Binge Eating

jjpptt2

jacksonsoxfan1207 wrote: »

I too have struggled with binge eating. I ate everything in sight and didn't care. Mostly sugar. This is the year I pray to gain victory over my food struggles. I have gained over 25 pounds this past year. Ten pounds just in December when I went off the rails. Let's stop the insanity, let's help and support each other. I think I need to find the root of why I do this.

Yes, do that. Definitely do that.

lwr731

Binge eating is a huge problem for me--especially sugar. I am working with a therapist now, and although we are just getting started, she has had good insights. My meals are okay, maybe a bit more restrictive than necessary. The thing is, I am "bargaining" with calories: I leave room for sugar. Too much sugar; once I start I cannot stop. Also, it is when I do not get enough protein during the day that my body needs more food at night. My goal right now is to stop sugar. I expect to have a difficult few days, but I need to detox.

psychod787

Food will not fix your problems. I used to binge eat. I had to learn to have other outlets. Now in lift heavy $#it... it helps me. I hope the best for you.


*edit* I wanted to add, that in retrospect, there were some days I easily ate 10-12k calories. Could have been more, but recall is faulty and it was before I started tracking.

kbmnurse1

eat,eat,eat.

kt90gurl

Is there something wrong with you kbmnurse1? You can't tell a binge eater to eat eat eat.

psychod787

kt90gurl wrote: »

Is there something wrong with you kbmnurse1? You can't tell a binge eater to eat eat eat.

If the young lady is under eating, then going on binge cycles... telling her to eat might not be a bad idea... jmho


*edit* wanted to add this. If I am not careful, I can see restrict and binge start with me. I like a bigger dinner before bed. It helps me sleep. If I am not vigilant, I will not eat enough during the day to have a HUGE meal at night. Almost to the point of being sick to hit my calorie and macro targets. I never go over, but still really not healthy for me.

kt90gurl

Depends if the binge happens due to emotions or to hunger. For me I could eat a whole cow, but then if something upsets me, could easily go on to binge about 4 choc bars. So telling someone to eat if its emotional binging, really would not help.

psychod787

kt90gurl wrote: »

Depends if the binge happens due to emotions or to hunger. For me I could eat a whole cow, but then if something upsets me, could easily go on to binge about 4 choc bars. So telling someone to eat if its emotional binging, really would not help.

As calorie trackers, we tend to be kind of control oriented. We limit ourselves, while the majority go yolo. Control is a major emotion that people tend to ignore. When you add situations in life you cant control to many of us.... you can get binge eating. I have seen this with a close family member. When she loses control of certain aspects of life, she turns to food. I also have the strange feeling, there is guilt restriction going on... return of control.

Rocknut53

psychod787 wrote: »

kt90gurl wrote: »

Depends if the binge happens due to emotions or to hunger. For me I could eat a whole cow, but then if something upsets me, could easily go on to binge about 4 choc bars. So telling someone to eat if its emotional binging, really would not help.

As calorie trackers, we tend to be kind of control oriented. We limit ourselves, while the majority go yolo. Control is a major emotion that people tend to ignore. When you add situations in life you cant control to many of us.... you can get binge eating. I have seen this with a close family member. When she loses control of certain aspects of life, she turns to food. I also have the strange feeling, there is guilt restriction going on... return of control.

The bolded part is me over the past few months. It started with my 46 year old son's heart attack that he had during an ice climbing trip, then I lost 2 close family members within a month of each other and while all this was going on my husband began having heart issues which finally will be resolved with open heart surgery at the end of this month. On days when I get overwhelmed emotionally I stuff my face like there's no tomorrow. I'm trying hard to ignore the triggers that result in binging, but I just take it day by day. I know until my husband is healthy again it will be a roller coaster ride. I would like to get rid of the 20 pounds I've gained (after losing 60), and if I can maintain like I've done for the past month I'll feel like I've accomplished something. OP, just know you are not alone!

Pretty_Little_Nobody

I binged so so badly last night. It's getting to the stage that I'm scared to go out because of the rapid weight gain. It feels so humiliating and i know people are judging me. I'm at a complete loss. I try so so hard everyday and everyday I fail. I really feel so trapped by it all.

lthames0810

Pretty_Little_Nobody wrote: »

I binged so so badly last night. It's getting to the stage that I'm scared to go out because of the rapid weight gain. It feels so humiliating and i know people are judging me. I'm at a complete loss. I try so so hard everyday and everyday I fail. I really feel so trapped by it all.

I completely get what you are saying. Incredibly I only recently learned that binge eating disorder is a real thing, and that my behaviors check most of the boxes. I know how to lose weight simply and easily because I've done it many times, but then I binge and undo all my progress. I feel like all I can do is white knuckle it through those times until the urge passes.

I have also read that curing oneself is rarely successful without professional help. I really really hope that's not the case.

collectingblues

Pretty_Little_Nobody wrote: »

I binged so so badly last night. It's getting to the stage that I'm scared to go out because of the rapid weight gain. It feels so humiliating and i know people are judging me. I'm at a complete loss. I try so so hard everyday and everyday I fail. I really feel so trapped by it all.

Can you ask your PCP/GP for a referral to a therapist? Eating disorders can be really hard to beat on your own.

FoxAndOpal

I’ve struggled with binge eating since I was a kid. When I was very young it started with sneaking junk food from the cupboards in the middle of the night and once I was old enough to drive it morphed into massively overconsuming fast foods (like 2-3 full meals in one go). Even as an adult I cannot have a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream in my home because I will eat it in one sitting. Crash dieting and over restriction of calories made me double down on my bingeing.

I switched to a predominately plant-based diet and cut out processed snack foods, fast food, take out, and refined sugars. It has done wonders for my bingeing. Because most of the foods I now eat are volume and nutrient dense but calorie light, I can eat large portions of food and feel very satiated while staying within a deficit.

I can’t say for certain that I will never binge again but the longer I eat this current way, the less I feel tempted or out of control.

*Disclaimer - I am not saying anyone should adhere to my diet; I’m just saying what has worked for me. YMMV. It’s so individual.

kt90gurl

I’m on day 3 of not binging, what I have started doing is it I feel like it I have a big glass of water and drink it all at once to make me feel full. I’ve also been loading my fitness pal up and adding in the calories I would have to put in as if I actually ate them and trying to decide it’s worth it. Seems to be working just trying to delay the binge.

dealima

I’m just like you. I’d started binging as a kid and it had been my biggest battle. I did everything: surgery, diet, gym. It works but the results never lasts.

JohnnytotheB

Yes, I too have had binges. I think you may have hit it, your are eating nutritionally void and high sugar items. Also, a few have said it but there may be deeper issues. Support is good.

whatalazyidiot

I am 31 days binge free today. The problem is that the way you overcome it is going to be different for everyone. The best advice I have is to first figure out WHY you are binging. And you need to give yourself a break and stop beating yourself up every time you have a binge or compulsively overeat. That's going to start a vicious cycle of over restricting, binging, then over restricting again (which is what happened to me).

The only other thing I did was STOP doing restricting diets. I literally eat what I want if it's within my calories, and that's it. The more I obsess over every little thing, the more likely I am to start restricting too much, eating too little, then being starving and binging all over again.

whatalazyidiot

And I just want to add about a week or so ago, I had a BIG temptation where I was probably seconds from ordering everything I could afford on Door Dash. I started a post here, and got a lot of good feedback. When in doubt, reach out for support!

MarkWgetsfit

Seems we are not alone. I also binge at night, mostly due to boredom and "couldn't give a f*$#" attitude. But I do care, I have two young daughters who I want to see grow up and have children, get married etc etc. I need both a kick in the bum and also a mindset change. Day one (again) has started today after a shock visit to the doctors yesterday. I also ate a family block of chocolate last night as a last hurrah... not good.

Danp

You might also try putting your binge into perspective to reduce the emotional impact.

A single binge is unlikely to have a huge impact on your overall progress, however going off the rails, giving up or spiralling because of a single binge will.

In my experience the perceived impact of a binge feels so much larger/worse than it really is. A binge can feel like a massive failure when in fact it can turn out to be far less of a big deal. So when you do have a binge look at it clinically and objectively and see just what the REAL impact was.

For example (and plucking rough numbers out of the air):
- You maintenance is 2800 cal per day
- You're set for a 2lb loss so your target is 1800 calories per day
- Your normal daily activites credit you 400 calories per day of which you eat back half
- So eating 2000 calories per day nets you a 7000 cal per week (2lb) loss.

Say you stuck to your target every day but broke down and had a binge on Friday and ate 5000 cals. In the moment that could FEEL like ruin, but in fact you're still 4000 calories (over 1lb) in deficit for the week. Say you take an extra day to get back on track and ate another 5000 calories on Saturday too. You're still 1000 calories (about 1/3rd of a lb) in deficit.

In effect a (singular) binge is just a speed bump, don't let it turn into a brick wall.