faith you will stick with it!

MmM.. fruit... YUMMY. lol I'm only weary of that because even though it's natural, it's still sugar loaded. hmm...

I'm getting the same problem as you ): Today I just finished a whole pack of gummies and bought a blueberry muffin even after lunch. At night I kept on eating chocolates. I always could control my sugar cravings but I don't know what's happening now! I just want sugar and more sugar. The "one piece of treat a day" to lower my cravings isn't working either considering I can't stop eating more than one. Anyway, I heard that it might be because of a low fat intake or being dehydrated. Fat provides more appetite satisfaction.

I know that's true. I've been eating VERY low fat the last couple of weeks, averaging on 20-25g a day. Maybe that is part of the problem. I would up my intake, but I think I had enough fat last night to last me 3 weeks. lol

I did something similar on Monday this week - so what I did was each day reduce my calories - I didn't worry about the whole carb thing - I like to focus on the calories because that is the easiest thing for me to control.  So,

Monday:3115

Tuesday: 2335

Wednesday: I can't remember - it's on my journal if yo ucare to look

Thursday: 1433

I feel like I am back on track - I did not get anything out of the candy machine yesterday or today - I feel good - and I will go to yoga tonight!

Good luck - at least you recognize you have done something that has gotten yo off your diet and you are trying to do something about it!!

don't try to cut back too much more than normal tomorrow or the next day.  just get back on your usual plan.  i see too many people try to decrease kcal after bingeing and end up about passing out from lack of food and too much exercise.  i do the same time once or twice a month and usually feel like i am in a "funk" the whole next day. and then better by the next day.  personally, still trying to drop weight from around thanksgiving.

First off remove damage control from your vocabulary .  Keep this lesson in mind tomorrow but don't try and cut back in order to make yourself feel better about the candy binge.  It may be hard to not want to cut back but that will greatly increase your chances of surviving the next few days.  Cutting back calories in order to justify a binge is usually an actual trigger to binge again.  And thus the cycle continues.  Go back to your usual routine: eat right, watch portions, drink water, and be active a few times a week.  One day every once in awhile will not kill you.

Thank you for the advice guys. I ended up doing an extra half hour at the gym, and I HONESTLY didn't intend on cutting my calories back so much. But I ended up with about 670 calories for the day and 78g of carbs. I just wasn't hungry at ALL. I actually had to force dinner. At least what I ate was healthy! Mushrooms, spinach, fruit, pumpkin with ricotta, and a ham sandwich.

Today I am trying to increase my calories again, to a healthier level. My aim is 1,300. Still low, but it's quite a difference from yesterday, I don't wanna trigger any shocks.