I'm curious about eating habits after getting into the "fitness lifestyle"

[Sassy69]

After having a conversation with a couple female friends at my gym regarding dieting, gym time, etc. we all found that we can follow a tight diet bout 95% of the time - the whole 6 small meals, good quality proteins, flax oil, complex carbs, etc. etc. --- but occassionally we found that we have acquired this incredible ability to just "lose it" and be able to pack away junk food on the order of a whole large pizza, a 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one sitting, etc.

I notice that when I get my diet going, I can stick religiously to a clean diet for about 6 weeks at a time - during this time food is strictly meant as fuel and I might get wild & have one or two vodka & cranberry drinks on a Sat night once/month in exchange for a marathon night of dancing ("cardio"). But then that day comes when I just can't look at another chicken breast and I just can't take it anymore. I literally have a fight with myself in front of the ice cream freezer at the grocery store. Its scary.

If there is fat or carbs missing from my diet or its that time of month, I can see where I might get some cravings, but jeez, sometimes I just *NEED* to sit down and have a food orgy and the amounts of food I can suck down are monumental. In my years before discovering the secrets of diet & exercise, I usually kept my serving sizes to reasonable amounts, but more frequently. Now they are few & far between, but look out when they do come around! I'm coming in w/ a shovel and I dont' know the meaning of "satisfied" until ALL the junk food is gone.

Does this happen to you guys or does anyone have a reasonable explanation for this rather obsessive behavior??


Is it just me

 

[KEL]

sometimes I just *NEED* to sit down and have a food orgy

how about *WANT*
Yes when I'm really sticking to the diet for long periods - I've got to have something off the "drive-thru" menu.
It only lasts for one meal then back to normal.

*no regrets*

 

[new@gettinbig]

I believe you have to live a little....Eating a healthy lifestlye and training is my life...I do it a majority of my time...I plan, prepare and eat the way I should...but every now and then you have to eat a pizza or your fav desert...if you dont you will go crazy!! I see it as more of a treat now...i enjoy it now more than i used to....cause i dont have it often. I am yet to see a someone that is serious into fitness and does not treat themselves...to me I see nothing wrong with it....most of america eats like that every day..

I see clients that eat Mcdonalds, soda, microwaved meals and so on EVERYDAY...have no clue how terrible it is for them..do not make meals in advance..stop by the vending machine at work for a snack..do not drink much water....never see a gym..except maybe after new years eve...and a few times on some home gym they bought and a treadmill that is now a clothes hanger........You work hard for your body 90% of the time...you put time, food, hard training and rest into it......You have more energy...better feeling about yourself!!! When you do eat crap notice what it does to your body...you are sluggish....sick at times etc...i am getting off track here..u see my point...

 

[diamonddiceclay]

I never think about cheating because I know I'd only be giving in to a weakness that is not necessary-instead I live each day hating my diet-it's a trade off

 

[new@gettinbig]

If you are dieting for a show...that is one thing..but to just get lean and get in shape..or your off season...etc...why not?? and Diamond your body gets used to doing the same thing..your body needs a break sometimes....dieting all the time and staying strict 100% of the time..is not always good...makes you hate the diet more and you actually could benefit from taking 1 day off....

 

[crazyfit1]

Well, I have never done this before, but this week was a "free week" for me. I just allowed myself to eat whatever it was I was craving from sweets to fast food. I did not binge eat but just ate a little bit here and there of whatever I felt like eating. I haven't noticed a difference in the way I look except for the few pounds I have gained, but certainly do not feel as energetic or good about myself. I did this to "get it out of my system" as I am starting my diet now for ten straight weeks. I am not worried that this will wreck my physique. As I see it, what took me years to build will not be destroyed in a matter of a week. Would I do this again? Probably. Life is too damn short to not enjoy it a little bit. Would I eat like this everyday? Hell no! It was fun while it lasted, now I gotta get back to bid'ness!!!

 

[Sassy69]

I guess what I was wondering is whether or not there is any logic behind the need for variety when you are on a very strict or simple diet. As a result of a being "extreme" in your "strictness" do you tend to be extreme in your "cheats" - whereas a person following a fairly varied diet would not be so inclined? Of course I'm sure that whole concept falls apart if you looked at someone from a society with extremely limited food choices....

Or is it just that we become so obsessed with the restrictions that we get just as obsessed w/ the cheats?

Interesting concept anyway. The funny thing is that whenver I do cheat, i usually dont' enjoy it as much as something like a good hunk of grilled steak or chicken. I don't recall *really* enjoying something that I dont' get very often -- except maybe a hunk of my grandmother's home made banana bread, but I think that appreciation had a little more to do with the "feeling of home & family" association than the food taste....

 

[Brishen]

Have you heard of that well-known starvation study that (I think it was) Prochaska and DeClemente (sp?) did? It was the one that they performed on a number of adult males. They cut their caloric intake in half. Several of the men actually started bingeing in secret. They suffered a number of psychological effects.

It's absolutely a normal response to deprivation. That's why I think one ought to have moderation in moderation, too - little bit of excess and denial from time to time. As for the binges, I have found that taking away their negative connotation is helpful. I'm like, "So what! I ate a gallon of ice cream!" It doesn't make snarfing down the ice cream OK, but it doesn't make it a sin, either. If it's not forbidden, I don't even want it. As well, I practice a bit of mindfulness about my body, finding my natural hungers, assessing my physical reaction to food, thirst, hunger. I suppose it helps me respect my body such that I don't want to make it hurt with a whack-load of junkfood. (And maaaaaaaaan does it hurt. Can you say irritable colon?!? ) "The funny thing is that whenver I do cheat, i usually dont' enjoy it as much as something like a good hunk of grilled steak or chicken." Yeah, what she said! I enjoy good, nutrient-dense food. I feel good about putting into my body. But I also enjoy the psychological payoffs of eating a chocolate bar. Mmm, nurturance.... Junkfood is nurturance for a lot of people. It still is for me. But I also treat exercise as nurturance, (as opposed to punishment or something that I haaave to do).

I'm rambling. I guess my point had something to do with perception. I treat exercise and eating healthy like a very precious gift to myself - I don't treat bingeing that way. Health is the treat, not chocolate! I've come too far to take orders from a cookie! But bingeing is also not an evil thing. Shit happens. The less you stress and obsess about it, the less you want to do it.

 

[SteelWeaver]

I never felt the need to "cheat" or binge before I started eating completely clean, although my nutrition before then was, on the whole, much healthier and more wholesome than your average person - I almost never ate any junk, and didn't have any desire to. Then I started eating like a bodybuilder, and suddenly started noticing that there are more cakes and cookies and chocolates and ice-cream in the stores and just generally available EVERYWHERE, than I ever noticed before. Even though my calories were above maintenance, I occasionally still wanted sweet stuff, that I'd never really been interested in before.

Now that I'm calorically restricted AND limited in my food choices, I'm like a BEAST when refeed night comes around once a week. I don't eat just anything - fat is a no-no, so I'm still partially restricted, but I can put away LOTS of sugary and high carb foods without a single guilty thought because it's all written into the diet. I sincerely doubt that unless someone put me up to a big challenge with ample personal rewards (in whatever form), I would be able to eat completely clean without refeeds/cheats, whatever you call them, for any longer than about .... 3 weeks to a month absolute max.

I'm sure we are psychologically obsessed with the restrictions, but being in caloric deficit = physiological NEED. Your body's crying out for calories - I just wonder why it's the crappy, junky calories it cries out for ...??? lol

I have wondered about how my eating habits will have changed by the time my show is done ... I have a sneaking suspicion that a newfound enjoyment of sweet stuff might dog me. But then again, perhaps as soon as I'm in a mass phase again, I won't get the cravings - just keep a weekly "cheat meal" for pizza in a gaining phase, I think, then stay clean the rest of the time. Maybe throw in a frozen yoghurt now and then.

Long ago I used to obsess over food and calories - I don't want to do that anymore - in a pre-contest phase, fine, there's no way around it, but when gaining, I am GOING to have something yummy if I want it - just not every day!

 

[Temple]

I can do about 6 weeks before I have a "melt down", it usually lasts one day and then I am so damn sick I can't wait to get back to the clean food. When I am sick everything goes right out the window.

 

[FitFossil]

OK, I don't compete, but I do like to look good...

For me, it works best to have a small treat every day that's built into my diet. That way I never obsess or worry about bingeing.

There is no food I tell myself I "can't" have. So, when I do find myself wanting something that's not quite "clean", I'll have it. I'm actually satisfied with smaller portions since I know nothing's forbidden. If I told myself "just this once but never again...", I'd eat the whole thing and then some.

I know I could make better use of those less-than-clean calories, but I'm in this for the long haul. I like to look good, but I like food too (and my husband is a gourmet cook), so I compromise. I'd rather look sort of close-to-contest all the time than contest-ready for a few days (except maybe my next HS reunion ). Even the competitors only stay contest-ready for a very short period. I think following a strict contest diet would really screw w/my eating disorder history, and I don't want to go back down that road.

 

[Arioch]

One thing that my wife does that seems to work well for her is to use some sort of candy that is composed of primarily dextrose, such as Sweet Tarts, as part of her post-workout carb-up. It seems to work well for her as she does not have the fastest metabolism in the world and will often spend a fair amount of time dieting.

 

[FitFossil]

Re: Re: OK, I don't compete, but I do like to look good...

can u explain a little more about how ur small treat per day works? like by giving an example of how you work it in?

p60,

Everything I've done has pretty much been trial and error over the past 3 years. My diet to start was crappy w/capital C. Most all calories from sugar, chocolate, etc. I ate maybe 1 decent meal every few DAYS. All other calories were sweets. I was able to stay remarkably thin because of youth and active lifestyle, but I felt horrible most of the time. Once I hit my 30's the party was over, and here came the fat, regardless of how hard I worked in the gym.

Bit by bit I started cleaning up my diet. First w/ protein shake for breakfast. Then I began having a clean dinner with protein and veg. (used to skip dinner and just eat dessert). Then I cleaned up lunch. Then I broke my 3 meals into 6 smaller meals, always trying to get some protein in each. This made the biggest difference in my energy. My body really started to change in the gym too. With improved nutrition, I did not crave sweets as much as I used to, and weaned myself down to once a day.

All of this has taken nearly 3 years, but looking back it doesn't seem that long because I made progress all along the way. I tried doing the sweets every other day, but that backfired. I don't count calories, keep a food log or anything like that. I judge my progress by my strength in the gym and the mirror. If something's not working, I make one small change and wait it out. Being too drastic screws me up. Usually this involves slightly increasing or decreasing portion sizes of whatever I eat. It seems to work better for me to have only a very slight calorie deficit. By eating every 2-3 hours, I'm much less aware of it. I'm also a fan of high intensity cardio. I'd rather have to exercise more and be able to eat a little more. Not sure if this is pychological or physiological.