All or nothing

[Anonymous]

This is my problem. I'm not that overweight - 5'7 and 140 lbs - but I'm not healthy because I eat like crap many days. I'm either eating perfectly or I eat one bad thing and then blow the entire day with an out-of-control binge. How do I get over this?

[Anonymous]

I don't know, but I am 10lbs greater than you at 5'8" and wish I could find a 'cure'! You describe exactly what I do, over and over again.

[Anonymous]

OP, as a registered dietitian I have more than a few patients who come to me with your perspective on eating. My honest recommendation is therapy/ counseling as I've never seen a case where people are like this in only one area of their life (eating.)

You need to get to the root of why you approach eating/ many things in such an all or nothing fashion. It's not healthy in many ways, not just diet.

[Anonymous]

The above is one thought but it can also be psyhological/behavioral. If what you mean by "eat perfectly" is under eat and you're truly hungry by the time you allow yourself something "bad" ... you will binge. It's a difficult cycle but see if you truly eat enough healthful foods if it still happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, as a registered dietitian I have more than a few patients who come to me with your perspective on eating. My honest recommendation is therapy/ counseling as I've never seen a case where people are like this in only one area of their life (eating.)

You need to get to the root of why you approach eating/ many things in such an all or nothing fashion. It's not healthy in many ways, not just diet.

NP- I am surprised by that. I am a very organized person in my life, no big issues of any kind, no trauma, great kids and dh, but I love to eat, especially sweets, and overeat when stressed. My weight was totally normal my entire life, until it caught up with me in middle age. I thought that was a VERY common issue for women. With age we have to be so much more careful how we eat, or we gain.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the therapy recommendation, especially since you aren’t even overweight.

[Anonymous]

If you are bingeing you need therapy stat. Normal humans do not binge.

[Anonymous]

You have to break out of the cycle, which is very hard. For me, I either go all in on keto which then destroys any urges or cravings to binge (but takes 7-14 days of exercising every ounce of willpower), or antidepressants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are bingeing you need therapy stat. Normal humans do not binge.

This is not true. We evolved with a scarcity of food. Bingeing is quite common. Healthy in the context of modern society? No. But it's not "abnormal".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are bingeing you need therapy stat. Normal humans do not binge.

This is not true. We evolved with a scarcity of food. Bingeing is quite common. Healthy in the context of modern society? No. But it's not "abnormal".

Some of this mentality is also cultural. American culture struggles with balance and moderation. In other cultures, where extremes are looked down upon, you don't see as much binging type of behavior. I agree with one of the previous PPs who recommended therapy/counseling for this. It's as much if not more psychological than biological.

[Anonymous]

The registered dietitian’s knowledge and experience must be very limited if she is unfamiliar with the all or nothing mentality that pervades extreme diet culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my problem. I'm not that overweight - 5'7 and 140 lbs - but I'm not healthy because I eat like crap many days. I'm either eating perfectly or I eat one bad thing and then blow the entire day with an out-of-control binge. How do I get over this?

I agree with therapy.

You also need to stop seeing food as "good" and "bad". Food has no morality. Some foods have more nutritional value than others but all food can and should be include in your diet. As soon as you put something of limits you end up just wanting it even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my problem. I'm not that overweight - 5'7 and 140 lbs - but I'm not healthy because I eat like crap many days. I'm either eating perfectly or I eat one bad thing and then blow the entire day with an out-of-control binge. How do I get over this?

OP, I have similar stats to you and also get into this pattern. Take a good look at your relationship with sugar. For me, it causes me to continue to crave more sweets/junky food. When I eliminate or greatly reduce sugar I stay on track so much easier. Sugar is in lots of foods you don't think of like breads/crackers, sauces, yogurt, and definitely wine. And I don't know if you need therapy (I'm sure we all could use it!) but I definitely agree that you should reframe your thought patterns around "good" and "bad" food so you don't let one cookie derail your whole day or week.

[Anonymous]

How do you track your eating, OP? If you count calories, try moving to a weekly tracking instead of daily. For example, if you wanted to eat 1800 calories a day, that's 12,600 calories per week. Instead of making a goal for 1800/day, make a goal of 1600/day. That leaves you with 1400 to "flex" during the week, so you can go a little over sometimes (or a lot over a couple of times!) but still be within your goal.

I'm someone who can't do actual intuitive eating because I'll just go nuts, but also trying to listen to my body and actually eat when I'm hungry. Agree with PP that your "perfect day" could be undereating that is making you starve and binge. I find that sometimes when I eat a big meal or snack earlier than planned, I'm so not hungry the rest of the day that I end up eating less than if I tried to be perfect all day and then gotten ravenous in the evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The registered dietitian’s knowledge and experience must be very limited if she is unfamiliar with the all or nothing mentality that pervades extreme diet culture.

You need to reread that post.