Tuesday Bingeday....

So...without fail i binge every Tuesday...i do fine in the morning but when i get home from work around 1:00 p.m. i eat lunch and then never stop. I have been trying to figure out what emotionally is making me do this. I thought it was the fact that Tuesday is the day i HATE most at work so i changed my shift so that i get home at 11:00 a.m. So i was really happy about that and went on a "happy binge" this week.

Now i think it may also be tied to the fact that Tuesday is my day off from the gym and i feel almost lost without the gym. It's also the day my husband works late...so I'm a tad lonely too....i have a 2 year old i stay home with...but he's only good for so much conversation ;)

So my question is what can i do to prevent this binge...i KNOW its coming but I'm unable to stop it. I cant really get out of the house because my son naps from about 1:30 to 4:00...and that's usually when the bingeing happens. Any suggestions on how to stop this would be great!

I know you said you can't get outa the house, but is there no way you could get a sitter at least every other Tuesday? Maybe you should change your day off from the gym from Tuesday to another day. Like you said, you feel lost without it.

Maybe you could also try going on a "cleaning binge" while your son is napping. Vaccuum (okay well maybe not if it needs to stay quiet lol), dust, pick up things laying around, get an extra load of laundry done, dishes, etc..

Are you restricting too much the previous days? I used to have a nasty habit of binging on Thursdays. I'd be so good for an entire week, working out, staying under a certain amount of calories... but once Thursday hit - wham! I seemed to always wake up famished and was completely snacky the rest of the day, no matter what I ate. So be sure to check on that too.

Well since you already know why and when you binge, and what triggers your binge. You're half the way there! 

The first way to conquer bingeing is to find out what triggers it, then make an ACTION-PLAN to prevent it.

It seems you have a formed a habit! Just like healthy eating, breaking habits takes a lot of commitment. It seems that you are ready to break this habit.

Since you say you cannot leave the house for this day, what I would suggest, is write down everything you are going to eat for Tuesday, including the times on a piece of paper. For example...

8:00 am - oatmeal w/ half cup milk

10:00 am - apple

11:30 am - ....... etc etc.

And then reward yourself with something! Once you have conquered one day, it just gets easier from there !Any motivation to help you stay on track will work!

Make sure you are eating enough in the morning, so when it comes to lunch time you will have control. this is all up to you!

Good luck!

and this might help....

Disarm your cravings with the 5 D's. Delay at least 10 minutes before you eat so that your action is conscious, not impulsive. Distract yourself by engaging in an activity that requires concentration. Distance yourself from the food. Determine how important it really is for you to eat the craved food and how much you really want it. Decide what amount is reasonable and appropriate, eat it slowly and enjoy!

By SAYING that you binge every Tuesday, you are making it a self fulfilling prophecy!

You are telling yourself that yes it s inevitable, when logically, IT IS NOT CERTAIN that you WILL binge

Maybe your mind feels like you are deprived of a certain food or etc so binging on a Tuesday is your bodies way of rebelling against another aspect of your diet that you are not happy with?

very good advice in my opinion, esp with the cleanin suggestion...

with long hard shifts my house NEVER gets cleaned except when i have days off, and once i make myself get into cleanin mode, its hard to stop when i realize what all needs to be done, and i have found that its a much better way to only eat when i truly am hungry, because im so preoccupied with what im doin, as opposed to mindlessly snackin away on the couch glued to the tv or comp.

i like those 5 ds too!

mind over matter, dont let the past control your future.

just bc you skip the gym doesnt mean you cant do a little somethin physical still, like a work out dvd while the baby sleeps.....

you can change your habits, you can.

just believe you can, and dont think about it like oh crap its tuesday... you know what THAT means...

think of it as ok i may be pretty vulnerable to some overeatin since i have this free time and the food is there, so im gna have to try extra hard to not veg out like that.

if you get off wk at 11, why not nap w the boy?

Don't change your routine. Don't change anything, just don't binge. Look at the food you want to eat, aknowledge that you want it, and then exert the discipline you need to tell yourself no. Losing weight and being healthy isn't about forcing yourself to do things you don't want to do and stay away from foods you want for some period of time, just to go crazy on other days. Its about learning to be deliberate about what you put into your body. You can have anything you like in moderation. You should be focusing on developing your self discipline, not on tricking yourself or running from temptation. Temptation is everywhere.

I am tempted every afternoon to eat whatever unhealthy snacks I can find.  I think part of it is that I actually am hungry, but it's mostly because I'm kind of bored at my desk and am looking forward to getting through the last couple of hours of the work day.  A little trick that has been very helpful for me is to snack on sunflower seeds.  Although you want to make sure you're drinking plenty of water because they can have a good deal of sodium, they are great because they are healthy and, more importantly, they keep your mouth busy and trick your mind into believing you're eating more than you actually are.

Only you can help yourself. OK, I, seriously, went on a 3 month binge. This was of course after 2 years of deprivation. Got down to 115 pounds from calorie restriction and exercising. Not proud. But anyway, everyday for 3 months I was out of control. My worst day topped atleast 3000 calories. And everyday I would tell myself, this is the last day. And it never was. I wanted to stop but I realized there was something deeper going on then just wanting the food. Stop associating Tuesday with binging. Thats all you can do. The fact that you probably waking up on Tuesday knowing your going to binge is because your allowing yourself to believe you will binge. I bet if you take the self control and determination to not binge one Tuesday, you will feel a great sense of relief and control. I know when i decided to let myself rule my life and not the food, it was so easy to go a week without binging. And then that week turned into a month and so on. I dont' feel the urge to binge anymore and I realize that Im happy knowing Im in control.