Food Addiction/ Overeating and Bingeing?

okkit10

I have really big problems limiting myself with food. Anyone else have this issue? I don't mean that extra piece of pizza or cake you shouldn't have. I mean serious overeating. I'm like a bulimic but I don't purge, just binge. At times I can eat thousands and thousands of calories in a binge. I feel like I next to never get full. I have eaten so much at times that I have gained 2-5 pounds in a week. I constantly fight this behavior but it is a serious as an alcoholism or drug addiction, I swear. I binged really, really bad today...I'm embarrassed at how much I ate and I am ruining my last year's successful 45 pound weight loss. I don't do this every day or even every week. I am successful at fighting it maybe 75% of the time but the other 25% of the time it beats me. Anyone else that has this issue, add me as a friend or post here. We need support!

danicamper

I do have a somewhat similar issue. I think, "ahh whats a few extra pounds? I have plenty of time to work it off and my bf thinks I'm hot so why not eat that whole pizza and say screw it". Fortunately most of the time I am pretty good at talking myself down but there are definitely the times where I go crazy and find ways to validate my behavior. What I have started to do is try and think "healthy" not "skinny". My goal is to live a healthier life so I am not always so tired. The weight loss is coming along with that but I have noticed that when faced with the prospect of poor health I tend to be stronger in my resolve to get in shape. I have always hated exercising. I joke saying that if you want me to run you are going to have to chase me with a chainsaw. I now make time to work out and I find that after burning 300 calories doing something I really didnt want to do I am less inclined to mess that up with over eatting.

haiku_gal

I believe I have this same problem. I feel like I'm always thinking about food...it consumes me. I know the feeling of being always hungry. I want to be healthy, happy, skinny, sexy but food wins every time!

edgesnotrounded

Same here. I always seem to have the thought process that "Hey, it makes me happy, (for the time being) and it is my life and I don't care! *Enter me ordering a large extra cheese and eating almost all of it.*

I know A LOT of this is coming from a break up a few years back and after it I think I just "gave up." Not in a "I don't need to shower anymore kinda of way" but in a "bad food is replacing my significant other." It is that instand gratification of feeling comfort and pizza is usually my downfall.

I need to stop because this is the heaviest I have ever been and if I keep allowing food to be my Friend/lover/ I will weigh over a thousand pounds before I know it.

So. What are the tricks in turning this around?

schol74

I have the same problems, I can go three or four days following a healthy eating plan, then by day five I am so hungry I just eat everything. Then I just feel horrible. It doesn't help that almost everyone I know tells me that I am skinny, so I have to diet in 'secret', or I get eye-rolls. I have a small frame, and I am almost 5'9", so I can hide the extra weight. The point is that I don't want to hide it, I want it gone!! No more muffin top!! I have such a hard time staying motivated.

Charlotte012

I have the same problem. I am at a point where I think I need to find help but I am unsure where.. I don't want to pratice abstinence like the Overeaters Anonymus, I just want to stop bingeing and control how I eat. It's been worst lately because I am dealing with all sort of different issues and I honnestly feel miserable when it happens. I don't have any answers, but you can add me for support

momotivation

I was contemplating starting a thread very similar to this, I feel like I have to eat all my calories, and i usually go over. and even when I do I am still hungry. I think it is really all in my head. This need to eat. I even tried saving my calories to have what I would consider a normal meal, meat, potato veggie and dessert. I lasted on my set amount of calories and then when I treated myself to this normal meal it was sooooo difficult to come back to my dieting habits. It took me two days to even get back to tracking my foods. I still think that most of m being hungry is in my head, eating is a habit of mine.
I find drinking water has really helped me actually keep my mind off of snacking. Otherwise this is still a daily struggle.

psmd

You must read "The End of Overeating" by David Kessler MD. He's the former head of the FDA and he explains why it is so hard to stop obsessing about food (the way you all describe, and I'm also familiar with!). I am in the middle of the book and it is soooo enlightening. Makes you look at food very very differently. Doesn't resolve the problem by reading the book but it definitely will make you more mindful. Good luck to everyone!!!

HeidiRene

I believe I have this same problem. I feel like I'm always thinking about food...it consumes me. I know the feeling of being always hungry.

This

Fayve

Yes, I feel the same as everyone here. Really struggle with binging on a daily basis nowadays. I can't believe it's gotten this bad. I don't remember ever having serious binging tendencies until I started counting calories and becoming more aware of my food intake either, which I find weird. Someone earlier said something along the lines of "Well so and so thinks I'm perfect, so who cares if I don't lose more weight", which is exactly how almost all of my binges start. It's also hard, since a lot of my family can't relate to my binging (even though they're quite over-weight). It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who can eat thousands of calories within an hour or two without ever feeling full.

Beatlegirl66

Wow. It is a comfort to know that I am not alone in this. One of my biggest issues (and according to my mom has been an issue all of my life) is that I never have that feeling of being full. If I actually feel full, that means I have ate so much that I have made myself sick. That rarely happens. I can eat boxes of Cheez-Its and want more. I have been sticking with it and have only binged twice since Jan 1. But I hate having the urge all day long. I seriously have dreams about chocolate cake and fudge. I count down the hours until I can eat again. I know I must lose weight, but I am not happy living this way either. There has to be a way to control this.

Sara

UCONNCOED

I definitely can relate. I do literally feel like its an addiction like an alcoholic or drug addict would have. I can go a few days and do really well, eat within my calories and workout. Then (mostly on the weekends, but even random weekdays) I will literally just go off the cliff and eat thousands of calories in 1 sitting. I do not feel full, and I have absolutely found myself eating almost an entire pizza plus dessert all on my own. I dont throw up either, but I do feel like it is the "binge" portion of what a bulimic would do.

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips. I am really trying to get a hold of this issue too. Even just to cut down on my "binge" days would probably help with my weight loss. I could definitely use the support too in trying to overcome this.

aklitten

Edited to add this: add me as a friend, if you want!! (Just include a message in your request.)

I wrote about this in my blog today, and a couple of posts ago:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aklitten/view/will-food-ever-be-my-friend-202221
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aklitten/view/resyncing-my-brain-and-my-body-218109


I joined this group here on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group

I should probably re-read some of my books (Geneen Roth is great: _Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating_). It's been a rough few days for me...

We can all help each other! This is a really good post, even though the person who posted it has a deactivated account.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/415706-the-binge

invisibubble

Quite often this comes from denying yourself too much during your "good" diet behaviours. Do you still eat a little of what's not so good for you when you're strict with yourself?

cindyputman

I also struggled with this and then I took a food management/ nutrition class called: Down and Dirty weight loss, taught by ILene Vick who on her own lost 100 pounds in a year. Her tools helped me understand why I am a food addict and what the food industry does to fuel my addiction. Check her out on Facebook and tell her Cindy sent you.

sloanie1

You aren't alone...I'm a diagnosed food addict, food is my crack.....my binges aren't like they used to be I'm worse if I drink wine! I lose control completely then! I haven't worked it all out yet, every day is a war and I struggle constantly but I have accepted this will always be the case....if I over eat I try to make sure its healthy at least....food is the hardest thing to conquer because we have to eat to survive and it's literally every where you look....I am also an all or nothing type person so this doesn't help! hang in there, you just have to persevere and work out what triggers it...:o)

lrkidd

I totally understand how you feel. I know I shouldn't do it and even while I am eating I tell myself to stop but I just don't have the willpower to and then I feel horrible after I have done it. Couple that with having insulin resistance so I have to fight twice as hard to lose a pound than the average person. I have binged the last 2 weekends and undid all of my hard work from the previous weeks. It is so nice to know I am not the only one.




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lauristewart

I truly feel like it is an addiction similiar to alcholism and drug addiction. I went to couceling for over 2 yrs for binge/non purging issues. I learned to forgive myself and not beat myself up over my addictive behavior. That others do not view myself the way I vew myself. I learned to somewhat listen to my body and stop when I am full....now I am still far from that specific behavior but learning to forgive myself and not hate myself b/c of my destructive eating helped me finally get over the disorder for about 85% of the time.....I have binged maybe 5 to 6 times since August....but the last was only last week. And yes, I gained close to 9 lbs in a week! You have to take this day by day, meal by meal some days. Celebrate your successes internally, treat every day as day #1 on your healthy eating plan....eat throughout the day to not get too hungry and figure out what triggers your binges. Mine is exhaustion/being tired.....so last week, I went to a meeting, not enought sleep, too much alcohol and too much work! By Wednesday I was beyond exhausted and my 3 day binge took off.....I have 4 good days behind me now.....celebrating that and starting a new tomorrow to get these lbs off.....I would really suggestion counceling for anyone who is serious about getting over this serious disorder. It helped me so much and has allowed me to enjoy life instead of being put down by the hateful thoughts that would pass through my mind regarding myself....I am a happier, more optimistic person now.....

spotofdirt

I have the exact same issue. I feel like I cannot find a common middle ground. Either I am compulsively exercising or compulsively eating. There is no inbetween. Either I am super healthy or super unhealthy. I have gone down to 150 and up to 300 pounds about 6 times in my life now. I have a fear that I am going to kill myself one day if I keep up this habit. After I get the weight off, I try to keep to go into maintenance mode but food always wins in the end...before I know it, a year or two has passed and I gained 150 pounds...its so depressing. Right now I am back to eating really healthy and exercising as I've ballooned to 270 again...I am so frustrated with myself and just don't know what to do about it. Sometimes I wish I had a drug or alcohol habit...at least they do physically show it as easily...its the worst feeling to see friends every few years and be at drastic levels of the weight spectrum...its humiliating. And whenever I bring it up the issue to people, they tell me i'm silly...that it isn't so serious but I really feel my body can't go through these changes much longer. I know I need to keep fighting though to try to lead a balanced life and hope for the best.

lauristewart

Edited to add this: add me as a friend, if you want!! (Just include a message in your request.)

I wrote about this in my blog today, and a couple of posts ago:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aklitten/view/will-food-ever-be-my-friend-202221
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aklitten/view/resyncing-my-brain-and-my-body-218109


I joined this group here on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group

I should probably re-read some of my books (Geneen Roth is great: _Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating_). It's been a rough few days for me...

I love Geneen Roth!!! She knows her stuff and really believes in listening to your body, stopping when you are full....eating to only a mild fullness....again, I am not close to that and is why I still log my food....but she is a great resource!

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Yes, I feel the same as everyone here. Really struggle with binging on a daily basis nowadays. I can't believe it's gotten this bad. I don't remember ever having serious binging tendencies until I started counting calories and becoming more aware of my food intake either, which I find weird. Someone earlier said something along the lines of "Well so and so thinks I'm perfect, so who cares if I don't lose more weight", which is exactly how almost all of my binges start. It's also hard, since a lot of my family can't relate to my binging (even though they're quite over-weight). It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who can eat thousands of calories within an hour or two without ever feeling full.

I think the binging tendencies are more common than we realize but "normal" people just move on--they don't think about it, restrict (consciously), or compensate. How many times have you and a friend polished off a pizza? or gone to a buffet? (a non dieting friend)...do they count the calories, obsess over how much they ate? probably not. counting calories makes you hyper aware of your intake and it becomes a judgment call when you ate "too much" and that spurs the feelings of being out of control.