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*WARNING* Serious post ahead. Advice appreciated.
This past week has been hectic and stressful. As a result, the eating right and exercising has fallen to the wayside. 
LOTS of unplanned meals (mainly big lunches and dinners), TONNES of nighttime snacking that I’m not proud of.
Most of the snacks were unnecessary and eaten out of stress/boredom/loneliness, and I usually end up dissappointed with myself.
The days usually start out VERY innocently, like this.
Apple Oat-Scramble
Made with 1/2 cup steel cut oats, 1/4 cup Oatbran, a huge fuji, and spices. I eat it with a pack of Justin’s natural almond butter. Sometimes plain, sometimes maple. YUUUUM.
I’d crack sometime before or DURING lunch, thinking since I packed something “healthy”, I could cave in to something like a GIANT
Taro “Bubbled” Smoothie
So far…the conscience isn’t feeling too bad because I don’t get these often and they really are SO GOOD.
Lunch is great right?
A fruit salad on the right with a banana, an apple, and strawberries. On the right is my big Big Momma’s salad topped with a whole tomato, artichokes, deli turkey, and roasted red peppers. And of course, a pack of popcorn!
But then I tell myself that salad’s are unfilling, so I THINK I’m hungry by 3:30 or 4 and I grab a nice, tasty bar like this Pistachio Larabar. (YUP, even with the pistachio recall)
Random mini-review: SOOO moist, so soft, but really not as sweet as any of the other flavors (i.e. apple pie, coconut cream pie) I’ve tried. The pistachio flavor was really light but definitely present. Tasty tasty! Anyways…
I feel lazy and tired because it’s been raining so much at night this week.
I skip the gym (one too many times) and figured I’d air on the lighter side of dinners and make myself an easy Lean Cuisine. The Rosemary chicken isn’t bad at all, but I should have used my common sense and made some veggies on the side to beef up the satiety factor.
But CLEARLY, I’m still hungry, so I decide to bake a really simple
Coconut Cranberry Choco Bread Pudding
out of 2 cups coconut milk, dark chocolate, cranberries, sugar, eggs, and 8 slices of Trader Joe’s sprouted 7-grain bread.
While I’m waiting for my bread pudding to bake, I figured I’d have a little snack…how about a handful of Vanilla Shortbread wafers? Harmless if I stick with <4 (about 130 calories?).
But then, it gets out of hand and I honestly Can’t Stop reaching my hand into the tub (or pack, or cereal box…whatever it may be that night)!!!!!
I end up having…WAY TOO MANY. Like, half a tub too many. I feel SICK and disgusted.
But by now, the bread pudding is ready, and it smells SO GOOD!!!
SO I’ll have a piece.
And then another, and then another.
By the time I realize it, I’ve finished half of it all by myself. I’ve officially eaten two days worth of calories in ONE sitting. OH My gosh, I’m gross.
Now I wonder to myself… do I do this because I’m feelinlg lonely, bored, or if I’m actually feeling like something is missing in my life and I’m eating to fill that void????
Yes I ate good food. Alot of it was “nutritious” and delicious, but…How do you walk the fine line between stopping when you’ve had enough, or eating something just because you think it’ll make you happier?
Am I overdoing it with the pshycho-analyzing?
Oh honey, I have been where you are FAR too many times!! I’m a major stress eater, and I joke that my “stop when satisfied” switch is broken. I tend to overdo it by way too much whenever I’m stressed, and end up feeling like a disgusting pig. I get all down on myself, which then causes more stress, which then makes me (guess what?) eat more!
YEARS of therapy and Weight Watchers meetings has helped me realize one thing: It’s JUST food. Maybe I didn’t make the best choices, but its JUST FOOD. I’m not gross… maybe the choices were, but IM not gross.
The line between enough and too much is verrrrrry fine, and takes lots of practice. A few bad days happen though! Don’t be too hard on yourself!
Did you get my email the other day???
I often stress eat too, still working on dealing with that but I try to remeber we all are allowed slips every now and then. Other then that I try to be more conscious when I know i am over eating, and think of other things I can do to reduce stress.
so glad you left that sweet comment on my blog so that i found yours! such a colourful, lively blog you have here
look forward to reading more!
I eat mindlessly when I’m stressed ALL the time! Sometimes I don’t even know I’m stressed out until I find myself with a spoon in the Nutella jar and realizing that I just ate 4 heaping tbsps of the stuff!! It’s always such a battle!
i wish i knew what to tell you but i do the exact same thing! there are some nights when i just keep eating and i know i should stop and im not even hungry but i just cant keep eating and then i feel so terrible afterwards and beat myself up. i am trying as hard as i can to avoid being in that situation because i know it always ends up the same way. but when i cant and i overeat like WAYYYYYY overeat, i try to be healthy the next day and get in some exercise so i feel better mentally and physically. and its hard but dont beat yourself up about it. its ONE night!!! just one
don’t stress out girlie! you’re an awesome girl so don’t let one night get you down
i bet it tasted gooood! i give myself the “ate too much aches” alot!!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, we’ve all been there. I do the same thing when I am stressed, lonely, or bored and I’ve found that the best thing I can do is just find someone to talk to and get my mind off of whatever is stressing me out. And remember tomorrow is a new day! One bad night won’t ruin all your hard work so keep your head up!
i feel you on this post — it happens to me, too! really, i think it happens to everyone. i find that the guiltier I feel, the longer it goes on and the sicker i feel at the end. so my solution? no guilt allowed!! it’s done, it’s over. like mara said: it’s just food. it tasted delicious, but it also made you crave healthiness … so honor that healthy craving with your next bite
oh…dear, this behavior is so familiar to me!!! I used to over-do it pretty often. and psyco-analyzing it even more often! I think the second option is the case… that we try to eat without stopping just to fill something else missing in our life or something that we don’t like about ourselves. It’s the anxiety factor! you begin with something innocent, make a promise to yourself that you’ll only have few, and then after these, you jump into more without thinking twice…. and then more and more… once it passed the threshold, the whatever kind of thinking kicks in…. And finally, when you’ve finished the whole package (no matter what size) the tremendous guilty comes in and that’s the worst!!!
How to stop it? Simple and hard! STOP from the beginning.
Do you really feel hungry? if so, go for it and don’t promise you anything. I’ve noticed that we tend to break rules. So, don’t set any rule, just eat whatever you feel like.
if you’re not hungry, then, ask you what is missing in reality? anything that bothers you? find the source and then fix it if it’s possible.
And as remedy of that over-do (technically, binge, no matter if it’s healthy food or crap), go for a light meal the next week to clean up your digestive tube and your mind.
okay…. too much rambling! I know I am saying it so easily, but doing it is nothing easy.. but having these in mind might help! (for you and for me! )
Michelle, if you want to talk more.. let me know! ~ Love~
I stress eat too sometimes! But the important thing is not to beat yourself up about it and realize that tomorrow is a new day and another chance to make healthful eating choices.
All that said…you ate some seriously great food!
Try not to stress out too much, I know it’s hard and I stress eat too. It helps for me to sit down and think: am I hungry? Have I not been eating enough veg/dairy or replacement/fruit/protein that day? and go from there.
I’m sorry you are stressing about the day!! Honestly, it’s in the past so there is no reason to stress!!!! Stressing will benefit you in NO way whatsoever, so just move on and get back on track tomorrow, one day won’t kill you!! Don’t beat yourself up, it’s not worth it!!
That breakfast does look so delicious though! I lovee apples + pb!
i’ve totally had days like you just described! my advice when you feel you can’t stop eating is to make some tea (to soothe your tummy if you’ve already overeaten), chew some gum (i think chewing is comforting and having gun in your mouth is a barrier to eating more), or take a bath (ultimate relaxation!). also, when i am tempted to overeat at night, i start planning out a really delicious (and healthy) breakfast, which makes me excited to save my appetite.
what sarah said about “no guilt allowed” is really important b/c feeling guilty or upset can make you want to eat more! and like mara said, “it’s just food” so you should beat yourself up too much!
hope some of that helped!
I eat out of boredom all the time. I generally remind myself that it’s not optimal eating, but I also don’t beat myself up about it either.
…I also find it helps to not keep snack foods in the apartment, hence why there are no rice cakes or crunchy peanut butter.
Ummm… I just ate an entire can of BBQ Pringles last night. I was just munching and munching… and suddenly, the can was empty! (Which is exactly why I don’t normally buy potato chips!)
I think the important thing, is to realize that just because you had a bad day or week doesn’t mean you have to let that derail everything. Everybody has days or weeks like that. (Well, almost everybody… And I wouldn’t want to hang out with someone who can’t let go every once and a while.)
I do sometimes have a hard time deciding if I’m really hungry, or if my brain just wants to munch. Having my husband around helps- because he knows that I get frustrated when I mindlessly munch, so he’ll give me little reminders. It helps to enlist someone to help you “be good”.
i’m craving boba now! ahh! i don’t think you over did it but like everyone else said above me, we all have days where we feel like that regardless of whether we really ate too much or not! on days like that, i feel a little less guilty if i just own up to my desire to eat (for whatever reason whether it’s real hunger or just stress. i know eating probably shouldn’t be the source of happiness that it is for me, but if i’m going to eat something that makes me happy, then it’s important to just go for it! i don’t know if you’re like me, but i feel guiltier when i eat a bunch of small portions (go back for seconds, thirds) rather than just putting two big slices of cake (or bread pudding- which sounds delicious btw) on my plate and not restricting myself of that pleasure. at least then, you’re only going through the whole should i/shouldn’t i inner dialogue only once.
It is evident you are not alone as we’ve all done this/do that. Tomorrow is a new day, and I would just try to avoid repeating the same pattern. Whenever I overeat, I like to hit the gym the next day. Once those endorphins kick-in, I feel a lot better and get some relief knowing that I’m working-off those extra calories.
BTW…I love Joy Yees. I will be visiting Chicago later this month and plan to visit Joy Yees for a boba smoothie too.
You know, reading your post and the other comments makes me see that we ALL have days like this! Or, in your case and often mine, NIGHTS like this! I am almost always virtuous throughout the day, and then every once in a while, the nighttime snacking bug gets me. Bad. You are not the only one.
I really don’t hav a solution for you, and if I acted like I did it would be hugely hypocritical. Make sure you’re eating enough calories during the day and once you’ve had dinner, try to keep busy and distract yourself with the other areas of life. Tell yourself, “the kitchen is closed!”
Don’t worry too much about the eating – it happens to the best of us! Sorry you’ve been having a rough time lately!! Remember today’s a new day
wow for a second there i thought you were talking about me. i have fallen to the same trap lately. there’s some good advice above, so i’m glad i came to read. it is a new day
Welp, as everyone else has said, we all do this occasionally. I know I sometimes go overboard when I’m stressed, too, but the key to it not happening again is not to feel guilty. This is hard, of course, but I always think to myself, “it doesn’t happen often, I am fine, my body will be fine, I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.” Most times it’s true, too! If anything, I just eat more fruits and veg the next day, which I see as a plus. I used to eat to comfort me sometimes late at night my freshman and sophomore years in college, but all it did was make me feel worse. Knowing that I don’t want to feel like THAT again also helps it not happen. Anyway, you have a fresh start tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, etc. I hope the weekend gets better- I know it will!
dont feel gross..feel NORMAL.
i eat sooooo much random food
out of stress/boredom/etc etc
and while oftentimes it makes
me feel PHYSICALLY ill i hate to
let it make me feel guilty or the
likes. keep your chin up little lamb.
p.s. not that it helps but it all looks
way delicious. when i overeat i feel
much better about it when its tasty. :]
that is sort of how my weekend went, I hate that feeling!
http://eatingchalk.wordpress.com
Hi loverly,
We all have those hectic, stressful weeks every now and then. Do not be too hard on yourself if your eating has been a little out of whack. You’ll get back to the normal swing of things after all the chaos dies down! Keep your head up!!
I do not think you should be analyzing this situation so much. We all overdo it sometimes with the non healthy eating. We only have one life to live. Life is NOT perfect.. we all make mistakes. I know the feeling you have of feeling overly full and gross.. but the fact is you cannot change what already happened. Just start over today with healthier choices.
Listen to your inner voice about whether or not you are “truly hungry”. If you crave dessert, have something but try to listen to your body about when to stop. There’s no harm in giving into your cravings every once in awhile.. sometimes we just EAT because we are bored and have nothing else to do.. hence overeating and feeling gross. Keep yourself occupied if you are feeling bored or lonesome. When those feelings come up for me, I try to get OUT of the house and go somewhere like the mall to walk around or I even go outside for a nice brisk walk!
Hope you feel better beautiful
Today is another day!
Mindless bordem.. the thoughtless excessive snacker comes out in all of us.
I’m right there with ya, its shocking, but kind silly sometimes if you ask me.
-E
i have been in your shoes! you aren’t alone. i wish i knew the answers, but i think it is something everyone struggles with sometimes.
Ugh it’s so hard isn’t it??? I’m definitely not one for depriving myself – life is way too short – but at the same time, I know that I have some trigger foods that if I start eating, I’ll never be able to stop. Usually something like your vanilla wafers…it’s just easier not to start eating them, because it’s waaaaay harder to stop!! You’re not alone though, I think absolutely everyone deals with stuff like this!
As you can see, you are DEFINITELY NOT alone in your struggles
It’s so strange the interconnection between food and emotions!! I think therapy, and/or books like intuitive eating and some others are REALLY helpful. Also, just from personal experience- it’s important for me to make my meal structured, i set the table, turn OFF the tv, make sure my meal is pretty and plated and focus on eating and enjoying it 
I know it’s not always an option since our lives are so rushed, but it’s worth it to take the time you need for yourself and your happiness.
im sorry your week has been so stressful!!
oh you rebel you eating that Pistachio Larabar
I usually stop when I start to feel uncomfortable. If I still really want whatever I am craving 30 minutes later then i just give in.
Hey, haven’t posted in awhile but I wanted to chime in here. THANKS for talking about your frustations, because I totally do that too and reading the comments made me feel not so alone. Isn’t it amazing how many of us do this? I wonder if it’s more common among food bloggers or if it’s something really everyone does and we’re just the ones talking about it.
Anyway, have you read Intuitive Eating? I’m about a third of the way through it and it’s pretty interesting, although I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to really eat the way they talk about in the book. But I recommend giving it a read.
Hope you’re feeling better by now
I’m sure you are.
I do think this happens to lots of people. I know I’ve been there and echoing what others have said, not harping on it helps a lot. Just try to move on tomorrow. As far as why you did it, I think it’s good to ask and try to figure out the reason. If you are looking for happiness in bread pudding, you’ll probably continue to eat the whole thing!!!! I make a distinction between eating lots of something cause it tastes good (okay to me) and eating a lot of something because I am nervous, stressed, sad, etc. (not okay for me). I’ve been working on not stress eating because it sucks and I think doing what you did – questioning it – is a good thing!
I feel like I could have written this post myself. I’ve been struggling SO SO much recently and I know I just have to suck it up and STOP but it is so freaking hard. I feel like I wake up every morning telling myself that today is going to be the day that I stop and it never ends up happening. Sigh. I don’t know what advice to give you, but don’t stop trying. Never stop trying. And if you find a magic cure, I WANT IT. Best of luck
Girly, I have so been there. For real. I don’t know if you saw this post by Maggie, but what Jillian says really sums up what I eventually realized. I hope that it helps you: http://www.thesaladgirl.com/2009/03/25/jillian-rocks-cruise-prep-stories-battles/
Here’s what I said in reply on Maggie’s blog:
It is so incredibly true! I don’t talk about this much on my blog (though when I finally get around to FAQ I might), but a few years ago I had a problem with night binging, and when I went to bed with a cramping stomach and nothing but negative things to say about myself, I’d think, “I wish that I wasn’t trapped in this never ending cycle.” What I really needed to say was, “Umm…hello? This doesn’t have to be a never ending cycle!” And yes, there are still those days where the “struggle” exists…but never the “battle”
—-
Michelle, you can feel free to email me if you ever need to talk more about this. I am here for you!!
When I overeat how you’ve described I think it’s b/c in my head I’m already defeated. I think “well – I’ve already been unhealthy and bad today, so I ruined it” which makes me mad at myself! So, I think at that point it probably takes a turn to a) consolation eating b/c I’m upset and b) knowing that I’ve already ruined the day, so I might as well cram in as much bad as I can b/c I won’t be eating it tomorrow!
Sometimes it really helps me to look ahead. There are times where I’ve eaten so much I’ve literally felt like I could vomit, or am doubling over in pains. I also have this problem drinking sometimes (not alcoholic!) but with caffeinated beverages. At the end of the night I am a nervous, shakey, cold-sweaty MESS b/c I didn’t get enough water and the caffeine is way too much.
Just imagining that I’ll have to go through feeling sick, or that horrible caffeine overload feeling helps me to stop. Just remember, it’s NEVER too late to stop the damage. Even if you’ve eaten 2,000 extra calories – you can still stop before it’s 3,000 extra!