I just can't stop!

I got off this site for a little bit to see if it would help me increase my calories.  Honestly, it did!  For the past couple weeks I have eaten AT LEAST 2000 calories, even on sedentary days (which I hope is ok!) and I have cut back on exercise a lot because of work and school and volunteer work.

BUT, now that I've gotten up higher, I find I just can't stop eating...even when I'm full, I eat.  The day after I overeat I try to drop back a bit (NOT too much...around 1800) but I just can't seem to do it!  I have actually binged the past couple nights.

I don't know why I used to be able to have so much control and now I just have ZERO!

I gained a few pounds during my calorie increase too, and would like to get rid of them...but I just can't stop myself from overeating anymore.

I guess I just need some tips on how to stop myself from overeating and binging.  It is driving me insane and I just feel awful.  I think I'm still gaining =(

I have this exact same problem!  All my clothes are getting tighter, so the gain is definitely not muscle....I hope someone can offer advice here too!

Are you feeding your body enough of what it needs ( protein, fat carbohydrates)?

If you are not giving your body what it needs then you will most likely feel like binging and over eating

Even if you consume enough calories, your body could still be lacking certain vitamins/minerals/ or carbohydrates/ protein/fat

When you eat enough calories, but you are lacking anything, it is common to want to eat and eat and not feel satisfied; this is your body telling you it needs SOMETHING

There are many reasons that could be making you want to over eat, physiological and psychological

If your eating well then investigate other reasons next time you see your doctor

Thank you for your response! I do not know if my calories really balance out...I think they do but I find I get EVEN MORE obsessed when I track protein/carb/fat ratios!

My day today looked like this:

Breakfast: oatmeal with banana, ground flaxseed, and peanut butter, a glass of milk, and an apple.

Lunch: whole wheat tortilla with lettuce, turkey breast, and mustard, a hardboiled egg, an apple, cucumber slices and celery sticks.

Dinner: oatmeal with broccoli, spinach, garlic, and hot sauce stirred in, then either a salmon fillet, tilapia fillet, or piece of tempeh.

Snacks:

peanut butter mixed with cottage cheese, yogurt, and puffed millet (twice..so good!)

cucumber slices, celery and carrot sticks, and a glass of milk

an apple with cottage cheese

cottage cheese with turkey breast and turkey pepperoni

corn thins with flax and some more pepperoni

Yeahh there was more today but...I don't want to write it all =X

I would like to think that's somewhat balanced though...I make sure to eat protein, fats, and carbs..just not really in a certain ratio.

Well done, your diet sounds great!

Your meals actually look very well balanced, so you do not appear to be lacking any thing

Your right not to get too obsessed, I track my food but need to take a break some days!

Diet is a really individual thing, don’t get carried away measuring your ratio of carbohydrates/protein, but you may need to play around to see what works for you, without measuring things!

When you feel like more food, have you taken note of WHAT exactly you feel like?

I used to crave peanut butter hardcore, so I tried adding more protein, and the craving went

If you tend to crave puffed cereal, bread or etc try having a an extra piece of toast for breakfast, and try small changes, and see how you respond.

It is very much a trial and error thing

I have successfully lost weight and maintained my healthiest weight for a couple of years now, so I am just sharing what has helped me, and that was playing around with the % of carbohydrates/protein/fat I had each day, and adjusting things until I felt satisfied!

Are you recovering from an eating disorder? How many calories were you eating before? If your body is trying to recover you will be hungry for a while. Catching up. Make sure you are eating a clean/well balanced diet with enough fat, complex carbs, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies and dairy. Drink plenty of water and maybe take a multivitamin everyday. Try to get some type of activity worked into your schedule everyday. Even if it is not formal exercise. Keep active, get plenty of sleep. Slowly start some strength training and cardio to keep yourself strong.

What you're going through sounds very similar to my experience with food... I've had wonderful control for a long while now, and decided last week to up my calories due to the fact that I was feeling a little sluggish in the mornings. I'm only 5'2 so I eat a little less than what you do, but essentially it comes down to the same pattern... upped calories, lost control.

I upped to around 1600 and then had three bad consecutive days of binging. It's incredibly frustrating because it also interfered with my ability to exercise those days, mainly because I felt WAY too full.

I do believe tho that the carb/protein/fat ratio that personaltrainer mentions has something to do with it... although the whole trial and error portion of it is literally wrecking mental havoc on me.

My food log is eerily similar to yours. Oatmeal, flaxseeds, peanutbutter, wholewheat tortillas, turkey, peanut butter, raw nuts, low fat cottage cheese, cucumber sticks with greek youghurt dip... one thing I noticed is that my craving for carbs has gone completely out of control. That, dairy, and peanut butter are what I reach for now, and I have no idea why when before I was completely fine and sated at aound 1300-1400 cals a day.

I'm contemplating passing off my peanut butter, tortilla, oatmeal etc to a friend and having him hold it for a couple of days to test a theory. One thing I've noticed for 'all-or-nothing' eaters like myself is that carbs can become trigger foods esp after being on a strict, regulated diet. I've got a feeling I probably reintroduced too many carbs too quickly and perhaps that set off the binge. It might be the same for you too, although I don't know the other circumstances in your life.

I know it's easier said that done, but if you feel a binge coming out, get out of the house and go for a long walk. Or reach for some mints, or go to the bathroom and just brush your teeth... those were strategies of mine from way back that I'm starting to revisit now, because I'm worried about having a relapse. BED for me was shameful and so isolating.. I hate the feeling of overeating/binging because it's a really terrifying reminder of how my relationship with food used to be.

The most frustrating thing is that this feels like a form of self-sabotage, in my own personal case, because prior to upping calories I'd finally gotten to a weight I was pretty happy with, and was just mostly looking to strengthen and tone up, and now THIS happens.

Hope the next couple days go better for you :) Believe me I understand how hard it is... here's to hoping it gets a little easier.

Original Post by katya185:

What you're going through sounds very similar to my experience with food... I've had wonderful control for a long while now, and decided last week to up my calories due to the fact that I was feeling a little sluggish in the mornings. I'm only 5'2 so I eat a little less than what you do, but essentially it comes down to the same pattern... upped calories, lost control.

I upped to around 1600 and then had three bad consecutive days of binging. It's incredibly frustrating because it also interfered with my ability to exercise those days, mainly because I felt WAY too full.

I do believe tho that the carb/protein/fat ratio that personaltrainer mentions has something to do with it... although the whole trial and error portion of it is literally wrecking mental havoc on me.

My food log is eerily similar to yours. Oatmeal, flaxseeds, peanutbutter, wholewheat tortillas, turkey, peanut butter, raw nuts, low fat cottage cheese, cucumber sticks with greek youghurt dip... one thing I noticed is that my craving for carbs has gone completely out of control. That, dairy, and peanut butter are what I reach for now, and I have no idea why when before I was completely fine and sated at aound 1300-1400 cals a day.

I'm contemplating passing off my peanut butter, tortilla, oatmeal etc to a friend and having him hold it for a couple of days to test a theory. One thing I've noticed for 'all-or-nothing' eaters like myself is that carbs can become trigger foods esp after being on a strict, regulated diet. I've got a feeling I probably reintroduced too many carbs too quickly and perhaps that set off the binge. It might be the same for you too, although I don't know the other circumstances in your life.

I know it's easier said that done, but if you feel a binge coming out, get out of the house and go for a long walk. Or reach for some mints, or go to the bathroom and just brush your teeth... those were strategies of mine from way back that I'm starting to revisit now, because I'm worried about having a relapse. BED for me was shameful and so isolating.. I hate the feeling of overeating/binging because it's a really terrifying reminder of how my relationship with food used to be.

The most frustrating thing is that this feels like a form of self-sabotage, in my own personal case, because prior to upping calories I'd finally gotten to a weight I was pretty happy with, and was just mostly looking to strengthen and tone up, and now THIS happens.

Hope the next couple days go better for you :) Believe me I understand how hard it is... here's to hoping it gets a little easier.

Wow, what you've gone through is EXACTLY what happened to me!  Carbs and peanut butter is what I have been reaching for as well.  The only difference for me is that I don't eat as much protein - usually 2 eggs a day at most in terms of protein content, and the accompanying fat.  Maybe that has something to do with my problem?

Take a picture of yourself naked... look at it next time you think that you are hungry.  When I find myself feeling like I may go back to my old ways, I just pull out an old "fat picture" and BAM - like a slap in the face.  Good luck.

Gosh, I have had similar experiences to you!

I battled with binge eating, and getting my carbohydrate/protein/fat ratio’s right is an annoying process but I am trying 40%carbohydrate/30fat/30protein and I found I stopped craving the peanut butter once I filled up with more protein

Our bodies are all so different, you have increased your calories but the % of carbohydrates/protein/fats you have could possibly affect you, I am no expert but if you have LOTS of carbohydrates and not enough protein and/or fat for example, then no matter how much you eat, your body would still crave carbohydrates so you will “ crave” and feel like “ eating” even when you have enough calories?

I also have a little of the all or nothing mentality, because I am SO healthy and have NO problem sticking to a great meal plan, I have what I enjoy and do not feel deprived, and lately I have felt satisfied and not craved anything, but if I have anything outside my plan it throws things out and makes me likely to self sabotage and “ binge”

I do not have full on binges any more to the point where I make myself sick, but the other night I roasted sweet potato and was low on carbohydrates that day but it was late, 9 pm at night, and lI should and could have easily waited until the next day to make sure I ate enough carbohydrates from then on, but I allowed myself a “ sample” but after a few pieces, I thought I may as well have more so I did! I did not binge, I just had more then I needed because I am not USED to going out side a set plan.

3 am that morning I came down and ate more bowels of it, I sort of binged but a LOT of things come into play when you feel like over eating, physiological AND in your own mind.

For me, I was tired, I crave sugar when I am tired, I have the all or nothing mentality, and I tend to self sabotage when things in life are going well, because like YOU, I have reached a slim and ideal weight and am terrified of losing it

i think maybe you should cut back again to around 1800 cals... hmm to do this you are just going to have to have will power. eventualy your body willl adjust and not feel tired or underenergised at this amount