Bingeing

alisonwoodrow12

I'm so unhappy. I lost 20kg about 3 years ago. The weight is creeping back on as I am. Bingeing most evenings. I hate myself for it. Any help or advice? I'm desperate ☹️

KeepRunningFatboy

The battle is of the mind. There could be several reasons for binging (emotional, habitual, psychological, etc). But no matter why you binge, you have created a habit if you are doing it most evenings. Habits are strengthened and reinforced as they are repeated. You are going to have to make a decision to stop. There is no magic button, no pill. You can go to counseling, or even use prayer or meditation; but ultimately, you will have to make the decision to not purchase your favorite binge foods, not have them in the house, not go through your favorite binging fast food places, and stay out of the kitchen or pantry or wherever you like to binge at. It is going to be tough, even difficult or hard; especially the first couple times. My guess is your binge foods are highly processed and loaded with sugars or sweeteners. When you sense a binge coming - go for a walk, go listen to some music, go read a book. I actually had a plastic chain and a lock that my wife would take the key to help me fight it. Make a decision, be determined, and take action. And you might not always be 100% successful, but the important thing to do is recommit yourself if you do fall.

Raynne413

Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with binging, and people that haven't ever had the issue don't understand how HARD it is to stop or redirect when the urge starts. It's not just a matter of self control.

I started out losing weight by only counting calories when I was 300 lbs, and I was eating 1500 calories a day. Then I moved to only counting calories and eating 1200 calories a day. Then I plateaued and added exercise. Eventually I moved to eating around 1000 calories and working out for around 3 hours a day when I could manage it. I thought, well, if a little exercise is good, more must be better. And if 1200 calories was good, less must be better. On top of that, I was eating very little fat. I was good for about a year, and ended up losing down to around 110. Then, out of nowhere, uncontrollable binges would start. I would go crazy with anything that contained carbs and fat. And then after my binges, I would go crazy again with over restricting and over exercising to "make up" for those binges. I got desperate because I was gaining weight back, and I just couldn't get out of the cycle, so I decided to get help (with the strong urging of several friends).

I ended up seeing a nutritionist that specialized in eating disorders. She taught me several things that were a BIG help. The first thing was that I was sleep deprived because I was getting up at 4 am to work out, but going to bed around midnight (I had just started dating my boyfriend). Being sleep deprived can make you crave carbs. The second was that my body was going crazy craving carbs and fat because I was expending energy like crazy, but never replenishing. I needed to start eating more, and working out less.

It's still hard to find a balance, but as long as I listened to her AND listen to my body, I have very little issues now. The below is what I try to keep in mind, and what I suggest for anyone else having problems:

1) Make sure you get enough sleep
2) Make sure you are eating enough (especially enough fat)
3) Don't over exercise, and make sure you eat enough for you level of activity
4) DON'T try to "make up" for binges.


Hope this helps you some,
Samantha

jadowns

I struggle with this as well.

Everytime I binge, though, it's for some psychological reason. For example, when I'm frustrated with my work load, when my partner is pissing me off, etc.

When I binge at night, (like last night) ... it was because I stayed up too late and didn't eat enough protein for dinner so I got hungry at 12am, and went straight to the pantry. I ate until I had a headache ... but I wish that I had just gone to bed early (10pm) in order to avoid the stomach and emotional upset.

However, everything I ate after midnight, I logged into today's diary, so I can pretty much only eat 900 calories today because of the damage I did so late last night...

Idk if this is the best system, but it's my system and it's working for me (I'm still losing 1-2 lbs a month)

Jillian

alisonwoodrow12

It's so nice to know I'm not alone. Thank you. I'm so depressed food is my only comfort.

descene

For me, it took addressing the cause head-on to make any progress. I know I binge when I'm bored and when I'm depressed, so for the first issue it's about mindfulness every time I reach for something if I'm reaching for it for any other reason than I'm hungry and to instead treat the real symptom. For mental health treatment, I gave up on the system because I put in a decade of effort to get nothing out of it, but I recently explored alternative treatment options for my depression and anxiety and found something that is working for me and it's been the key to reversing my situation.

jjpptt2

alisonwoodrow12 wrote: »

It's so nice to know I'm not alone. Thank you. I'm so depressed food is my only comfort.

Is it really?

alisonwoodrow12 wrote: »

I'm so unhappy. I lost 20kg about 3 years ago. The weight is creeping back on as I am. Bingeing most evenings. I hate myself for it. Any help or advice? I'm desperate ☹️

I binge for comfort in the moment, but long term, it rarely helps. It took me a long time to realize it, and I still don't care at times (give me instant gratification), but it was a good realization for me.

KeepRunningFatboy

There is a good book named "Brain Over Binge" It is available for download on Amazon Kindle. Its a good read. Both Katherine and I have slayed the binge beast.

goldthistime

You've received some good advice. I just want to add that if I can redirect that urge to consume toward meat I can usually stop it in its tracks. Big "if" though, I know.

Hello_its_Dan

Red flags everywhere

OP, binging and being depressed warrant a trip to the therapist. Or reach out to those online who can help. I refer any client out who binges or has binged so they can sort through the right process and learn how to break the habit.
Best of luck on your journey and I hope you seek help before this becomes a bigger problem.

If you're on Facebook, seek out Georgie Fear and see what her rate is for a Skype session. She's who I refer my clients to in these cases.

fitpal4242

I have the same problem. What helps:
1. Eat a decent, filling dinner so that you do not start snacking due to hunger. Of course, you don't want to add too many calories, so add a lot of veggies on the side. With my dinner today (homemade lentil loaf), I made a big side of sautéed cabbage.
2. Brush & floss right after dinner. Once this happens, it's my signal to stop eating, and I am too lazy to rebrush

_runnerbean_

I'm really struggling with overeating/ evening binges too. I'm fine until around 4pm then i feel tired and bored and hit the snacks. Dinner comes soon after (even though I'm not hungry then) and i continue the snacks through to bedtime. I really feel like I need to break this cycle.

alisonwoodrow12

I'm very similar. Ate much less yesterday. Stepped on the scales and stayed the same. Arrgh ☹️

goldthistime

alisonwoodrow12 wrote: »

I'm very similar. Ate much less yesterday. Stepped on the scales and stayed the same. Arrgh ☹️

Don't worry about the scales in the short term. Water weight changes make it unreliable. Celebrate your success when you get the numbers right.

gracemaryx

Bingeing is definitely a problem for me too, it always has been. I feel out of control at times. 20kg down and I still struggle with it.

The only way to control it is too really really force yourself to not give in. Think of the horrible feelings you feel after a binge. Think of how amazing you'll feel in the morning if you just resist the urge and go to sleep.

A cup of green/mint/camomile tea with stevia does help resist the urge to binge but I know sometimes it's uncontrollable. Like you physically can't restrain yourself. Just take it one step at a time. You are stronger than you think.

When I do give into the binge I usually take it easy and eat less carbs/fats the next day. I've still lost weight. Remember it's not the end of the world. Good on you for addressing the problem.

alisonwoodrow12

Another binge last night. My partner remarked I was being piggy. Feel worse than ever this morning. Two bottles of wine didn't help either. Wish I could turn the clock back.

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fiddletime

I had to cut my drinking down by about 95% to get on track with eating correct portion sizes, not bingeing, and finally- losing weight. Even though I counted my wine calories, I didn't seem to lose weight, and I slipped a lot. For the past 8 weeks I have wine maybe four times. But I often go over my calories, or just not care, after a couple of glasses of wine. I've had to basically cut out wine over the past 5 years, to lose weight. When I try to add it back in, in moderation, I start gaining weight. The message is loud and clear, if I can just listen.

goldthistime

alisonwoodrow12 wrote: »

Another binge last night. My partner remarked I was being piggy. Feel worse than ever this morning. Two bottles of wine didn't help either. Wish I could turn the clock back.

Yesterday was a binge day for me too. I've had more than normal recently. Bronchitis put my exercise routine on the shelf and with no exercise I'm more likely to binge. I tried my own advice to eat meat and it didn't work yesterday. It HAS worked though so I'm not going to retract it.

Today's job is just to remember that feeling guilt and shame hinders rather than helps, I need to just get on track today and do my best to stay on track.

Hope you're doing the same OP. This group and specifically this thread might help you: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/38966639#Comment_38966639