"My last cheat I SWEAR" Approach: How I Stopped Binging

How many times have you used THAT line huh?

From Layne Norton's Instagram

"Oh snap, I'm getting SERIOUS tomorrow... sooooo I might as well eat all the bad stuff I can now because I won't have any for a while..."

The next day comes around. You do fine for a few days... or one.... and then you mess up a tinyyy tiny bit... and that sets you off. You eat one cookie, which turns to 2, and then before you know it you've eaten the whole box!

"Ah crud.... messed up... OK starting fresh TOMORROW.... but since I already messed up, I should finish off that peanut butter too, and then tomorrow I'll start fresh..."

And repeat.

Sound familiar to you?



That is how I used to be EXACTLY! I could not control myself.

I'd have cycles of clean eating and then BAM, one tiny slip up and the binge monster inside my stomach that had no sense or knowledge of the word "full" or "satiated" went crazy.

If you've followed for a while, you know my past with binging!
Read my post on Stopping the Binge Here!
[This was before I knew about IIFYM, but there are still good tips if you're struggling]

I'd eat well, and then before I knew it I found myself in the store buying donuts and snack bars galore and "gluten free" cookies thinking it'd be the healthier choice to regular cookies.. psh who was I kidding? Overeating is overeating, and binging is binging, no matter what you binge on.

So how did I fix this? After months and months of feeling depressed, guilty, fluffy, disgusted at myself for this cycle, HOW in the world did I change my binging ways?

I seriously didn't think it would happen. I thought I'd be STUCK like that the rest of my life. Forever hungry, forever craving junk and eating till I couldn't breathe, and then eating some more. Creeping into the kitchen to finish off the bag of rice cakes. Constantly asking friends to go to buffets so I could stuff myself till my pants were stretched to its limits.

I thought I was a lost cause.

I prayed every night to get out of it, to go back to my OLD ways. Before I started my "healthy" lifestyle. Because back then, I COULD say no to Reese's, and other candies. I could say NO! 

But those months where I was at my worst, I COULD NOT. Anybody asked me or tempted me, I said HECK YES GIMME and GIMME MOREEEE.

Well the answer is right up there! ^^
"Back to my OLD ways, before I started my "healthy" lifestyle"

So what was the variable that changed from BEFORE my lifestyle change and AFTER?

RESTRICTION

I realized that I didn't restrict before, and I could say no.
When I started my "healthy" journey, I took it to an extreme.

• No carbs except fruit.
• Was scared to use olive oil because it's not good for you when heated to a certain degree.
• Was afraid to add sea salt because of added sodium and water retention.
• Bland condiments
• Bland cooking because I was afraid to add any zest or flavor

So after my unhealthy weight loss by doing all that, I finally "Reintroduced" other foods, such as carbs. My body had been restricted for so long that it was like,

"What is that delicious carby thing? I MUST GET IT ALLLL IN BEFORE I CAN'T HAVE IT ANYMORE"

AND that's exactly what I did.

Then I gained weight, got a little fluffy, so I decided I was going to get serious again, cut all carbs, salts, etc.

And I said it,

"This is my last cheat, I SWEAR.... soooooo let's eat alll the bad food in the house to get rid of it" 

or "I have to eat all this peanut butter because I won't eat it for a while!" 

And that's how it went.
That cycle continued for MONTHS.
I tried all kinds of extreme diets:

• Hired a trainer [who had me on 1100 cals and low carb cookie cutter diet he used with countless other clients]
• keto [no carbs]
• tried to get ready for a bikini competition thinking the discipline would help... it did not
• Fat Flush Diet again [what I initially used for my "weightloss"]

These cycles continued..... until a few months ago.
On instagram I kept seeing the tag #iifym, stands for If It Fits Your Macros [to read about my initial post on that, click here].

I read up on it, did my research, looked at others going through this diet and saw that they were living perfectly maintainable lives, and still able to look GOOD! But not only did they look good, they also had the MENTAL health aspect.

That's what I needed.
To be able to have a treat, not think: "OH HOLY I MESSED IT ALL UP GO CRAZY" and move on!

So I started tracking macros, found mine on iifym.com, and guess what.

The binges lessened.

I ate majority healthy food, but still was able to fit in chocolates, or bars, or ferrero rocher [GASP, my favorite], maintain my weight, keep my sanity AND happiness.

The binges lessened, until I realized one day,
"I haven't binged since.... I can't even remember!"

That's right.
I thought I was a lost cause, BUT I wasn't!
I finally fixed my problem!

It was "RESTRICTION".

And the moment I changed my  

MINDSET 

[dingding KEY WORD - you HAVE TO change the mind - the mind controls everything]

that's when I changed how my body reacted to food.

Food no longer controls me.
I can have a treat, one treat, and stop at that.
I don't go into the night eating a bag of ezekiel bread slathered in almond butter anymore.
I have one, and I'm done!

Why?
Because I don't have the mindset of "OHH THIS IS MY LAST ONE SO I HAVE TO EAT IT ALL!"

Because with IIFYM, it's not your last one! If you can fit it into your macros, then HAVE IT!
It's not RESTRICTED! You can MAKE something fit your macros!

And while counting macros, you get a greater sense of what you're putting into your body! The macros, AND micronutrients [vitamins and minerals] and fiber! I ALWAYS make sure I hit my micronutrients & fiber and essential nutrients before adding in any fun stuff.
So for those of you complaining,

"Oh em geee, you do IIFYM? You mean the eat crap diet? Uck how disgusting... you're going to get diseases and heart problems and all sorts of bad things..."

Just know I'm more aware of my nutrients now than I was in the past! I'm consuming more healthy fats than I was before, and instead of eating bland veggies, I can find tastier ones with just the same or better nutrient values!

 AND with IIFYM I realized I was UNDEReating as well!

I didn't use to track my calories, so I didn't know how much I was eating. I realized that what I was usually eating was SO much lower than my maintenance cals, so of course my body was starving for some food!

When I ate more and matched my macros, I wasn't HUNGRY anymore. I wasn't starving mentally or physically. Therefor, NO CRAVINGS because I was actually full! I know it may seem like:
"Come on Josie, DUHH. You didn't realize you were doing this all to yourself before?"
Well when you're in a screwed up cycle like that one above, it's not so easy to see the big main problem!

IIFYM, what did it do for me?

• Made me realize I was eating too little
• Increase in food = more satiety = less cravings
• Changed my mental view on food
• Actually eating more nutritious food
• Got rid of my "last cheat I swear" approach
• Allows me to go out with friends or family on social events [lots of restaurants have nutritional info on their websites! Or through myfitnesspal.com!]
• Stopped my binges
• Made me realize this process TAKES TIME

I don't know why I though restriction was the way to go.

Seriously, did I think I could live my life ZERO carb forever?! NO.

Why would I want to get my body USED TO having LOW CARBS anyway, only to balloon and swell up the moment I have a carby treat?!
I want to eat AS MANY carbs as I can and still maintain! BECAUSE I LOVEEE THEM.

And that's what I aim to do!
I'm going to slowly increase my carb intake until the point I start gaining. I'd love to be like one of Layne Norton's clients who are female AND have their carbs in the 200s or even 300 grams!

CAN YOU SAY CARB HEAVEN?!?!

Hahaha ok ok I'm done rambling.

Just wanted to give my story and input on the whole clean eating vs iifym approach.

Again, not shoving my views down your throats and telling you IIFYM IS THE WAY TO GO.

I'm not saying that.

I'm saying if you have a problem, try different techniques and ways to fit it.

Find the lifestyle, diet, program that works for you.

ALL PROGRAMS WORK. 

Eating 6x a day, eating 3x a day, eating small meals, or eating big meals. It's just about YOU the individual.

What will work for you NOW and most importantly in the LONG RUN.

The way you're eating now, can you see yourself doing that 5 months down the road, 5 years down the road?

If not, time to reevaluate your lifestyle choices.
This will take time.

But you know what?
Quick fixes = fast results = short temporary success
Realizing it's a process = longer time = sustained changes = long term success

Wishing you all the luck in finding what works best for YOU.

- Josie

@Vmfitness