can't stop binging/ eating compulsively.

neandermagnon

1. You are 18 and underweight;
2. On a normal day you eat 1000-1500kcal and still restricting your calories

What are you trying to achieve? I'm guessing 1000~1500kcal a day isn't your maintenance calories unless you are very petite. So that combined with your "binge" barely makes 1500*7+1500*2=13,500 kcal on the high end, which is less than 2000kcal a day average. Have you tried just eat 1500~2000kcal a day? That way you are eating a sensible and stable amount of food that is sufficient for your body and you don't have the stress and guilt with binging...

i haven't tried to eat above 1500 cals everyday because I find it hard. I don't have much of an appetite except for when i binge. I dont TRY to make my cals so low, it just works out that way

lack of appetite doesn't mean you're eating enough. Sometimes the appetite shuts down in response to a lack of food, then comes back with avengence, leading to binge eating. Sounds like this is what's happening to you. Make yourself eat more.

greekygirl

I don't know whether its because I'm underweight and its just "my body compensating" thats what my mum always tells me but i'm not convinced.

YES. Are you underweight? Your body will fight it and give you overwhelming urges to eat that will be very difficult to not act on, especially if you're not eating enough on good days (1000 is too low). The body will always resist dieting and too much restriction causes binges.

Make sure you're eating enough and it will be much easier to resist. I know, I'm a binge eater too. Friend me if you want.

xscat

1. You are 18 and underweight;
2. On a normal day you eat 1000-1500kcal and still restricting your calories

What are you trying to achieve? I'm guessing 1000~1500kcal a day isn't your maintenance calories unless you are very petite. So that combined with your "binge" barely makes 1500*7+1500*2=13,500 kcal on the high end, which is less than 2000kcal a day average. Have you tried just eat 1500~2000kcal a day? That way you are eating a sensible and stable amount of food that is sufficient for your body and you don't have the stress and guilt with binging...

i haven't tried to eat above 1500 cals everyday because I find it hard. I don't have much of an appetite except for when i binge. I dont TRY to make my cals so low, it just works out that way

If you are underweight already... I really hope you are not trying to lose more weight. Under that assumption, I think eating some healthy fat will help you control your cravings and up your non-binge calories. The worst part with binging in your case probably is the guilt and emotional stress, not the calories themselves

Chrissyy95

1. You are 18 and underweight;
2. On a normal day you eat 1000-1500kcal and still restricting your calories

What are you trying to achieve? I'm guessing 1000~1500kcal a day isn't your maintenance calories unless you are very petite. So that combined with your "binge" barely makes 1500*7+1500*2=13,500 kcal on the high end, which is less than 2000kcal a day average. Have you tried just eat 1500~2000kcal a day? That way you are eating a sensible and stable amount of food that is sufficient for your body and you don't have the stress and guilt with binging...

i haven't tried to eat above 1500 cals everyday because I find it hard. I don't have much of an appetite except for when i binge. I dont TRY to make my cals so low, it just works out that way

lack of appetite doesn't mean you're eating enough. Sometimes the appetite shuts down in response to a lack of food, then comes back with avengence, leading to binge eating. Sounds like this is what's happening to you. Make yourself eat more.

maybe you're right but i dont know how to eat more than that on non binge days.. my maintenance is 1700 and im not trying to lose. i just dont know how to eat more unless im binging. on average i eat 1200 because im health conscious and eat lots of fruit and veg that are typically low in calories.

Chrissyy95

I don't know whether its because I'm underweight and its just "my body compensating" thats what my mum always tells me but i'm not convinced.

YES. Are you underweight? Your body will fight it and give you overwhelming urges to eat that will be very difficult to not act on, especially if you're not eating enough on good days (1000 is too low). The body will always resist dieting and too much restriction causes binges.

thank you for this post. i guess i'll just try to eat more calories. i don't know how to but i'll try

Make sure you're eating enough and it will be much easier to resist. I know, I'm a binge eater too. Friend me if you want.

Chrissyy95

1. You are 18 and underweight;
2. On a normal day you eat 1000-1500kcal and still restricting your calories

What are you trying to achieve? I'm guessing 1000~1500kcal a day isn't your maintenance calories unless you are very petite. So that combined with your "binge" barely makes 1500*7+1500*2=13,500 kcal on the high end, which is less than 2000kcal a day average. Have you tried just eat 1500~2000kcal a day? That way you are eating a sensible and stable amount of food that is sufficient for your body and you don't have the stress and guilt with binging...

i haven't tried to eat above 1500 cals everyday because I find it hard. I don't have much of an appetite except for when i binge. I dont TRY to make my cals so low, it just works out that way

If you are underweight already... I really hope you are not trying to lose more weight. Under that assumption, I think eating some healthy fat will help you control your cravings and up your non-binge calories. The worst part with binging in your case probably is the guilt and emotional stress, not the calories themselves

i'm not trying to lose om trying to maintain but i'll try and eat more healthy fats and see if that helps

Chrissyy95

Do you have any friends that could be an accountability partner? It has to be someone that would be seriously tough and tell you how it is. I have a personal trainer that I send pictures of my meals to and that has helped me a great deal. It makes me think about how many calories I'm putting in my body, and it also gives a second pair of eyes that will tell you that's too much food or not the correct type of food. Everyone on here may not need a babysitter, but it's really helped me. Good Luck! You sound very frustrated and I truly hope you find what's driving your eating habits.

thank you i'll try and find someone

kuolo

When you binge, you eat 1,000 - 1,500 calories? Thats not a binge. How much do you eat on your none binge days? 400 calories?

i eat that amount in one sitting on non binge days. when i don't binge i typically eat anywhere between 1,000 - 1,500 calories in total depending on the day

Eat more, because most binge eating is nothing more than a survival instinct kicking in, in response to eating too little. This is not emotional, no amount of counselling will "fix" it........ it doesn't need fixing, it's not broken, it's normal human physiology. Eat too little, as far as your body's concerned, the reason is that food isn't available. So your instincts to eat as much as possible when food is available kick in. hence overeating and binge eating.

Your posts indicate a complete lack of emotional triggers for this, which is why I'm suggesting that it's 100% physiological caused by eating too little. Even if you were fine on the number of calories you were eating for a while before the binge eating kicked in, that doesn't mean you weren't undereating. It can take a while for the body to get to the point where these instincts kick in. You used to be able to eat just one biscuit and leave it at that, because you were well fed before. No survival instincts kicking in when you ate biscuits. But now, this instinct is kicking in telling you to eat all the biscuits because as far as your body's concerned, it doesn't know when the next opportunity to eat something as high calorie as biscuits is going to be.

1000 calories in one day is way too little. 1500 may also be too little, especially if you're very active. Recalculate your calories. Try to find the *highest* number of calories you can eat while still steadily losing weight. Don't eat less than that number. Also, plan your meals so that you can fit in all the foods that you want to eat. There's a thread "your guide to sexypants" or similar title, that explains how to calculate your calories.

This.
And it's worth trying really hard to eat enough calories every day and doing it right now because you don't want the binge eating to become entrenched, which it can do if you fight it the way you are and continue to eat too low for too long. If that happens then it becomes really hard to deal with and raising your calories will not make it stop at that point. But hopefully you haven't got there yet.
There is a book called Brain Over Binge which explains what you are going through quite well, imo, it might be worth a look too.

Chrissyy95

When you binge, you eat 1,000 - 1,500 calories? Thats not a binge. How much do you eat on your none binge days? 400 calories?

i eat that amount in one sitting on non binge days. when i don't binge i typically eat anywhere between 1,000 - 1,500 calories in total depending on the day

thank you so much. i'm definitely going to try my hardest to increase my calorie intake. i've bought Brain Over Binge but am yet to read it. I will definitely give it a go

Eat more, because most binge eating is nothing more than a survival instinct kicking in, in response to eating too little. This is not emotional, no amount of counselling will "fix" it........ it doesn't need fixing, it's not broken, it's normal human physiology. Eat too little, as far as your body's concerned, the reason is that food isn't available. So your instincts to eat as much as possible when food is available kick in. hence overeating and binge eating.

Your posts indicate a complete lack of emotional triggers for this, which is why I'm suggesting that it's 100% physiological caused by eating too little. Even if you were fine on the number of calories you were eating for a while before the binge eating kicked in, that doesn't mean you weren't undereating. It can take a while for the body to get to the point where these instincts kick in. You used to be able to eat just one biscuit and leave it at that, because you were well fed before. No survival instincts kicking in when you ate biscuits. But now, this instinct is kicking in telling you to eat all the biscuits because as far as your body's concerned, it doesn't know when the next opportunity to eat something as high calorie as biscuits is going to be.

1000 calories in one day is way too little. 1500 may also be too little, especially if you're very active. Recalculate your calories. Try to find the *highest* number of calories you can eat while still steadily losing weight. Don't eat less than that number. Also, plan your meals so that you can fit in all the foods that you want to eat. There's a thread "your guide to sexypants" or similar title, that explains how to calculate your calories.

This.
And it's worth trying really hard to eat enough calories every day and doing it right now because you don't want the binge eating to become entrenched, which it can do if you fight it the way you are and continue to eat too low for too long. If that happens then it becomes really hard to deal with and raising your calories will not make it stop at that point. But hopefully you haven't got there yet.
There is a book called Brain Over Binge which explains what you are going through quite well, imo, it might be worth a look too.

fleuriefirst

Oh, and DO concentrate on all the things you CAN have and CAN do and Are Proud of in yourself! Make a list if necessary and look at it every time you need to...
Half if not all the battle is to fill the thinking void with so Much of Everything you Can do and Can have and even Can eat! - then There's just no time or room for concentrating on - I told you NOT to think of a hippopotamus - now try not to.... Good luck it's a Green hippopotamus I told you - you Can't have it....................
With apologies to all who will now think of green hippos all day long
Good luck!