I love binge eating!!! HELP

louiseLOVEpink

I really love binge eating, but I know it's not good for me, so I'm trying to stop. The problem is I really want to, and they say that you can't recover unless you want to, but a big part of doesn't want to quite binging. I haven't done it in one month now, but it's all I can think of, I just want to do it so badly. Before I stopped I used to have a weakly binge day, it's was my favorite day, I spend the entire week planning what I would be eating, counting the days.
I used to eat at least 4000 calories on my binge days, so I always felt really bad the next day.
Do you guys have any tips or ideas on how to stop wanting to binge?

tesha_chandler

Here's the bottom line (coming straight from someone who struggles with it daily) you either want this or you don't. You either want to binge until you can barely move, knowing with every bite you take that you'll hate yourself afterwards, or you want to get on the scale and see numbers drop. You have to want one more than the other. Bottom line.

I don't mean for that to sound mean but once I really, really let that sink in, I became motivated. Losing weight is a total mind thing!
Also, remember that you can still have foods you want, just learn to walk away when it's time. Keep track of calories and eat one thing you like each day.. just work it into your calories. Take restricting calories seriously. People will suggest a cheat day but I personally believe that a cheat day for a binge eater is a bad idea. (Which is why I eat one, sometimes two, things I like each day)

You can do this. It gets easier as time goes by. Don't give up!

auteurfille22

This is something I'm struggling with currently. I think moderation is important. You have to be able to have some foods that you like while losing weight or else you'll give up and go back to your old habits. However, something I've discovered is that there are just some foods I can't practice moderation with - at least not at this point in my life. Make a pound of pasta and leave it sitting there in the pot, and I'll have three bowls, guaranteed. Marzipan-dark chocolate? Just today, I told myself I'd have two pieces, worth 60 calories. I had 16. So try and figure out what things set you off and that you eat a lot of. And get rid of them. Don't have them around if you possibly can.

Also, it's about learning self-discipline. I haven't succeeded yet, so I don't know how much helpful advice I can give you, but I know what you're going through. You're wolfing down foods, savoring the taste, enjoying each bite and thinking how good it is. Changing your mentality from craving that instant gratification to waiting for long-term results is really hard. But you have to want the long-term results. One thing I do, as stupid as this may sound, is to lift up my shirt while I'm eating. I see my stomach fat spill out over my jeans, and I am motivated to stop. I also follow a lot of fitness/health blogs on Tumblr. I have the app on my phone and I check it constantly. Seeing the pictures of what I want to one day look like (but be careful, there are blogs that promote being WAY too skinny) is another motivator.

Like the person above me said, you have to want it. Binging can be fun in the moment. It's tasty food, and it makes you feel better. But part of life is being able to work hard over a long period of time until you see results. And you WILL see them. Take pictures, and compare them when you feel down. I'm here for you if you ever want to talk. I know what you're going through. We CAN and WILL do this.

dmpizza

Are you getting proper nutrition before you binge?
Is it causing a weight problem?

vjohn04

Go talk to a therapist to get to the root of why you want to binge. The binge is typically an underlying symptom of a larger issue.

Slim_strategy

People often binge when they restrict the foods they love, I'm not sure if this is the case but just make sure you fit the treats you still like into your diary so that you don't feel like you're missing out, it might help reduce your urge to binge if you're eating the food you like but in moderation I have a small treat each day and I find it really helps me stick to my calorie goals

soupandcookies

I have struggled with eating disorders for almost 20 years, and the one thing that helped me feel READY to recover, was when I realized that I hated binge eating, more than I loved it. Yes, I enjoyed the food and enjoyed the eating, but I hated it even more, for how it made me feel, inside and out.

How often are you binge eating? Are we talking about "cheat days," or are we talking about real binging? I don't necessarily think 4000 calories constitutes binge eating, unless you feel somewhat out of control, or you are doing it in secret, or it is causing your distress (shame, guilt, etc.). I think everyone occasionally overeats, but not everyone binge eats.

If you think this is a serious compulsion, or a problem that needs addressing, you may want to seek counseling, but honestly, until you are willing to stop, and until you truly want to change, it may be very difficult to change...

BekaBooluvsu

Go talk to a therapist to get to the root of why you want to binge. The binge is typically an underlying symptom of a larger issue.

This! Certain people in my life make me want to stuff my face. People who say mean hurtful things just because they want me to be miserable to make themselves feel better!

kksoucie

I totally get where you are coming from. I love to eat and love my ice cream and pizza most of all. I have found that the way I handle the cravings is by making my own english muffin pizzas at home so I can measure out each ingredient so they are counted. Then with ice cream I get the lower fat kind and measure out 3 half cup servings. I exercise more so I can have these things if I really want them. Although as I lose more weight I am hoping to be able to get used to more healthy "naughty" treats because the exercise won't be as easy without so much weight behind it. It helps so much to be able to see how many calories you have left so you will know if you can safely indulge or not. If you really want something just make sure you exercise first and bank up some calories. If I slip up I forgive myself and move on. No one is perfect.

louiseLOVEpink

Here's the bottom line (coming straight from someone who struggles with it daily) you either want this or you don't. You either want to binge until you can barely move, knowing with every bite you take that you'll hate yourself afterwards, or you want to get on the scale and see numbers drop. You have to want one more than the other. Bottom line.

I don't mean for that to sound mean but once I really, really let that sink in, I became motivated. Losing weight is a total mind thing!
Also, remember that you can still have foods you want, just learn to walk away when it's time. Keep track of calories and eat one thing you like each day.. just work it into your calories. Take restricting calories seriously. People will suggest a cheat day but I personally believe that a cheat day for a binge eater is a bad idea. (Which is why I eat one, sometimes two, things I like each day)

You can do this. It gets easier as time goes by. Don't give up!

Thanks for your reply, how many calories do you think you spend on your treats daily, because I have tried something similar where i only where aloud a 100 calorie treat a day, and I felt like I was teasing myself, it made it even harder!!!

Lisamjs1

Hi louise
I could have written your post myself. I regularly binge and have 4000 calories. Any binge eaters feel free to add me x

erickirb

If that is how you like to eat you may want to do some research Intermittent Fasting (IF) It is essentially eating all your cals for the day in a 6-8 hour window. This way it feels like you are binging when you eat, but that is all you eat all day.

Some people find this type of diet easier to stick with.

a_stronger_me13

Go talk to a therapist to get to the root of why you want to binge. The binge is typically an underlying symptom of a larger issue.

Truth.

I've been there before and still have issues with it occasionally. Get help to stop the binging before you start using radical means to reverse or mitigate the weight gain associated with frequent binging.

Eleonora91

I used to love it. I still do. The only reason why I'm not doing anymore is because I *can't* do it. It's not good for me, for my body and for my mind, even though I crave food I know it's not going to be good to fill myself up with unhealthy amounts of food.
You have to think at stopping binging like a medicine, you might not like taking it but you know you need to. As soon as you start to feel emotionally better because you're detatching yourself from the bad habit, you're going to find it easier to go on.

raaachelmarie

I know where you're coming from. Binge eating is just something that I've done since I was a teenager. I think you just have to come to a point where you're ready to change. It's going to be hard and you're going to have those days where you slip up, but you just have to get back on track the next day and not dwell on it. When you want to binge, do something else: watch tv, pay bills, find funny videos on youtube, call a friend, or just remind yourself of how far you've come. If that doesn't work, have some water and wait twenty minutes and if you still want to, have a light snack if you're really hungry and then start the waiting process all over again. That's just what works for me.

Good luck and please feel free to add me. It's always nice to have similar people around you for support.

thatguyalex

You aren't going to like this...but the reality is you have to change how you see food...a chocolate bar isn't a treat, it's processed junk that is going to kill you...If you do an hour of serious exercise in order to build up 500 calories to eat a couple chocolate bars, it's almost impossible to succeed at this...you have to view weight loss as a life change...not as a "I can only have 2 cookies a day" change because the willpower necessary to only eat 2 cookies is VERY hard to maintain forever...you have a bad day and 2 cookies becomes 10...you budget for 2 cookies with some time on the treadmill and are too tired so you skip the treadmill and eat the cookies anyway.

I am, by no means, saying that you can't have or look forward to a cookie...I am saying that if you view them as treats, you're going to have a rough go of it...I've gone up and down for the last fifteen years...269-188-231-200-293 and the reason I relapsed each and every time was that I saw my old habits as "normal". This stuff is permanent or you just gain it all back.

I am trying to see food as fuel. You want to be a Ferrari you fill it up with high quality gas, not snickers. Willpower is finite and you can't rely on your once daily 100 calorie treat. The people I know who are fit and have stayed fit, don't eat that stuff. My personal trainer (who I have known for 10 years) views a chocolate bar as poison. Maybe there is a happy medium between me and her, but I have to tell you that her diet doesn't include 100 calorie "treats" and she's fit/healthy.

Treats are your way of trying to figure out how to game a system that cannot be gamed. By thinking of "treats" you are seeing the rest of your diet as deprivation and that means huge willpower to maintain. Stop thinking you are being deprived. Processed junk is garbage. Embrace the reality that being your goal weight means that stuff just doesn't have a place in your diet.

I know that probably sounds harsh but, man, I've learned those lessons over and over and over and am starting AGAIN from scratch at 293 (down to 290)...I wish I'd learned them after busting my *kitten* for a year getting down to 188 and then deciding I could just go back to eating "normal" and gained it all (plus) back.

Lisamjs1

So true. Im going to try and remember this.

You aren't going to like this...but the reality is you have to change how you see food...a chocolate bar isn't a treat, it's processed junk that is going to kill you...If you do an hour of serious exercise in order to build up 500 calories to eat a couple chocolate bars, it's almost impossible to succeed at this...you have to view weight loss as a life change...not as a "I can only have 2 cookies a day" change because the willpower necessary to only eat 2 cookies is VERY hard to maintain forever...you have a bad day and 2 cookies becomes 10...you budget for 2 cookies with some time on the treadmill and are too tired so you skip the treadmill and eat the cookies anyway.

I am, by no means, saying that you can't have or look forward to a cookie...I am saying that if you view them as treats, you're going to have a rough go of it...I've gone up and down for the last fifteen years...269-188-231-200-293 and the reason I relapsed each and every time was that I saw my old habits as "normal". This stuff is permanent or you just gain it all back.

I am trying to see food as fuel. You want to be a Ferrari you fill it up with high quality gas, not snickers. Willpower is finite and you can't rely on your once daily 100 calorie treat. The people I know who are fit and have stayed fit, don't eat that stuff. My personal trainer (who I have known for 10 years) views a chocolate bar as poison. Maybe there is a happy medium between me and her, but I have to tell you that her diet doesn't include 100 calorie "treats" and she's fit/healthy.

Treats are your way of trying to figure out how to game a system that cannot be gamed. By thinking of "treats" you are seeing the rest of your diet as deprivation and that means huge willpower to maintain. Stop thinking you are being deprived. Processed junk is garbage. Embrace the reality that being your goal weight means that stuff just doesn't have a place in your diet.

I know that probably sounds harsh but, man, I've learned those lessons over and over and over and am starting AGAIN from scratch at 293 (down to 290)...I wish I'd learned them after busting my *kitten* for a year getting down to 188 and then deciding I could just go back to eating "normal" and gained it all (plus) back.

mattymatt

You aren't going to like this...but the reality is you have to change how you see food...a chocolate bar isn't a treat, it's processed junk that is going to kill you...If you do an hour of serious exercise in order to build up 500 calories to eat a couple chocolate bars, it's almost impossible to succeed at this...you have to view weight loss as a life change...not as a "I can only have 2 cookies a day" change because the willpower necessary to only eat 2 cookies is VERY hard to maintain forever...you have a bad day and 2 cookies becomes 10...you budget for 2 cookies with some time on the treadmill and are too tired so you skip the treadmill and eat the cookies anyway.

I am, by no means, saying that you can't have or look forward to a cookie...I am saying that if you view them as treats, you're going to have a rough go of it...I've gone up and down for the last fifteen years...269-188-231-200-293 and the reason I relapsed each and every time was that I saw my old habits as "normal". This stuff is permanent or you just gain it all back.

I am trying to see food as fuel. You want to be a Ferrari you fill it up with high quality gas, not snickers. Willpower is finite and you can't rely on your once daily 100 calorie treat. The people I know who are fit and have stayed fit, don't eat that stuff. My personal trainer (who I have known for 10 years) views a chocolate bar as poison. Maybe there is a happy medium between me and her, but I have to tell you that her diet doesn't include 100 calorie "treats" and she's fit/healthy.

Treats are your way of trying to figure out how to game a system that cannot be gamed. By thinking of "treats" you are seeing the rest of your diet as deprivation and that means huge willpower to maintain. Stop thinking you are being deprived. Processed junk is garbage. Embrace the reality that being your goal weight means that stuff just doesn't have a place in your diet.

I know that probably sounds harsh but, man, I've learned those lessons over and over and over and am starting AGAIN from scratch at 293 (down to 290)...I wish I'd learned them after busting my *kitten* for a year getting down to 188 and then deciding I could just go back to eating "normal" and gained it all (plus) back.

Wow. You pretty much are traveling a parallel journey with mine! I've lost 50+ pounds 3 times in the last 10 years. Always gaining it back and more. That doesnt include the times where I lost 20, 30, 40, etc. I hit 296.5 lbs in Jan of 2013 and lost 55 lbs by summer, then I gave 30 of those lbs back, as is customary of my dieting life. Luckily, I stopped the maddness and am on the wagon again.

thatguyalex, you hit the nail square on the head! Each time I turned the corner to healthy eating, I had to do one thing- ACCEPT where I was at. Accept that I failed again. EMBRACE my reality. Boom, it freed me to move on and get healthy again.

My challenge is the same: make sure I can not fall into the binge eating again when times get tough. That problem lies between my ears....

Best of luck to you, louisLOVEpin. You are not alone!!

Matt

Renaynay833

I have struggled with eating disorders since, I was 12. From starving myself to binge eating and, my main go to bulimia!! Cause, you know why not combine two issues in one? What has really helped me is finding a therapist who was truly compassionate and, who also had struggled with an eating disorder herself. All the other therapists that I had seen (by will or by force) always seemed to be spurting off things they had read in a text book..."you are looking for control" Well duh!!! I still struggle some days but, to me that is better than everyday. And, I am hopeful that those somedays will eventually be non exsistant. Finding someone who is supportive and understanding was a big help factor for me. I hope you find what works for you!!

fiskgyrl

Wow....You certainly helped me. So true, it's not a treat it's a food product created by scientist who have studied my taste buds. Thanks!

wenied

Sometimes it isn't or shouldn't be called a binge in my opinion. I love Chinese buffets and I also love the buffet at the casino with all of the crab legs and desserts. I know this weekend at my sons birthday party I will probably have 4 pieces if cake. I can put away 4000 calories at those buffets. The difference is I do it on purpose an not more than once a month at most. I do it because I enjoy it. As long as your total monthly or calories are ok then it won't hurt a thing.

Btw I lost 50 lbs in 9 months starting 2 years ago. I haven't gained any of it back at all in over a year.
I'm also featured as a success story on tapoutxt.com from time to time.

If you have control and plan it out I say go for it.

psmd

I used to love it. I still do. The only reason why I'm not doing anymore is because I *can't* do it. It's not good for me, for my body and for my mind, even though I crave food I know it's not going to be good to fill myself up with unhealthy amounts of food.
You have to think at stopping binging like a medicine, you might not like taking it but you know you need to. As soon as you start to feel emotionally better because you're detatching yourself from the bad habit, you're going to find it easier to go on.

Great answer here! She has changed from thinking about loving this bad behavior, to thinking about what's so bad about it.

So the question you should answer is: why do you really want to quit if you love it so much? Answering that question honestly and completely will allow you to become truly motivated. Good luck!

OhReally42

For me personally, I try to keep myself between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. As far as sweets, to stay at the 1200, I can't really allow myself more than 100-200 calories for sweets. To stay under 1400, I could have a little bit of wiggle room up to 300-400. But I would honestly suggest more of keeping sweets to once a week. I have sooo many problems with this myself, I'm basically addicted to chocolate. It's really hard for me to stay at my calorie limit if I eat sweets everyday. Pinterest has TONs of ideas for home made low calorie sweets and snacks too! Thats a big help too!

chameleonish

Here's a text that has been posted on this site a couple of times but that gave me insight in the mechanisms behind binging: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/what-binge-eating-really-means (link of copy on MFP in case outside links aren't allowed: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/647720-stolen-a-binge-is-a-message-by-geneen-roth)

Many valuable tips have already been shared here. Just two weeks ago I was still binging daily. I restarted MFP on the 2nd of June and that has currently stopped my binges, because I have insight in what I am eating, when I am hungry, and which calories are really "worth it".

That being said, the chance of me going back to binging is extremely high. I think allowing yourself a daily treat is indeed important (black chocolate all the way for me!) and I think focusing on other things is equally important: not binging frees up so much time for me, to clean up my house, to get my school work in order, ...

I know how much fun binging can be. But it's important for your body for you to find this joy in other, more healthy things. Best of luck!