Binge Eating

overcomeprob

I have recently being binge eating more than 1500 calories a day (that means around 3500cal/day) for almost 2 weeks during the christmas holidays. I believe I have Binge Eating Disorder. I always eat until I am uncomfortably full and I indulge in mostly sweets (all sorts of dessert). It has been a consistent pattern and I really want to stop it now. It is seriously affecting my emotions and of course, my physique. In the past, I have been dieting and staying hungry for quite some time, so now every time I see food I mindlessly try to stuff myself as much as I can. Furthermore, I have recently entered university and I guess the stress of the transition somehow contributes to the causes of it. Please, someone just let me know how I can recover or what I can do now. I am really tired of this...

Brandonalex15

Just know u arent alone . I go thru tha sameeee thing. Theere is no real way to completely stop but just will poweer bro . Or u can fast during the day and then at nite you can just pig out/binge right before bed with all of ur daily amount of calories . Or like i do , drink a container of water b4 everymeal, that really helps...

alastria

I think it may be a struggle of a lifetime. When I wasn't binging, there was no real cause for actually being able to stop myself. It just...seemed like I was stronger. The only times I have been able to not binge/have control is when I desperately wanted to be healthy again. I have thought about how helpful it would be to remove myself from the environment that causes me to binge. My house. I can't leave though, I live with my family as I am a student. And they aren't very helpful/supportive. My family likes to buy a ton of treats and junk food, and they judge me as I try to eat healthy. I've thought about maybe staying at my friend's for a week to regain control, but that really would be imposing. So my advice for not binging is to:
1.) not buy any of the binging trigger foods
2.) Take notice when binging seems to happen and when you see the pattern (mine TENDS to be at night, after 9pm, not always, but for the most part). And make sure you're NO WHERE NEAR a binging environment. Remove yourself from wherever a binge tends to happen for that period of time.
3.) Think. REALLY just take a second to THINK about it. I know that binging beast hardly allows for ANY thought at ALL, but if you can slip in even just a SECOND to try and question yourself - try to really get your mind thinking about long-term damage.
4.) Some people say that eating something really, really spicy works for them...like red pepper flakes or a handful of hot fresh/canned jalepenos.

Honestly...my biggest advice (if you really can't control youself) is to run away from that binging environment. I think a lot of people will say, "well that's just running away from your problems", which it kinda is, but if you can remove yourself from the binging environment and put it to good (say, get out of the house or wherever and take a walk, do some sort of recreational activity), then it's better than trying to work with other methods that just aren't cutting it for you for the time being - at least till you find what works best for you.

risty87

Hi, I can certainly relate to what you're going through. I gained a significant amount of weight in my first year of university as well. Not only are you entering a stressful situation (university is SO stressful), but the age most people are when they begin university is also the age our metabolism starts to slow down.

The thing about certain foods like sweets (or other indulgent foods) is that they provide an escape from the real world, much like a drug. The only difference is that these foods trigger our brains to release certain "reward" chemicals that, in essence, make us feel high. When we're stressed or anxious, we are more desperate for this kind of escape from reality.

The truth is that you have complete power to correct your eating habits. Especially if you understand that you're eating for emotional reasons, and you understand that binging will NOT solve any of the problems you're trying to escape. Tomorrow, tell yourself that you will only eat healthy foods, in moderate amounts (track the calories on this site if you can) JUST FOR TODAY. Then do the same thing the next day, and the next after that. After a few days think about how you feel; a healthier diet itself can do wonders to ease stress. It's such a win-win: disciplining yourself to eat healthy for just a while will work to ease the emotional problems that tempt you to binge in the first place. And, the longer you can keep it up, the less you'll need to use your will power because you'll get closer and closer to breaking the HABIT of binge eating.

I hope this has been helpful, I'll end by showing you to a blog post that I have found helpful for my own issues with self-discipline.

http://www.raptitude.com/2013/10/the-elegant-secret-to-self-discipline/

Good luck

edwardkim85

I have recently being binge eating more than 1500 calories a day (that means around 3500cal/day) for almost 2 weeks during the christmas holidays. I believe I have Binge Eating Disorder. I always eat until I am uncomfortably full and I indulge in mostly sweets (all sorts of dessert). It has been a consistent pattern and I really want to stop it now. It is seriously affecting my emotions and of course, my physique. In the past, I have been dieting and staying hungry for quite some time, so now every time I see food I mindlessly try to stuff myself as much as I can. Furthermore, I have recently entered university and I guess the stress of the transition somehow contributes to the causes of it. Please, someone just let me know how I can recover or what I can do now. I am really tired of this...

'Starving' yourself will only give you a higher chance to 'binge' imo.

You can starve and feel hungry for 7 days and hold back every time you see a slice of pizza or candy, but eventually you will 'binge' because you can't stand it any longer.

I say if you wan to eat more, exercise. I'm not talking about just cardio, but strength train.

You won't get 'bulky' muscle like men since you're a lady. With proper strength training and cardio sessions, you will

a) build more lean muscle thus and look better

b) You will not want to 'binge' if you workout hard because you will lose your gains. It'll give you extra motivation NOT to binge.

edwardkim85

If you don't know where to start with a strength training program, a lot of educated, senior members will be able to help on the 'exercise' session. Take full advantage of the community!

Take and give back two folds!

kellygirl5538

When I binge I need to go drastic and stop eating like that...cold turkey....it takes me about 4 days to stop the craving for eating like crazy. It's hard

EricMurano

lol it's not a binge if you know how many calories it was :P

DeeGreen1978

if she still logged her intake it will still be a binge. I find it hard every Christmas time. what helps me is seeing old photos of myself and photos of how I look now. what also helps me is my love of horses and riding. if I get too big I cant ride the horse I love so I have photos of him everywhere and it spurs me on to not binge. I also didn't buy as much food in as I normally would this Christmas and I told my husband, family and friends how important it is for me to lose the weight I gained through meds so they are all being really supportive. I also have weight watchers scales and measure out all my food and log literally everything I eat. you have to have a strong motivation to keep you going. I really hope this helps. you CAN do this

overcomeprob

Thanks for the reply guys! I am now trying to make an appointment with a psychiatrist. I've overeaten a total of 12000 cals over the christmas break and gained more than 1.5kg of pure FAT. I REALLY NEED TO STOP! I am male btw...thats why i was somehow reluctant to see a doctor at first. Guys do not usually suffer from binge eating disorder and I somehow feel embarassed...

Mangopickle

I think actor Dennis Quaid suffers from an eating disorder

ajlandon

I have EDNOS and Binge eating disorder, diagnosed and treated by medical prefessionals, not random Internet gurus.

intermittent Fasting is just about the opposite of what you are going to need to do to recover.

Please get help. Message boards are only going to provide you with terrible and, at best, inefective, and at worst, dangerous, "advice".

ajlandon

I am male btw...thats why i was somehow reluctant to see a doctor at first. Guys do not usually suffer from binge eating disorder and I somehow feel embarassed...

It is incredibly common in athletes and weight lifters, regardless of sex. No worries there.

waytobeduck

Just know u arent alone . I go thru tha sameeee thing. Theere is no real way to completely stop but just will poweer bro . Or u can fast during the day and then at nite you can just pig out/binge right before bed with all of ur daily amount of calories . Or like i do , drink a container of water b4 everymeal, that really helps...

I agree with this. I deal with binging and when I wake up, I try to put off eating for as long as I can. This way, I can afford to 'binge' or eat higher cal later on. Water helps too.

metacognition

I have been binge eating for the past six months or so, since I got a bad case of the flu and went through a break up. It's not that I stopped worrying about weight - in fact I'm obsessed with numbers, calorie counting, and exercise. It's just that I found it surprisingly easy to eat a lot of sugary sweet things when I got home from a long day at work. At first it was those small, dense Clif bars saved for post-exercise recovery. I'd go through a whole box - 6 bars at 240 calories a bar - in the space of a few hours.

I think the binges are a coping mechanism. I guess I'd rather give into an impulse and worry about the effects later than think about how my life sucks working the night shift at a job that aggravates the wear and tear to my shoulder. At the end of the day I come home tired, hungry, achy, and utterly alone. But at least there is something sweet and satiating on the cupboard.

Even though I calorie counted, I gained about a pound a week, sometimes two if I didn't try to control it, with fewer and fewer physical side effects as the binges continued. My hunger levels stabilized to accommodate the excess. Only binges in excess of 3,000 calories would dampen my usual cravings on the following day. And it got harder to drop down to normal maintenance calories; any attempt to cut calories would send my body into a tailspin: headaches, cravings, tiredness, weakness. It was like the first week of dieting when I was obese. The body resists change and I had put it back on the path of excess.

A few days ago I had a nasty sobering moment on the scale, after hiding it under the sink three months ago. I really am going to end up fat if I continue to wing it on the calorie thing. Running 20 miles a week isn't going to erase the binges.

As of Jan 1 I started eating less and eased up on the exercise. Overexercising already causing trigger finger, a rotary cuff tear, and pain in my hips and feet that worsen with changes to the weather, something my older colleagues tell me is similar to arthritis. I'm not even 30! Exercise is a medicine, but too much medicine is a bad thing. Each pound added to my frame causes more wear and tear to the knees, too little risks bone loss. There's a moderate path somewhere in this madness. And there s no binge eating in normal, moderate diets.

Since the first I've had success in not binge eating or going over maintenance calories. I think the dramatic weight gain over the holidays has dampened my appetite, as I feel almost no hunger so far. It will kick in soon, I'm sure.

Good luck with controlling your binges, it really is a mental game and as soon as I saw the scale hit just under the "overweight" range, I had a flash back from my fat days and sobered up quite fast.

I have five months of moderate dieting ahead to reach my previous weight before I let myself binge. Losing weight isn't an exercise in virtue; it's an exercise in math. Good health isn't about doing plyometrics an hour a day, it's about taking a walk every now and then.

Belinda658

There's a good book called Brain over Binge. It helped me a lot and I highly recommend it

JesterMFP

I have EDNOS and Binge eating disorder, diagnosed and treated by medical prefessionals, not random Internet gurus.

intermittent Fasting is just about the opposite of what you are going to need to do to recover.

Please get help. Message boards are only going to provide you with terrible and, at best, inefective, and at worst, dangerous, "advice".

Seconding this advice as there is some terrible advice floating around, even just on this thread. Please seek proper help for this.

SinCityFit

I was a binge eater my whole life. June 1999 dad falls down the stairs, hits his head, dies. I go from 230 lbs to 215 lbs. Someone turned off the binge switch and turned on the exercise switch. That was 1999-2012. 2012-2013 trained and did an Ironman. Started binging again on April 2013 and gained 30 lbs back even though I was working out 12-25 hours a week.

I got sick almost 3 weeks ago so I can't exercise yet but I wanted something to do for the new year so I went sugar free on the first. I'm even switching my toothpaste. No artificial sweeteners either. Started 1/1/14. After 8 months of binging (5000+ calories in one sitting), I haven't binged in three days.

Maybe something to look into.

janicelo1971

go and see a counselor and don't see advice on a forum like this. This is a serious ED. Most colleges offer free nutrition/dietician appointments as well as therapy and med mgmt...I had an active ED for over 20 years and thought going on the internet and reading book would help..sites like this just made me obsess more and made it worse. Please seek professional tx.:flowerforyou:

EricMurano

if she still logged her intake it will still be a binge.

Just some tongue-in-cheek

newlife888

I experience the same symptoms as you. I binge and feel horribly guilty afterwards. For me a binge is usually triggered by alcohol too, one too many drinks and calories cease to matter... like magic! Then the next day I tally up the calories and feel horrible about what I have done to my body.

I've started reading a book about compulsive overeating called "Food, the Good Girl's Drug." I really like it so far... There are anecdotes, explanations, and questions to do that help you process through your behavior and emotions. I like it anyway. Got it from the library.

Feel free to add me if you are going through the same thing. I think a support network would be really helpful.

Allterrain_Lady

Binge eating is awful. It make you feel emotionnaly and physically sick. But you can get over it.
There's no 'fits them all solution' but some tricks are really helpful.

First, you need to figure out what triggers you to binge. Keep a diary about what you ate, when it happened, how you felt before, during and after the binge. It will help you get to the roots of what's happening.
DO NOT HESITATE seeking professionnal help.
I know that over control on what I ate used to lead me to binge but the real thing was that I was eating my emotions. Learning how to control that really is possible. And it's sooo worth it. The peace of mind on the other side is priceless.

Here's a piece of my story; maybe it will help motivate you to get it under control.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1127935-bingeing-and-i-broke-up-and-had-closure

Feel free to contact me!