Anyone have Binge Eating Disorder Success stories (BED)

lafilledelarue

I've been in a 12-Step Program for 7 years called Overeaters Anonymous. The Program is based on Alcoholics Anonymous, and treats food addiction - which includes binge eating - like a serious addiction (which it is). I encourage you to explore the 12-Step Program of Overeaters Anonymous. The daily reprieve from compulsive eating - whether over or under - is NOT treated via dieting or "white knuckling it." You work the 12 Steps just like an alcoholic, drug addict, compulsive gambler, sex addict, etc. does. Try six meetings. Get a sponsor. If I can be free from the bondage of food addiction, (specifically SUGAR), compulsive eating, and compulsive eating behaviours then you can too. But it's through the 12-Steps. Best wishes to you.

RelCanonical

I had to figure out why I was binge eating. It was a coping mechanism for my underlying anxiety/depression (caused by Adjustment Disorder, I don't have clinical anxiety/depression, but they are symptoms of the disorder). I had to learn how to reduce unhealthy thinking patterns, mainly through cognitive behavioral therapy, to help with reducing the initial urge to binge eat. Basically, I worked on reducing the emotional triggers that caused the binge eating rather than trying to not binge when suffering those emotional triggers.

It is a constant work-in-progress. I still struggle sometimes when my stress is high. I try to turn to better coping mechanisms when this happens. For me, writing works. It doesn't have to be writing about my problems, just writing anything is enough to take me out of my head for a bit. Talking on here helps too.

In the midst of binge eating, the biggest thing that has helped me is to continue logging my food. It really helps to keep things under control even when I can't stop eating - at least my individual portions are controlled. It also helps because it keeps up a good habit and I don't feel like I'm "starting all over" the next day.

LibertyChamp

runinfinity wrote: »

I’ve been binging on cake for the last two days and I feel terrible. I workout religiously, get my 5k steps in everyday but I can’t control myself around food. I’ve (unsuccessfully) tried to maintain a deficit for the last few weeks but my weekend binging sabotages my weight loss every. single. time. I’m so sick of this never ending binge restrict cycle.

Sorry to hear about the cake attraction. There is a lot of great and inspiring instances in this string. For me, I tend to start stress eating when my life feels stressed. There are the comfort foods that really call out to me like peanut butter cups, calorie loaded ice creams, and kettle potato chips. I use meditation to help level off the waters, so to speak. To help, not delete what is stressful, but instead, how I react to it. Sometimes dealing with an issue straight on with a detached observer perspective is the most effective way. Kind wishes to all.

ImMissalaneous

I have had BED since I was around 9 years old. With certain foods, once I start, I just can't stop. I was over 300 pounds in my teens. I topped out somewhere around 375; my weight went higher than my scale went so that's just my best guess. With the help of Overeaters Anonymous, I have been in recovery from binge eating since 2002. I have maintained a 160 pound weight loss for 14 years, and I recently had 21 pounds of excess skin removed.

It is possible to have a healthy relationship with food. My main food triggers are sugar (especially combined with fat and/or flour) and white carbs. I cannot do these items in moderation any more than an alcoholic can do alcohol in moderation. I dieted my way up the scale because everything else I tried had the message of "everything in moderation". The isolation of the pandemic has made things a bit harder for me, but I have the 12 Steps, my food plan, and my friends in recovery to help me stay away from the foods and food behaviors that are harmful to me.

I am concerned about your use of the word "restricting", and I hope aren't lowering your caloric intake below what your body needs to function. Restriction is just another manifestation of an unhealthy relationship with food, and at least in my experience, it will end up backfiring and lead to another binge. I just wanted you to know there is hope, and you are not alone in this. Best of luck to you.

rockconner

I was never diagnosed with BED but all my life I ate as much sugar with flour products washed down by whole milk as my stomach could hold. Often deep into the night so no one would see me. When I started WW I started learning food nutritional values & choosing better foods. After a few days of eating more healthily, my sugar & fat cravings all but stopped. Now they come on infrequently but are manageable.

We CAN manage impulses to binge on even the most fattening of foods.

bethharden5965

Not specifically BED but bulimia after anorexia and I found that simply letting myself actually eat and learning not to demonise food. Food is your friend once you don’t restrict hard you learn to love it. I put on a lot of weight after ED recovery, but hired a PT (I realise not an option for everyone) and she gave me a calorie restriction of 1650 which is way mor than my old 400-1000 I would restrict in when I was in full ED. It has helped so much in my life and have t binged since I began with her in may, I can’t believe it. Here’s to healthy weight loss!!

conniewilkins56

PAV8888 wrote: »

And since this is a success story forum, yes, I did go through multiple (I was going to say hundreds, but thinking about it we may well be talking low four digits over the decades) of substantial over-eating episodes in my life.

Yes, they were a large part of why I got to be obese. Not the only part. But a very substantial part of the equation if we consider them to be concentrated time periods where more than 2-5K calories of food were ingested.

Did weight loss fully eliminate them?

Fully? No. If I let myself get too hungry (and in particular too tired) and do not engage in any mitigation then a 15 to 30 minute 2K calories experience is still a definite possibility!

Does it happen often? Not any more! Definitely nor often enough to affect my weight management, or my goals, or to impede life in any which way--so I would say that things are OK!

Once again you have much insight...after many years I was finally “sort of kind of “diagnosed with this disorder...I didn’t admit it for years only thinking I over ate and ate the wrong things and that I had a big appetite....after going to a psychiatric doctor years ago and having a heart to heart with my primary care doctor who is most supportive, knowledgeable and caring, I admitted I am addicted to food....in a moment of crisis as in tired,frustrated or overly hungry I will consume thousands of calories in a very short time...with the support of MFP and group leaders and persons as yourself I am controlling this more and more...in 15 months I have truly binged five or six times for less than two or three days...I used to binge at least three to five times A WEEK...my doctor and I approximated I was eating almost 7 to 8 thousand calories some days and more!....and then the guilt and shame and being physically sick....

There is a big difference between eating a few cookies and eating a few bags of cookies!

PAV8888

conniewilkins56 wrote: »

There is a big difference between eating a few cookies and eating a few bags of cookies!

Hey Connie: I think that similar stories are common to many of people who get to a larger size.

I was a bit late in going back to edit my post after I wrote it a few weeks back. I wanted to go back and highlight what @Duck_Puddle has since talked about: that there is definitely a difference between non BED driven, even if frequently occuring, over-eating episodes, and situations that would be diagnosable as BED.

I think that if someone reads through something like this: https://www.verywellmind.com/diagnostic-criteria-for-binge-eating-disorder-1138164 and has a strong feeling that their reality matches... then they really should engage with a physician because they're probably dealing with more than garden variety over-eating.

Beyond that though... yes, there IS a difference between a few cookies and a few bags of cookies... and under the right circumstances that bag better watch out if it is near me!

Stay in the game and adjust Connie: as long as we're engaged... we're winning!

conniewilkins56

PAV8888 wrote: »

conniewilkins56 wrote: »

There is a big difference between eating a few cookies and eating a few bags of cookies!

Hey Connie: I think that similar stories are common to many of people who get to a larger size.

I was a bit late in going back to edit my post after I wrote it a few weeks back. I wanted to go back and highlight what @Duck_Puddle has since talked about: that there is definitely a difference between non BED driven, even if frequently occuring, over-eating episodes, and situations that would be diagnosable as BED.

I think that if someone reads through something like this: https://www.verywellmind.com/diagnostic-criteria-for-binge-eating-disorder-1138164 and has a strong feeling that their reality matches... then they really should engage with a physician because they're probably dealing with more than garden variety over-eating.

Beyond that though... yes, there IS a difference between a few cookies and a few bags of cookies... and under the right circumstances that bag better watch out if it is near me!

Stay in the game and adjust Connie: as long as we're engaged... we're winning!

One doctor I went to see told me he was relieved that I didn’t drink or do drugs!...SMH...I would really be a mess!... sadly or maybe realistically I do have more than the garden variety of over eating!

I read the article and, yeah I got it bad....but hey I am in “ recovery” and “ I am certainly in the game and I will win”

I only wish I had been successful with this venture a long time ago!...I know weight loss won’t completely eliminate my binges but it is the first time I have actually felt like I have some control over them....I do take a medication that has helped with anxiety, depression and some pain...

Later, C

conniewilkins56

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conniewilkins56

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conniewilkins56

I would love to read more about how people are coping with BED

alligatorob

I believe I was born with BED, never recall a time in life when bingeing or wanting to binge was not a problem.

I have been binge free for about a year and a half now, it has been a key part of my weight loss (200 lbs since peak weight a few years ago). No magic about it, I just stopped. I did it and continue to do it just one day at a time, if I can not binge today I have succeeded. Tomorrow is tomorrow, I will deal with it then.

I have learned some tricks to help, I have gotten pretty good at sorting out real hunger from cravings, and I always feed real hunger. Just a small low cal snack, but something. But in the end I have been able to keep my pledge not to binge today, some days it has been hard, but doing it just one day at a time helps. I still struggle with it, less than before, but I suspect I always will.

alligatorob

One more thing, I am not in OA, but am familiar. I got the one day at a time idea there, it is a great one!

gwenmadlynclarke

It's been said a million times already, but there really is no cure for BED, just a number of ways of taking back some of the control that food has over our lives.

There are two things that I have found the most success with: IF and "treating myself" a bit. I worked with a nutritionist for 6 months as well, which was very effective from an accountability standpoint. Letting someone in can be more effective than any strategy by itself.

With IF, I have my morning coffee, but I do not eat until 12 or 1pm most days. Personally, my hunger levels are almost completely unaffected when I eat breakfast (I am never particularly satisfied after a morning meal) but I do not struggle with waiting until lunch time to eat. My binges always come in the latter half of the day anyway, so I'm not putting myself at risk of bingeing if I don't eat in the morning. I also exercise in the morning and prefer to work out fasted. Eliminating one meal can be super helpful with reallocating your allotted daily calories. I used to eat a 400-500 calorie breakfast, so getting rid of that meal has given me so much wiggle room in other meals. On a perfect day, I eat two meals that are around 700-800 calories each. I'm a huge fan of seltzer; drinking a carbonated beverage with a meal always fills me up faster without making me feel bloated or heavy.

I put "treating myself" in quotes because, from a binge standpoint, treating myself used to mean potentially eating 3,000-5,000 calories in a day. I know anyone reading this can relate: oftentimes when you have exceeded your calories for the day/ fallen off the wagon, that day is already considered a loss and it's easier to rationalize continuing to binge and throwing the whole day away. If I have met my calorie intake and I am craving something sweet, I usually get anxious and restless because I don't want to exceed my calories. However, it's important to remember that eating more calories than you've allotted for yourself doesn't automatically mean you'll gain weight. Aside from natural weight fluctuations, you have to eat 3,500 calories over your resting metabolic rate to gain a solid pound. One pound! So I "treat myself" to something when I really want it. I like to keep Halo Top and sugar free chocolate syrup on hand, because even if I am in the mood to eat an entire pint of ice cream, it's still under 350 calories. In most situations like this, because I am taking such a level-headed approach, it never feels like a binge. It feels very controlled, which has been huge for me!

Although I am desperately trying to move away from tracking every calorie every day (sorry MFP), I do find it helpful to track everything I eat, even during not-so-perfect days. It has helped me see that even when I am overeating, I'm not doing as much damage as I think. These days, when I go "crazy", I'm not typically going too far over 3,000 total calories.

My mindset is still the way it was when I was bingeing for weeks at a time and doing actual damage (gaining weight, completely neglecting movement), but my strategies to combat it get stronger and stronger every day. I still have bad days! But the most important thing is following them closely with good days. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and strategies in this forum.

conniewilkins56

I think it is really great how honest everyone is being about their BED struggles and how they deal with this problem every single day!

jxwaters

The thing that has helped me the most are to pre-portion my typical "binge foods" into the serving sizes in advance (putting them in containers or baggies or whatever) so when I go to reach for them, I'm reaching for 1 serving, not for the whole supply. I noticed that if I only take one serving, I am more reluctant to walk all the way back to the kitchen for the next part of my binge (previously, I'd grab a slew of snacks, sit down, and then eat them. Now, one snack, one serving, and if I want another, I have to go get it). Additionally, accountability. I have a friend who is okay with me texting everything I eat to her (a picture), so I look at the food and if I know I have to send her a picture of it, sometimes I'll second-guess eating it in the first place.

conniewilkins56

jxwaters wrote: »

The thing that has helped me the most are to pre-portion my typical "binge foods" into the serving sizes in advance (putting them in containers or baggies or whatever) so when I go to reach for them, I'm reaching for 1 serving, not for the whole supply. I noticed that if I only take one serving, I am more reluctant to walk all the way back to the kitchen for the next part of my binge (previously, I'd grab a slew of snacks, sit down, and then eat them. Now, one snack, one serving, and if I want another, I have to go get it). Additionally, accountability. I have a friend who is okay with me texting everything I eat to her (a picture), so I look at the food and if I know I have to send her a picture of it, sometimes I'll second-guess eating it in the first place.

Those are great ideas!

mtruitt01

I attend Zoom Food Addicts Anonymous meetings and keep addictive foods out of the house. Mostly things with sugar, flour, wheat. I find with their support and the literature I rarely binge (three months now) and I've lost 15 lbs without being hungry. It's not a diet, but a food plan for life. I've improved, although I doubt I'll ever do the food plan perfectly. I'm actually surprised something is working. I have less pain, self-loathing and all that emotional stuff.

angelfoodcakee

Okay so story time:
I had pretty severe BED for about 4-5 years. I was binge eating every 2nd - 3rd day and sometimes every day (for a 1-3 weeks at a time).
Because I was trying to hard to fight the binge urges and restrict calories at the same time, I had unintentionally taught my body to desperately crave a lot of food because it thought every time I ate that this would be 'the last time' I was going to binge eat or have that type of food.

After trying to properly recover for about 2 years I can finally say that while I'm not recovered fully - my binge eating has dramatically decreased.

I'm sorry to say that in my case - there was absolutely no way I could go about restricting calories while trying to recover from binge eating. I tried so many time. I really wanted to be that anomaly that could do both but it just wasn't the case. I'm diffidently not going to say that it's impossible because it depends on how your binge eating started and etc etc. But if your binge eating is connected to restriction in any way I'd say the best possible option for you would be to not focus on weight loss for now and focus on stopping the binging.

I recommend checking out Stephanie Buttermore's all in approach videos on youtube.
I did something similar in that I just said "stuff it" and stopped all food tracking and just ate what I wanted.
The key was though - rather than just mindlessly destroying my entire fridge full of food, I really focused on listening to cravings, allowing myself to have those cravings and put in A LOT of thought towards removing the guilt I had towards eating and craving those foods.

Over time, if you can remove the guilt associated with craving and eating those binge foods and really put focus on mentally making every food available to yourself when you want it - well the funny thing is you stop wanting to eat those foods all of the time and stop wanting to binge on them.

This is because your brain and body know that if you do want X food - you can have it. It isn't this off limit idolized thing in your brain that you feel this huge urgency to consume as much of as you can for fear of not having it again (even if you didn't necessarily realize there was this fear).

For me it went like this:
1. Stop restricting food intake entirely and eat what I crave
2. Put effort into removing guilt around craving and eating those foods (this is the hardest part and takes time)
3. Focus on eating 3 moderately sized meals a day of what ever I want and a small dessert (for me I LOVE dessert and removing it entirely always makes me mentally feel deprived and like I'm missing out - so I let myself have it! I also try not to snack as it tends to lead to mindless eating - however if youre really craving a snack - then have one! Just stick to your 3 meals a day as a base guide line and then see how your body feels)
4. Try swapping out one meal per day for something healthier - Don't try and swap every meal for a healthy alternative at the same time or binge eating my reoccur
5. find the balance you like between meals that taste great and meals that are healthy.
By really focusing on this I was able to lose all the weight I wanted and lost the 10kgs I gained during my time of suffering from BED.

As an example, I may typically eat:
Breakfast: some sort of chocolate cereal (my favourite haha!)
Lunch: Vegetable soup with some buttered bread
Dinner: Vegetable stir fry with rice
Dessert: chocolate!
(Personally I feel that this is a decent balance between healthy and 'fun' foods)

If I ever find myself slipping back into the restriction mindset I often find myself binge eating. But for the most part - I would consider myself recovered and was able to lose weight BECAUSE I stopped binge eating.

Everyone is different but I hope this helped even a little.