Binge Eating Disorder...

_Fatty2Fitty_

Hi all,

I joined mfp nearly 3 years ago now and lost 28lbs over the course of 5 months, however I did it by eating 1,000-1,200cals per day. A short few months later....BAM, nearly 20lbs heavier than my original starting weight.

Since I was very young, I always have body issues. I developed quite young, so at 11 I had quite a curvy, busty and hippy figure....and of course no one else my age had so I was convinced I was fat. Looking back now, I would die to have that womanly figure back!

I have always had food issues too, portion control was the main problem inn our house. So from an early age, I never knew what 'normal' eating was. Then I joined MFP and it was a quick fix for me, but because I was eating so low of calories, I would subsequently binge on crappy foods. But 2 years later and my binging is out of control. Its like a viscous cycle.....tell myself I wont binge in the morning and start the day eating healthily, binge by afternoon/evening and feel terrible guilt and swear I will never do it again.....but the next day comes and I repeat.

Im 19, a nursing student with a very stressful life at the moment and I also like in London for my uni (im from Ireland) so loneliness and boredom lays a factor in it too.

Ha/does anyone else suffer from a similar situation as me? Can anyone help me break this cycle and become healthy again?

cantfail

I bet this is not what you want to hear, but you should be talking to a professional. If you feel like you have a binging disorder, you need better advice/treatment than most people on the internet can give you.

Dandman1990

I'd have to agree with 'cantfailj'. Personally I think it's all down to self control. I never really eat because I'm hungry I eat because I'm bored, or upset, or angry, or sad. Eating is also the first thing I think of such as "ohhh there's a good film I want to watch... I'd better get some crisps to eat with it.." or "Ohhh I'm going to read a book, better order some pizza to eat while I'm doing it" etc. Some people say it's an addiction like drugs or cigarettes but I'm not a medical professional and I don't drink, smoke or do drugs so I couldn't tell you.

On a random note the way I was living sounds incredibly pathetic when I read it back, but ah well nobody here knows me and it's true, lol.

p4ulmiller

It depends what you mean by "binging". That word is thrown around loosely.

If you mean "eating more than my calories by a little bit", then that's not binging, it's just self-control.

Can you clarify?

_Fatty2Fitty_

When I say binging I mean, having my 3 meals a day and then pigging out on half a pack of biscuits, toast, crisps, chocolate bars etc!

p4ulmiller

So, we're talking pigging out, willpower and a lack of control.

The most common way to fix that is to figure out what you are going to eat for the day in advance, and pre-log. Then that's when your self-control comes into play.

Plan to eat, then just eat that. It's all about wants - if you want to lose weight, you'll have to stick to the plan. You make the choices, no-one can stop you pigging out but you.

redladywitch

I think you should speak to a therapist who specializes on eating disorders. Since you are in nursing, you might have access to someone who can help.

MickeyBoo

I struggle with binge eating too and know where you're coming from. I've been unable to 'cure' it but I have been able to stretch out the time between binges and basically gone from once a week to once every three months. The damage is a lot less and I'm working hard at the gym to counteract the negatives of overeating so much.

Things that helped were not restricting the foods I enjoy, but enjoying them in a normal or smaller sized portion when I felt like them and working them into my day. Feeling like I was missing out led to more and more binges.

Also working towards recognising the triggers and figuring out the why and asking myself how it will make me feel better. It does help to use the "STOP, CHALLENGE, DISTRACT AND REPLACE" method. (http://www.medicinenet.com/emotional_eating/article.htm)

It is hard to live with and it takes a lot of work to start to make changes to overcome it.

munny_p

So, we're talking pigging out, willpower and a lack of control.

The most common way to fix that is to figure out what you are going to eat for the day in advance, and pre-log. Then that's when your self-control comes into play.

Plan to eat, then just eat that. It's all about wants - if you want to lose weight, you'll have to stick to the plan. You make the choices, no-one can stop you pigging out but you.

That's really not a fair way to put it. It is not as simple as willpower... though it does come down to that eventually. It is a psychological disorder. Easy enough for someone who does not have an eating disorder to say it is "pigging out" and "lack of control" - which is probably why Binge Eating Disorder has taken so long to be recognized as an actual eating disorder. If someone claimed that they had anorexia or bulimia, would you tell them it was simply a matter of willpower? Quite insensitive.

_Fatty2Fitty_

So, we're talking pigging out, willpower and a lack of control.

The most common way to fix that is to figure out what you are going to eat for the day in advance, and pre-log. Then that's when your self-control comes into play.

Plan to eat, then just eat that. It's all about wants - if you want to lose weight, you'll have to stick to the plan. You make the choices, no-one can stop you pigging out but you.

That's really not a fair way to put it. It is not as simple as willpower... though it does come down to that eventually. It is a psychological disorder. Easy enough for someone who does not have an eating disorder to say it is "pigging out" and "lack of control" - which is probably why Binge Eating Disorder has taken so long to be recognized as an actual eating disorder. If someone claimed that they had anorexia or bulimia, would you tell them it was simply a matter of willpower? Quite insensitive.

Thanks for your comment, it is true, people just think that its down to a person being a lazy pig, but its not! Its horrible, but for the past few days ive been going good....no binges and I even began insanity aswell!

lakerschick275

Fatty2Fitty if you ever need a buddy or someone to talk to I am also trying to break the cycle. It is quite hard to when people who haven't been through it have a hard time understanding.