Help! How do I stop the cycle of binging?! :(

[Quasar 0]

Hello guys, I am extremely frustrated because I will do very well for a week or two, or maybe even three, and then I will go off the rails and cheat. I will have chocolate and milkshakes, ice cream and chips that slide down easily. I'm so annoyed with myself at the moment as this seems to be a cycle I keep repeating.

My band originally was only at 3 cc's, then I just had it filled and put up to 5 cc's. Sometimes it was tight and I felt satisfied, but I noticed that I was getting hungrier and hungrier as each week passed after my fill. I have an appointment this Thursday and I am going to get it filled another 1.5 cc's, so that will put me up to 6.5 cc's. I am hoping that will do the trick where I will not feel as hungry after I eat.

I am just really concerned that it is emotional or something else as to why I binge after being successful for 2 or 3 weeks. I do not understand it because I really want to get the weight off. I don't want to be the type of person that just says it but doesn't do what is required. I'm really struggling here. I find that I really struggle with consistency. What do you do if you're not a very consistent and disciplined person to begin with? How do I grow in this area?

Has anyone else struggled with derailing their own efforts and how do I stop this? Is there some careful planning that I can do to overcome this? For example, if I eat too healthy then I go crazy... I crave sweets and my body wants something it shouldn't have. How can I maintain a balance?

Are there foods I should avoid to keep cravings at bay? Do I eat whatever I want at meals in just smaller portions or should I eat healthier meals (and eat something separate from what my husband is eating)? How do you manage cravings to not slip and overeat?

I'm just really feeling discouraged because I don't want to fail. I do not want to give up and I don't want to consider having another type of surgery. I need to learn how to have success with the band. Any tips at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. Renee

[Jack 855]

re: "Has anyone else struggled with derailing their own efforts and how do I stop this? Is there some careful planning that I can do to overcome this?"

Yes.

Yes.

But other than actual action, planning is for naught.

I find simple raw veggies work wonders for those binge times. Beside tasting wonderful, they are healthy and don't have all the crap that cranks up the 'food lust' mode in my appetite center.

Don't have that binge stuff around will help a lot. Don't buy it, and don't go to where it is easily at hand.

And don't stick it in your mouth.

Do empower yourself by doing what you want to do rather than fretting over what eating error you have made.

Head for your GOAL rather than being stymied by the tiny efforts to remain on the path.

You can do it.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Jack

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

Dealing with this now.

Track everything. Be honest about it.

Stay connected here.

I weigh daily but that's a personal choice. If that makes you crazy don't do it. It keeps me accountable. I didn't look at a scale for years. Such denial.

Celebrate the successes. Really Celebrate them. If you have a day of great choices and stayed on track, be joyful and share it. MyFitnessPal is a good way to stay connected with other people who are tracking daily and you know you're not boring anybody by posting it.

Slow down each meal. This is hard but key for me. If I stop and wait a minute or two after my first one to two bites it makes SUCH a difference in being able to notice satisfaction during my meal. This is so hard to do but can be learned. I think of this as interrupting my meal. I discovered this by accident at work. Although I try not to eat at work sometimes I have no way to get away from my desk for lunch so I have to eat there. I had to wait for a phone call one day. Two bites into my lunch the return call came. I was busy with that for about five minutes. When I came back to my food, my strong hunger was already gone. I ate some more of my lunch but I could feel satiety signals better. I listened and obeyed. I didn't need to finish all the food I had brought. This was such an eye opener for me that I try to do it intentionally now. Take a couple of bites, walk away for five minutes (bathroom break?), then resume the meal. We are such physical and emotional and habitual creatures. We need to modify all three areas if we are to succeed.

Don't put danger foods in your path. If it's an item you have trouble controlling, say goodbye to it. It's not worth it. It will derail your weight loss.

Be kind to yourself. This is a daily process. You won't graduate. You'll deal with feeding yourself every meal every day for the rest of your life. Accept it. Embrace it. It will get easier if you build strong habit muscles. Some days will be hard as hell and will suck. They are just days. A fresh choice is made at every meal.

Never ever give up on yourself.

Help somebody else. If somebody asks you here how you succeeded or failed at something tell them. It keeps these facts fresh in our own minds and reminds us we are NOT the only ones struggling and learning and failing and succeeding.

The ones who keep at it are here on the boards. The ones who gave up are gone. Be here.

Hope this helps you. Writing it helped me. Good luck.

[briefs199 337]

Thanks for posting this. I have the same fears.

[Shelly2221 126]

I'm with you. I do the same.

[pink dahlia 2,513]

Everyone s different, what works for one wont work for another, so choose whats right for you. All the above posts are full, of great helpful advice, so here goes another piece of advice. Try journaling daily the details of what you eat. Time , type of food, occasion, feelings, satisfaction etc. After awhile you'll notice a pattern, maybe ? I noticed that I didn't crave sweets in the AM, but really wanted them late afternoon or evening. So I keep some frozen yogurt bars and other healthy treats in the house for those times. Im not perfect, I still have stuff I shouldn't sometimes, but being aware and listening to my bodys wants and needs helps alot when im craving something. Am I really craving it, or am I tired, stressed, sad, overwhelmed ?? Hope this helps, good luck !

[SandyM 1,956]

Stop over thinking it. We all crave and most of us occasionally if not frequently step out of the lines. As stated above, keep the trigger foods out of the house. If your husband is supportive he will allow you to purchase Snacks for him that don't call out to you and sabotage you. As with any kind of addiction, if you don't have the 1st, you don't have to worry about the 2nd or 3rd.

Sometimes I find myself doing so well, I reward myself with food. This is a major no no. If I can stay off the scales, I break this pattern.I also find myself punishing myself (with food) if I do bad. I kind of want to "throw I the towel". This is also self defeating.

As for your fills, how do you know you will receive 1.5 fill or even need or could tolerate that much of a fill. Live for today, tomorrow will take care of itself. Stop overthinking and get a game plan and some short teerm goals that you can actually achieve. You'll get there.

[Lap_Band_Evelyn 34]

I completely understand what you are saying. I have gone off the rails as well and then have to get myself back on. I know you will do great things. : )

[B-52 7,113]

For me, in my case, it had to do with the band and how it is adjusted.

Even if I wanted to binge, I could'nt.

Eventually when the temptation would come, I would dismiss it because i knew what the outcome would be.

Now I don't think about it or care to...call it behavior modification.

But like a previous poster said, and by reading the response given, everyone is different and has their own approach that works for them.

[luvmy4jz 0]

I could have actually written your post about myself. Everything you said is happening with me and I currently have 3 ccs in my band. I just started eating solid foods a couple of weeks ago and some days I do great and other days I crave sweets. I have had no problems eating anything I have tried and that scares me. It feels like I could keep eating but I make myself stop. I'll get another fill on Oct. 28 & I hope it will satisfy my hunger. I track all my food on MyFitnessPal and haven't gone over 1200 calories a day (come very close) but when I was on liquids I was only getting approx. 700-800.

Good luck to you! I know we can do this but it is extremely hard.

[MarieMarie 346]

I never tell myself I cannot have the bad food. I say I will have an ice cream etc on the weekend. So I don't crave things, I give myself permission for them just not now. When the snack attack feeling is over I don't feel like the treats and don't have them. Sometimes we crave things we know we shouldn't have