How do you stop overeating/binging?

Skierprincessak

These responses were all really helpful for me too, Im also a compulsive over eater, it's really ruining my life.

Sabine_Stroehm

I didn't "binge" but I overate certain foods regularly. I stopped having them in the house. Because we don't have kids, that was a do-able approach for me.
Now (at maintenance for many years) if I feel like nachos when we're out, I may get an order and share with hubs. But I still don't keep bags of tortilla chips lying around.

Find what works for you.

deonnegrantwelsh

I am a fertility nurse and patients are always bringing chocolates cakes of as a way of thanking us for getting them pregnant.once I go in the tea room and there all there spread on the table it physically hurts to walk past and not taste Everything . It's just a sheet moment of madness then I am angry as I do have fruit at my desk

tat2cookie

I was a binge eater/over eater as well. These are some of the things that I do to help me.
I leave the house and go for a walk when I can feel a binge coming on (between 2-4 where my weakest times).
I keep dinner in the kitchen so I don't pick at it at the table. Then I have my kids and husband put the left overs away cause I'm one of those who would eat while cooking, eat, eat again then eat while cleaning up.
If I'm still feeling like I need to eat I have raw almonds or a banana.
If I can't control my binge I pig out on veggies with hummus. For me it fulfills that need without adding a ton of unwanted calories.
I keep my trigger foods out of the house. No chips, candy, junk food or pop.
IF I do binge on bad things I don't let it wreck my day. I just know I have to work that much harder the next thing.

Just take it one day at a time.

Sabine_Stroehm

Marxytron wrote: »

Grab protein bars or a handful of almonds... If u want fries, fry some sweet potatoes instead of the regular fries... Sweet potatoes=complex carbs

fwiw, white potato french fries=complex carbs as well.
(I'd go for sweet potatoes because they taste better and have a slightly better nutritional profile)

seltzermint555

For years I was stuck in the pattern of unintentional deprivation when I thought I was "eating healthy" and then I did at times feel out of control and near-powerless against fast food places as I drove down the street on days when I was downright HUNGRY and frustrated...and I would indulge and feel that I failed.

Like others have said here, balance things. Eat something "bad" every single day along with tons of healthy food, all of it logged and fitting your calories and fitting the macros within reason. Eat back the exercise calories. If you're not comfortable eating back all of them go for at least 50%+.

As others have said, barring serious emotional issues I think this will make a big improvement.

Even though I do follow this "advice" myself I still sometimes find myself making bad choices or overeating, even after getting my weight to a place where I am comfortable with it and easing into maintenance. And it is almost ALWAYS due to a few days in a row when I just didn't feel super hungry or didn't crave sweets, and was under my calories...it ALWAYS catches up with me eventually and it was kind of awful at first, making me feel out of control. Now I'm just like "Yep I have been slightly undereating this week and now I'm going over by 300 cal of pizza on Saturday". That doesn't have to happen but it doesn't freak me out when it does, now.

WednesdayJanuary07th2015

I believe that the best thing, if/when possible to do; is avoid bringing it home/to begin with. I say if/when possible because since it's Winter here where I am, I try to have an emergency stash of soup cans; in case I can't cook because of the electric going out and/or my neighbors causing frozen pipes. Unfortunately I binge eat them too because I like them, so I only have about 4 cans; every week in the house. I'll also try buying flavors, that I don't crave; so that I'll literally only consume them/when there's an actual emergency.

Spocky

I eat about six times a day. You should never really feel too much hunger. I am not hungry at 11:00 when I eat my orange and not really hungry when I eat my apple at 16:00. It can seem weird to eating this many times but we don't have endless willpower so when you become very very hungry you will eat too much.

TheRoseRoss

I ate well during the week when I'm at work and have structure. My diet "fails" on the weekends when I'm just sitting around the house, passing the time. What's helped me is:
- having things to eat, so that I'm not "looking for something to eat." What I mean is, instead of saying "I'm hungry. Let me see what there is to eat," I say "I'm hungry. Which I why I have cottage cheese, peanuts, raisins, apples, bananas, etc
- Eating "a lot" when I'm hungry has helped. I used to "Feel hungry," and would grab 5 crackers in order to "put it off." I found that 10 mins later, I was back looking for something else to munch on, and that's when I would end up eating an entire sleeve of crackers, telling myself "it's okay. They're fat free." Since then, when feeling hungry I would put together something "substantial" in order to satiate my hunger. It is better to grab cottage cheese, mix in an apple, banana, and peanuts, than it was to eat the cottage cheese alone, only to come back soon after to "graze."
- remind yourself of your long term goals. I want to look good when the water park opens in the summer. I can justify it by saying that "I'll compensate for this burger by exercising more later," or I can skip the burger, exercise more anyway, and be that much closer to my goal. Sure, it's easy to say that "one burger won't hurt," but it's just as easy to say "one burger doesn't HELP, so why waste your time with it."

Good luck.

Sabine_Stroehm

Spocky wrote: »

I eat about six times a day. You should never really feel too much hunger. I am not hungry at 11:00 when I eat my orange and not really hungry when I eat my apple at 16:00. It can seem weird to eating this many times but we don't have endless willpower so when you become very very hungry you will eat too much.

Actually, this is me. I eat snacks between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner (and sometimes dessert). If I'm not hangry, it's easier to manage cravings and impulses.

Alligator423

I usually eat dinner around 7-8 pm but don't usually sleep until after midnight, at which point I generally feel hungry again. I actually kind of like it, though. It's sort of like feeling sore after the gym for me--you know you're working hard!

I am also a big proponent of nothing being off limits. If you want a cookie, eat a cookie! But just one or two. Along those lines, sometimes I'll take an "event" off. For example, if I know I am going out for drinks or to a party, I will eat a little less during the day but then stop logging at the party (still trying to not go crazy with it). This helps me from feeling like I've failed which would initiate even MORE eating.

cwolfman13

I see this a lot when people are too restrictive in terms of calories consumed and in terms of labeling foods as "good" or "bad" and trying not to eat anything they've categorized in the latter category.

Eat an appropriate level of calories and hit your goals...eat a balanced and nutritious diet...but enjoy a slice or two of pizza every once in awhile or have a little ice cream for desert. Allow yourself some freedom.

tinascar2015

Referring to what Ana said way up there, that's me, too. I grew up with a mom who obsessed over every bite I ate, and it messed me up emotionally. Many foods were totally off limits to me, so of course, my response was to eat them -- and LOTS of them, a pattern that has continued my entire adult life. I often wonder if well-meaning parents have any idea how they screw up their kids' relationship with food.

I can't explain why a month ago, seeing my weight on that scale flipped a switch in my head that told me it was time to shed the girth again, but the compulsive eating and bingeing stopped cold. I had gained 60 pounds since I last stepped on a scale, and I needed to lose 50 pounds even then!! I'm grateful for the wakeup call.

So now, nothing is off limits. It's the only way I can do it. But the difference now is, if I fall off the wagon one day (which I've only done once), I don't get all defeatest and think I'm back to Square One. I get back on the wagon the very next day. I also make sure to log every single thing I eat on days like that. I must be honest with myself in order to be in control.

Water doesn't do a thing to stop the empty feeling and compulsion to eat the brownies my husband has stashed in the pantry. But for me, a banana with one tablespoon of peanut butter works a miracle. I make sure to have one or two snacks during the day. We have pizza once every couple weeks, my own recipe, and as good a pizza as you will EVER eat -- with my own homemade pork sausage, pepperoni and everything. Two slices and a big dinner salad are totally satisfying, physically and emotionally, and that dinner fits into my daily intake just fine.

ryanp_942

I used to do the same thing by having a nearly full week of A+ eating/exercise and then binging on the weekend. I found it was because I simply wasn't eating enough through the week and decided to lower my goals to just losing 1lb a week instead of 2. (I should note here that even this is unsustainable weight loss and is more of a short term goal for me.)

I try to not have too many 'rules' because restraining myself from any treats at all inevitably leads me to repeat the cycle. However my absolute rule is no eating past 8pm. I understand not everyone can do this due to work hours etc. but scheduling meals and sticking to them is one of the more useful methods of controlling weight.

Part of the reason is to do with how hormone levels (especially cortisol) interact with your innate body clock - eating at irregular hours disrupts the natural rhythms and there is a wealth of evidence suggesting this causes weight gain and increases incidence of T2 diabetes. Similarly try and establish a healthy sleeping pattern - exercising in the late afternoon rather than late evening has been shown to help in this & avoiding computers at night helps too. [Source for anyone interested; "How to fix a broken clock" in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences November 2013, Vol. 34, No. 11.]

TL;DR - don't starve yourself, have the occasional treat, think in the long term and couple your weight loss regime with a healthy sleeping pattern and meal times.

loveby30

tinascar2015 wrote: »

I can't explain why a month ago, seeing my weight on that scale flipped a switch in my head that told me it was time to shed the girth again, but the compulsive eating and bingeing stopped cold..

^^This happened to me like two years ago and I lost around 20 KGs about 10 of them without really "trying". I was super strict from about May until September of last year to lose the last 5-10KGs and then went to a kinda "meh I eat good/whole/real/healthy food it can't be that bad" attitude toward eating. I have been trying to get back on track since January.

However after years of not struggling with binging and overeating, I am back to having crazy binge episodes (I used to over eat like crazy). It's the weirdest thing, and none of the coping mechanisms I used to use seem to be working (drink water, refocus on goals, etc). All that happens is that I work myself up into a panic attack for even having the cravings in the first place. For the most part I am not eating "poorly" per say (no fast food, no "junk" food, just a lot of "healthy whole foods" like an entire thing of hummus and carrots in 5 min or a entire ball of fresh organic mozzarella with a package of spinach, or an entire carten of berries in one mouthful ) I think a change in work schedule and living location (with a LOT more temptation near by) is partly to blame. I am thinking signing up for a meal delivery service just for a month to kick my body into gear. I just need to snap out of it!!!

xmarye

999tigger wrote: »

Im just focused. If I want to binge or eat over then thats fine, but I work hard in the gym which gives me that insurance. By having the freedom to binge if I want to and having focus, then it means I dont.

I dont do hunger its a stupid and undermining thing to go through.

You are probably either too aggressive which is a path to bingeing or you arent focused enough so when that binge time comes you dont have a strategy in place to bypass the bingeing and do soemthing else non food related to get you past it. Ofc if you arent eating enough in the first place then you are going to be going to the fridge etc and by that time you will eat whats there.

Solution.
1. Eat enough calories in the first place.
2. Look at what you eat, so you eat stuff that will satisfy your hunger.
3. Allocate more calories to late night.
4. Work on dealing with stress, which might divert you from emotional eating.

You are very wise! I agree with everything and I couldn't have said it any better, really!

xmarye

Bruce_Rickey wrote: »

This is my first post here at MFP. I battle binge eating cravings every night. I also have dealt with anxiety attacks as a result of PTSD. Both are very similar. Once I start to eat, it is all over. I have talked with a lot of people and over the years I have realized that the mechanics of binge eating is much like problems alcoholics face. The only thing that works is to deal with the urges without eating. Much like learning how to work thru panic attacks you must become aware that these urges are a result of a temporary chemical surge in your body. You must accept that you will never be able to stop the urges. Therefore you must learn how to "Weather the Storm". There are multiple coping mechanisms. For some people working out helps, others drink water, but for the most part, (and most successful for me) is to take a moment and consciously recognize these cravings for what they are. Chemical surges in your body that will pass and that you have to consciously control. Like panic attacks, most of these urges will last about 20 minutes. Hang in there for that time. Most importantly, You must not start eating. Like panic attacks, once you give in to the attack or in the case of urges you start to eat, you have lost the battle. Body chemistry takes over and the chemicals that started the urges increase. If your urges come late at night, the best thing you can do is just go to bed. Another tactic if your serious about beating them is to log your cravings. Note when and why they occur. You will be able to develop a pattern and learn what your triggers really are. One of the cruelest and probably best bits of advise that my doctor told me is to, "Make hunger your friend".
takes over.

This is mainly what helped me overcome my BED. Everybody else advises to find a distraction, when what really worked was to stop running away and just facing it. I did really well for about a month, and then when the cravings came back I ''forgot'' what to do. Happily, I took back control and faced those cravings again. The first few days are the hardest. After a while, it just feels so good to be in control that it keeps me from letting myself slip in that dark place again.

But then again, whatever works! Distraction might help some people, but if you tried everything else maybe it's time to just face it to overcome it.

Good luck to anybody facing BED, it is possible to get better!

juganaut

Thanks for all these great responses. I will use your tips and hopefully get this under control.

Hungrydesperado

Plenty of water and sip on black coffee. But mainly its about getting your mind right, everything is about your mind-set. If you can do it for 5 days you can do it for 7 days.

bkyingst

I keep the stuff out of the house so I am not tempted. And I pack my lunch for work so I don't go buy junk food.. If you have to over eat or eat more, do fruits or vegetables... If I eat an apple, orange, and banana for snacks I feel way better than having had eaten chips or a snack food.. Once you get used to fruits and vegetables, your body craves them! So hopefully find a few that you like!