This topic contains 3,042 replies, has 111 voices, and was last updated by Delayedgratification 2 years, 11 months ago.
Oh no, I hope you’re ok! What is it about the fast days that you find so easy? If it’s the element of control, then perhaps you could set yourself some limits on the other days?
For example, a specific number of calories? Only 3 meals? No eating after 7pm? Three days to be healthy and one day a week to eat anything you want?
Saying it aloud, or telling us, or writing it and sticking it on the fridge might help you stick to it?
Mcca, I sympathize. I am the same way, and even though I’ve had some success, I know the day is coming when it all flies out the window. I’m no expert, so I can only share with you the few things that help (sometimes) when I’m feeling particularly hungry.
1. I keep a food journal. A public one. Every day, every bit of food. I DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT count calories on non-fast days. It would drive me insane. But I do log it. Even when I overdo it, knowing that someone else can see it keeps me a little more in check. Here’s mine: https://livingthe52life.wordpress.com/
2. I allow myself the things that are the worst for me, but I portion them. I do not keep doughnuts in the house, but I go to the coffee shop across the street and have one for breakfast. I make sure I put dip in a bowl, even if it’s a lot, because I know that otherwise I’ll eat the whole container.
3. Someone once told me this: “If you drop your cell phone and crack the screen, you pick it up, dust it off and keep going. You don’t jump up and down on the thing to smash it completely to bits.” I don’t know why that has stuck with me for so long, but it has and I think it’s particularly relevant to food for me. If I binge in the afternoon, I really, really try to piece it back together for the evening. I try not to say “eff it, the day is ruined, might as well keep going. Sometimes I do, though, I’m not a saint!
I feel for you. If you want to log food here, I say do so! The hardest part is to get past the guilt and shame in logging what you eat, but I think that if it keeps you in better control, it’s worth it. If not, and you binge anyway, screw it. Log it anyway, face it, talk to yourself about what happened. Talk to us about what happened. I think it will help. And just take it one day at a time!
Hi Helen & Penguin, thanks so much for your support, I really appreciate it.
I’m going to do what you both suggested and write everything down that I eat tomorrow. And Penguin that’s a good idea about not counting calories when I do this (hey – I saw your updated blog and photo of the washing line – it looks so lovely where you live! Like an American film, where everyone has good teeth and nobody has an eating disorder….).
I like the broken phone analogy too. It’s a good one to keep in mind because I definitely get into the “well I have started so I will finish” thing.
I’m also going to try the Paul McKenna (or, as my daughter calls him, Paul McKnicker) hypnosis app tonight as well which has sometimes worked in the past.
Thanks again ladies, I’ll let you know tomorrow evening how my non-fast day went (isn’t it funny how now I am worrying about the non-fast day rather than the fast day??? I mean, funny in the sort of not-funny-at-all-crikey-I-thought-I-would-have-grown-out-of-this-crap kind of way….).
Hi all, and special hello to you mcca, I so, so, so relate to what you’re saying and have been there a lot of times doing this 5:2, especially in the early days when fast days were relatively ‘easy’ in that I could somehow do them, but the other days I would go nuts. Not sure really what I did to manage them back then and I’ve been feeling quite smug the last few months as I haven’t been binging at all really, but just the last week or so it’s been a real struggle. Part of it for me is that binging is ‘secret eating’ and with my partner away for a couple of weeks I’ve found myself thinking “I could eat whatever I like”. I haven’t really, and I’ve done 3 fast days with another due tomorrow (groan) but somehow not having him around it’s almost like I’m wanting to ‘rebel’. Probably makes no sense but there you go.
I think the idea of journalling everything you eat is a great idea, and doing it here would be great for the accountability. Which is why I’m about to share another thing I am v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y l-e-a-r-n-i-n-g and that’s the difference between hunger and craving. Probably sounds crazy after months and months of fasting and really ‘getting to know hungry’ but I’ve realised only today that I can still be fooled into thinking that craving is hunger. Today I thought I was really hungry (had 2 boiled eggs at 7:30am) and I had a few almonds and a cup of soup about 12:30pm at work and then I came home for lunch and had a lettuce/cucumber/tomato salad with 6 vitaweats (a grain cracker and 6 is worth about equal to a slice of decent grain bread) and cottage cheese. Normally I’d feel satisfied but then I went shopping and thought “I’m still hungry” so I bought 2 Vietnamese cold rolls and a chocolate-chip hot-cross bun… Oh dear, binge alert. Even after I’d eaten that, it took sometime to get through to my brain that there was NO WAY in h*ll I could still be hungry and what I was, was CRAVING… Writing this is almost as embarrassing as admitting to having an eating disorder, but it was a bit of a low-wattage light bulb moment to put my finger on what was really happening. And yes, after eating all that by 3pm,I seriously thought I still felt hungry…
So now I’m putting it all down here and trying to remain mindful of what I am really feeling and telling myself (and you patient, long-suffering cyber buddies) that more food that my body does NOT need is not going to provide a solution to any problem I might have, and DEFINITELY won’t be a solution to craving unhealthy food.
End of rant, thanks for listening, and thanks for all the support 🙂
I am almost 20kg down and I so want to go all the way to goal this time. I’ve lost 20kg many times and then gained it all back so this is a bit of a familiar place. Hopefully with support from all of you I can push through for the last 20kg. keep up the great work my fellow-crazy folk!
Hi everyone! Welcome Chrissie – dark secrets abound here, you’re in company!
Spring thanks for your words of support, it’s good to know (a) that others have had this problem while on the 5:2 and that (b) there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Today was…. Ok. Kind of in the middle… So trying to look positively on it, it’s an improvement. Not where I need to be, but better than where I was at the weekend. I definitely ate too much (around 2,400 calories …. I wasn’t going to count calories but the only tracker I had handy was ‘my fitness pal’ so maybe next time I will just make a list) but less than I would have if I had really let rip on a binge, and my stomach hurt from too much food but I tried to gorge on fruit rather than cake, and it’s 8pm and I have cleaned my teeth and will not eat again today (normally unheard of).
Onwards and upwards! Sending out happy thoughts to my fellow binge eaters 🙂
Spring – I meant to add – I completely relate to what you said about secret eating and wanting to rebel…. I find there is an element of self sabotage, a kind of “well I knew I was going to binge it was just a matter of time, I bettef start to binge and get it done now”. Not sure that makes any sense.
Mcca,
I understand fully what you are feeling! Had 5 days of binging on a business trip! Terrified I gained the 7 pounds I lost! It was all eating and drinking every day! It was business and very grueling so impossible to say no! I’m not going to weigh myself for at least a week and doing fast day today! Plan to do 3 this week to counteract all the damage. Maybe we can encourage each other? The bottom line is we can get back control! A couple fast days and we can fix things. That’s what’s great about 5-2. 🙂 not to mention that we can check in on eachother since no one in my real life is part of this …good luck today and don’t beat yourself up! It’s not hopeless! You can get back on track
Hi everyone!
Chrissie – I am sure everyone on this thread has been there too – try to remember, it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get up again. We’re all going to ‘relapse’ here, it’s just a matter of dusting yourself off and carrying on. Let us know how you got on today.
DbD – I find ‘checking in’ on here is really helpful, yes, let’s definitely encourage each other, and indeed all of our fellow bingers! So much of this stuff is secret for everyone, it’s great to have somewhere you can come and be honest.
I don’t know if this is any help but I do find that the weight you put on through a short-ish binge period is easier to loose than that weight that has been there a long time. Also I tend to copy the eating habits of those around me so if you are on a work trip and everyone is eating and drinking, it’s 100 x harder to abstain. You can definitely get back control, let us know how you get on this week. 🙂
Hi everyone. I’m practically bingeing as I write this. on trail mix, of all things. Just had a super stressful presentation – I’m not sure why as I teach in front of a large-ish class, but this was for a grade, so I guess that makes the stakes higher for me. Now I’m stress eating.
And now I’m stopping. I’m going to get water.
I completed two fast days in a row and they weren’t too hard at all. And I actually didn’t find myself very hungry this morning, but I ate a doughnut anyway. And it was GOOD.
Oh, and on the subject of eating while the “cat’s” away… oh yeah, I do that too. Actually, I’d say that’s the only time I really binge. Unfortunately, my cat’s gone about every other week, so lots of binge opportunities. That’s a big obstacle that I’m trying to overcome.
I’ve had good day. I had soup at lunchtime and two slices of toast with a thin scrape of agave on. Drowned myself in tea so have spent a lot of time in the smallest room but not therefore in the kitchen! I’ve just made my last mug of tea and I’m off to ben before the fridge starts making little, harmless suggestions to me!
Bonne nuit!
Penguin – well done on stopping the binge, that’s the hardest thing. Try to focus on how positive it is that you were able to do that, that you were honest with yourself and aware of your eating. Please let us know how the rest of your day went, my fingers are crossed for you.
Chrissie – well done on getting back on the waggon 🙂
Hi everyone!
I’ve actually had a good week, I let myself eat choccie if I wanted in the afternoons last week, and I think because of this I was able to relax in the evenings. The only day I ate something in the evening was on Friday, when I was watching the new Godzilla! (What a fab movie!) I had crumpets with Biscoff Spread; this is a new find for me, it is vegan and too delicious, I should be worried about having a massive jar of it in the kitchen.
I left my diet days to the end of the week, Thursday and Sunday. I might do this again this week as it was easier for me to manage than two weekdays. Not sure why, but if I repeat this I might be able to work it out.
I have now lost a whole stone! I am really pleased, as compared to other diets this has been so easy, and it makes a massive difference having you all here to chat with! My goal weight is 32lbs away, and I can actually imagine this happening
Chrissie, hope you’ve had a better day, we can only take it one day at a time, one hour at a time sometimes.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
Hi everyone. Bad day. Weighed in this morning. I’m up almost 6 pounds, despite two fast days this week. I’m back, very nearly, to the weight I began at. There’s a few things going on here: 1) It’s that time of the month and I feel VERY bloated, very heavy, more so than usual. I hope I’m not actually pregnant, because that would mean some serious medical complications due to the type of BC I’m on. 2) I had a crazy night this week with friends and drank much too much – resulting in a massive hangover. 3) I have been having intestinal issues for the past three days, which is unusual for me as I normally have a very strong stomach.
Sorry if this all just TMI, but I felt that I needed to put it down somewhere. Wondering if anyone else has had a set back like this before? I think there’s more going on than my having eaten too many calories.
Hi Penguin,
Unless you’re feeling poorly, all those things could easily account for the weight gain.
I don’t even weigh myself during my period, as I often go up 3lbs for those few days and get an ””’irritated bowel”””. Please get checked out by your doctor if you’re worried about your birth control, or your cycle, just to reassure yourself.
If you enjoyed your night with your friends then it’s totally worth it, fun and memories are usually worth a bit of a rough day, yes?
Can you do a fast day to get back on track? Peppermint tea is good for the digestive system, have you tried it for this? Peppermint capsules are good too, and something to try.
Can you have a restful couple of days or are you very busy?
Helen,
Thank you for being a voice of wisdom. I am doing a fast day today and have started with some lemon-ginger decaf tea that I’m hoping will settle everything down. I’m going hiking with some friends later today and they usually go to lunch after, but I’m going to have to sit this one out.
I’m wondering about making an appointment with my doctor. I hate to go, but this time might be worth it.
And yes, nights out with friends are totally worth it, and that’s why I love this diet/lifestyle so much, because I can have a night out and not feel terribly guilty the next day. But this time seemed to coincide with other factors to make for a terrifically bad weigh-in.
In terms of restful days, the ones coming up will be restful enough, physically wise, but rather stressful mentally and emotionally. It’s the end of the term for classes so I have a big paper to turn in and I still have lots of grading to do for my own students. Thursday can’t come fast enough!
Hi Penguin,
I’m no doctor but from my (vast) experience of the amount one can overeat in a week and the effects, I just don’t think this can be down to food alone. I’ve had similarly terrible weeks and max gained 3lbs so 6 lbs seems like there is something else going on.
Did you weigh at the same time of day? Same clothes? After a trip to the loo? I can be 3 or 4 lbs heavier by the end of the day so my weigh-in routine is first thing in the morning, in as few clothes as possible and after the loo!
I know it’s hard not to get disheartened by a setback like this, but I really do feel that at least half of that must be water / bowel / period retention. Try to have a good day and flush yourself out with lots of fluids. Please let us know how you get on x
Hi there all you amazing people. I’ve just checked your thread for the first time and WOW. You are all me !!! I have binge eatten for a number of years and bread is also my downfall. Bread, pasta, white rice. I can consume continuously all day long. I hide food from my husband and sneak it out to eat after he’s gone to work or to bed at night. To say I’m ashamed is putting it mildly, but I’ve until now been unable to stop. Two days ago my sister introduced me to the 5/2 diet and I’m hopeful for the first time in years. So far I’ve managed to fast for one day and restrict my eatting successfully today. The whole premise of this plan is so simple yet so incredibly obvious that it could work. Not ever having to wait more than a day before eatting is simply brilliant. I hope you’ll welcome me to your group because you are most certainly the people I relate to the most. You are all awesome, and I’d love to share my progress with you and cheer you on as we go at this together. Just a few stats to let you know how long and hard my journey is going to be; I’m 66 years old, 5’2” and started at 240 lbs. I plan on weighing myself every Monday so if I don’t do well on any given day I won’t be inclined to give up ( my usual way to deal with failure ). Take care everyone and have a great day.
Hi mcca,
One of the things I do, to keep myself distracted from food, is to keep me always busy and go to bed early 🙂 so as not to binge on dinner/snacks.
1) Trying to go to bed early.
2) Trying to see some motivational videos in YouTube. Practically once we see those fitness videos, we won’t tend to binge (at least for that point of time).
3) Engaging in some activity.
Hope this helps
Queen – oh trailblazer of the secret bingers – where are you? Check in with us! Hope you are ok.
Penguin – how are you getting on? I meant to say…. every loss I have had on 5:2 has been followed by a little jump back up again. Usually about 1-2 lbs which is why I thought your 6 lbs might be something else as well and worth checking with the doc. But I read somewhere that the fat cells like to be full so when you loose fat they fill themselves up with water for a while before deciding to release it. Also I remember when I did Weight Watchers I had a REALLY good week and saved my points up for one measly one-portion pizza that I ate the night before my weigh in. It was not big at all, dinner plate sized, and I didn’t have pudding. Anyway the following day I weighed in at TWO POUNDS heavier. I spoke to a seasoned Weight Watcher-er and she was all “oh, a beginners mistake” and said that any kind of bread-y things go on like lead the day before a weigh in and can give you a falsely high reading. Sure enough, the following week (making sure of a non carb-y day the day before weigh in) I was back down about 3 lbs.
I have a problem with binge eating too (my definition: eating way too much in one sitting)!
What I’m doing this time around on 5:2, is that I’m going to fast low cal, low carb for two consecutive days a week, and then eat normally the other five. I read it’s the two consecutive days of lowcarbing/low calorie that lowers your insulin so you want less food the remaining five, and you burn more fat than just any two days a week. So that’s my game plan! 5:2 works if you stick to it (which unfortunately I did not do). This time I’m doing it differently, as described above, and I feel I will have even better results.
We can do this!
Hi All, and welcome Franee2 & irisblue and all other new folk – you will find kindred souls here who know the realities of food-related addictions.
I last posted about some demon craving but thankfully that’s settled (turned out to be PMS which I should have anticipated, probably TMI 🙂 ) but I’m still in a plateau right now which is very frustrating. I’ve lost nearly 20kg (just BUSTING to be able to say I’ve lost 20kg) and have been a bit stuck for about 3 weeks, still not going over TDEE on most days and fasting on about 400 cals on FD). I know it’s normal but it does stimulate the ‘What the hell, just eat cause you’re always going to be a fatty-poom-ba’ loop in my binge-brain. Have been ‘good’ so far but it’s a struggle.
I post on another thread with lots of lovely ‘normal’ people and sometimes I just think to myself ‘Wow, you make it sound SO easy!!’ Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to all (have also wondered where you are BingingQueen? I hope all is well?) and encourage us all to keep on trying to find the keys that will help unlock some space and freedom around food.
Hi there sanguine penguin, I too am waiting with dred for my Monday weigh-in. Although for the most part I was on point, there were definite slip-ups from time to time. But let’s face it, being a long time binge eater will not magically go away just because you’ve started to be sensible. Being sensible can not cure a long term addiction overnight. I feel that sometimes a totally different person has taken over my body as I rummage mindlessly through to fridge looking for just about anything to stuff into my mouth. I could cry at my stupidity but I remain unable to stop myself. I may not be the slightest bit hungry but as we all know, it’s not about hunger at all. Let’s just deside that in spite of all the slip ups now or in the future will not take away our resolve. And that although it might take us longer than some of the other dieters to reach our goals, we will reach them, none the less. I’ll be thinking of you and wishing you every ounce of success.
Fran ( franee2) xx
One more thought: my binge food of choice right now is alcohol. There, I said it. I go into my thoughts on this a lot more on my blog, but the fact is that I need to begin treating alcohol the same as I treat any other food. It is a food, and I consume too much of it, never mind the health ramifications.
Thank you for your kind thoughts and words, Fran. I really, really appreciate them. I’m a lucky girl to have lots of support, virtual or otherwise 🙂
I don’t think that I’m near giving up, I’m just reaching a point where I need to be honest with myself about my choices. Alcohol isn’t a “problem” for me, per se, in that it’s not something that I struggle with as an addiction and it doesn’t cause problems for me at home or work, but I take in an enormous amount of calories through casual drinking with friends. It’s easy for my husband and I to have a glass or two of wine with dinner, but when we’re out we tend to over-do it.
I’ve always known I need to be mindful in my approach to food, but I need to extend that mindfulness to alcohol, as well.
Hi Queen, sorry to hear you’ve been having such a rough time. We are all going to fall off the wagon, it’s just a matter of getting back on again when it happens.
I do think there is such a thing as food addiction – there are groups called ‘Overeaters Anonymous’ where basically they do the 12 steps they would do in Alcoholics Anonymous, and it is centered around accepting that you have no control around food and that it is an addiction (someone very close to me did this programme). As I understand it, the food reward systems in the brain activate and stimulate the same parts as a drug addition. Eating a lot of carbs at once ‘rushes’ the system in the same way that sugar does. Unfortunately for us, we have no choice but to ingest our drug of choice each day.
I do understand the compulsion to eat, even not ‘nice’ food, just because it is there. This probably sounds like the impossible (and not suggested on a sleep deprived day) but is there any chance you could try a day without carbs? I did ONE day at the weekend (massive triumph for me) and, I’m not going to lie, I found it difficult, but I did feel better for it and guess what? Even though I ate a lot of cheese, and 1/2 a bar of dark chocolate on that day, after that day + 1 fast day I was down 2 lbs.
Hi all.
Queen, I was going to say that I’m sorry you’re having a rough go of it, but you know what? You’re here, you’re talking about it, and I think that’s the first part of coming back into control. I felt ridiculous saying some of the things I did about my own issues with food and alcohol, but I think it really, really helps. To know that there’s a community that will hear you out and be invested in your wellness. And we are.
For me, carbohydrate bingeing is always centered around my low moods. Like you, I won’t binge only on bad foods, but also on cereal, muesli, bran muffins, saltines, graham cracker, etc. If I’m tired, stressed, or feeling bad about myself because of my weight or because something that has happened, I reach for carbs first. So much of my journey is focused around talking, talking, talking, talking about how I feel, why I do the things that I do, keeping a food journal (even when I’m loathe to because it’s so bad!) and trying to get past those bad days.
Have you ever been treated for depression? I’m not suggesting that you are depressed, I’m not a doctor and would never even want to play one on TV, but I think that I’ve always been on the low end of the depression spectrum and I think that affects my eating habits, at times. Another thing I’ve been told to watch for since moving to the pacific northwest is the amount of Vit. D I get. I don’t actively try to consume more though pill form, but I am mindful of how much time I spend in the sun. It could be something to think about, living in the UK and all. I imagine the weather is something like it is here.
Anyway, I hope I don’t sound like an ass. I just know that my food consumption is SO very susceptible to my moods, and I know I can’t be the only one.
For stress relief… I don’t do much, I suppose. I walk the dog around the farm, I’ll work outside, I’ll groom the horse. That’s about it. I’ve been making friends slowly over the past year (we moved here one year ago, I left all my friends and family on the east coast) and so I’m beginning to get out more with them. But it’s a process, for sure.
On the upside, I weighed-in this morning. 193.4. Six pounds total over five weeks. Still more than I was two weeks ago but I’ll take it.
Also, I’m not fasting today. Rather, I’ve decided to do the unthinkable, and fast during a social event. A professor of mine is hosting us at her home tomorrow and is feeding us dinner (and, I presume, wine). I think in an effort to prove to myself that moderation is possible, I’ll be fasting tomorrow and will only consume my 500 calories at her house. And it won’t be in the form of 5 glasses of wine 🙂 Is this a suicide mission???
Hi all! Just a brief note to say I made it through the dinner/work function just fine. It was easy to abstain because my co-workers know I have a long drive and that I follow a mostly vegetarian diet. No one said anything about my tiny portions of vegetables. The worst part came when, as I was driving home, a text came in from a friend wanting to meet at the local pub. My husband was going so I agreed to as well. I managed to make it out of there having only consumed one beer and NO TOTS. Amazing.
Today is a non-fast day but I’m not really hungry yet. It’s a shame that our bodies do that… or maybe it’s just mental. How I can STARVING all day on a fast day and then wake up on a non-fast day and be all like, meh, I’m not hungry even though I’ve not eaten much for 50 hours.
Good luck to everyone, fasting today or not!
Queen, I’m not a good one to ask about what to do to distract oneself during fast days at home, as I usually just suffer through it minute to minute. But with regards to breakfast, have you tried skipping breakfast? Even on non-fast days, I try to push a meal off until I really am hungry, which generally isn’t right when I wake up. That way, I have plenty of time to think about what I really want, instead of what just looks good, and I think it helps me stay full longer into the day. Maybe that would help with your energy? I kinda think the whole breakfast thing is a myth, anyway.
I know all too well the effects of not having enough sleep. The consensus seems to be that lack of sleep or poor sleep quality definitely leads to weight-gain or difficulty in maintaining weight-loss, so I don’t think you’re just dreaming it up (ha, I made a funny there… sorry). When I worked a job that I had to get up for very early, I would routinely find myself eating two breakfasts. When you eat at 5:30 or 6, it’s easy to be hungry again at 9!
I’m still doing the 5:2, today isn’t a fast day for me, though I’m trying to do a modified fast and put off any food until 1-2 and then cut myself off at 8-9ish tonight. Funny how when I can have food, I’m not hungry for it, and when I can’t, I’m suddenly starving! It’s such an obsession for me.
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Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
Michael looks at the Horizon special, "What's the Right Diet for You" and tells us which diet they say is best for him.
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3 Mar 15