The Lie Behind “I’ll Make Up For It Tomorrow”
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Georgie: [00:00:00] This is the breaking up with binge eating podcast, where every listen moves you one step closer to complete food freedom hosted by me, Georgie fear and my team at confident eaters. /

Welcome back to the Breaking Up With Binge Eating podcast. I'm Georgie Fear, and I have Christina Holland with me

Christina: Hello.

Georgie: Today we're unpacking one of the most common and sneaky, unhelpful thoughts in the binge restrict cycle. The thought is, I'll make up for it tomorrow. You've probably heard that phrase before, maybe after an unexpected snack, a holiday meal, or a binge.

It sounds harmless, even responsible, but underneath that shiny logic is a belief system that actually keeps you stuck.

Christina: Let's take a closer look at the thought itself. I'll make up for it tomorrow. Psychologically, it's what we'd call a clustered cognitive distortion, meaning it's not just one type of unhelpful thinking, but a mix of several.

Georgie: quite an achievement actually in cognitive distortions.

Christina: Yeah. You got more than one going in there.

Georgie: It's a pentathlon of cognitive distortions. So first, we've got all or nothing thinking included. This is one of the most common distortions in disordered eating. The idea that you are either being good or bad with food, you're on track or off track. If today feels like a failure, then tomorrow becomes the designated fix it day.

There's no room for neutrality and certainly no grace.

Christina: Next is what's sometimes called future tripping. Mentally jumping ahead to an imagined version of tomorrow where everything gets fixed. It's a form of delayed responsibility and it gives temporary relief in the moment, but it disconnects you from the present and loads pressure onto your future self, [00:02:00] who often ends up overwhelmed, restricted, and back in the same cycle.

Georgie: We also see moral reasoning, assigning judgment to food choices. I was "bad" today, so I'll be "good" tomorrow isn't just black or white. It's also got ethical connotations to it.

It frames eating in terms of virtue and failure, turning food into something that you need to earn or repent for, and that moral framing is a direct pipeline to shame.

Christina: Layered on top of that are should statements. Tomorrow I should restrict, I should skip breakfast, I should exercise extra hard. These rigid internal rules often sound productive, but usually lead to guilt, self-criticism, or more backlash eating.

Georgie: And let's not forget that there's an element of magical thinking. I'll make up for it tomorrow contains the belief that one clean or disciplined day can undo a binge or a erase discomfort. But physiology doesn't reset like that and emotionally, this thinking keeps a person stuck in extremes.

Christina: So while I'll make up for a tomorrow might feel like a plan, it's not actually progress. It's a layered distortion that pulls you out of the present moment and back into a cycle of guilt, overcorrection and disconnection. Recovery starts with seeing that and choosing to stay here now instead of tripping into tomorrow.

Georgie: Now that we've picked it apart and classified it, let's examine the effects of this sneaky sabotaging thought. The thought pops up and let's say you buy in. "Yes, I'll make up for it tomorrow." What happens after that? Usually one of three outcomes. One overeating in the moment because, hey, you'll undo it tomorrow.

Two punishing behaviors the next day, like over exercising, fasting, or restricting. And third, emotional pressure and perfectionism often [00:04:00] come right on the heels of that idea, which raises your stress and makes another binge more likely, not less.

Christina: And let's be honest, has anyone ever actually felt like they successfully made up for it? Like have you ever woken up after a compensatory workout and said, "ah, yes, balance has been restored. I'm now morally and metabolically redeemed." No, you're just tired, cranky, and somehow still feeling guilty. And you're even more likely to overeat or binge again.

Georgie: Guilt induced workouts I find, or fasting or dieting just at best bring us back to feeling okay or acceptable again. They never make us feel good.

Christina: Mm-hmm.

Georgie: Here's the ironic twist, the very act of telling ourselves I'll cut back tomorrow often leads to eating more today. And that's not just anecdotal, it's backed by science.

A clinical trial published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 2002 looked at exactly this. Researchers Urbszat, Herman, and Polivy wanted to know what happens when people anticipate going on a diet, even if they haven't actually started one yet.

Christina: They took a group of participants and randomly assigned them to one of two conditions. One group was told they'd be starting a diet the following week. The other group wasn't told anything about dieting. Then right after getting that information, everyone did a taste test, which was actually a sneaky way to measure how much food they would eat.

Georgie: The results were fascinating. The participants who were restrained eaters, meaning they regularly try to control or restrict their intake, ate significantly more during the taste test. If they were told a diet was coming. Just the idea of deprivation triggered a kind of last chance overeating. And this is something I've seen in my clients too. If they anticipate the beginning to work with a nutrition coach is going to mean going on a diet, they often will meet us at our first session and [00:06:00] Christina's nodding, 'cause you've probably heard this. People are like, I ate so much last night just knowing that I was gonna talk to you today in a sort of last supper-ing, act.

Christina: Yeah. unrestrained eaters didn't change their behavior. They ate the same regardless of what they were told. But for chronic dieters, the thought of cutting back tomorrow flipped a switch. "I better enjoy this now because restriction is coming."

Georgie: and that's exactly how I'll make up for it tomorrow works. It sounds reasonable. It sounds like a plan, but it actually primes your brain to eat more now because it's bracing for that scarcity. You don't need to be on a diet for deprivation to affect your behavior. Just anticipating one can set a binge in motion.

Christina: So if you've ever thought I'll be really good, just protein and vegetables tomorrow and then found yourself going harder on the snacks tonight, this is why. Your brain hears "restriction is coming!" And shifts into survival mode. The problem isn't you. It's the restriction and compensation mindset. So let's talk about what to do with this thought. I'll make up for it tomorrow because it's not enough to just recognize that it's a cognitive distortion. We also need to practice thinking something different. Something that actually supports recovery.

Georgie: Exactly. that thought sticks around because it's trying to do something for you. Maybe it's offering temporary relief from guilt or giving you a sense of control. Maybe it's a loophole to keep eating now and promise yourself It's okay, 'cause you'll exercise discipline later. Whatever its role, we don't just yank it out. We replace it with something else that works better.

Christina: So here are a few ways we coach clients to reframe it depending on what they're feeling in the moment. If the thought is coming from guilt, try something like, one decision doesn't undo my progress, or I [00:08:00] don't need to punish myself for eating. Sometimes even saying, "I just ate some extra food. This is not a huge deal." Can help bring the intensity down.

If it's that urge to start fresh tomorrow, like you're wiping the slate clean, you can try, "I can get back to caring for myself at the next meal. Not tomorrow." Or, "I don't need to swing to the other extreme. I just need to keep going." These keep you grounded in the present instead of future tripping.

Georgie: I often tell my clients to try not to flip from overeating to undereating because that's not a fix. It's the same mistake in the opposite direction. The mistake is not listening to what your body needs. If you truly want to make a correction, commit to listening to your body signals better on the following day.

If you notice that you're using the thought of starting fresh tomorrow to justify a binge that you want to start right now, that's actually common too. In that case, ask yourself, "am I eating for comfort or am I trying to escape something? What might that be?" You can also remind yourself it's okay to want freedom, but I don't need to abandon myself or harm myself to get there.

Christina: And if the thought is about fear, like you're scared you've lost control and need to overcorrect, try "restricting tomorrow won't fix today, it just starts the cycle again." Or "the most supportive thing I can do right now is show up with consistency, not punishment."

Georgie: The goal isn't just think positive, it's to try to think honestly and helpfully. We wanna shift from a mindset of urgency and overcorrection to one that's more about steadiness and care.

Christina: Recovery doesn't mean you never have distorted thoughts. It means you recognize them when they show up and choose to respond [00:10:00] differently.

Georgie: The truth is, learning to recognize and refute these types of thoughts takes practice. You're not going to replace, I'll make up for it tomorrow overnight, especially if that's been your go-to for years. But the more times you catch it, name it, and choose a different response, the easier it gets.

Christina: And you don't have to figure it all out alone. This is exactly the kind of work we do with our coaching clients, helping you spot those distorted thoughts in real time, understand where they come from, and practice responding in ways that actually move you forward. With a coach, the process is faster, clearer, and way less overwhelming.

Georgie: If you are ready to stop repeating the same patterns and start building real tools for change, we'd love to support you. You can learn more about it confidenteaters.com. We'll help you get good at challenging the thoughts that keep you stuck, and most importantly, replace them with something that actually works.

Christina: And if you find value in these episodes, one of the best ways to support the show is by joining our paid subscriber community. It's just $5 a month and it gives you access to twice as many episodes all ad free. We don't take outside sponsors, so your support directly helps us keep the podcast going without ads and keep it grounded in what really matters. Helping people heal their relationship with food