Binge eating

farahrahm

Hi guys,
I am in a serious binge eating mood for the last few weeks and can't seem to break it.
Since January i managed to lose almost 16kg, but this binge cycle has made me gain back 4kg!

Any ideas how to break it? It's really getting my mood low and I don't want to go back to being morbidly obese again...

emhorn625

What are you binging on? Try keeping only healthy "binge" food in the house.

psychod787

farahrahm wrote: »

Hi guys,
I am in a serious binge eating mood for the last few weeks and can't seem to break it.
Since January i managed to lose almost 16kg, but this binge cycle has made me gain back 4kg!

Any ideas how to break it? It's really getting my mood low and I don't want to go back to being morbidly obese again...

get help...... my advice......

cookster82

I tend to stop tracking my food once I've gone off plan during the day. I feel like I ruined the day and I'll just start over again the next day...we all know how that cycle works out. What I've tried to do recently is track EVERYTHING, no matter what, as I'm eating it. A couple of times recently, I've been surprised that even though I feel like I've completely blown the day, I can still recover (or at least lessen the damage) by making modifications to my plan later in the day. It's helped me, because I'm less likely to throw in the towel after giving in to a temptation if I can still find a way to control the remainder of my day.

rosebarnalice

Try this self-coaching exercise:

Go into the bathroom, close the door, look at yourself in the mirror with all the compassion and caring curiosity that you can, then ask yourself OUT LOUD, "What's going on, Luv? How can I help?"

And then turn or look away from the mirror to change roles from "coach" into "client", and answer honestly as if you were talking to the best counselor in the world.

Then, with your "coach" ears, REALLY listen to what your "client" has to say [again, out loud! It's amazing how speaking seems to open a channel to let stuff out of our brains that we didn't even know was there!)

It might help you get to the source of the thoughts or feelings that are leading you behave in a way you don't like.

If you find it's a feeling (inadequacy, loneliness, anxiousness, anger, sadness. . .) your "coach" self should give you permission to FEEL those feelings instead of stuffing them down with food. Remember, feelings are just vibrations-- and as vibrations, feelings can't really hurt us. So even if they are bad or unpleasant feelings, give yourself permission to just feel them.

This, too, shall pass.

EvaMR2018

I chew on ice chips when I feel like binge eating.

Transmogrifaloo

I really agree with what cookster82 said.

I've kept 25 kg off for six years and I binge at times too. It makes you feel rotten and it's difficult to figure out why we do this to ourselves when we feel so bad afterward (but damn it feels good when it's going in!) I'm definitely gonna try that self coaching exercise!

Tracking has helped me. And like cookster82 says - sometimes it's not as bad as you think. The key thing is to pick yourself up, dust off those cookie crumbs and keep going. Don't punish yourself by trying to compensate, just go back to a normal, nutritious plan the next day and do some exercise.

Remind yourself of why maintaining a healthy weight is important to you. What are all the cool things about feeling fit and healthy that motivate you?

Eat your favourite healthy foods it will make you feel oh so much better than a binge.

AND! It's OK. You're doing OK. You're human. Junk food is delicious so it's natural to want to binge on it sometimes! You can still be the weight you want to be so don't give up.

emmamcgarity

Are you eating enough protein? Are you feeling deprived? Are you logging the food you binge on?

emmamcgarity

I am just going to add to my above that I kept reading people in this board emphasize protein and I was a non believer until I did increase my protein. Days that I am hyper focused on protein are days that I am more satisfied and able to stay on plan. They are days that I have less temptation to binge.

farahrahm

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Are you eating enough protein? Are you feeling deprived? Are you logging the food you binge on?

Yes. Yes. Yes. 🙈

SylviazSpirit

You're binging because you feel like you can't have it. Give yourself permission to have "bad" stuff here and there. As long as it fits in your calorie goal, it's OK. Restricting is bound to cause this. It's why people YO YO so often. Give a kid a brand new toy and a box and tell them under no circumstance can they touch the box and what's the first thing they want to do? You got it! Play with the box! Regardless that there is a brand new fun toy next to it. It's the same for restricting foods heavily. Tell yourself that you absolutely cannot have (xyz) and you're going to want it. So, realize that it's OK to indulge, to live life, to have a "bad" thing every now and again. Track it and move on. Also take note of how that food makes your body feel. Was it worth it? Do you really like it? Did it taste as good as you thought? When you continue to really take note, many times you will realize you dont even like the item, you just wanted it because you couldn't have it. I use to be this way about donuts. Back when I restricted heavily, let me around donuts and I'd eat half a dozen!! Once I started to let myself have the things I thought I wanted, I realized that I dont even really like donuts. I hate the way they leave residue in my mouth and make my stomach feel heavy and yucky.... But, I never would have realized if I hadn't given myself permission to have one when I thought I really wanted it.

Nikeolie

I say tracking the binge prior to binging really helps me not binge. Just seeing the calories that I'd be consuming knocks some sense in me. Most of the time when I pre-track my binge it helps me stop the actual binge but occasionally it doesn't help. When I binge just remember that it doesn't make it a free day, get back to tracking after that binge.