Binge Eating

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  • marygard76
    marygard76 Posts: 3 Member
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    I didn’t plan well today. I failed to pack a lunch so on my way home I ran through Wendy’s 🤢 now I’m fighting off a full on binge. Sitting in my rocking chair drinking water and I have a kettle on for tea. Must remember to pack food!
  • twdlove89
    twdlove89 Posts: 95 Member
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    I’ve had an extremely stressful time with work so have binged like crazy, around 7pm-ish is when I would grab any chocolate or biscuits and eat the lot!! Now everything is hopefully settling down with work I am going to resist.
    It’s crazy what stress makes us do. At the time you don’t care and just want comfort food! Afterwards is the guilt and shame and your still stressed!
    I’ve told my husband the only treats I want in the house from now on are for our daughter and they are pretty healthy treats anyway so hopefully no bingeing
  • meganreid163
    meganreid163 Posts: 72 Member
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    I’ve binge from stress or if I’m not eating enough calories.
    The things that tend to help with that are yoga, meditation, baths to help with stress.
    & making sure I’m eating enough calories.

    I feel for you. Binging is a mental struggle 💕💕
  • 150poundsofme
    150poundsofme Posts: 523 Member
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    Hi, I am a yo-yo dieter -- either dieting (restricting) or big time binger. There was never ever eating a normal meal. So if you binge one day, get back on track the next. I wish I could do that (a few times I did). Most times it can take me weeks or months to gear myself back to dieting and not binging. I cannot keep trigger foods in the house which is all carbs (not including those healthy carbs like fruit etc.). I cannot keep butter or margarine in the house since they are evil. One of the problems I have is that hubby keeps some junk food in the house or even if he got some small candy, he doesn't eat it right away. I put his stuff in a bag on top of the closet. Many times I won't touch it, but when one of those feelings (whether stress, sadness, boredom, happiness or most times I can't even identify the feeling) rears its thought into my mind, I will go into his stash. Then the next morning I am like - am I eating well today or binging (in the past I couldn't even stop to think if I am binging today - it was just automatic that I was). But today I can stop for one split second to think about my eating behavior for the day. A long time ago I suggested getting a safe to put my family's food in it. Hubby thought it was ridiculous. I think I will now go to Walmart and buy a safe because his foods are not safe with me. So for me, keeping all those carbs out of the house so when I get that feeling, I can't and won't have anything comforty for me to eat. It can be frustrating (there is always going to the store and getting it) but it does help big time not having it in the house. Yesterday I went to a fair. I was on so I just ate chicken on a stick. Though a bit later, I was thinking why couldn't I eat something more tastier. And then guess what, this a.m. I weighed myself and I gained. Not from yesterday, though I thought I would have lost weight, but I gained from the small binge I had the night before. Many people in Overeaters Annonymous feel you should not eat flour, sugar and wheat because of an addiction to it. So many times I can eat those items and not let it derail me. I sometimes think it is too many exceptions to my food plain that I finally crack and go overboard. Years ago when I was dieting, at night I would want to eat so I would always make popcorn and keep going back and forth to refrigerator and eat those 25 calorie square cheese slices. Still being compulsive. Now I am chewing gum a lot at night keeping my mouth busy. Had a cold this week so drinking broth at night. Eating 3 clementines at night which takes me a long time to eat. So I guess not really dealing with the compulsiveness but eating not too caloric foods to do damage. Forget at friends' homes or buffets when food is just out there - really hard to control. So what is our action plan? As some above said, to eat a bit more protein. Keep your hands busy while watching tv - knit, crochet, do soduko. I am seriously getting a safe for hubbies' stash. I never wanted to give up wheat, sugar and flour. I want to feel "normal" and not let anyone think I am on a diet. But maybe, for me, I should try. Maybe that one sugar item sets me off physically without realizing it. My best to you, one day at a time, one meal at a time. One time while on a different health group I wrote that I felt like binging. I said I would go take the dog for a walk. I did. And when I came back on the computer to that thread, I wrote I BEAT A BINGE. It was truly an amazing feeling. I do know that when I want something "bad" to eat, I don't stop and think. I just reach and eat it. So maybe if you can, try coming on here before you reach for that first binge bite, tell us what is happening and then maybe you can beat a binge. Hugs and more hugs
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
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    I wrote something recently at my blog and share it here since it's on point with the topic. It's just my opinion for what it's worth. Here's an excerpt of what I wrote:

    "But we're humans, and humans are weak. Consequently, if we're following a disciplined eating protocol, we may occasionally fall victim to relapse and resort to a pigging out session, sometimes described as binging. Some struggle with binge eating more than others. Pierini Fitness must be honest and confess how he's pigged out in the past but, now, he promises no more.

    Relapse, by having a pigging out session or binging, isn’t the act of pigging our or binging. Rather, it’s all the thoughts and behaviors leading up to the act. This is understood in the addiction world and it’s no different with eating.

    What should we middle-aged men do when faced with overwhelming desires to to pig out and binge, or we've just done so and now feel disgusted and terrible for falling off our healthy eating pony?

    Start by retracing our steps and identifying when relapse began and what were its obvious cues. Again, relapse isn't the the act of pigging out or binging, but all the thoughts and behaviors leading up to it.

    Learn from this retracing and then build an action plan for the next time we're about to relapse. Borrowing from what is said in religious circles about sin, avoid placing ourselves in the occasion of "sin" of pigging out or binging.

    In the context of eating healthy and avoiding pigging out or binging, this means avoiding placing ourselves in the occasion of relapse. So, we must fuel our body adequately, not stock our refrigerators and kitchen cabinets with foods known to be a struggle to eat in moderation and be mindful of how important healthy eating is in helping us achieve our fitness, health and wellness goals."
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I found that logging all of the food, even the binges, helped to curb them somehow. Seeing it written down in black and white makes the caloric damage seem more real maybe?
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    33gail33 wrote: »
    I found that logging all of the food, even the binges, helped to curb them somehow. Seeing it written down in black and white makes the caloric damage seem more real maybe?

    This has helped me too, but more in the way of the-binge-wasn't-as-bad-as-I-thought.
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
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    33gail33 wrote: »
    I found that logging all of the food, even the binges, helped to curb them somehow. Seeing it written down in black and white makes the caloric damage seem more real maybe?

    I do find that my absolute worst binges occur when I think 'sod it, I'll just not log it'. (And then I regret that when I exit the binge mindset, try to remember everything I ate, and fail miserably).

    Nowadays I feel terribly embarrassed and like I ought to apologise/explain to my MFP friends afterwards, but even while bingeing I weigh and log absolutely everything that goes in my mouth, before it does. And I think that sometimes that extra little bit of time/thought between 'want' and 'have' at least... increases the chance that I'll manage to pull up out of the dive before I hit the ground?
  • 150poundsofme
    150poundsofme Posts: 523 Member
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    Pierinifitness: "...all the thoughts and behaviors leading up to the act ...Learn from the retracing and build an action plan..." Terrific post!
  • irenesalor
    irenesalor Posts: 97 Member
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    I have struggled with eating disorders since I was a teenager and what worked for me was being compassionate and learning to forgive myself after a slip. Just think about what you would say to a close friend if they reached out to you for help with this issue and move on from there. Shame and regret play a huge part in trapping you in binge, self-destructive cycles.

    And remember, you're not alone.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Have you thought about speaking with a therapist? Someone who can help you get to the root of things and can help you develop coping mechanisms that don't involve a binge.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Great disucssion!
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
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    OP, have you been able to decide if you believe you are suffering from an eating disorder? In other words, have you admitted that to yourself at this point in time?

    *sometimes text comes off in multiple tones, so I note that this is an honest question coming from a non-judgemental place, and this was a very important question in my recovery.
  • Kimmotion5783
    Kimmotion5783 Posts: 417 Member
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    I can relate to all of this. One great thing I've learned: eat high protein early on in the day. This helps to curb cravings later on in the day.
  • ksharrell48
    ksharrell48 Posts: 171 Member
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    "I don’t like the way I’m going to have to restrict for the next couple of weeks to avoid consistently gaining from these episodes, but at the same time binge eating seems to be giving me something I can’t get any other way."
    What you said, ceiswyn. I've been a binge eater for 20+ years and I do it to comfort, to celebrate, to aleve boredom but I really, really wish it didn't give me such a rush as I think about it ahead of time! I'll go to bed, thinking and dreaming of what glorious eats I'd allow myself the next day. And maybe the day after that. And so on, until I get back on my healthier eating plan. It seems as if I'm all about immediate gratification moreso than realizing what damage I'm doing to my health in the long run. That scares me.
  • kimber0607
    kimber0607 Posts: 994 Member
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    Ive struggled with binging on and off
    I have an all or nothing personality..so Im either all in watching cals and working out...or a hot mess
    Im a morning/afternoon binger..which is odd
    but im super calm at night and have no desire to eat...I think binging is linked (with me) to anxiety and I cant always put my finger on it

    Im trying to get better with counting cals and enjoying everything in moderation
    we need to stop being so hard on ourselves...if i go a little over cals or enjoy piece of cake..that doesnt need to turn into a binge/bad day etc....

    for me, I found staying low carb...consuming lots of cheese, dairy, meats...trying to avoid sweets helps with cravings...

    Hang in there!

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