Trying Something New...

Well, after that weird hormonal binge and a gain of 2 pounds on the scale, I did some reading and thinking. I have found some evidence that suggests a reason for mid- to end-cycle binges, but I'm still pondering and will put that in another post. For now, let me share what I did to halt the "crazy rolling ball" of binge eating.

You know how once you screw up and binge, it is easier to do it again the next day? Harder to quit? It is for me, anyway. And with the hormonal stuff that's going on, I had to make a decision about how I am going to handle it.

If you haven't read my previous post, you might want to do so. By way of background, my female cycles seem to have something to do with my eating habits:

Days 1-14 or so, it is easy to eat healthy. I do not think or obsess about food AT ALL. I feel:
happy
positive
calm
light
energetic
awake
friendly
focused

Then somewhere around Day 15, I lose it. I start thinking about food ALL THE TIME. I crave fats, refined carbs, and sugar. I feel:
irritable
distracted
annoyed
worried
heavy
tired
like I want to withdraw
scattered

Those feelings stick around for about a week. Then, the cravings calm. But instead of feeling happy and energized, I feel exhausted from fighting the tiredness and irritability of the previous week. So the last week of my cycle feels:
defeated
tired
confused
like I am trying to get my feet back under me

Interesting? I've charted for 3 months now and this is pretty consistent.
As for the hormones, days 1-14 are predominated by estrogen. Then, mid-cycle, estrogen fades and progesterone increases. During that third week when I have difficulty, progesterone is at its peak. And, as I mentioned, there are actual scientific studies that suggest that people with binge eating disorders and bulimia are heavily influenced by these hormones, and that binges are far more common during the second half of the menstrual cycle.

Now. Do I throw up my hands and say, "oh well! Can't fight nature!" and eat a pie? Nah. But I am also *not* going to fight and struggle and battle during the third week the way I have been. It is EXHAUSTING.

What I had been doing: trying to force myself to eat the same way throughout my cycle. No matter how I felt or what was going on with my body, I wanted to eat my 3 healthy, veggie-filled meals. I wanted week 3's food diary to look the same as week 1's. But it never does. It looks like this:

Forced 3 healthy meals and 2 snacks PLUS a bunch of binge food = 2500-3500 calories/day.

So this time, knowing that my *body* is actually different and being aware of how I feel, I decided to try a new approach: for this one week, JUST focus on making sure I do not go over 1700 calories a day, and making sure I bike 30 minutes. Period. If the 1700 calories is made up of cake and potato chips, so be it. I have to bend a bit to make this work.

Yesterday was my trial of this new plan. I felt pretty lousy and all I really wanted to eat was junk... carbs.... candy. This is very different from how I feel during the first two weeks of the month, when I crave vegetables and am just not hungry very often and don't care about food as much. So yesterday, here's what I ate:

Godiva chocolate truffle coffee with half & half and agave nectar, 1 egg over easy, 1 buttered wheat toast, 1 Clementine
A 2-pack of dark chocolate Reeses peanut butter cups
A large slice of pepperoni pizza
A sample cup of Starbuck's Gingerbread latte with whipped cream
A tall glass of orange juice
crackers and cheese
2 handfuls of Hershey's Bliss chocolates with mint centers (9 pieces)
A large cup of homemade chicken/veg stock
String cheese
Godiva vanilla truffle coffee with half & half and sugar

I tell you what. Eating all that chocolate and the carbs I craved felt REALLY good. I know it was not the ideal nutrition but like I said, I am tired of fighting my body on this and I am going to give this new method a shot, JUST for the days my hormones are wacky.

Oh, by the way, the total calories for yesterday: 1601. I biked 30 minutes. And I dropped those 2 binge pounds right back off this morning. Imagine that! Two pounds gone even though I ate pizza and chocolate. I am calling it a success.

Today I actually feel a little better, maybe because now I am not all stressed out about my cravings. I know if I want a candy bar, I'll have it. Maybe for dinner. And I know now that this is *temporary* and hormonal and in another week I will feel much better and be able to focus and eat my usual healthy foods.