Binge eating! How to stop a binge before it happens?!

Hernandez_y

Need to lose about 70 lbs to be at a healthy weight

lorrpb

Most people binge on certain foods, so I would get rid of the food types that you tend to binge on the most.

stephinator92

Figure out what your trigger is and avoid it or learn to manage your feelings. There's literally millions of things you can do INSTEAD of binge (if you can control yourself). Paint your nails, do your makeup, take a walk, workout, meditate, watch tv, call a friend, go for a drive, etc. It took me years to finally figure out how to manage my own bingeing habits. Don't beat yourself up if you have a bad night.. move on and do better the next day.

mulecanter

Binge cravings--oh the humanity!! I consider them a fire, they must be doused with water. Drink a big glass of water before you get out the ice cream. After the water you may be able to resist the siren call. If you get burned, get back on the wagon asap.

tjmasonandme

Also, remember that sometimes the body perceives thirst as hunger especially if you've been triggers by a food in general. Adding on to stephinator92's post, try to distract yourself and drink a big glass of water. Then wait a few minutes and see if you still want to eat whatever food you were going to binge on. If you're still hungry for the food, but yore afraid you'd feel guilty afterward and want to prevent yourself from it try drinking a cup of hot green or peppermint tea or black coffee. Hope that helps! Good luck!

RodaRose

Exercise helps some people.
Also yoga and breathing techniques help.

lc355

I have finally figured that (for me) the trigger for the binge is not something that happens in the moments leading up to the binge, it's what's been happening in the days leading up to it. I binged for years and I realise now they would come after a few days of eating a lot less than I needed or a couple of days of using quick carbs (sandwiches, chips, noodles,) to fill up. So my trick is to never let myself get properly hungry otherwise once I start I won't stop. When I first started with MFP I had smaller meals so that I could have lots of low calorie snacks throughout the day. Now (after 300+ days) I'm mostly down to 3 meals. Ive noticed that if my lunch is less than about 500 calories I am more likely to snack or even binge. If I find myself going back for quick carbs and wanting more I make myself a proper meal with lots of protein and veg. This leaves me feeling satisfied and breaks the constant carb craving cycle.

Sheriseology

What worked for me was identifying my weakness foods. For me it was sweets, so I told myself I could have something else tasty, but not junk-food (but also not necessarily low cal since I didn't want to feel like I was depriving myself), and it usually died down. To me in those moments, a nice piece of meat or some nice meal was not as appealing as a cake and ice cream, so that let me know I wasn't really hungry. If you feel like you are actually hungry and want to eat the real food anyway, then maybe your calories are too low or you need more nutrient rich foods.

Also, going sugar-free for a couple days every once in a while helps reset my taste buds.

cbelc2

Overeaters Anonymous has had great sucesses. Look them up. Try it.

fr33sia12

I don't have any foods I would binge on in the house, so if I wanted to binge on something unhealthy I'd have to go out and buy something, which usually stops me. Thankfully I haven't had an urge to binge yet.

jennifer_417

A key factor is usually fining a way to disrupt the cycle. Like, if certain circumstances/emotions, etc eventually lead to a binge, find a way to change something. Go for a drive, journal, phone a friend. Find some way to create a different pattern, before it escalates to a binge.

abadvat

track your binge and schedule the rest of the day accordingly.

Amberellie11

There is a book I highly recommend you read called "Brain over Binge". I have had a bad run of binging too and I have found the book really has changed my perspective and my habits!

Stakmaster

Like some others have said, getting those foods out of the house is the biggest step. Also as Mulecanter said, down a big glass of water, that usually helps. What I've found helps when I'm hungry when I shouldn't be or feel like chowing down I pop a couple jalapenos. If your body is anything like mine you won't feel like eating after that.

geminiswede

I try to avoid the particular foods that I know that I'll binge on or that will more likely lead me to binge in general. Another thing I've found that helps for me personally is focusing on how awful I usually feel afterward (physically moreso than mentally) and knowing that I don't want to feel like that later.

Hernandez_y

Thanx to everyone that replied !!!

Colorscheme

I've been struggling with this, but for the last week I've done so well. I basically tell myself that binging won't change anything, won't help me reach my goals, and I try to incorporate everything I want to eat into my day.

So for example, and this isn't not an average day, I ate the following [yesterday]:
-one butterfinger bar
-one packet of Twix bars
-one soft pretzel
-3.5 oz potato chips
-Captain Crunch peanut butter cereal
-Caramel and sea salt KIND bar

I also had watermelon and a homemade quesedilla. I logged and weighed it all and it came out to 2100 calories. But because I exercised, I ended up with 1400 net cals and was pretty happy about it. I was able to eat a lot and still have a decent deficit.

Most days I eat quite a lot less junk. I guess I was just craving stuff.

walking2running

Like others, I find that "seeing the big picture" helps deal with binge eating. I don't think I have conquered them completely, but I can cope better with then after the fact. If I binge, it comes from a place of self-doubt. The binges reinforce a lingering feeling that I am destined to be fat, that I lack will-power and self-control. But, when I take a step back and I log everything that I ate while feeling out of control, it allows me to see that a binge has little effect on my overall progress. I can take pride in the other 29 days of the month when I did exhibit discipline and control. Then, I brush myself off, and pick up where I left off.

Wicked_Seraph

I find that I tend to be prone to binging during stressful periods, and when certain foods are around.

I'm an absolute sucker for things like chips, Cheez-Its... really lovely, savory, salty things. I had a short run of having them in the apartment and ALWAYS ate way more than I should have... which encouraged less-than-stellar eating habits elsewhere.

Avoid having those certain foods around, or substitute them for things either less calorie-dense or less appealing. I get the munchies, so I have rice cakes around. I do enjoy them, but they don't have that same MUST EAT ALL OF THEM NOW sort of temptation that other things do. I will easily devour half (or a whole) box of chips or Cheez-Its... but one or two rice cakes is about as much as i find enjoyable. I will nom an entire pizza, but eat more slowly and cautiously if something has *kitten* I hate on it, like mushrooms or peanuts.

Also, try distracting yourself. Drink a lot of water (maybe it's just thirst? I find that I binge more on weekends, which is also when I'm bad about drinking water). Do something entertaining. Go for a walk. Visit a friend. Eat an actual meal if you're noticing you haven't eaten much that day.

llbrixon

I find that eating 24 raw almonds will make me feel full due to the protein in the almonds.