How do you define "binge?"

kaybeau

I feel like a walking binge today bar pasta I actually havn't had a meal! its been crisps, bread while the toaster is toasting stealing my hubby's curly wurly the kids sausage rolls and the daughter's crisps... I have logged it all and the only reason I have 200 cals left for the day is that I fed half of whatever I ate to the dog! Half a curly wurly is better than a whole one I guess. There is nothing stopping me attacking the ice cream in the freezer next, cause I get that 'well I mucked up already may as well carry on attitude'.

I would go and make a cup of tea but there is food in that kitchen, and the only way to avoid a night time binge is to go to bed early tonight. What a waste of a day, it's been all I can think about. Just in case you think it's all imaginary I turned the car away from mcdonald's this afternoon and had a cup of tea from an ice cream van while my son tried an ice pop. He's not well and left half of it...thank god for the dog...it also helped that the lolly was bright blue.. It's the only food I do not do, bright blue food!

brower47

I would define bingeing (for me) as times when I eat a lot of something (completely unplanned) when I KNOW I'm not hungry but just eating for the sake of eating. It happens once in a blue moon for me and my binges aren't 1000-5000 calorie epic binges. For me, it's several bowls of cereal in a row, a large amount of bread or a few candybars.

diannethegeek

For me a binge is defined by being out of control of my eating. The word is thrown around way to casually.

There are times that I know I shouldn't have that chocolate cake but make a conscious decision to eat too much of it anyway. This is not a binge. I made the decision and I will accept the consequences like an adult.

When I'm binging there's a little voice in the back of my head begging me to stop, to drink water, to fill up on veggie, to walk out of the house, to wait an hour, to breathe, anything. But that voice has no control over my body. I don't even recognize it as being a part of myself. I'm not eating for taste. I'm not even eating because it feels good. I'm eating to fill an emotional black hole that can never be filled. At that point I usually feel bloated and overly full. And I don't mean oh no! I had a big dinner fullness. I'm talking about feeling like one more bite will make me pop. And then I eat two more sandwiches. With peanut butter and cream cheese on them. And maybe some raspberries for the vitamins.

I once traveled to Kyoto during cherry blossom season. They had attendants at the train station to pack as many people onto the public buses as possible. Then we stopped at three more bus stops and even more people got onto the bus and then more and more. I couldn't move, could barely breathe. This is what a binge feels like. I just want the food out of my stomach at that point but I keep eating more, keep packing it in. I can't sit down without serious discomfort. I can't breathe without discomfort.

Binging is about more than just guilt. At the end, I still feel empty inside even though I'm so full. I feel disgusted and disgusting. I don't want to face myself and I can't stand the thought of anyone finding out what I just did.

For me, a minor binge is 3000 calories over maintenance. It is not a single cupcake.

volume77

Bump

DawnEH612

I would say a binge, for me, is either unplanned eating that comes on from seemingly nowhere or an event where i began to eat "normally" but once the food hit my mouth (usually processed sugars/simple carbohydrates) I have an extremely difficult time discontinuing eating, despite no longer being hungry. I
also tend to notice, no matter how I try to talk myself off the binge limb, i cannot seem to pull myself back in until i physically cannot eat anymore, despite pain and discomfort. I often will go into an eating "trance", where i am not even aware of how much i am putting into my mouth. I will just keep shoveling food in.. Totally mindless...not tasting a darn thing on my tongue.
I will also begin to obsess and fixate about wanting more food especially if something/someone interrupts my eating before I consider myself done with the food binge. I will also become irritable and cranky if I was unable to complete my binge, "properly".
This past weekend i binged so much that my stomach organ and peristalsis muscles were actually going into major involuntary spasms.. It was a first for me and I felt absolutely awful, and despite that, within a half hour I was eating again!!
Binges always come with an emotional and mental price tag... I have been trying to be more kind to myself after such events.. I also try to not eat foods that i KNOW will trigger the potential to binge like baked goods, candy, ice cream, garlic bread etc. there is a saying in AA, "one drink is too many and a thousand is never enough." Thats a binge!

gettingfit65

I think Im doing that right now.

3 Turkey Meat balls w/Red Sauce
Rice Cake & Pb
Cinnamann Toast Crunch w/1% Milk
String Cheese and Cheeze Itz
I think I'll move onto the Doritos Next


Above is what I think a binge is. Eating pretty much one of everything in the house with no rhyme or reason. I can have a great day calorie wise up until supper or after and then proceed to eat nonstop...

SteelySunshine

I don't really know exactly what a binge is. But, I know I don't like when part of the definition is feeling out of control A lot of people could feel like they are out of control and that they ate way more than they should have it's really not a binge at all, they are just not used to eating at maintenance. Or someone that is battling with coming out of an ED might feel out of control when they are eating normal portion sizes and within a normal/healthy calorie range. Or you could feel out of control because you really really like hummus and crackers or pita chips but really you can manage to fit all that into your macros and still lose/maintain.

To me a binge would be an epic eating session that will be very difficult to deal with (fit into your macros) even over the course of a couple of days. IE 2000 or more over your daily calorie allowance. Sure it can be done and you could in theory exercise a whole lot more than usual and cut a whole lot more than usual, but like I said that is a difficulty.

Also, I think binge foods have to almost by definition be foods that are high cal/ low nutrients. Because almost no one binges on carrots. It's nearly impossible to eat so many carrots that would put you so far over in your calories that an extra half an hour work out wouldn't fix it.

JessieTangerine

For me a binge is defined by being out of control of my eating. The word is thrown around way to casually.

There are times that I know I shouldn't have that chocolate cake but make a conscious decision to eat too much of it anyway. This is not a binge. I made the decision and I will accept the consequences like an adult.

When I'm binging there's a little voice in the back of my head begging me to stop, to drink water, to fill up on veggie, to walk out of the house, to wait an hour, to breathe, anything. But that voice has no control over my body. I don't even recognize it as being a part of myself. I'm not eating for taste. I'm not even eating because it feels good. I'm eating to fill an emotional black hole that can never be filled. At that point I usually feel bloated and overly full. And I don't mean oh no! I had a big dinner fullness. I'm talking about feeling like one more bite will make me pop. And then I eat two more sandwiches. With peanut butter and cream cheese on them. And maybe some raspberries for the vitamins.

I once traveled to Kyoto during cherry blossom season. They had attendants at the train station to pack as many people onto the public buses as possible. Then we stopped at three more bus stops and even more people got onto the bus and then more and more. I couldn't move, could barely breathe. This is what a binge feels like. I just want the food out of my stomach at that point but I keep eating more, keep packing it in. I can't sit down without serious discomfort. I can't breathe without discomfort.

Binging is about more than just guilt. At the end, I still feel empty inside even though I'm so full. I feel disgusted and disgusting. I don't want to face myself and I can't stand the thought of anyone finding out what I just did.

For me, a minor binge is 3000 calories over maintenance. It is not a single cupcake.

Just wanted to repost this because I felt like this was so well written and perfectly described what I think of as a binge.

I have never binged, but have spoken with others with binge eating disorder and to me there is a definite difference between what they go through and what the definition of a binge seems to be on MFP. A binge is not some voice inside of you hijacking your body and saying "No more diet for me, I will eat the forbidden food." :devil: Nor is it you eating the entire plate of brownies because they just taste so darn good, its impossible to stop at one! A binge can be a thousand or more calories over maintenance and not being able to stop despite every part of your body crying for you to as well as the guilt that can go along with knowing you could not stop it.