weekend binging

eaiouxs

Monday through Friday I'm really busy with school/sports. During that time, my eating is fine and I actually enjoy and appreciate my meals. I don't feel like I'm restricting, in fact I feel really satisfied with my meals. When it gets to the weekend, however, I really let myself go. Today I ended up binging on probably 3000+ calories (1200 cal worth of ice cream drumsticks, 10 slices of bread slathered in peanut butter/butter, white rice, fruit, candy) and my stomach feels like it's about to explode. Generally just an awful, awful feeling.

I'm currently 118.5 lb at 5'4, but if I keep binging (especially once my sport's season is over) I know I'm going to gain a significant amount of weight. I don't even enjoy the food during binges, I guess I just like the feeling of chewing and having stuff in my mouth or something. Binges are painful, mess up my digestion for a good 2 days or so and kill any motivation I have to be productive. I just really want to stop. Advice or just support would be super appreciated.

EmbeeKay

Check out the Brain Over Binge podcast- it's been really helpful for me. I was weekend binge eating because 1. habit and 2. insufficient sleep, and 3. over restricting calories M-F. You CAN break out of it. Good luck.

thisPGHlife

I have totally done that. A lot. I have a couple suggestions that have worked for me. Without looking at your food, I'm wondering if you need more complex carbs during the week to help fuel you? Just a thought because, I know you said you feel satisfied, but it seems like your binge is on simple carbs.

Another thing you might want to look at is if you're eating out of bordem. You said you're really busy during the week so you should take time off to relax, but maybe there are things that you can focus on that aren't eating. Maybe find a hobby or pick a new book to read. I find that sometimes redirecting my energy before I binge helps. I'll even get mad at the binge. I'll even have a conversation with it that usually ends in, "fine. I'm going over here to have some fun with my seeing. That'll show your!!" And I allow myself to be hurry about it too.

Sometimes the binge takes hold before you can redirect. In that case I usually try to cut a bunch of water while I log the item before I eat it. This might not stop it but it might curb it before things go totally off the rails.

And sometimes none of this works. Sometimes we all have that day that is just awful. But, we can't let one bad meal, one bad day, one bad week, or one bad month ruin all the rest of the meals, days, weeks, or months.

If it does continue to be an issue and you feel like it's getting out of control or it's consuming your thoughts or emotions, I encourage you to talk to your doctor. They may have a solution or, and I'm not saying you have an eating disorder, they may be able to recommend a therapist who deals with eating issues. You seem like you're in the right path for the most part but I would hate for it to go south on you.