I had a modified binge --I started Jenny Craig the previous Wednesday so that was keeping me in line.

Easter was a bit of a disaster for me. Now all the candy is 50% off and I bought it today, knowing full well I'd eat it. What's up with that?! It's some kind of deep seated rebellion within me, I know. Then again, there's the notion of just enjoying life. I don't think I'd enjoy a life with no sugar in it, ever again. Hmmm. Balance. Very tough.

This is a great thread..I'm glad it's going. I have been trying for a long time to figure out my triggers. What makes me sabbatoge myself! That's really the bottom line for me. I also want to move away from the all or nothing thinking. If I were to eat a small handful of M and M's and said "Well, that was a mistake." Then I might be ok. But I can't do that, I have to take it all the way. I have had the flu and used that as an excuse to eat off plan. And I was doing really well. My weight went up by 5 pounds overnight (before my binge). And I thought..If I gained 5 pounds without cheating, I better make that count. I ate a lot yesterday. A chief salad, cup of noodles, stoffers french bread pizza, with extra cheese, LOTS of easter candy, a bag of popcorn and orange juice. Really crazy stuff! I wanted to thank MarrahSS for the tip on the book. I ordered my copy today.

So...Day 1 of clean eating for me!

I am trying to establish a good habit of paying attention to hunger and responding to eating when hungry and stopping when full. I think it may be working in the sense that on Easter, even though I did respond somewhat to sight instead of hunger I do believe I didn't overdo it anywhere near as much as I might have in the past because after I had one (hollow) chocolate Easter bunny and two slices of banana cream pie I felt too full to keep cramming.
But what is exciting to me is this was not the result of any conscious decision on my part, but I think the result of practicing the habit of eating when hungry, stopping when full. And I haven't even been totally consistent with that, but consistent enough I guess.
Also wanted to say there are various points of satiety at which one can stop and so far I've been stopping when feeling not just a little full but quite full. That would be my next goal -- to stop a little bit earlier. When I first started this I stopped when feeling just a little bit full but found that I was getting hungrier sooner so don't think that works for me.

For Blackstone, what about when you eat that handful of M&M's and DON'T think "Well, that was a mistake"? I want to get away from villainizing (if that's a word) ANY food. That's why I don't like calling foods "carbage" etc. It may be a harmless coping mechanism for some, but for me it sets up two worlds of food: good and bad. Somehow that does something to me emotionally: oooh, this is a 'bad' food! Let's eat it! I think that all food, particularly in a country as rich as ours, is a gift. A handful of M&M's is a nice little treat. It's finding the "off" button for me that's a challenge. I'm 49 and I still haven't figured this out!!! (Ugh, did I have to mention my age?!)

I feel that way too. I "fight" with my lc WOE. Sometimes I think my strength only amounts to a thin veneer that barely covers a whole lot of weakness within me. No matter how well I do or for how long, I will always be just skirting disaster. Just waiting for my next fall.

I had a small binge last week. I was left alone with two generous slices of pumpkin pie last week (I asked hubby to quit bringing that stuff home!). I do love pumpkin, well, any of the squashes, but mainly it was convenience more than anything. I let myself get real hungry and had the choice of cooking something up, going to the freezer for the last of the leftovers (I had eaten all the good ones by then, of course), or just grab a slice of pie. The pie won. Poor excuse, I know. The first slice was quickly followed by the second. I would have done more damage, but there honestly wasn't anything binge-worthy left in the house. So, I was lucky in that aspect.

I just bought a butternut squash, I plan on cooking it up with some butter, apple pie spice, chopped pecans and some splenda and making little freezer containers with the dessert concoction. It won't be real low carb, but it will be lower than the pie with crust had been! I could have bought unsweetend pumpkin in the can, but the butternut squash was calling my name at the store.

My hubby is freezing his sugary goodies now. Pretty smart of him. It was the grab-ability that derailed me. I figure, if I am tempted to defrost his goodies, then I can tell myself-I have the time to defrost my own.

Only time will tell if this approach will work. It is a daily struggle to "fight the good fight".

I totally relate to that "grab-ability" aspect. I'm just not armed well enough in that respect. I also think it's a great idea to freeze treats. I gave up chocolate for Lent, and my son came home from a trip to NYC with a half dozen cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, including a gorgeous chocolate one. I put it in the freezer and didn't touch it until Easter Sunday. The freezer is definitely a good deterrent.

BTW, since you like pumpkin pie, I make a protein shake that my family dislikes because, as they said, it tastes like "liquid pumpkin pie." I don't think it does, because I don't really like pumpkin pie! Anyway, it's 16.5 g carbs and I love it... 1/2 c. pumpkin from a can, 1/2 c. cream, 1/4 c. water, 1 scoop vanilla flavored protein (I have the Designer Whey stuff), 1 T. granulated Splenda, and ice. Makes a big ol' shake, very thick. I have this crazy metal slurpee straw that I use w/ it, because it's too thick for a regular straw. I have that as my entire lunch; then a few nuts and string cheese at the witching hour of 4:00 p.m. Thanks so much for your comments - I relate to all of it - skirting disaster=yes! That's me!

vivmom - That is a much better way to put it. I have a dear friend (and personal trainer) and she's always reminding me there is no good and bad. It's just food! I want to stop using that terminology as I'm passing it on to my daughter. And as far as your age, we never stop learning! By the way, I'm 43..right there with you!

I am on day 5. It is my fault, it was my fault. I binged for 3 days straight. By straight I mean hours and hours of eating everything I could find, even past being sick. I cleaned up my act Sunday. But it took days to physically get over the binge. It messes with my system. I know I consume 5000+ extra calories easily when i do it. I gained 7 lbs in 3 days. I have now lost them again. It hurts emotionally, every time. Its a compulsion that I can't stop once it starts. Makes me feel alone. It is never ever done around anyone..I am getting stronger every day. I know each time i binge I say never ever again. I always mean it. I did years of clean eating before the first binge. I am trying to figure out what was different. Why I was able to stick to it before and not now.

So, again...

5 days clean.

This started it for me last week. Thank you for sharing. I decided I'd use the no food is bad food..that if i control portion size I could eat anything i want. I started with a handful of M and M's..then a bag, then 5 or 6 bags, then cookies, then more candy, and more and more food...

I had to clean out what I had-candy that I pass out as treats on my bus. I took every last piece I had to work..had to get rid of the rest of it. What is funny is I've tried also keeping stuff around that I don't like. It doesn't matter. When i binge I will eat anything and everything, it doesn't matter if i like it or not. So, all of that candy is gone.

Another odd thing I noticed, maybe some of you do as well, is that I only binge at home..its only in my room. I don't eat in my car, i don't eat at work, nothing. Those places are all fine. In fact I store snacks and treats at work, and in my car...never ever have i eaten any of them. But, i will do it in my room at home, alone, always alone..always when he is gone or in the bath, and the kids are in the livingroom or bedrooms. Never with anyone else. Always alone. Anyone else have a pattern?

Hmm...I don't have a particular binge location. But it would certainly be at home. But I do know that when I'm angry or frustrated the urge to binge is stronger. At the most basic of levels, I think it means I am missing something and I feel the need to be "full". But once I start, it's very hard to stop. That's for sure.

Binge pattern for me always seems to start with the slippery slope of sugar, and if that's combined with anger or boredom...watch out! I'm tired of meat. I just made a pot roast that tastes too meaty to me (I'm strange that way) and the steamed cauliflower and green beans are just so daggone boring. Then I get angry at myself for taking perfectly good food for granted. Time to bring on the Hershey's miniatures! It's true about physically leaving the house - that helps. I need to get off chocolate again but more importantly, I need to get back the inspiration I had during the first two weeks of low carbing. Where'd it go?!?!

I used to be the type that could take or leave chocolate but now it is a dangerous pass time for me as well. I have found that i can make my own chocolate in a pinch with butter/coconut oil/ stevia/ a bit of salt and cocoa. However...even with that, I tend to over indulge. I guess we just have to keep trying and stay tuned to our body and mind.

Well, Blackstone, your chocolate concoction sounds a lot healthier than my version - which is chocolate chips in a dish! How bad is that?! I have to just quit it cold turkey. I'm thinking that since I had a good experience with Lent, I'm going to create my own "Lents" all through the summer. Sounds lame, I know. But it might work. 40 days off chocolate, a couple days on.

I want to binge. I want to eat. Ive had dinner, yet all the emotional issues haven't left. Its been an extremely difficult night issues with daughter and husband happy, sad, and angry. I want to stuff my face with food and eat till I explode.