Binge Eating Disorder and Food Addiction

goldthistime

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

I am not a doctor or a psychiatrist, i never recommend people self diagnose themselves.
But what i do know is... there are people out there who have episodes of binge eating. Often these are the result of a series of previous events. Elimination Diets, Fad Diets or having a habit of putting foods into bad or good categories and spending their time trying to avoid the foods they have labeled as bad. These people find themselves eventually eating too much of something... cookies, cake, ice cream.. pizza... whatever.. shaming themselves and going right back to the previous behavior, they may give up on a diet for a while out of shame and feeling like a failure.. go back to old eating habits of eating higher calorie density foods and either maintaining their larger size or gaining/regaining weight back before trying again to lose weight. The people who don't quit though can often find ways to avoid a binge by not having the food in the house, making sure they get enough protein so theyre not hungry, making sure they eat close enough to goal, Etc.. little tricks they can play on themselves to make the process of binge eating on whatever it may be just slightly more difficult. This is just behavior modification. It works with a lot of people. However with Binge eating disorder there is no tricks. When the mind takes over the days and months that can pass.. there is no picking and choosing which foods... its all food, its any food, you eat and you eat.. and you do it in secret, you can put locks on the fridge and cupboards and give someone the key but you still cant control it, you throw out all your food and you bring in only healthy fruit and veggies and even that makes no difference and the more you try and do all these little tricks the more stupid you feel because you fail, every time, and the calories pile up and up into the thousands each day.. cause its not just one night.. or one meal... its months.. years..

Good point.

I have binged plenty. Sometimes thousands of calories in a short period of time. But I don't have B.E.D. I agree that there's a big difference.

Hearts_2015

ObesityWarrior wrote: »

If you really want something like AA go to food addicts in recovery anonymous or over eaters anonymous. They both use same 12 step program, meetings and sponsor approach as AA. They are not my solution but they are right for some.

I have a 26 year history of binge eating disorder so I totally understand where yo are coming from. You are not alone, there are lots of us in same situation.

ekbcpa wrote: »

I have never been addicted to drugs or alcohol or tobacco, but when I try to eat right and eliminate fast food....I swear it's like I'm a crack addict who needs my fix. I constantly crave "bad" food and a lot of it. When I have any money available, I blow it all on food. It's crazy.

If I went to an AA meeting having never had trouble with alcohol, they'd throw me out.

I feel so alone.

I'm sorry you feel alone, you're not.

They wouldn't throw you out... they'd welcome you. You can go to any 12 meetings you like they are all based on the big book, they all use the steps. Any of the meetings can be really helpful, online meetings, call-in meeting, there are OA and NA and AA groups on here as well.

Hearts_2015

shanae727 wrote: »

Been there. I swear by the book Brain Over Binge like it's my B.E.D. bible. Look it up, it's been a blessing! Hope it helps.

You're not alone and sometimes conventional therapy doesn't work or it doesn't work "alone" but in conjunction with other therapy. It gets better.

@shanae727
I don't know if you heard but she's got her book on tape now. So handy when you're driving etc.

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

@cmriverside I am currently taking 50mg of Vyvanse, it is a drug used to treat ADHD but it is also used to treat moderate to severe binge eating disorder.

@Look_Its_Kriss same ^ I just jumped to 40mg a couple days ago, how's it working for you? Have you been on it long?

EmilyK75

I have a problem with binge eating, too. Even when I'm in the middle of eating crap I tell myself to stop eating, but keep on eating. I feel so powerless. I'm trying really hrs to overcome it. Maybe some support and motivation here will help.

elpint0r

You're not alone. Diagnosed with binge eating disorder and bulimia a few years ago. What honestly helped me was going to an inpatient eating disorder treatment center. I had to completely surrender to the fact that I had a problem and immerse myself in positivity and make a change. Two years later, I'm still slowly recovering. It's a long hard road but find yourself a therapist to start. You can do this!

Lukdbestucan16

RickyCoogin wrote: »

I am the king of Final Binges.

BEFORE THE STORE:
"Okay, now STARTING TOMORROW, you're gonna lose weight. No excuses. Out the door to work out at 6 am, that's right...and we're going to eat ONLY WHEN REALLY, REALLY HUNGRY. All right, since you're about to do this, let's 'say goodbye' to bad food and booze as well. We'll hit the store and you can get whatever you want, JUST THIS ONCE (never mind the other times you've done it). Want a frozen pizza? Three or four boxes of movie-size candy? Pop? Booze? Well, since booze is fattening, maybe we oughta pick up some beer, since we're 'saying goodbye' to that as well."

MID-BINGE:
"All right, come on, finish it up (but I'm stuffed!)...you can't keep any of this crap around tomorrow (and the notion of THROWING FOOD AWAY is foreign...you might waste a whole ten dollars worth of junk food!), so keep eating. This is a good thing. You're getting stuffed and all buzzed from the booze as well and you're really going to feel disgusted and bloated when you're done...WHICH IS GOOD! I'm sure you'll be so revolted at what you've done to yourself that you'll be EXTRA DETERMINED tomorrow!"

NEXT MORNING:
"Oooohhhhh....I feel sooooo sick. I can't go running, I can't lift weights, I'll throw up if I do anything but sit watching TV. Ughhh...I am not going to eat for at least a day, clean out my system."

THREE HOURS LATER:
"Ugh, I'm still tired. Hmmmm...maybe eating food will give me some energy, make me feel less logy. And hey, maybe JUST THIS ONCE, I'll let myself have something loaded with carbs, to give me energy!"

Thats just me ..it such a cancerous habit..lol

mactaffy428

Minifit00 wrote: »

Well I'm not a binge eater. I'm more of a bulimic/anorexic. Lol first time I'm doing this so please don't judge me. Just looking for support and motivation

Sorry, it I have to judge this. I judge you as being brave to tell us and ask for support! I know it is hard. Proud of you - no one will think badly of you. I hope this community can provide you with what you need.

annc3333

At age 60 I went to my first OA meeting, after having struggled with binging and extreme dieting and everything in between since I was 15 years old. In my 40s, with no support and no diet plan, I finally found my own internal solutions and stopped all binging, changed up my diet and slowly (3 pounds a month for two full years) lost 75 pounds. I kept it off with hardly any struggle, a little but not that bad, for a decade. Then I started a medication known to cause weight gain, within two weeks it was like all my efforts were washed away in a tidal wave and I was back to binging and unable to stop it. It was completely frightening and disheartening. Gained about twenty pounds over the course of three years or so in spite of starting over and over and over... Then I finally went to OA, feeling humbled and broken. I learned a lot there and it got me back into my own head. Still not 100% but about 80%, haven't binged for months and months, no white knuckling. I am not a Christian and do not believe in a personal god that hears my prayers--there are many the same way in OA, it is not a requirement and until someone really goes and learns for themselves it can seem at first glance to be a religious organization. I did not find this to be true at all. I"m just writing to tell my experience, OA was exactly right for me because it did not focus on the food and some new diet but on the psychological and emotional changes that have to happen to be able to truly stop needing to binge.

Redheadmama89

I understand completely. I didn't realize until the last couple years that I am a food addict. I think the hardest part about being a food addict and overweight is everyone thinks its a choice and that you should just stop eating but it doesn't work like that. It's an internal struggle constantly. There are certain foods that I don't even keep around because it will trigger me to binge eat. I grew up eating fast food regularly 2-3 times a week and everyone spoiled me with food. Then from the time I was 11 til 18 my parents forced me on diets to lose weight. I felt so awful and it never worked because I was never losing it for myself. Here I am at 27 still struggling. Trying to reverse 20 something years of habits. It's a battle that I grow threw everyday. I wish more people understood this.

WonStepAtaTime

So, I have been away from MFP WAY TOO LONG. A few weeks ago I began looking into FAA and OA. I have decided to admit to my food addiction and do something about it. So I was abstinent from sugar/ flour/ and wheat for 9 days before I relapsed. I felt so ashamed and guilty because I didn't want to let my support team down. After 2 days of binging and drowning in my self pity, I realized that I needed to forgive myself and get back on track. So, last night I went to a meeting and this is day 2 of my abstinence. I am moving forward with renewed determination and a lot more information I have learned about myself. So, my relapse hasn't been all bad because I am able to recognize certain red flags that I wasn't able to see before. One day at a time

HazyEyes93

I am absolutely a binge eater. I'm the kind of person that will stop mid binge, get disgusted with myself, throw it in the trash, and the try to dig it back out of the trash an hour later (if I can make it an hour). Often times, I'll do great for a month and then one day will have me spiral into a 50+ lb binge. Ugh I'm in my first week AGAIN.

GemstoneofHeart

You are not alone. Please consider seeking counseling or another form of in-person support. Counseling helped me so much because I was able to understand why I binge. I don't do it nearly as often. I did it today but the last time before that was about a month ago. I used to do it about twice a week. I hope you are able to get some help