Anti-binge buddy needed desperately!

louisepaul16

Feel free to add me too. I would happily chat etc but I doubt I'm on the Same time zone as you. I'm In Central Europe.

I have also struggled over the years with binge eating disorder. I have been a healthy weight, and also very overweight, right now I'm about 35lbs over the very top end of a healthy BMI. Bingeing is a constant struggle for me, I can eat around 4000 or maybe more calories in one sitting, until the point I feel physically sick. I state loud and clear I'll never do it again and then 2 days later I'll do it again! It's terrible. And I feel and understand people who are in that position. I was diagnosed with binge eating disorder a few years ago, but never got the help I should have done as was in a state of denia plus I moved away and never sought out help here.

Right now I feel in control of it, for how long I don't know we shall see. My last binge was 48 days ago, where I consumed 1.5 dominos pizzas (medium) and 4 starters and a dessert box as well.

I have since cut out most added sugars in my diet and it has really helped with my cravings to binge. I feel it rising, but am able to move past it. Feel free to add me if you would like to. Not sure if I can be any help but I can try! Xx

jacqueline116325

Feel free to add me too. I binge once a week probably because the rest of the week I workout like mad and am always hungry. I hate the vicious cycle too. Like today we had pizza and cream pie to eat and that just started a downward cycle of eating way too much all day. And I know tomorrow I'll starve and run to make up for it. I'm 5'7' around 118 but trying to get to 110. It's been hard to move the scale lately which is why I've been dieting and exercising like mad. Maybe we can celebrate non binge streaks together!

kommodevaran

jacqueline116325 wrote: »

Feel free to add me too. I binge once a week probably because the rest of the week I workout like mad and am always hungry. I hate the vicious cycle too. Like today we had pizza and cream pie to eat and that just started a downward cycle of eating way too much all day. And I know tomorrow I'll starve and run to make up for it. I'm 5'7' around 118 but trying to get to 110. It's been hard to move the scale lately which is why I've been dieting and exercising like mad. Maybe we can celebrate non binge streaks together!

Why do you want to be underweight? You are at the moment at BMI 18.5, which is the borderline between normal and underweight. No wonder you are hungry. Why not focus on eating good food in appropriate amounts, and stop dieting?

jacqueline116325

kommodevaran wrote: »

jacqueline116325 wrote: »

Feel free to add me too. I binge once a week probably because the rest of the week I workout like mad and am always hungry. I hate the vicious cycle too. Like today we had pizza and cream pie to eat and that just started a downward cycle of eating way too much all day. And I know tomorrow I'll starve and run to make up for it. I'm 5'7' around 118 but trying to get to 110. It's been hard to move the scale lately which is why I've been dieting and exercising like mad. Maybe we can celebrate non binge streaks together!

Why do you want to be underweight? You are at the moment at BMI 18.5, which is the borderline between normal and underweight. No wonder you are hungry. Why not focus on eating good food in appropriate amounts, and stop dieting?

Pretty much just vanity. I feel like I look my best around 115. I have a really really small frame (I can almost use my thumb and pinkie to wrap my wrist). 110 is just a buffer I build in to account for weight fluctuations.

Ada498

Hey! You can also add me! I totally get what you're dealing with! I'm also trying my best to get back on track with my healthy eating but it's not going well and some support would be nice!

SSB09040

Thanks everyone . I am actually becoming less harsh on myself since joining this site. After all I am maintaining my goal weight, exercising about 60 minutes 6 times per week and in general, eating very healthily. I have been told not to criticise myself too much for my 2-3 times weekly binges on bread, cereal and cheese because it may be what my body is craving and I do agree that yes, I am probably limiting my daily calorie intake a little too so hence my binges. But it all seems to be balancing out so that's the main thing.
I guess I would like to be more consistent but I have always been more of an "all or nothing" girl.

P6O9B

Hi there feel free to add me. I struggle with binge eating. I am hoping to stop doing it and loose some weight. I used to be 114 pounds and since binge eating regularly for the last three years I have put on 22 pounds and am now 136 pounds. I really need to stop binge eating and loose the 22 pounds I have gained. Anyone feel like being an accountability/weight loss buddy?

JeromeBarry1

SSB09040 wrote: »

sc487 wrote: »

When you aren't binging, are you eating what you want? Or are you starving yourself and only eating healthy stuff? I stay sane by slipping in a sweet or pizza here or there. Feel free to add me

Hi sc487 - I kind of eat semi-what-I-want most days but limit myself to about 1400 calories (trying to maintain 121 lbs at 5'5"). I guess it's by the 3rd or 4th evening that I really want to binge because yes I have deprived myself of a lot of my favourite snacks like chips, cheese and crackers, chocolates, icecreams etc. However, just lately, I have been eating lots of grilled cheese sandwiches and cereals at night time too. It's like I'm desperately starving for carbs. Wondering if it's since I've started adding heavier weights to my workouts and making me hungrier.

Heavy lifting requires a 500 - 1000 calorie surplus. Try eating at surplus on heavy lifting days, rather than this silly deprive/binge cycle you're on. You may have accidentally done the work of a bulking program without the eating of one.

jahillegas_51

I added you:) Along with some general binge eating tips from my experience. These are the ones that got me started to stop doing this to myself...hope this helps you as well. Here for you, I understand how tough it can be at times.

First, admit there was a problem. For three going on four years, I blamed externals, my drive, and my dreams for my actions. Ignoring people in my life hinting at me that I may have a problem, including family, close friends, and girlfriend. I lied to myself, rationalizing it with the mask of a cheat meal. As the punishment for binging increased so did the amount of times I binged. At first once a week, then every couple days, every other, until it consumed my thoughts. At times I would drive to Walmart just to eat it all before coming home. Chances are if you are reading this it is because you are looking for help. Good for you, you are lightyears ahead of where I was!

Second, I learned to love myself for me, as a matter of fact I am still learning how to do this. Today, the emulated physique is seen as happiness. It is published on social media, magazines, and posters as the symbol of happiness. I believed it, I chased it and chased it. I had it for some time and I was still just as miserable. How you look will not make you happy! Now don’t twist those words as an excuse to just let ourselves become overweight. Chances are you will break step 1 which is lying and rationalizing it. We have to learn to accept our imperfections. We all have them and everyone tries to hide them. Here are my flaws (some I can fix, others are what they are):
Relationships: I am aweful. I wrecked a 15 year friendship with a highschool sweetheart, I was selfish and an *kitten*. I can also be abrasive and brutal with little to no compassion. However ever since I shared this personal story, I have gotten better. Although I am by no means finished working on this.
Skin Damage: I never wore sunscreen as a kid. Now I have moles, freckles, and scars. Some I wish weren’t there. Some girls won’t talk to me because of them. I am not “sexy” enough. They aren’t “interested”.

Don’t let your imperfections stop you from loving yourself. You are the only you this world will ever see, embrace yourself. Perhaps the worst thing about this cycle was I hated myself, I hated my life, I did not want to look in the mirror, I thought I was a failure that I would never make it, I contemplated suicide. When I would binge, I would punish myself. Don’t do that we are human, life is meant to be enjoyed. Life is much too short to never treat yourself to what you love to eat whatever that maybe for you. Look yourself in the mirror directly into your eyes saying “I LOVE myself” at least 10 times a day, if not more. P.S. try not to smile when you say this (harder than you think).

Thirdly, there is no such thing as good food, bad food. Placing labels on food, leads us to ban them from our intake. We say, “No, No, No, No, No…” We push for the perfect diet, once we eat this food that does not fall into this neat diet box; we throw our hands up, saying we failed so now is the time to eat everything we can. This leads to punishment. Which leads to more restrictions. This is the vicious cycle we as binge eaters face. I used to believe it myself, that there was clean food and bad food. It simply is this manifested idea. If you ask a vegan, he/she will say animal based foods are not clean. Someone who is a vegetarian will disagree, and say it is just animal products that are not clean. Then a paleo guy runs in screaming about how meat is clean, but grains aren’t. So someone has to be right? They are all wrong. Instead, adopt my grandmother’s wise old adage of “everything in moderation.” AKA IIFYM

Fourth, going along the lines of moderation. You can eat whatever you want just not all at once. I believe I heard Layne Norton say this, I believe this, like the 11th commandment, in fact it should be an amendment to the constitution. When I first began to escape cycle, I would eat one “treat” at every meal. Nothing crazy, but it will allow you still get your “fix” but you won’t binge on it. Any action in the right direction gave me more motivation and encouragement to keep improving. The small wins kept snowballing into large victories later that slammed the door on binging. Disclaimer, it is wiser to eat this food item from a plate not from the container. Don’t test your will to fight binging if you do not have too. As the old saying goes, “work smarter, not harder.”

Fifth, no more crazy spreadsheets and tracking of nutrients line item by line item like an accountant. I did not worry about counting calories and the works. I would instead eat (3) meals, breakfast, lunch and supper possibly a snack if I was hungry. I would eat slowly, and as I began to feel fuller I would stop eating. You may be like me and scared that you’ll get fat. Well what is our other choice? We can keep binge eating which is not working, because you wouldn’t be reading this. Or we can reach out and try something new. I need to be conscious of my eating, instead of speed eating (still struggle at times).

Sixth, 180, 190, 160, 225, 200…what number was it going to be today I thought I as I closed my eyes scared to look down at the scale after a night of binging (these were all weights I reached during this cycle). You do not need a scale to help you. It’s about small wins, small wins, they add up trust me; I have been there too. Most people overestimate the damage of a binge. You need to eat in excess of 3500 calories over your normal intake to gain a pound of fat. It is not as bad as we create in our minds. Additionally, when we stand on the scale after a binge our body is bloated, full of food, sodium, and other goodies. This only compounds the guilt feeling.

It is your lucky day! I said six, but here is a seventh tip. So, what about eating at restaurants and parties? Parties were my kryptonite, the amount of food that I saw and I thought I had to eat three people’s worth of everything. What helped me to win at parties was I made this a game in my head (who cares no one else knows..plus now you know I did it). I am very competitive; I hate losing even if it’s go fish with a girlfriend (I will be a terrible father I will never let my kids win). Since eating slower and not getting seconds was a struggle at first. The game I created was to be the last one done eating, and the last one to get seconds. This helped me in many ways, first to help me eat slower I talked with people, this helped to repair the relationships I had damaged in the past, plus I was not over eating (win/win). Which is why I was last to get seconds, so often I would eat so quick that my stomach didn’t even know it was fed until I was already 4-5 plates of heaping food deep.

Make that eight, workout for fun! For so long in this process I trained for results no I do not mean goals; I simply worked out to look good that’s it! It was the complete wrong direction, it made training no fun, I dreaded every gym session, and was having a miserable time. It doesn’t matter if you are into bodybuilding, figure, physique, cross fit, powerlifting, strongman, marathons, etc. just train for fun, train to get better and challenge yourself. For me this was powerlifting.