Need support or motivation, I eat better when exercising but on days I don't I just stuff my face!

I find  I have a pattern where on days I go to the gym and exercise, I eat very very well. I watch my food intake, drink lots of fluids, have at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables.

But on days I don't exercise, I keep eating and I don't stop! And I eat junk food like chips and white breads, and sugary foods! Logically I know I shouldn't but I can't seem to help myself. And I haven't been going to the gym for a few days nor do I see myself going for at least 2 weeks, since I have finals coming up. And I am so worried that I'll pile everything back on! (well not everything, since I have lost 30 pounds, but you get my drift. I don't want my efforts to go to waste! ARGH)

The past 2 months I managed to lose 6kg, and now in the span of a few days I've already put on 1kg! This is so frustrating! Is it just me??? What do you guys tell yourself to break this habit? I mean what do you keep telling yourself, and how do you avoid this? Also, I always seem to do very well for a few months then I get lazy and either I gain weight or my weight loss stops. I feel so horrible on days like that..

I also find it very very hard to go through the hours of 3pm to 8 or 9pm. That's when I eat the most and I just can't seem to stop.

I guess I just need some motivation and some support. I'm not alone in this, am i?

Hey everyone has bad days and everyone has binges.

Personally I have found some great crisp bread cracker things that are only 19 calories and mainly fibre, when I get a craving I eat 3 or 4 of those and usually find that by the second or third one I have lost my craving to eat and haven't ruined all my good work.

Also don't know your situation but, I don't have anything in the house that is going to tempt me too badly.  I have lots of canned fruit, low fat crackers, veggies, cottage cheese etc so that if I do go mad I won't end up crucifying my calories for the day and only do a 100 in damage or so.

I also find that boredom is a trigger for me.  If I am not busy then I think I am hungry and go searching for food but its really just boredom.  So when I do think I want to eat I stop myself, think about it carefully and often realise I am just bored and trying to fill in time or distract myself so I remove myself from the house and go for a walk for half an hour or find something that will focus me and distract me from being bored.  IT WORKS.  Sounds silly but at least now I know that boredom is a trigger for me.  Even a movie can remove my need to snack if its a good one. Ringing someone for a chat is a good way to distract yourself or going online and getting caught up doing something.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, but my bad days can go on and on, that's the bad thing..

Mm I'll keep it in mind to look for some low cal alternatives to my crazy binges (I ate a huge block of chocolate all in one day, that was almost 1k calories!!) It was horrible but I couldn't stop.

I try not to buy anything that tempts me either, but there's a small shop near my place that sells these stuff and I usually end up buying my junk from there which is just as bad...

I like the thought of a walk or finding something that distracts me, cos I do think I eat when I'm bored too..

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess it's all a process. I can't expect myself to eat perfectly all the time, and I'll just have to deal with it properly.

I've been doing the same thing lately.  I don't know it seems like my mind should be set on eating less on those days but it ends up being a food fest. 

I also have the issue with the evening hours.  If I go to the gym it gets broken up and I don't have as much time to do as much damage and usually I don't feel so hungry.  Here lately my thing has been keeping myself out of the kitchen.  Maybe try playing on the computer or something that keeps your hands busy or requires a lot of concentration.  I've also found that reading is a good distraction if it is a book and not just a magazine.  It is a daily battle but I figure it should start to get easier at some point, right??  Is it usually sweets that you binge on?  For the last week or so I've been trying to limit anything sweet (even fruit) in the evenings and I am finding that it has helped a lot.  Once that sugar hits my tongue I'm done for!

Good luck!

I go to the gym after work bc it fits my schedule in so many ways, one of them being that when I'm done with work and just go home, get lazy and eat bc I'm bored.

So if you're not going to the gym, but you're bored make plans, do the dishes, fold laundry, clean the house...anything.

Try planning activities between 3-8 so you have your mind focused on something instead of sitting home and eating out of boredom, pretty much what mp just said.  I guess I should read the entire thread before restating the obvious.

It`s as simple as this: keeping yourself busy = not thinking about food. Try a new hobby, perhaps?

Also, we are all just human, and we all have our evil trigger foods (on some level or another), surrounding yourself with them when you know you can`t resist them is kind of like setting yourself up for failure. The last thing you want to do is sabotage your own diet. Just throw them away and don`t buy a new 'stash'. I`ve heard of people getting that mid-binge glimpse of lucidity and throwing the food away or otherwise ruining it, but I wouldn`t rely on that.

I usually try to snack on fruits at night, but I end up wanting something more substantial like carbs..or something really sweet *sigh*

I do wish I had time to do something else between 3-8pm, but lately it's just sitting at home and studying and I constantly must snack when I study or I feel sleepy so that's where the problem lies..

But a walk sounds good. And I'm going to try and get a jog in the mornings, so hopefully that'll make me feel like I've exercised for the day, therefore putting me in the right frame of mind to eat healthy for the whole day, though I always feel like a jog doesn't give me a good enough workout compared to on the treadmill where I can set the incline and also the weights I lift (I don't have a set of weights at home to work on).. But I'm willing to try anything just so I don't get back into my old habits!

The last thing you want to do is sabotage your own diet. Just throw them away and don`t buy a new 'stash'.

I might try and keep that in mind and get rid of all the junk in the house. Here's hoping by the end of my finals I don't end up with too much weight gained!

Thanks again everybody :)

perhaps try having a little something with your fruit that will give more satiety like cottage cheese, natural peanut butter, raw nuts, whole grain cracker, ect...

i would also suggest fresh seasonal (cheaper and sweeter) fruit over canned fruit.  oranges are really great this time of year and apples and bananas are always economical and don't go bad easily.

Except for minor fat&protein traces, fruit is all carbs, actually. :) If you are craving something really sweet, I`ve seen many people here with the same problem that love fat free sugar free jello, perhaps it will calm your cravings down?

You could also look for ideas for healthy 100 cal snacks and have them every hour and a half or so. Prepare them in advance if you have the time, that way when you know it`s snack time and you head for the kitchen, you already have the convenience of just grabbing something healthy. A 300 cals afternoon snack allowance is perfectly manageable if you plan ahead.

Also, getting more exercise is definitely a great idea, a higher deficit means more room for food, plus most people find that working out curbs their appetite.

This may sound a bit controversial at first, but it's worked for me so far, and I used to be a crazy binger!

I zigzag my calories and my workouts. I do most of my cardio (bike/elliptical, I've recently started running) three days a week - these are my 'heavy' days and I eat 200-300 calories more than on the 'light' days in between, where I do light cardio and some yoga or resistance exercises, depending on what I feel like.

My heavy cardio days are also my 'treat' days. I allow about 100-150 calories for something sweet. It feels good to know that the treat is sandwiched between a great workout that day and a great diet the next day.

So my point is, maybe treating yourself on your workout days will mean that you're less likely to overdo it on the days you don't work out. Not only will you have less to feel guilty about (although I personally don't think anyone should feel guilty about enjoying sweets in moderation), your sweet tooth also becomes an extra source of work out motivation! When you feel a craving coming on, go for a walk before you let yourself indulge. You're also less likely to *over*indulge that way.

Hope this helps, good luck!