I am a binger – any info on fasting and bingeing

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I am a binger – any info on fasting and bingeing

This topic contains 3,042 replies, has 111 voices, and was last updated by  Delayedgratification 4 years, 7 months ago.

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  • Hi Michel, Hi Jade,

    Thanks so much for your kind words. Today has gone surprisingly well, a cup of tea with milk for breakfast and then black coffee, green tea and water all day. I know from bitter experience that all the EAT BREAKFAST OR DIE stuff simply doesn’t work for me. EAT BREAKFAST AND THEN SECOND BREAKFAST AND THEN ELEVENS AND LUNCH AND ALL THE BISCUITS seems to be more the way of it.

    Almost home time now so the test will be to resist secret eating as I have the flat to myself. I am thinking courgetti with a nice homemade tomato sauce and an episode of Midsomer Murders.

    Jade, I think your focus on not eating alone is a good one. I’m still trying to work through the dialogue of why I do that. Question – why do you eat alone? Answer – because I would be ashamed to eat that much in front of other people. Question – so why are you eating things you are ashamed of? Answer – *deathly silence*

    I think in the past I used that lack of understanding as an excuse not to act – “How can I expect to stop these bad food habits if I don’t understand them?”. But now I think it is a case of trying to fake it til you (I) make it: my new motto is to act like a person with a normal relationship with food. Perhaps understanding of my less-normal relationship will follow, but at the very least I hope to have started to break some of my habits.

    Getting home is half the battle — go you! That simple meal will taste terrific, much better than any processed thing. And yes indeed, the more we act like food doesn’t control us, the less it actually does. I believe that’s the science of replacing one habit with another, though I’ll probably never understand what goes on in my head.

    Hope the Midsomer Murders is a good one. Stay strong — xxx

    Ange, Isabella, Mel – welcome!

    Mel, you made me laugh a lot because I too have eaten the animal chocolate (white chocolate for cats, if you’re asking, and yes, it isn’t that bad…). You are in the right place, girl. If possible (and it only has been about twice before) in the shop when I am making those binge purchases you described, I have tried to put the food down and think about it then and there. Once it’s in my bag, I know it is only a matter of time (time being the soonest I can get to be on my own) before I eat the lot, and quickly. I can’t say 5:2 has cured my bingeing, but I am 9 months in and it is the longest I have ever stuck to anything, and I am thinner than when I started, so those are both good in my book.

    I’m doing my first proper fast day in a while. Reminding myself of how GREAT it feels to wake up the next day and not feel bloated, to feel successful (and also to wake up and say ‘oh fantastic, I can eat’!… Penguin – yes I totally do that thing too where I actually seek stuff out, and not even things I like or want, ‘because I can’ on a non-fast day. That’s the next challenge).

    Queen – good to see you! For some reason I am ‘ok’ with dark chocolate too. I can still eat too much of it but somehow shovel it down slower than milk chocolate. It also makes me laugh to eat it because every time it reminds me of famous lollipop ladies like Elizabeth Hurley who say they eat “fish and steamed vegetables, and sometimes when I am feeling naughty, a very small square of dark chocolate”. Funny, cos when I am feeling naughty, I eat things that come by the DOZEN.

    Jade – I went through that ‘novelty wearing off’ thing too. Til the scales started going up again and I had to re-commit.

    Michell – secret eating is DEFINITELY my treat. I totally get that.

    Kitty & Michell – how is the no sugar thing going? I sort of did that for a while (well sort of but my own version, where I allowed myself copious quantities of dates, maple syrup and honey. Guess what the weirdest thing about that was? I LOST WEIGHT!!! Go figure).

    Kitty – on the snack before bed or midnight snack – if (when) I get hungry then I just try to have a bath & go to bed early because I figure I have done the largest part of the awake fasting already and by the evening, that’s when your body is into the real fat burning stages (the latter hours of the fast), so the longer you can maintain it in a ‘fasted’ state, the more body fat your body will consume. Somehow this thought gives me willpower.

    Spring – an old post of yours but it keeps making me laugh, the advice of your friend who said “listen to your body”… my body says “more cake please”…. WOW… 55lbs.. that is FANTASTIC. Well done you.

    HA, “more cake please” thanks for that memorable line mcca and great to see you. I need to check out the dates as a sugar replacement. I won’t say what they remind me of…. Anyway, let’s recommit together. I took a longish break pretending I wasn’t taking a break, but still, like you, I’m thinner than when I started and I do think this is a way of eating I can stick with.

    I’m really just ducking back in to say My Fitness Pal has surprised me. It’s still tedious, but I’m so out of practice guessing how many calories I’ve consumed. Last week I under-guessed bigtime. Today, after eating what felt like half a cow, MFP says nope, just 550 calories. I was already mentally scolding myself for eating too much. This being normal stuff is hard. I can actually have a normal dinner. Maybe even with a “very small square of dark chocolate” – hahaha with my pinkie high in the air.
    xxxx

    Melb: Way to go! Enjoy your healthy dinner.
    I’m all to familiar with 2nd breakfast, elevenses and so on until midnight snack. Each phase of the day is full of its own challenges.

    Mcca: Way to get back on the wagon, we’ve been saving your place. 9 months in, that’s fantastic.

    Jade: I have used MFP successfully with diets in the past, but can’t seem to use it consistently since starting 5:2. My non-fdays blow up the app. Keep us posted on how it works for you.

    For lunch I had Greek salad w/ feta cheese, but no dressing, a chicken kabob and a slice of pita bread. I am full from my nice healthy lunch, so why am I craving sugar? The chocolate (all over the office) is really calling out today. I know it’s mental…….all the denial from yesterday and knowing I’ll be fasting tomorrow is leaving me so weak.

    Ok, (mental shake) I can do this. I will drink a bottle of water & chew some gum.

    Strength in numbers!

    I keep wondering whether if handed the lard baton, I would eat it?

    Michel – well done on that healthy lunch. Sounds tasty! Down that water, girl.

    Jade – we’re on for the recommitting. Did my fast day today (a proper one, no cheating like I usually do), and I feel good for having done it. Well done on your normal eating, that’s really great 🙂

    Mcca: Way to hang in there! 1 down for the week.

    I’ve had my water and some chocolate 🙁 , but not as much as I wanted (or could have had).

    30 min till I face the next kraken. Then it should be smooth sailing. Holding on by my fingernails.

    Stay strong & committed fasters.

    If someone hands me the lard baton and a chicken baton, do not let me near a deep fryer. I’m still pondering what wicked habit I should choose to replace clandestine snacking. I guess thinking about fried chicken batons is not going to help.

    Mcca, congrats on the successful FD — go you! Mine yesteday was by-the-book, too, and I can’t say that about my recent string of imposters. Going to keep counting the cals until I get good and honest with myself again.

    Michel, you’re dazzling me with you healthy choices, and on a nonFD. You’re going to feel like a million bucks tomorrow, healthy and ready for the next challenge. How nice that your healthy habits are getting noticed. What is the next Kraken? Stay strong!

    Hope your day ended well, Melb — good luck and health to everyone, let’s keep it going! xxxx

    Hahahaha – I’m laughing MAO reading your posts and I just love that this is always so much fun 🙂 A really big WELCOME to you iSabella (Yah!! another Aussie, I’m from SA) and to Melb100 and I can so relate to all your stories. A favourite trick of mine was to eat something and then replace that thing in the pantry or fridge in exactly the same ‘half-eaten’ state it had been in before I arrived… nothing to see here officer!! Have also done the drive around the block looking for a bin to dispose of wrappers/containers and hoping no one spots me, rather than put them in the home bin and of course burying binge-warppers below everything else in the recycling bin…
    Oh dear, and we all of us think WE are the only one who is wired this way. But knowledge (of others’ crazy eating habits) is power as they say, in this case Kraken-slaying power. I loved the ‘fast train’ Jade and I’ll use that image the next time I take up the lard-baton (tomorrow). What days do you fast iSabella & Melb? Stay strong everyone, especially those of you with the food-laden workplaces – you deserve medals xx

    YIKES – this thread is so buzzing that I totally missed the last page so I hadn’t read half the posts!!! Will have a close read and be back tomorrow to lead the charge with the baton. Thanks for being such a great bunch of people xx

    So is there such a thing as a successful nonFD? I do believe I finally had one. MFP says 1400 ish calories. I am SO bad at this cal counting thing and my brain is so weird….I took a look at all that I ate today and of course it was a big variety, a bite of this and a handful of that. And when I thought about wanting dessert after dinner, I said I can’t possibly be hungry, look at everything I ate!! And sure enough, then I felt full. What a weirdo that I am relying on an online calculator to figure out if I am hungry. When did my brain disconnect from my stomach?!

    Good luck with the lard baton, Spring. See you in a few hours! But where is our Kitty to pass it across the Atlantic? Hope all is OK in Scotland. xxxx

    Late check in to say- the kraken did me in. I didn’t make it home w/o stopping. I can’t say I totally lost it, but it was not a low cal, healthy day. My only consolation is, it was not a fd.
    I will be fasting tomorrow! Bring on the lard baton!

    Jade: You are too funny – fried chicken baton! Really?

    Spring: It’s like we all read the same “how to book” when it comes to hiding our eating. I’m so happy to have found this site and realize I’m not as messed up as I thought.

    I think I will try to focus on 1 thing for awhile. (Besides fasting-as if that’s not enough) My biggest weakness is the secret eating. I don’t see how I can truly make progress until I get it under control.

    Jade: Very happy for your successful day. Sounds like MFP is really working for you.

    Kitty: I was also wondering about your absence. I hope you are feeling well.

    Great to see you back mcca – congrats on the 9 months and the successful FD. I can relate to the novelty wearing off too and the FD’s getting a little bit fuzzier round the edges than the first 3 months. I think it has changed something quite fundamental though as I’m slowly but surely losing weight even when I think I’ve really blown it for the week. I have a plan to be living in the 70’s by the end of September and it still blows my mind that I could very realistically achieve it :-0
    I’m looking forward to sharing the lard-baton with you Michell 🙂
    Hmmm, I’ve posted 3 times in 24 hours…someone clearly has grading to do xxx

    Spring: Looks like we have the baton today. Anyone else fasting today?

    Jade: You have inspired me. I’ve committed to using MFP for the rest of this week. Small steps. I’m hoping that writing everything down will help me be accountable and shine a light on the secret eating. Also, I will have to slow down long enough to measure out a serving. :-\

    Good luck & strength to us all!

    Michel, you stopped for a treat on a non-FD and didn’t lose your mind….I mean, that’s awesome! Good luck fasting today. I think I will join you – I already fought off the urge to have breakfast after the scale showed a .5 drop. Haha, bite it kraken.

    I’ve so enjoyed everyone’s tales of hiding evidence. What master criminals we could all be — I truly never thought anyone else did that. It was really tricky the one year we bought clear i.e. see-thru trash bags from the school. OMG never again, I mean who wants to telegraph everything to the neighbors.

    I had a different problem yesterday, foiled in my quest to get a doughnut because hubs was in the car. **warning, pathetic story alert** I actually tried to convince him that HE needed something at this grocery store that coincidentally makes good (and huge) filled doughnuts. He is the kind who gladly sits in the car if I’m just running in. It would have worked perfectly — I’d have had that thing all tucked away in my purse and he’d never know. ARRGH. He didn’t want anything..

    So anyway, I COULD actually get the words “let’s stop at the fruit stand” out of my mouth, of course, and we ended up with wondeful watermelon and peaches (she said, wistfully). I had some chocolate after dinner, still wishing it were a doughnut. Maybe it’s SOME progress that I am now exclusively obsessive.

    Spring, I’m encouraged that you seem to have broken the barrier to the normalcy dimension. Very exciting! Please infuse the lard baton with some of your new-found power. I’ll be so happy when I can ditch MFP again, it is soooo tedious, but I need help with this moderation thing. And school hasn’t started, so I have time to do it –in the meantime, everyone please forgive my rambling here in the confessional.

    Strength and love to all you weird and lovable people. xxxxjade

    Another kraken slain! I just finished a lunch meeting and only had my Crystal Light. (It smelled really good to) No food yet today! Certainly makes using MFP easier. 🙂

    All calories count!

    The bad news is I finished yesterday’s “fast day” by polishing off my secret stash of biscuits. The good news is that as it was a fast day MFP informs me that I still only ate 1500 calories. Nothing to see here folks, just a normal tubster losing some weight on 1500 cals a day…

    The other good news is that the biscuits were bloody delicious.

    I hope everyone else managed to defend themselves better than I against the biscuit bandits. I’m going to commit to not buying anymore “stash” food for a week and I hope that I don’t go insane. I

    As for fasting, try try try again tomorrow.

    Go Michel, you mighty Kraken wrangler – and thanks for reminding me I had Crystal Light on hand. I just slew the monster who told me I would die if I didn’t dive headlong into the nut jar. [Bonus points to us for correctly conjugating the verb “slay” (which I mangled previously).] To distract myself from the nuts, I took the dog on a walk and even he looked at me like “seriously? it is too hot.”

    MelB (are you the former spice girl??) I like your style. I have turned many a FD into a TDEE and patted myself on the back. We are the experts on just how much control we can lack, so good for you. Some days, my heart’s not in it, or something comes up socially, or damn it a Kraken jumps out of the cupboard. I have cleared it of treats before and just burped and said “well, THAT’s out of the way!” It’s pretty treat-free at the moment. Thank heavens there are no iced dog treats lying around, now that I hear they aren’t so bad….. xx

    Good evening fastest – question – would you count 650calories on a fast day as counting as a fast day or do you think that would count as a non fast day……be gentle with me….have gone to bed so as not to add to my 650 calorie total!!

    Melb: You have discovered the beauty of 5:2, you can always fast tomorrow.
    I think not keeping a “stash” is the 1st challenge most of us face. Good luck on tomorrow’s fast and staying stash free for the week.

    Jade: Way to distract yourself and this slay the nut kraken. One more victory.
    We don’t have a dog and the cat treats really stink; no temptation there – thank goodness.

    Fizzy: 650 counts in my book, especially if you had a long fasting window during the day. Good job!

    I made it home – no stops! Yea!
    I was right, all I’ve today is fiber & Crystal Light; MFP says I’ve had 95 cal. That’s just not FAIR!

    Good luck everyone – stay committed!

    It is soooo not fair. I was in the same range before counting any actual food! But yay for you Michel in fasting until dinner! I gave in and had a peach after my walk.

    So my tally today is 536. Still feel pretty darn virtuous, nothing but roasted veggies and about 3 oz of chicken for dinner. Fizzy dear, your 650 counts for sure. I’ve been counting 700s lately when really they were probably closer to 1700. So a true 650 is a hard-fought win and it will make a difference.

    Good luck on Thursday, fast club. Hoping I can go to bed soon and dream of something besides food 🙂 xxxx j

    Jade: Way to go! We did it! I’m ready to hand off the lard baton. Good luck Thur fasters.

    I did my first day of writing everything down. (Easy on a fd) It’s been a long time since I tracked my consumption, hopefully I can keep it up.

    For dinner I had frozen veggies w/ Laughing Cow Cheese Spread melted on top. Something new I was trying. Really easy & tasty. I had half a breaded chicken pattie w/ it. Filled me up. Now if I can stay out of hubby’s choc covered almonds!

    Go fasters!

    Afternoon all!! I’m well into this FD and doing okay so far, especially given that I bought in 3 packets of sweets to replenish the staff lolly jar (I feel I need to as I often take something 😉 ) and so far I’ve managed to forget it’s full of lovely treats. Before you lambaste me for tempting others it is otherwise a food-free zone so hopefully I’m not contributing to someone else’s downfall.

    YES YES YES fizzy to the 650 fast day as the alternative is to ditch it and go mad and then feel as though you have to do another one tomorrow. I’m very much a ‘good enough is good’ and this has to be about sustainability, right?? Melb you are so right to rescue a FD by turning it into TDEE. It all boosts the sense of control we can have over food – keep it up.

    Good going to the Kraken-slaying duo with the baton Michell & Jade and every win is to be celebrated. I laughed hard about your attempts to engineer a donut-fix Jade!!! I’ve been there many times, like when hubby generously offers to do the shopping just when I’d planned to get a couple of off-list items… So funny when you shine a light on it and really not so bad in the scheme of crimes-worthy-of-shame. Not even a starter really.

    Okay, well I have to pass by a couple of Kraken-caves on the way home, the worst of which is the hot chip stand (fat french fries) at the railway station as I have an hour commute home and I can get mighty hungry. My biggest weakness is probably hot chips with aioli which I could eat everyday of the week if we really did live in la-la land. Instead I’m going to take you all with me – my very own global family of Kraken-slayers – and I just know you’ll see me safely onto the train. Take care all xx

    Spring: You are stronger than the chip kraken. Stand strong and finish your fd!

    Hi guys…I am alive. Sorry haven’t been on for a while..things have been manic so still not caught up on all of tour inspiring posts. I hope next week while OH is away I will get the time for a thorough post and catch up with you all.

    I have been persevering with the 5:2 and even done a couple of 4:3 weeks to include B2B fd’s…but still even though I have done this and eaten ‘mindfully’ I have barely lost anything and I just can’t pit my finger on it. Still I will keep tracking all my food and drink and hope for a decent amount of loss before I go to France in September. Spring, your loss is amazing to date and inspires me to keep going.

    Good luck all fasting today and all those not…stay mindful.

    PS. Fighting the kraken… Can’t remember who looked up the meaning in urban dictionary but you had me in absolute stitches. So thank you for that. And thank you all for keeping nw going.

    Catch you all next week I hope. X

    Morning All You Wonderful Kraken Fighting Fasters!

    Spring: Those kraken-filed caves on the way home can be a killer. I know it’s one of my biggest struggles. I always feel I deserve something after a work. Why I can’t reward myself w/ something besides food, I have yet to figure out. (Who can afford to shop everyday?) Hope you made it safe to a small & healthy dinner.

    Itd: France? I would love to hide in your purse and tag along. I went there for a couple of days my senior year of high school. It was such a blur. I hardly remember anything. I hope you have a wonderful time.

    Stay strong and mindful!

    Well cr##. Wholesaler brought in Starbucks goodies. As usual, I had eaten 1 1/2 before I stopped to think. This is always a huge eating event for me. He brings them in, I snack, hide some to take home, then snack until it’s all gone. These are not low cal treats. This is why I don’t loose weight on 5:2! What happens to my brain when there is sugar around?!
    I’m hoping my confession will help break the cycle. So today, I took my hidden snack back out of the fridge, put it on the plate w/ the rest and I’m praying it will be gone next time I go in the kitchen.
    Now I have to enter what I’ve eaten in MFP and stay out of the kitchen and away from temptation.

    All Calories Count!!! (Note to self)

    OMG! It’s worse than I thought. I’m lucky I’m not as big as a house! When I remember all I’ve eaten in the past…..enough calories for a small village to survive on.
    I wrote my calorie intake on a sticky and put it on my monitor, that way I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.

    Mantra for the day:
    “I don’t need that! & I won’t be happier after I eat it !”

    It is not your fault that sugar is addictive, BUT you can break the cycle. A very interesting and light read is ‘that sugar book’ by Damon Gameau who shows with photos the effects of eating a perceived healthy diet. The interesting thing is that once I started to be aware of the hidden sugar in my diet(low fat anything seems to be stuffed full of the stuff), I was able to tackle the obvious sugar and now eat far less of the stuff. I bake and like cakes, but we have ditched puddings and no one seems to have noticed.I don’t get that after pudding crash either.
    I just had a look to see how many calories are in a Starbucks Muffin and staggered to find that depending which one you might have, they are around the 450 calorie mark!I used to treat myself after a fast day with an Almond Croissant(600 calories) which is completely bonkers, but would get fed up that the weight and inches were moving very slowly. The Light Bulb Moment(LBM)happened when I worked out my TDEE and then considered how I wanted to spend those calories.
    The Almond Croissant is very much a treat now,perhaps once a month at the most as I would rather eat a meal for the same amount of calories.I have resisted calorie counting for a very long time, but it isn’t food that makes us fat, its habits. I am changing mine with that information and it seems to be working.

    Oh dear…hot chips, Starbucks, and the dreaded kraken caves of doom. My car almost steers itself to the nearest doughnut case. Funny that I lost the craving for ice cream after one too many bouts in the gastric cave of doom. Definitely need a new wickedness, preferably one that’s not illegal or expensive.

    Hey there Ltd! Good to see you again in the confessional. I have hogged it lately but I’m happy to scoot over and make room. France sounds like a fantastic time, and I’m betting if you stick with 5:2, a few more lbs will melt off and you’ll leave feeling great.

    I am still serving my MFP sentence after my 3-lb gain. Seems I rather creatively defined “mindfulness.” I usually forgot to count incidentals (vitamin chews, cream in coffee, gum, the odd caramel). I also felt “mindful” if I managed not to turn into a human buzz-saw at dinner. It was sad to leave my private island of delusion.

    Maybe you haven’t visited my island, Ltd, but Michel and I were surprised that our daily vitamins etc. were close to 100 cal. I MEAN IT’S NOT EVEN FOOD! WAHHH NOT FAIR NOT FAIR. Wah. Cursing and hating MFP hasn’t seem to work, though.

    So now I’m logging every single morsel, like an OCD maniac. And it may turn me into a maniac, because I just tried to log 5 crackers, and MFP says they’re “50 cals for 18 g.” Well how the **** many crackers is that?! Now I’ve eaten another 5 crackers out of pure frustration. I cannot wait to get the hang of this and send that app to Kraken hell.

    On the bright side, the 3 lbs are gone. Looking forward to moving along — haha, as Melb said, nothing to see here, just a ship righting itself after floundering on some Chinese rocks last week.

    Much strength and love to you all on this lovely Thursday 🙂 I have put down the crackers 🙂
    xxxx jade

    Hey Annette, I missed your post while writing my own, but what wise words and thank you. I believe I had that LBM with my 3-pounder week. it’s astonishing how many calories are in some of these things. MFP is definitely an eye opener.

    I despise food marketing. The shell game they invented with Snackwell’s etc., replacing fat with more sugar, is one of the worst. I remember at the time thinking “hmmm, these really don’t have fewer calories.” but I didn’t know that the added sugar would make it just that much harder to resist eating too many.

    Well, that rant surely burned up a calorie or two 🙂

    Michel, forgot to add: good for you for un-hiding the snack! I’m with you, confession is good for the soul, and the hips 🙂 Stopping to think = limiting the damage done, even if it’s not before any damage. We will get the hang of this!!!

    Annette: Thanks for your insight. Posting on this thread has helped me see my bad habits.

    Jade: I know what you mean! Crackers can be counted. “I had 5”. Who the he!! cares how much they weigh?
    Congrats on losing the 3lbs.
    Thanks, I’m pleased w/ how I took control. Not a total success but still a victory for me.

    Strength to all those fasting today!

    Hey! Over here! I’ve been out of the loop this week and have missed so many incredible posts and it makes me so sad! I hope that one day, when we’re all at our desired weights and we’ve conquered our krakens that we can meet and laugh together. You guys are a hoot.

    I’ve been backpacking around Oregon in the company of some mules. I carried far too many snack bars and the mules carried far too many boxes of wine. I’m certain that I gained weight on this trip. Fasting today to try to un-do some of the damage, but there’s only so much to be done against corn slathered with homemade butter, racks of ribs, chicken salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made on toasted strudel bread, boxes of wine, etc. etc. etc. And all justified because I was “hiking.” Ha. I can’t even keep a straight face when I write that.

    Back to it today; weigh-in tomorrow to see what I’ve done to myself. Good luck to all!

    Woooo I have made it to the end of the day on 545 calories!

    Michel I am so impressed that you managed to stop yourself mid-cycle and un-hide your secret snack. That is a off-switch I seem to lack.

    As for HOW MANY calories…Oh I remember the day when I discovered that one measly sainsburys danish maple pastry has over 400 calories. I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY???

    Woo Melb that’s fantastic – go you! I also lack the off switch but maybe Michel can patent it. I bypassed the donut store then stopped at the dollar store for dog treats — really — and saw these cookies and knew all of you were saying “YOU ARE LESS THAN A MILE FROM HOME KEEP GOING.” Well I didn’t hear you 😉 but the good news is that gave me only enough time for one cookie.

    Need to plan better for nonFD lunch. I have so many feelings battling it out in my head on a nonFD. As much as I hate MFP it is the only thing keeping me from orbiting my cal count into space. Well you all are a big help but I also know you’ll tut tut and make me not feel like a Ioser, so MFP is the bad cop I guess.

    Penguin I so get the “hiking will take care of that” thinking. And maybe it will. That strange normalcy hormone has not made it into my system but Spring seems to have it. Would love to think we’ll all keep this up and be healthy and slender and someday plan a girls’ vacay in Paris. Stranger things have happened,,,,,
    xxxxx jade

    Penguin: Sounds like you had a good time on your trip. And way to jump back in w/ a FD, hope the day ended as a success and the scales are good to you.

    Melb: Way to go! Congrats on your successful FD.
    I have no idea how I managed to stop mid-binge-cycle. I wish I knew……..I need it today!

    Jade: I used MFP as my bad cop yesterday and it really worked. Just knowing I had to write out down kept me from eating till dinner.
    One cookie is not so bad. At least you didn’t drive around the block a few times & eat the whole bag.

    Here’s hoping everyone had a great Fri!

    Warning: Thinking In Progress!
    Delayed Gratification
    Without realizing it, I think I have been using this as a technique to avoid my morning donut stops. I’ve been mentally using the Starbucks goodies as a “carrot/reward”. Saying “if you don’t get donuts today, you can have all the goodies you want next time they come in”. Somehow knowing I can have it in a month or 2 gives me the strength not to stop. I realize this is not a great solution, but maybe if I understand the mental gymnastics going on I can further modify my eating habits.

    Good luck to us all!

    Well done!
    I don’t suppose it matters what you do as long as you don’t have them. I find that learning how many calories something is and then considering what my TDEE is, and how many I have used up, works for me.

    Michel, great point. We need ways to control ourselves without feeling deprived. Delayed gratification seems to do both. Keep that thinking cap on please. Annette, thank you again for your insight.

    Reading day here, so I’ll share a bit of news about food and hormonal imbalances that cause weight gain (https://intensivedietarymanagement.com). Lots of science….but the biggie was that snacking b/t meals — on almost anything (tho processed food is the worst) — can contribute to weight gain. And NOT due to extra cals but from the constant insulin spike. Which leads to insulin resistance, which leads to insanity, cravings, blindness. Ok kidding, but it’s bad. And of course before we were encouraged to snack all the time, there was less obesity.

    According to the science, even a short fasting window (5-6 hours) allows the body time to process the food and return to normal insulin levels. So, fewer cravings, easier to recognize hunger. Snacking interrupts that. In addition to fasting, the website also advocates super-clean eating (many negatives about sugar, dairy, wheat). Sorry, I’m into 5:2 but not ready for super-clean. Aiming for semi-clean is hard enough.

    But I’m going to try cutting out snacks. I’ll add more good fats at meals to feel full (just had an avocado, roasted veg, and half a PB on whole wheat for lunch, MFP said WTF really? but then admitted just 600 cals, fine for a nonFD). We’ll see, but the snack-Kraken are crawling up my leg here, esp at night. If my body were to report on how I treated it yesterday, the food police would have carted me off.

    Happy Friday all — no lard baton for me todaybut sending good vibes to whoever’s got it 🙂 xxx jade

    Just sat through an episode of great british bake off. All I can think of Black forest gateau. The cream, the cherries, the cream, the cream!

    But I had a good day, no secret eating and small portions. I’ve also been having sugar free jelly with berries for pudding (JUST LIKE TRIFLE, RIGHT?) and I think it helps to know I have something sweet in the fridge – the rising panic in my chest at not having a stash is slightly calmer.

    Toes still quite tingly at the thought of all that cream, however. *Licks lips*

    Jade, I was just about to talk about how I’ve given up yet ANOTHER fast day because of my (albeit healthy) snacking, and I read your post above. And it makes so much sense. And I’m still trying to get my two fast days this week. I’m committing to Sat. and Sun., knowing that I only have those two days left and hoping that it spurs me to greatness. The slow-cooked taco meat and roasted vegetables were too much for me today.

    Well, Michele, I’m still waiting for my successful fast day and I didn’t weigh yesterday. I couldn’t bring myself to after giving up at 8pm (WTF?? REALLY?) and going for fried shrimp and beer with friends. And I’m doing the same tonight, though this fast day has been lost to too many cherries (we’re getting them by the bucket-load) being pickled, dried, or just simply being there. Same goes for all the food out of our garden – I have no idea how many cherry tomatoes I’ve eaten. So I guess there’s a silver lining… I’m eating berries and veggies and lean meats, but I’m determined to get my two fast days!

    Oh, and Jade, I’m down for Paris. Though, given all our tendencies, we’d probably be better off in a food-desert like Antarctica, where our only options were baby seal or whale-blubber batons.

    Adore you all!

    Oh, and I think I’m getting back on MFP too. The blog is still going strong in terms of my posting every day, but I think I need greater motivation to stop the midday snacking and seeing my calorie count is the only way I know to do that.

    Oh mercy….THAT went well. An hour after I vowed to cut out between-meal snacks, all I could think of was a snack. (Who couldn’t see that coming.) So I lasted 4 hours, had some nuts (could’ve been worse), and then polished off the largest dinner ever consumed. Because of course I couldn’t have a snack later. I can still barely move, so I guess I accomplished one thing — I do not want a snack!

    Penguin, we had not-so-great days, but we can get our $**t together. You when you’re not hiking around with mules (they’re really slow lol) and me when I’m not chasing the latest shiny new psychological edge. Still gonna try the not snacking thing, but holy heaven I’m like a new convert when I do these things — I would have done almost anything today to avoid a snack, including having a 1200-calorie dinner. In the meantime, the team is at work figuring this out for us. Michel is working on mental gymnastics that I clearly need practice with, and Melb is not eating cream while watching, of all things, the British bakeoff. I’m impressed by that – I think I’d have eaten the TV if I’d been watching today. Technically not a snack 😉

    Good night all you special things — xxxxx jade

    Dibs on the whale-blubber baton! xx

    Quick note to say I had one of my worst eating days in months. Started with pastries (no willpower today) and ended with pizza. Just when I think I’m getting this down, it blows up and I start over.

    Tomorrow is another day and I will exercise control over myself.

    Musing to self on not wanting to waste food – my other problem, aside from the secret eating, is finishing plates when I am well beyond the point of fullness, for fear of wasting food. We were pretty poor for a long time growing up and there was never enough food, so the idea of not eating everything you can while it is there in front of you is pretty challenging for me.

    However, I can’t remember for the life of me where I read it (only joined this forum very recently so I don’t think it was here), but I did read somewhere that eating food after the point of fullness is still wasting it, and what is more it is waste that you are going to have to carry round with you all the time rather than simply throw in the bin or save for leftovers lunch.

    I filed that away in my “ignore for now” drawer, but over the past week I have found it quite helpful in trying to stop eating based on my stomach rather than on the plate. The head chef around here is a 6.4 male who can eat so much and stay so thin I sometimes worry he has parasitic worms. He makes a LOT of food. I am trying to eat less of it and remember that I don’t need to carry any more waste round on my belly!

    Michel – I don’t know if I will ever be completely free of pizza and pastry days, but I guess what we are working on is making it less of a habit and more of an event. If the ratio of kraken days to non-kraken days is going down, then that is progress in my book!

    I too had trouble “wasting” food and wrote about it a while back. You’re so right, it’s still wasted if we eat too much — it isn’t saving money or solving world hunger, it’s just making us feel bad.

    Love your perspective too on kraken : non-kraken — the bad days are fewer it seems. Funny that a lot of us had one yesterday! Are we somehow in sync?! Ha, what a sisterhood. It’s good to remember that we’re making progress in many ways, though the scale may not show it.

    Speaking of which, here’s some exciting news — I gained 2 lbs! I’m excited because I know I did NOT gain 2 lbs from an 1800-cal day. Not 2 lbs of fat anyway. I had a very big, salty dinner — not good (well, it really was delicious), but not a 2-lb crime. Wow, can I really be free of the scale’s tyranny? That would be all kinds of awesome. Seriously, this is the first day I’ve ever seen a “bad” number and said “pssht scale, you know that’s not fat.”

    But yesterday definitely wasn’t a normal-eating day, so I’m back to work on that. Giving up is not the answer, plus it’s no fun. I’m always up for a challenge 🙂 Good luck to everyone this weekend — enjoy it! xxxx jade

    This is our last weekend with our daughter before she goes off to college. Last night was pizza & a movie and today they wanted pancakes for breakfast. This is going to be a comfort food weekend. Thank goodness Mon will be a FD.

    Jade: Good luck not snacking. I believe this is the way to go. Eat a meal when hungry. (Now if I can just do it)

    Penguin: I hope you have been able to get back on track. I always struggle after a vacation.

    Melb: Most of our foods issues started somewhere and I can only imagine how not having enough food would affect me. At least you realize it is going on. I’m a big “save it for later” person. I hate to cook so I would rather save a little of this and a little of that and viola dinner tomorrow is all ready. I never really thought of it going to waste around my hips, but it is true.

    I’m hoping all you wonderful fast clubbers have a wonderful day full of healthy foods and no snacks!

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