What constitutes a binge/how do I know if I was excessive?

SheGlistensasSheSings

I am just still not sure when/if I binge…
I don't trust my body and have self doubt. Am working on it mmmmhmmm but feedback is tremendously helpful yes!!

kelly_e_montana

If you have to ask, it probably wasn't a clinically recognized binge.

SheGlistensasSheSings

Really? What is the difference/how do we know? Thank you soooooooooo much I am chock full of self doubt confusion how/what/if i should do better/if i am capable

kingscrown

I still binge occasionally. I'd say if it gets in the way of your fitness then it's a problem. I ate more cashews than I usually do yesterday. OK way more. Am I crying about it? No. It's an every now and then thing. I used to binge on jelly bellys and durkee fried onions. Not together silly just examples of unhealthy things I use to eat. Move on. Make lots more healthy choices than not and you'll be fine.

roly14

Look at serving size on the packaging If you eat until you feel bloated or uncomfortable thats a binge A few calories over your daily limit is ok

kelly_e_montana

I'm getting really sick of everyone throwing around "binge" casually. Binge Eating Disorder is not the same as compulsive eating. It is an expressive illness, meaning it is an expression of other issues. People with BED often eat to medicate or harm themselves, which often ends in passing out, too. To binge would be to eat thousands of calories in a discrete window of time (say 2-4 hours) and to have a disorder, you would have to do it several times per week for at least 6 months. Binging is like cutting. It is a way to get your mind off your thoughts and more focused on pain in your physical body.

Ed98043

I think a binge is when you're stuffing your face out of control. It's not a planned cheat day, and I don't even think it necessarily has to be "bad" food. I binged on whole wheat pitas and hummus one evening last week (totaling 1,750 calories). Starchy carbs are my kryptonite.

SheGlistensasSheSings

Really? Is or is not calories/food a measure? Today I ate like 400 of a (very) healthy chocolate fudge treat but

SheGlistensasSheSings

Why do I only "binge" on chocolate or dark chocolate do you think no other foods really?

kelly_e_montana

You don't. That's your perception, now that I have seen your diary. It's subjective to you. But, from a more socially agreed upon meaning of binge, you don't binge. I mean, you don't eat enough calories to binge. You simply eat more than you plan to.

ellew70

I'm getting really sick of everyone throwing around "binge" casually. Binge Eating Disorder is not the same as compulsive eating. It is an expressive illness, meaning it is an expression of other issues. People with BED often eat to medicate or harm themselves, which often ends in passing out, too. To binge would be to eat thousands of calories in a discrete window of time (say 2-4 hours) and to have a disorder, you would have to do it several times per week for at least 6 months. Binging is like cutting. It is a way to get your mind off your thoughts and more focused on pain in your physical body.

This. Overeating does not equal binging.

kelly_e_montana

Diagnostic Criteria: DSM-IV

A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode is characterized by:

1. Eating a larger amount of food than normal during a short period of time (within any two hour period)

2. Lack of control over eating during the binge episode (i.e. the feeling that one cannot stop eating).

B. Binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:

1. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full

2. Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry

3. Eating much more rapidly than normal

4. Eating alone because you are embarrassed by how much you're eating

5. Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating

C. Marked distress regarding binge eating is present

D. Binge eating occurs, on average, at least 2 days a week for six months

E. The binge eating is not associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behavior (i.e. purging, excessive exercise, etc.) and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.

Mcgrawhaha

mmmmm I love my "binge" days...

Hauntinglyfit

Calling 400 calories a "binge" is laughable.
I would be more worried about the fact that you take in less than 1000 calories a day, netting around 500 on days you exercise. That IS a problem.

Le_Joy

I agree people have many different uses of the word binge that vary from the clinical criteria. Also Binge Eating Disorder wasn't officially a disorder until the DSM -V which just came out in May this year. It wasn't it's own thing in the DSM-IV, though it is mentioned as something to look into further. BED was a subset of EDNOS, not it's own thing so the DSM-IV criteria listed here may not be accurate as it wasn't a disorder at the time and some changes were made to all eating disorders for the new version of the DSM. "In DSM-IV, binge-eating disorder was not recognized as a disorder but rather described in Appendix B: Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for Further Study and was diagnosable using only the catch-all category of “eating disorder not otherwise specified.” http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Eating Disorders Fact Sheet.pdf

And it is possible to binge, based on clinical guidelines, without having a distinct diagnosable condition.

briana12077

I agree with kelly!!! So sick of people saying they binged when they ate maybe 500 extra calories that day! Even if you sat and ate a whole bag of chips, you didn't binge!!!
I'm not saying I have BED 100%, but I have many symptoms. According to the list you posted, I would have it. I've looked this up before and when I found out it was a real thing i felt a little less alone. Just for example, after everyone is asleep, after school, or right after dinner after everyone has left the kitchen I will binge occasionally. Sometimes there simply isn't enough food for me to go completely crazy, but other times I feel uncontrollable urges to continue eating. I will say to myself "no just keep walking to your room, go to bed" and I will find myself in the kitchen snacking on food without a second thought. I use food as a comfort and it has seriously hurt my health.
An example of a binge I remember having (as accurate as I can make it):
3.5 donuts, half bag of chips, cup-1.5 cups of ice cream, 2-3 cheesesticks, and whatever else I can find in the kitchen that day. (One time I sat down and ate an entire cake)

That right there is a binge, and some people binge even worse than that. Something comes over you as you are eating the food and it feels like you can't control yourself.

Luckily I've been working on this and its been about a week since I've binged and I feel like I've gotten to a new place where I've got my mind on track.

But seriously, don't say you binge when you eat less than 2000 calories in a day. And even if you eat more than 2000, don't say you binge unless you actually do.

laurynwithawhy

The reason you feel like you're "bingeing" is because you're not eating enough to start with. Having nearly half of your calories be from chocolate is not very smart, but does not indicate a binge eating disorder. And not having the willpower to stop eating chocolate (even though you've starved your body down to it's most animalistic instincts) is also not indicative of an eating disorder. Your body is craving more calories. Give it more calories in a reasonable, healthy form, and I bet you will stop snacking on high calorie junk.

musetle

I'm recovering from binge eating disorder and let me tell you now-500 calories is not a binge. At my worst, (I would always as binge at night), I was eating 1500-2000 calories in a short period. It was mindless, uncomfortable, distressing. And I felt sick.

EvgeniZyntx

Eating 400 calories of chocolate and feeling guilty?

Only if it was bad chocolate. Guilt is a bad bad way to manage lifestyle.

neandermagnon

binge = eating huge quantities of food, like thousands and thousands of calories, in a totally out of control manner, often to the point of discomfort or even nausea and vomiting

overeating = going over your calorie goal (or for those not counting calories, eating more food than they burn off). This can be deliberate, accidental, or done in a mindless/not in control manner (you know like you can't stop yourself from reaching for *just one more* jaffa cake kind of not in control)

a lot of people say they binged when they mean they overate. Usually this is just incorrect use of language (people like hyperbole, so it's to be expected), although for some it's reflective of a really unhealthy relationship with food, i.e. they feel terrible amounts of guilt over normal serving sizes or mild incidents of overeating. While regular overeating is a bad habit and should be avoided, occasional overeating (whether planned or unplanned) is nothing to feel bad about, just carry on and stick to your calorie goal the next day, or go for a walk to burn off some of the overeating calories or something. Or don't do anything, because it's what you do day in day out that makes or breaks you for fat loss and occasional episodes of overeating isn't going to make much difference in the long term.

Frequent unplanned/uncontrolled overeating and frequent binging is sometimes caused by not eating enough, so if it's something you're constantly battling with, review your calorie goal. Maybe aiming for slower weight loss with a bigger calorie goal will help to get someone out of this cycle. Or if the frequent overeating comes from emotional issues, try to find other ways to reward yourself or comfort yourself that don't involve food.

SheGlistensasSheSings

Wow thank you for your generosity of informative insightful and incredibly helpful feedback!!

Hmmm in total I did eat more than fits in yesterday today with healthy fudge bar dark cocoa blueberries plain Greek yogurt and oooh ohh peanut butter protein powder. It feels like a binge in my stomach body brain. Is there a way I can not feel shameful? I think the triggers were low blood sugar being awake for too many hours having too much to do with no break in site body mind anxiety and a traumatic event that happened this evening . I feel sooo embarrassed and unworthy of your respect. Is there a way I can reverse this turn this situation into something educational and or conducive to growth kindness respect?