Has anyone been successful in stopping binge eating?

Emdog24

Even throughout my weight loss I have battled with binge eating. And when I say binge eating, I mean that frantic irrational compulsion to eat that is NOT driven by actual hunger. Today for example, I hit my daily calorie limit before 9 AM! And then of course sometimes I eat so much I am in physical pain for most of the day. I used to have only the occasional binge but the past week and a half have been awful. I've undone probably the past 3-4 months of weight loss and I feel terrible. I can't seem to stop though. Does anyone have any suggestions on your personal experiences dealing with this? I am in therapy (for this and a multitude of other reasons I won't go into) and I have discussed this in-depth with a professional but still sometimes I just wake up in the middle of the night or whenever and I feel like I HAVE to eat and I can't manage to calm myself down and think rationally and realize that I don't really need to eat.

Any suggestions/advice would be really appreciated!

JenniferMann24

I have done the same. You need to find your trigger. What is the thing that causes you to want the comfort from food.

adopt4

In the meantime, between finding the trigger and finding the solution, you need to replace that habit. You can either snack on celery or carrots or some hard veggie, instead of anything else, at least you won't be putting junk food in your body, or you can replace the eating activity with something else, probably oral, like chewing sugarless gum. Or when you feel like this, do something else, specifically. Drink a big glass of water and then do something active to take your mind off whatever it is you're stressing about.

sassycat

I find myself fighting the same battle! It seems like I am wanting to eat all of the time. I know I lost 30 pounds last year and gained almost 15 pounds back this year because of the binge eating!

Somebody told me to try to find something physical to do, like do some situps, clean house, etc. -- something, anything to get your mind off of wanting food! This is helping me so far and drink water, when you think you need to eat. Good luck! You can do it!

katealim

When ever I feel the binge monster coming on I chew gum. Go for the one with the most mint in it. It will kill cravings fast....bonus...great breath!
I also suck on peppermints when I feel the night time need to snack.
Pepper mint is a natural appetite suppressant, and taking it after a meal may help your body suppress the appetite long enough for you to feel full naturally and thus lose your desire for more food.

Doitforbaby120808

Get rid of what ever it is your binging on and until you can control it dont let any high cal foods in the house. find things you can bing on if absolutly needed.

roxie17

Chewing gum or sugar free candy that you can suck on - something to replace the eating. When you are feeling like that try to figure out what is causing that. I have been through that too - I have finally figured out my trigger. It will happen for you too, best of luck!! In the meantime, we are here to support you! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

paddlemom

Make a list - in advance!- of as many other activities you can think of that you would substitute for eating. Some of them really physical, like exercise, some of them orally satisfying, like eating baby carrots or chewing gum, some of them mental tasks like reading or listening to music and some of them busy work for your hands, like knitting or jigsaw puzzles and lastly, some of them esteem building, like talking to a friend or giving yourself a facial.

If you already have a list of choices, then just the act of going down the list to pick something can be a relief, rather than the stress of trying to come up with something at the time. Think of it as opening up your cupboard of alternate choices vs your cupboard of cookies!

Hang in there....you are doing great and you haven't undone anything unless you give up altogether!:flowerforyou:

OliveBranch

This is a really tough thing to deal with...
I used to struggle with it pretty consistently, and I am just now learning better ways to cope...but it took a looong time.
I really think the "trigger" thing is huge.
For me, if I'm stressed and I lay down for a nap, when I wake up, boom, I feel a binge coming on.
So getting enough sleep at night is key.
Or, if I don't eat my regular meals throughout the day and I eat an early dinner, by 10 or 11 I feel a binge coming on.
The biggest thing I can tell myself is that it will NEVER BE ENOUGH.
No matter how much I eat, it will never be enough and I will keep wanting more until I'm so sick I can't move or sleep.
So, for me, I can't eat ANYTHING after dinner, or I know I will have difficultly stopping myself.
What's worse is it leaves you feeling really discouraged, depressed, and physically unwell...so starts the cycle of under/overeating.
The only way to take it on is one day at a time, and find what works for you.
I find talking to my boyfriend or one of my close girlfriends helps, drinking water, decaf coffee, taking a drive, working on music, or writing help.
I truly wish the best for you and that you avoid it JUST FOR TODAY.
Best,
-OB:flowerforyou:

OliveBranch

P.S. I TOTALLY agree that you need to get rid of whatever you binge on and don't keep it in the house.
I know this can be a struggle unless you're living alone, but if you're not, designate an "off limits" cupboard.
Have someone lock it up.
Seriously!
Do whatever you have to do, especially if you feel you can't control it, because it is an addiction, both physically and mentally.
I never keep ice cream or PB around because that's the first thing I used to eat when I binged.
Love love,
-OB:flowerforyou:

YourCatalyst429

Back when I had this problem I noticed a big part of the problem was easy access to fattie foods. For instance if I had a feeling like I needed to binge and there was cooking in the kitchen I'd eat them all....but now I don't buy anything but health food. This helped for me at least because I was usually too lazy to go out to get junk food. Or sometimes I would go out but about half way to the store I'd rationalize with myself that this really wasn't worth it.:flowerforyou:

femmerides

i have had issues with that in the past and the ONLY thing that has stopped me from doing it is replacing the binge food with healthy food. my house has NO junk food. if i feel the need to binge, i do...but only on fruits and veggies. Once you're full and are in pain because you did a rediculous binge, you'll just wait the hour for it to go through you. lol. it stops you from overeating all the time. :-) hope this helps!

Emdog24

Wow - all you guys have provided some great advice! I had been buying non-fatty foods to binge on instead (like those 10 calorie jellos that I freeze so then it even takes that much longer for me to eat them and hopefully relax and talk myself out of the frantic behavior) but then I started thinking that I could just stop the behavior cold turkey and just not have any binge options period and that would somehow force the behavior out of my system altogether.

I guess I've learned that while yes someday I'd like to say binging is not an issue, I'm not there yet so I do still need an interim solution (however long that interim may be) like having healthy foods (celery sticks, sugarless gum, etc.) I really like the list idea as well! I think I should do that and keep it right by my bed so I go to that and NOT the kitchen. Being active is another good way to "distract" myself from binging but for me, it's usually a middle of the night issue and since I don't get enough sleep as it is, I think I need to stick to the less active solutions.

Thanks everyone for your advice! I don't know anyone personally who has these similar issues and I find myself being ashamed of having this problem in the first place when it feels like I'm the only one who acts this way, so hearing what you guys have to say who have been through this is very helpful and encouraging!

Doitforbaby120808

You could also exercise like get down and do so sit ups or push ups go far a walk untill it passes urges like that usually only take 10-20 mins to pass max. I sometimes at night get the munchies its hard not to just dive right in. Just keep on trying.

linz1125

One thing that's really helped me besides keeping the junk food out of the house is when I want to eat something I have to cook it. For instance, a few days ago I had the most incredible urge for food. The only thing in my fridge were eggs. Instead of making quick scrambled eggs, I hard boiled them. Since it took about 7 minutes to bring to a boil and then I cooked them for 12, by the time they were ready I wasn't hungry anymore and moved on to other things. So then I had a great little snack for the next day that I could fit into my meal plan. My point basically is, that you will really have to want it and think about it before you actually eat it.

Hope this helps!

Emdog24

:happy: :happy: Again - thanks to everyone who replied. You guys are great! :)javascript:add_smiley('tongue','post_body')

JDHINAZ

I've suffered moderately with this all my life. And recently I've figured out that it didn't matter what I had available in the house, meaning low fat/low cal, or the complete opposite...I was just going to eat and keep eating until it felt like my stomach would burst. Sometimes I'm sure I barely even chewed the food.

Now, when I feel like that, I force myself to do 2-3 other things first....feed the cats, but after I wash and dry their food and water dishes. Put in a load of laundry. Dust the living room...GO POST ON MFP....these are things that usually take 10-15 minutes, but by then I find I'm not really interested in eating and I've garnered some control. Good luck....it's a tough one but I have a feeling you can beat it!! :flowerforyou:

NickelPlated

I think it would be really cool to have a group on here just for people with binge eating disorder. I know I could use the support.

There is a really good book I am reading right now called Overcoming Binge Eating, check it out!

If you struggle with Binge Eating Disorder send me a message or friend request me. I could use the support in knowing someone that does the same things - I am the only one I know that does this so far.

kookla33

There is a book called "The Language of Letting Go" by Melody Beattie. It has a page for each day and is extremely helpful in overcoming persistant negative habits. Good luck!

BrendaLee

I'm dealing with this as well, though I feel like I have a bit of a grip on it right now. It takes a lot of self-talk to convince yourself that there's absolutely no benefit in overeating. Remind yourself how horrible that "stuffed" feeling is...being bloated and feeling icky. I'm hoping it gets easier with time, but, like any addiction, it isn't going to be easily conquered.

I don't keep "bad" foods or trigger foods (like sweets) in the house, I don't buy anything that I know I won't be able to resist eating when I get groceries. If I feel like overeating and eating everything in sight, I'll fix a snack with a few different things- a toast with pb, a piece of cheese, some strawberries...it adds a couple of hundred calories to my day, but it keeps me (somewhat) sane.

Dragonfly11

There is a book called "The Language of Letting Go" by Melody Beattie. It has a page for each day and is extremely helpful in overcoming persistant negative habits. Good luck!

Hi everybody,
As a former binger, heck, I really don't know what you'd call it from a medical stand point, but I used to really really struggle with my unhealthy attitude towards food and the way i would (over) eat. You may not have struggled with this like I have but in college i read about binge/ purging - as a way to control weight. Having a really negative body image I adopted this lifestyle and didn't realize I had created a monster until many,many years later. Secret eating, the dishonesty to self and others. Any eating situation created an enourmous amount of anxiety for me, so it kept me isolated from other people to a degree. Over time I've had consequences as a result of my binging, aside from the ups and downs w/ the weight ,255 at my heaviest- some dental issues. I ruined the enamel on my teeth .... It could have been much worse. I'm grateful that I've done some work on me and gotten down to my personal core issues and insecurities that were underneath all of this behavior. Reading this book was a part of that journey. It took a really, really long time -actually about 8yrs - I have been binge free
for 5 years this month, a day at a time ~ and I never thought I would be able to say that.
I got a calender and marked a black circle on the days when I binged - I kept a log to keep myself accountable and I found a friend who I trusted that I could be accountable to about my binging. What started to happen for me was I noticed distance between binges. First, a couple of days, then a week, a month, 3 months 9 months, and so on. I needed to see the progress because I would feel so incredibly guilty when I fell off the wagon, so to speak. So today, with the help of The Divine, friends who love me and a lot of work ...I am different. I still have off days sometimes but the binge/purge thing isnt the solution for me... not today.
Yes, you can be successful in stopping binge eating. You can be around food, fattening or not. The food was never the problem. It was me.

I wish you much success ~ hang in there and don't ever give up hope.:flowerforyou:

Dragonfly11