The FastDay Forum

Dear Rufus
After losing weight our body tries to trick us to gain it back so you might have this uncontrolled cravings for a long while until they will eventually go away.

After reading this, it was like a lightbulb went off above my head. I don't know why this has never occurred to me. It makes so much sense... feast or famine... you just fasted and now are eating and your body is trying to store as many calories as it can. No wonder some days I feel like a bottomless pit.

WOAH!!! That is VERY interesting!!!

Good advice from Caroline for maintaining your weight for a while and for contacting Marlathome.
This is very interesting thread from beginning to end!

Good morning, everyone!

Thank you so much for all of your kind and thoughtful replies. I had a horrible night's sleep. At one point thought I was going to throw up. I even got up and tossed out the rest of the bottle of wine I'd been drinking. Yuck. No more. And as I mentioned early, I put all the "bad" food in a shopping bag last night and delivered it to a friend. I am so glad to have temptations out of the house.

To answer some questions --

mariposa -- Yes, shopping on fast days is a complete disaster. Lesson learned. I will only bring a pinch of money with me to the grocery store and only buy what is on my list next time.

Golarne -- did you binge, too, yesterday? Poor you, if you felt anything like me. I am doing a semi-fast today to get rid of what is in my gut.

Coffeecat -- Distraction is a great idea, unfortunately I work from home.

Carorees -- Why did I binge? No mystery there. I know exactly why. 1) because I love cheese and crackers and cookies and can't be around them without eating them till they are gone. It is just my nature. 2) because I started drinking in the evening, and alcohol makes me (and most people) overeat. 3) because I recently took on some freelance writing projects. As anyone who writes knows, you do all kinds of crazy things (scrub the bathtub, wash the dog, eat whatever is in sight) to avoid writing. In my case, I was eating, eating, eating.

BBT053 --- I appreciate your concerns, but no, I am not too thin. I have actually lost only a small amount of weight on 5:2 and most people haven't commented or noticed the difference. During my annual physical, my doctor noted that I had gained weight over the last year and suggested I lose it. Not much, but my weight was definitely going up and up and we don't want that to become a trend, especially at my age (50). I'm not anorexic, nor have I ever been. My BMI is 120.

Contrary to what some may think, when you are thin, the weight does not come spilling off you when you do 5:2. It comes off very very slow, maybe a quarter of a pound a week, and I believe at some point, you do reach some type of equilibrium. Some people who eat well on feast days, don't lose any weight!

Again, thanks everyone for your kind support. I am so grateful to be a part of this forum.

Cheers,

Rufus

[Moogie]

I think we've all had a day of extreme indulgence now and then. I had one yesterday actually (must have been the day for it!) due to a family dinner out and having leftover hubby's birthday cake to finish off I'm paying the price for it today as my tummy is so angry about it. I thought I'd be sick last night actually. Next time I'll remember I don't need wine, starters, main & dessert - I can't cope with so much anymore. I think I can at the time, but my tummy tells me otherwise. Shame I have to remind myself like this once in a while!
I'm sure this has taught you something. It was just one day, don't worry

I think we've all had a day of extreme indulgence now and then. I had one yesterday actually (must have been the day for it!) due to a family dinner out and having leftover hubby's birthday cake to finish off I'm paying the price for it today as my tummy is so angry about it. I thought I'd be sick last night actually. Next time I'll remember I don't need wine, starters, main & dessert - I can't cope with so much anymore. I think I can at the time, but my tummy tells me otherwise. Shame I have to remind myself like this once in a while!
I'm sure this has taught you something. It was just one day, don't worry

Thanks, Moogie!

I thought I'd be sick last night, too! Horrible feeling. Here's to another day!

Cheers,

R

I think that when I eat too much, I should have either too much to drink as well or have dessert. If I have both, I feel like I'll "export" what I;ve eaten but if I stick to just alcohol or just dessert, I'm good to go (to sleep, LOL).

Ok, good.

On a general note, I think the key to stopping binging is to take the drama out of it. If there is no reward (feeling bad, guilty, secretive, indulgent etc.) there's no reason to do it, other than greed.

[carorees]

because I recently took on some freelance writing projects. As anyone who writes knows, you do all kinds of crazy things (scrub the bathtub, wash the dog, eat whatever is in sight) to avoid writing. In my case, I was eating, eating, eating.

I'm a freelance writer too. Sadly never felt the need to scrub the bath or clean the house instead of sitting on my backside in front of the computer My main displacement activity is doing research for this forum rather than the writing! Bit short of work at the mo sadly so I don't have to feel guilty about spending so much time here!

My main displacement activity is doing research for this forum rather than the writing! Bit short of work at the mo sadly so I don't have to feel guilty about spending so much time here!

Aha, now I understand why you have so much time to post! All the better for us others.

As an expert procrastinator (internet is my current drug, you could call that a form of bingeing too sometimes) I recognize the emotional discomfort. "I should do this or that but I don't feel like it and I feel bad about my not doing it", which can be reduced by food (and other drugs). Giving in to the "feel good", even if it very soon doesn't feel good anymore. It's a struggle sometimes. Avoiding temptation and sometimes meditation works for me some of the time. Most of all - just getting started on what I should do, once I do I forget about the other temptations and usually I even enjoy it. But it doesn't come easy.
For me, stuffing my face (which I do very seldom these days) and procrastination is about emotion regulation. That takes time to learn, with a lot of bad habits to unlearn (or replace).

Marlathome here on the forum writes sensibly about bingeing.

And yes, alcohol (and sometimes sugar or crisps) does that loss of judgment/control thing. Just get back on the horse. Being harsh and reproachful towards your self has been shown NOT to be a good strategy.