Why do you binge/overeat?

jennymogirl

It's sugar, it's carbs it's anything that's good/bad. I have lost a lot in the last while and I guess I am thinking that if I don't eat it now it will be gone of taken from me. It's strange because what's been taken from me is money by an ex husband but I am now just feeding my desire to not lose anymore with food!

sweetest_potato

I only ever binged when I was struggling with eating disorders for a span of 4 years. I wasn't putting enough nutrients in my body, not even close to enough, so I felt massive cravings and when I let myself eat, I'd eat everything.

Now I weight-train, eat good food regularly and never deprive myself. I never over-eat because I end up nauseous.

chrisdavey

stress. For the time spent enjoying food consumption, nothing else to think about.


First step is admitting it and then you are right that you need to get to the cause as opposed to just not buying the foods you overeat.

pleasepleaseno

I really LOVE feeling full.
it feels so good.

Venobambino

Mine started when I was little. Being made to eat everything on my plate even when I wasn't hungry. I was pretty thin though until second grade when I got my tonsils out. Third grade, I got a little chubby and my mother panicked. Put me on diet shakes (at age 8), forced me to do a children's exercise tape, restricted what I could and could not eat, sent me to fat camps. I used to hide in the closet and eat chocolate and junk just to spite my mother. I went from being forced to eat, to having my food restricted, and on top of it grew up with a HORRIBLE body image unintentionally brought on by my mom. I never could figure out why I overate until I sat down with myself and looked at my childhood. I believe I overeat because subconsciously I'm still rebelling against my mother. It brings me a sense of control. I'm 39 years old now and don't know how to get rid of the little rebellious girl inside of me. I can be okay for weeks at a time, and then something will trigger that out of control feeling and I can stuff it down inside of me with food. Makes me feel better to eat. It makes me calmer, or something. Then I feel out of control with my eating and I'll get it back under control until I get that feeling bubbling up to the surface again, that I control with food. It's a vicious cycle I'm trying to break. I probably need some therapy. Just haven't made it that far.

bulbadoof

-the sads
-the angries
-the happies

basically any strong emotion can make me wanna eat. it's bad.

bulbadoof

yoovie wrote: »

chaokitty wrote: »

yoovie wrote: »

cause it's so good I need another serving or two cause I want to keep tasting it.

Yes I can really relate to this. sometimes I can't stop thinking about the flavor of what I just ate; it's almost insatiable. But slowly we open ourselves up to these urges and acknowledge them, and then we start to heal.
Thank you for sharing ♥

this happens.

i love these

i hate you for posting a picture of them

loribethrice

I overeat if I have something near me that is full and open. Like if someone leaves a can of regular Pringles sitting open near me then I will eat the entire thing without even thinking just because it's there. It especially happens if I'm talking to someone while I'm eating. I live by myself, so I only buy 100 calorie packs of snacks so that I only eat one a day and I make sure to only have water in the fridge for drinks and low calorie everything else. I also plan out my MFP in the morning so that way I know what I'm eating all day and I pack my lunch for work as soon as I get home from work for the next shift. I also avoid anywhere that I know I will binge...I won't go near a Dairy Queen and if I have to be somewhere where I know I will eat the food then I only get the kids portions or senior portions. The sad thing for me is that I actually hate food, I hate eating, and I hate how I feel after due to my GERD and IBS. I also only like a very small list of foods due to an eating disorder that I've had since I was 2, so that makes it much more difficult. The only 2 foods I actually crave are DQ ice cream and sauceless cheese pizza, so I avoid both.

hellokathy

Anxiety and depression. I don't eat because of them, like comfort eating. Like, the other day I thought I'd do that. I had a bad day and I said 'Man, I'm so gonna get a pizza after work!' but I didn't. That kind of thinking usually leads me around to realizing that stuffing my face with junk is only gonna make things worse. But when I get really anxious and my mind gets preoccupied, it's often so emotionally exhausting that it feels like I have zero energy left for smart food choices or to keep myself from binge sessions. It sounds silly but sometimes I eat a whole bag of...something, and I don't even realize I've eaten so much before it's too late. I have yet to find a reliable solution for this problem.

yoovie

bulbadoof wrote: »

yoovie wrote: »

chaokitty wrote: »

yoovie wrote: »

cause it's so good I need another serving or two cause I want to keep tasting it.

Yes I can really relate to this. sometimes I can't stop thinking about the flavor of what I just ate; it's almost insatiable. But slowly we open ourselves up to these urges and acknowledge them, and then we start to heal.
Thank you for sharing ♥

this happens.

i love these

i hate you for posting a picture of them

i hate myself for it too.

KGRebelRanch

Because i eat like an animal.
Meaning, I don't always eat every xyz hours or even every day, so when I get food I eat a lot of it, and then I may not eat again for a day or so.

LaurenCheek

chaokitty wrote: »

LaurenCheek wrote: »

For years, I considered my binge eating to be a symptom of a weak will. I just thought I was a person with no self control over food. Then, beginning about 2 years ago, I started experimenting with lowering my carbohydrate intake. Now, I eat under 25 grams of net carbs a day (carb grams - fiber grams) and I have not binged in 3 full months. Not once. For me, this is a monumental achievement. I don't feel like my natural willpower or resolve has improved, I simply discovered that eating carbs made me continue to want to eat.. and eat.. and eat. This is only my personal experience but I share this tidbit with anyone who asks about overeating or binging. Perhaps binging is more of a hormonal issue (really high insulin from high carb intake) than a moral or willpower issue for me.

I hope this helps! Feel free to add me and send me messages if you would like to know more. My diet diary is public on here and I chart every morsel.

What an interesting point! I never thought that carbs would trigger me to want to continue eating, and the stuff I normally binge on is carb-filled anyway come to think of it... It must be difficult to keep your carbs so low, isn't it? I'll have to take a look at your diary!! Thank you so much for sharing ♥

I have to say that after a rough first week, it was so easy! Now I sort of view "carby" food like art. Pretty to look at, smells great, but isn't really "food" more of a drug.

williams969

I eat my feelings. And, I use food as a reward. And I eat out of boredom. And (like many of us) I have deep, past traumas which sometimes like to resurface. Even though I'm in a fantastic emotional place now, I will always be a work in progress to maintain emotional and physical equilibrium.

970Mikaela1

The only time I truly binge is when all my willpower is being used to cope with my 10 year old daughter. All the other 5 and 6000 calorie days are planned. But.....when she will do nothing I ask her to....by the third day....she is very nearly as stubborn as I am.

Francl27

Before, just because I loved the food.

Now, it's typically because of hormones - either because I'm just too hungry, or because I have major cravings and not so good willpower.

stormbornkraken

Food and eating are pleasurable and I am into all things pleasurable. Sadly, I live to overindulge in things and food is openly available. It is the lesser of the evils I have experienced so I wrote myself a pass. It is used for celebration, mourning, boredom, etc. Sadness, anger, happiness, indifference and every other emotion experienced can somehow lead to the desire. I believe I have done well to overcome it but I must remain diligent. Now when I binge or overeat it is because I know I have made a conscious decision to keep eating after I am no longer hungry. I won't state it doesn't happen but I can't say I am unaware of it. After time it is less frequent and my general portions become more reasonable. It is a progress toward a life change.

smekavutikul

I over eat cuz i likehaving something in my mouth... Gum wont do cuz i like the different textures un everybite

Slacker16

pleasepleaseno wrote: »

I really LOVE feeling full.
it feels so good.

Now you, I like!

Also, because I'm drunk/high/both.

adge1475

I'm absolutely an emotional eater. I do it when I'm angry or depressed - I've really had to work at catching myself and figuring out what the real issue is.

MakePeasNotWar

I almost never overeat at home. If I am having a meal, and it is really delicious, I stop when I am full and refrigerate the rest to enjoy again the next time I get hungry.

If I am in a restaurant and for whatever reason can't or won't get a doggie bag (before a movie, or at the beginning of an evening out, for example) I get really greedy about my food, especially if it is particularly good. I know that whatever I eat at that one sitting is all I get, so I try to cram as much in as I can, rather than give up the pleasure of tasting those last few (sometimes physically painful) bites. I just hate the thought of missing out, somehow.

justcat206

I have a weak will when it comes to sweets. I love them so much. Anything rich and delicious, too. But I, too have found that my will is strengthened greatly when I get enough protein and healthy fats. Suddenly I'm able to eat only one cookie instead of the whole plate. It's usually in a low blood sugar state that I want to eat everything I see - and the more carbs (esp sugary foods) I eat, the worse my blood sugar swings are.

Unknown

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A_Dabauer

My story echoes a lot of them here. I thought I binged because I was too weak not to. Over many years I've been able to understand what things trigger me to over eat.

As someone who's always struggled with my weight (I've PCOS and now in my mid 30's it's finally getting addressed) I would consistently deprive myself of adequate nutrition, until my body over powered me and made me eat. For me eating adequate nutrition consistently stops the uncontrollable need to binge. Once I realized this, it helped a ton! As other people have been mentioning reducing carbs and adding fat does really help me as well.

The other piece for me was learning what emotional triggers make me eat. To learn these triggers, I didn't try to resist eating; I stopped trying to be stronger than the craving but instead I tried to understand it. Before I put anything into my mouth I'd ask the question: "Why am I eating this, and why am I eating now?" Over time I was able to find items that trigger the need for "comfort food." Very few of us actually can say that food doesn't comfort us in one way or another. But it's important to know how often you're using food to comfort yourself. For example, when I'm ill, I certainly am more likely to opt for something less healthy than when I'm feeling good. As long as I'm only sick a dozen or so days a year there is no reason why I shouldn't use food as a comfort in this instance. The problem is when we start using food to comfort on a daily basis. Once I was able to identify the things that we less than healthy about my emotional eating habits I was able to make a change with the ones that were impeding my weight loss goals.

gamesandgains

I eat really big voluminous meals to avoid this and it's worked for years.

squirrelzzrule22

My family always cared too much about my weight in an obnoxious, passive-aggressive way. Ever since I was a little girl I thought I was grossly fat when I in fact was not because of their comments. I grew to my full height relatively young and felt like this huge, hulking monster. It didn't help that all my friends at the time were teeny and petite and very pretty and liked to use me to make themselves feel better about their insecurities.

Now, you may think why would this CAUSE overeating? Wouldn't it instead lend itself to undereating? Maybe, and maybe it does for some people. But for me overeating was like an act of rebellion, of trying to not care what they think and just indulging in my own self hatred. It is hard to explain but that is the best way I can.

I've moved past most of that nowadays, and now I am more likely to overeat because I live in New York City and there are delicious brunches with delicious bloody marys and yummy restaurants everywhere! Teaching myself to balance enjoyment of good food with healthy, intuitive eating is my main goal now

NK1112

Only when I let myself buy prepared pre-packaged snack food, ice cream, candy, or white flour baked goods. When they are not in the house, I don't binge. Fruit in the house is OK, but not raisins or figs or dates because I will over eat on them.

I got over blaming other people for what went into my mouth a long time ago. Yes, I have turned to food for comfort in the past. But then I realized that how I reacted to hurt feelings or sad thoughts was up to me, and not up to anyone else.

Sometimes it's a struggle, sometimes I let myself buy the junk ... and then I suffer the consequences of over-eating and feeling disappointed in myself. I've learned to forgive myself for those occasions and to move forward with better choices day by day.

city_southernbelle

For as long as I can remember, I've pretty much been the same. I would eat out of boredom, depression, and before I started on here, stress.

I have such a love hate relationship with food. I dont know why but its like I can give up everything except for that. Its the hardest transition to go from eating whatever you want whenever you want to only eating when you should and eating the things that are good for your body.

You can put me in a gym all day long and I will not have a problem but the nutrition part of losing weight seems to be the hardest thing to do for most people who have a bad relationship with food. And unfortunately thats what matters the most.

Its not easy doing this when you have either love for food esp the bad kinds or you have an unhealthy relationship with it.

I think its really about control at least for me. When Im stressed or depressed I cant control what is going on but with eating I can. And if I am eating something good and makes me feel good, its countering those emotions but only temporarily, so in the end, overeating, or eating bad foods is just toxic because it does nothing positive for you besides temporarily make you happy. Afterwards it makes you feel sloggish, heavy, and ultimately just brings on more stress and weight.

But i am fighting with some small victories and then some lost battles. We are not always going to have good days or even good weeks but if you stay on the track only slightly trailing off every now and then, it gets better and easier.

I just have to get there again.

Need2Exerc1se

I overeat because when I'm not as active I find it very hard to eat less than when I am. And my life is much more active at certain times of the year than others. I'm trying to exercise in my 'off season' to prevent gaining because I find constantly adjusting my diet too difficult.

ryanhorn

I binge because I restricted myself for so long during my weight loss journey from the things I love like ice cream and cake. I probably went over a year without either of these two. As a result, I think it's extremely important to not cut out food items entirely and realize that you can enjoy everything in moderation. Otherwise, you may be facing what I've been facing for the past few months.

bethmeyer357

I have always had a problem with wanting to binge on carbs, but it became out of control because of the stress of having two teens with special needs. I would binge to fill the hole that stress would create and then tell myself that when my life was less stressful, I would lose weight. Then, I finally acknowledged that my life will never be less stressful given my circumstances, so I have to do it to take care of myself. It took a few months to get started, but once I did, last July, I have been able to stick with it pretty well. This month is hard though, because of all the yummy food and also because holidays are rough on kids that need lots of structure.