Why do I do it?

by Brittany
(ND, USA)

I eat healthy all day long and for days at a time. But then there is a day where I just eat and eat and eat at one point in the day.
I don't know why I do it.

Recently i just lost thirty pounds, and I never was like this before I lost the weight. I just don't understand. And I hate being this way because I feel like I am going to gain the weight back, and I hate that feeling.

On a normal day, for breakfast I have a cup of Kashi Go-Lean, a cup of skim milk, half a cup of blueberries and 1 tsp of cinnamon. For lunch I have lettace with chicken, turkcey, or tuna, veggies, 2 tbsp of salsa, and some kind of little fruit. For a snack I have an apple or almonds. For supper I have a little bit of lettace with some salsa, and a healthy main course with veggies. I eat like that everyday. I also excersie 30-60 minutes 5-6 days a week.

But then every so often I have the times where I find myself in front of the cupboard ready for snacking. And then I consume some almonds, crackers, butterscotch chips, peanut butter, peanuts, m and ms, skittles, cookie dough, kettle corn, raisins, marshmallows, and anything else i can get my hands on.

I don't understand why I do it. I feel incredible guilty when I get done and feel like barfing, but never do. So the next day I feel guilty I try to eat as little as possible and work out as much as
possible so my binging doesn't affect my weight.

What do I do?


ANSWER

First of all...
congratulations on your successful weight loss and for doing it with healthy foods and exercise!

Before I go any farther I do need to say that I am NOT a health care professional. If you are looking for a doctor's order... you can't find it here.

But I can share with you my opinion & suggestions...

It sounds like you keep a good tab on the foods you eat. The first thing that I noticed about the foods you said you eat... is that it may not be enough food to sustain your baseline caloric needs.

That could explain your once per week binges. When your body is below caloric needs for an extended period of time it begins to send signals for more food. This may be what is happening to you.

Suggestion #1

You may consider increasing the amount of food you are eating in a day. This will decrease your bodies response and signals to binge. I would suggest this if you are at a healthy weight range right now, want to maintain that, and don't want to eat any junk foods.

Suggestion #2 & 3

Or if you are still needing to lose more weight (or want to maintain with junk foods) then you can continue with exactly what you're doing.

You can use your current food plan with a planned cheat meal once per week (or twice per week to maintain). Your body will still burn fat during the rest of the week because your once per week cheat meal will stop your body from resisting fat loss.

Keep in mind that is how most people eat normally! Naturally thin people eat healthy most of the time and they indulge in over eating every once in a while without guilt.

If you like to treat yourself to you favorite foods then continue with what you're doing; but turn your 'binges' into a planned cheat meals.
You don't need to feel guilty about it!

I hope this helps. Just keep in mind that you know your body the best! Do whatever works for you and supports the healthy lifestyle you want.

You can leave a comment in response to this post if you have any more questions in regards to this. I'd be happy to help in any way that I can.


All my Best,

Stefanie