i had the worst eating weekend EVER since starting my lifestyle change

Yeah so this weekend I had a binge weekend. I ate everything from pasta to peanut butter with mixed in dark chocolate and larabars, taco bell, and cake frosting!  I am vegan so the things I ate weren't so bad since taco bell I just ate bean burritos and what not..but to the question..lately i've been hitting a plateau so could it be possible that my body needed the binge so I could start losing weight again? or is this just my way of making it okay that I binged? so irritated with myself. So anything you guys can let me know that would be awesome

Perhaps you aren't eating enough on a regular basis - too few calories can cause your body to plateau by trying to hold onto everything it can. It also could have pushed you into a binge frenzy if you have been deprived of certain nutrients in your diet.

However - it could just be you slipping up and falling into some old habits, easy snacks and indulgence for a weekend. It could have been boredom or social situations or some other emotional reason.

I often do badly on the weekends - just because sometimes I need a calorie counting mental break!

Don't be irritated with yourself. Evaluate your current meal plans and try to see if the eating was emotional or true hunger - make whatever adjustments you feel are required (if any) and continue on!

It is not the end of the world. Usually the 'weight loss wagon' has a bumpy ride for everyone. No point beating yourself up over it.

dont' worry,I had a bad saturday.  I hate that nothing in my closet fits correctly so I went to mcdonals and ate a days worth of calories in one sitting.  I felt gross afterwards, and that's enough to make me not do it again.  We all have our day(s).

I think I am mostly frustrated b/c the binges are old habits. The last week I've been going over on calories then the weekend binge. I think I am just self sabotaging myself again like always. I've lost 20 pounds since the beginning of the year and people are starting to notice and that's when I started to eat a little bit more than I should. soo confusing to me. I should be happy and even more motivated when people say they notice but no i am insane and start doing the opposite and start eating.

hm, what helps me is rejoicing in every little thing.  It took me about a month to lose a pound and I stuck with it...20 pounds is a lot.  and you're doing well.  I think you just need to work on your mindset and the binges will stop.

Make sure you're doing this for you and only you...I find that is really the key to sticking with it.  I've sabatoged myself many times and simply given up when I was doing it for someone else.  This time I have stuck with it because I'm not doing it for a shallow boyfriend, or friends in college...I'm doing it for ME and ME alone!

ps ..at least people are noticing you lost 20 pounds!  I'm almost at 18 and no one has noticed except my mom (but she knows I'm losing weight) and my boyfriend (who knows as well, he's living with me).  I guess I can't complain because my boyfriend has been very honest in saying that he sees me everyday and doesn't notice (which I can't blame him, I barely notice myself sometimes) but yesterday I put on a pair of old jeans that haven't fit in a long time and he said "wow, I can tell now".

If you need a motivation buddy, send me messages :)  I'd love to help anyway I can.

I definitely am doing it for myself..finally! I just think that I have used my weight as an excuse in the past. Like why i don't have a boyfriend, why I don't dress cute, etc etc. It all sounds stupid but I think maybe I am just afraid of the attention! I put up a false front of confidence for so long now that I am starting to get some real confidence I don't know what to do with it!

no that doesn't sound stupid at all!  It makes perfect sense!  The attention will be nice and you'll eventually get use to it!

okay i'm glad that doesn't sound crazy b/c I sometimes think my "out of the box" thinking gets in the way of normal thinking! lol.

ACK! the same happened to me!

mid febuary, i kinda lost control of eating and gained 15 lb.

it wasnt binging all the time. just, people did notice that i ate more on a regular basis.

and now i'm back on the wagon trying to loose 10 lb. i figure that maybe 5 lb more than my lowest weight might be healthiest and easier to maintain!

I think I am putting too much pressure on myself. I still have 35 pounds to lose and just want to hurry up to get to the end result!  I am just so impatient and when the weight isn't coming off as fast as it did at first i get super frustrated. So hopefully this weekend will be the last super binge I have for a long time!

i am JUST like you! the second people start noticing i've lost weight, i'm like hey i must look good.. i can have that extra scoop of ice cream.. and then before i know it, i'm back where i started and depressed. you just gotta keep pushing through! it will be hard, but it will definitely be worth it in the end. i also get upset when i don't lose as fast as i'd like, but the faster you lose the less likely it is to stay off.. keep that in mind. you didn't put on the weight overnight so it won't come off overnight. you can do it!

To keep me from over eating on weekends I say " forget the deficit!" and eat my maintence cal intake.  So M-Thursday (friday's a weekend in my opinoin), I try to make my deficit b/w 300- 800 cals, but after that I allow myself to eat my 1850 -1900 cals.  I'm not gaining weight. I'm maintaining it.  Give yourself a break on the weekends. Again, I don't consider this my 'cheat days" they are my MAINTENIENCE days.

Also, I rarely keep a high deficit throughout the week so I don't binge. And I workout 5 days a week to burn more instead of eating less, plus when I workout after work, I'm rarely hungry so my dinners are 400 to 600 cals (including dessert).

Original Post by aperfectblink:

i am JUST like you! the second people start noticing i've lost weight, i'm like hey i must look good.. i can have that extra scoop of ice cream.. and then before i know it, i'm back where i started and depressed. you just gotta keep pushing through! it will be hard, but it will definitely be worth it in the end. i also get upset when i don't lose as fast as i'd like, but the faster you lose the less likely it is to stay off.. keep that in mind. you didn't put on the weight overnight so it won't come off overnight. you can do it!

 I am trying so hard to break the emotional binge eating, the boredom eating, and the eating just to eat cycle that I used to do not too long ago. But thanks for the encouragement and I will try not to let the compliments to get to my head so I won't allow myself a little extra peanut butter!! it's my weakness right now!

Original Post by mperic81:

To keep me from over eating on weekends I say " forget the deficit!" and eat my maintence cal intake.  So M-Thursday (friday's a weekend in my opinoin), I try to make my deficit b/w 300- 800 cals, but after that I allow myself to eat my 1850 -1900 cals.  I'm not gaining weight. I'm maintaining it.  Give yourself a break on the weekends. Again, I don't consider this my 'cheat days" they are my MAINTENIENCE days.

 

Also, I rarely keep a high deficit throughout the week so I don't binge. And I workout 5 days a week to burn more instead of eating less, plus when I workout after work, I'm rarely hungry so my dinners are 400 to 600 cals (including dessert).

 

 

 See the other problem I have is...when i work out (5-6)days a week I work hard and burn a lot of calories...so in my messed up little demented head I tell myself I can have extra food b/c I worked out today..somedays i eat more than 300-500 more than my "allowed" calories! I need to stop that new little habit I've developed!

You mentioned that you're a vegan...you do realize that dark chocolate has milk, taco bell uses the same spatulas for beans as they do for beef, and cake frosting def has dairy, right?

Original Post by stayontrack:

You mentioned that you're a vegan...you do realize that dark chocolate has milk, taco bell uses the same spatulas for beans as they do for beef, and cake frosting def has dairy, right?

 Not all dark chocolate has milk, not all cake frosting uses milk, and how can you guarantee that they use the same spatulas? i know a few vegans that eat at taco bell. i do read all labels and i look up stuff just in case i don't know what it is. sooo there ya go. i'm not even going to argue.

I had a similar experience this last weekend.  Once I get started on "bad" foods sometimes all hell breaks loose. I had actually planned one cheat day this weekend, the first in a few weeks.  I really do feel it helps when you've been deprived so much.  I think it's best if you can plan it ahead of time. I still found myself feeling like I was really setting myself back so I went walking after a huge binge, and it made a big difference.  I then told myself tomorrow is a new day but unexpectedly my husband offered to get take out BBQ and I didn't even flinch.  I still watched my portions but since fried okra, ribs, etc. aren't anywhere near low cal., it still added up. When you're kind of set on having 1500 cals most day and in one day you have 3000 or 4000, it's hard not to feel like a failure I think.  But you know what I found out?  The way I was eatting on these days were like my normal old days.  So at least I can appreciate that it takes me several months to gain 5 or 10 lbs when a lot of times that was my every day eating.  For those of us who love our hi-cal foods, I think we can only continue on a "diet" with an occasional binge day. 

I wonder, Nicole, if you weren't having too few calories before, or like another person suggested, you were really deprived of something?  I think hi-cal, one or two here and there, are good to break your metabolism from being too used to all the time having so few calories - and keep your weight from plateauing. 

i noticed that it was getting hard to stick my calorie intake when i dropped from 1500-1400. So today I upped it back up to 1500. And I also have a best friend who is having weight issues and when we get together..it's bad..like yesterday it was my idea to get taco bell but other days she will buy the tofutti ice cream and the sorbet..and we will sit around and binge. And when i babysit her daughter ever sunday there are sugary cereals and what not that I can eat..so when she moves in june i'm sure the weight will come off a lot easier too!

wow, im in your shoes, but i have been for about two weeks. i've lost 20 lbs since feb 4. Everyone started to notice. then I got sick! i got the flu for like a week. I probably ate 400 calories a day. i wasn't getting enough energy. so as soon as i was better, I had a huge set back and ate and ate and ate. I am still having about 40lbs to go. but i had an idea! I got online and ordered a bunch of shirts that i really liked, and can't wait to wear. but i ordered them one size down from where i currently am. so i just started to get back on track.

And yeah, as soon as people started to recongize, I thought, uhm, i geuss i have done good and don't need to workout today. then tomorrow comes along and someone says 'hey your eating alot healthier than you used to.' so i guess i can have a few m&ms before i sleep tonight. (added note to anybody: never buy a big bag of m&ms, you will binge. one handful after another.)

but anyways, i havent weighed myself since march 20. so i figured i gained a few pounds, but i am back on track.

P.S.

when is your goal date?

Of course I would love my goal weight to be by summer time...but since it's taking me about 3 months to lose 20 i figured by october I should be at my goal weight. I would rather be healthy for the long run even though I would love to be at my goal weight like tomorrow!    But I am trying to keep in my head losing 1-2 pounds a week is the healthy way. Before  I took diet pills and lost a bunch of weight but as soon as they took effedra( i don't think that is how you spell it) off the markets I gained about 50 pounds. which was about 20 pounds more than I originally lost. So with the hope of a good vegan balanced diet, lots of exercise, and a good positive attitude i will reach the goal weight sooner!

When I told my physician that I had hit a plateau after losing 50 pounds even though I was still watching my intake and excersing 3-4 times a week, he told me to pick one day a month and eat whatever I wanted. This would trick my body into thinking it was going to start getting fed large portions and then the metabolism would kick in.