BINGE EATING, HELP!

jessienmiller

I am getting really frusterated i will be doing great working out eating healthy and eating my calorie needs, but then i will get a snack and next thing i know i will have eaten graham crackers, ritz with peanut butter and fruit snacks then i will have a stomache ache and be really pissed at myself. A year ago or even before then i have never ever had this problem . But now once i start i can't seem to stop. I am not depressed and have not had any trauma in my life so it is not emotional. I just need some advice or tips to help me avoid hitting this stupid binge. I ruin any good i have done to my body every time i binge. Sometimes it happens 3-4 times a wk sometimes only 1-2 times but I just feel i am on this destructive path that i cannot get out of. Please message me any tips that you may have or that has become usefull to you.. Thank you

spaingirl2011

Okay there are usually two main reasons people eat other than hunger-- they're bored or they're emotional. Questions to ask yourself while you're eating. How am I feeling? Does chomping on Ritz crackers make me feel better because I'm angry? Am I eating fruit snacks because I'm tired? Take care of those emotions. If you're eating something sugary because you want the energy, maybe take a nap instead, or walk for a bit outside. If you're angry, let yourself be angry. Are you trying to distract yourself from work? Take a walk, paint your nails, distract yourself some other way until you feel like you can work again.

As for the boredom. Find something to do. Watch a movie, exercise, clean. Chewing gum helps if you want to keep your mouth busy (that's what I do).

Finally, the secret 3rd reason: you are craving some real food and are actually hungry, but you don't have that food around, so you binge to replace that food. Ask yourself-- "am I really hungry?" If you are, then eat a little bit of what you actually want. Sometimes a little bit is all you need to get rid of that craving.

Hope this helps!

DBell28

I agree with spaingirl2011 but also, do you buy this stuff? I know its hard but for me, if its not in my house, I dont eat it. The only junk I buy is dark chocolate and nibble on it occassionally when the mood strikes.

Ive gone on binges too (this past weekend) and I feel awful the next day. I do it basically bc Im too restricted during the week with what I eat but I am trying to allow myself a few treats here and there instead of one whole cheat day, which turns into a huge calorie feast (at least for me)

I eat very clean, if you want to add me to see my diary and for support, feel free! good luck!

Francesca3162

I do not buy things I will not eat... I also do not deprive myself of things. If I want something, I will plug it in to see what calorie counts are, then choose if I want to work out that much.. I will not eat "bad food" in place of meals so if I eat "bad food" I have to work it off........

So basically, ALLOW yourself what ever it is you want, for whatever reason but in Moderation!!! CONTROL IT so it does not CONTROL YOU!!

Just my opinion and what I found that works for me!!

vim_n_vigor

Are you eating enough? When I lower my calories too much, I binge. Now that I am eating enough calories to support my activity level, I don't anymore.

sixfootaliw

I'm exactly the same!

I guess that finding what works requires you identifying your binge trigger. I'm pretty sure that most of my binge problems come from boredom, especially when I'm sitting in front of the telly in the evening.

If you can, just don't keep things in the house that you could binge on. If you are actually hungry then you can snack on fruit or something. If what you really want is junk food then you've got to leave the house to get it. I'm naturally lazy so that often puts me off!

As spaingirl2011 says, you can also do something to get your mind off it. I might go for a couple of mile walk if it's nice weather. The other thing that works for me is handicrafts. Stuff like sewing or knitting means that my mind and fingers are busy and I stop thinking about wanting to eat junk.

Remember not to punish yourself for having an unhealthy snack. I firmly believe that MFP works because it doesn't rule anything out; you're not depriving yourself of things, just being more aware of the balance between what you eat and your activity levels. As I keep telling people, this is not a diet!

I hope you soon find out what works for you!
Ali

jlohcook

Have you just started rigorous exercise? I was like that a couple of weeks back, just needed that snack because I was craving for carbo, some sweet stuff, as I up my exercise, cutting down my carbo intake.

Body is adjusting to new regime, as Long as you are aware and tracking what you eat, as per what others have mentioned, You might not be eating enough. Or try drinking water first if you are thinking of snacking. And if you really need to snack, go for healthy choice ie fruits are fine if you stay within calories requirement. And if you really need that cracker, try whole wheat or oat cracker without salt.

It does require some discipline to tell yourself that's enough. Stop and drink water. I do that and feel bloated and I stop.

srpm

Chewing gum helps me if I'm just eating to eat and not actually hungry...Also, when I want a snack I plug in the calories, then get exactly that amount of the snack out, then put the rest of it up so I'm not tempted. I've found putting the calories in first keeps me from going back for more because I feel like what I took out was all I really needed.

jessienmiller

Thank you all for the wonderful tips and advice. Here is some more info about myself so maybe you guys can offer more based on my stats. I am 30 years old 5"2 and 115 lbs . I have been very active pretty much all of my life and I exercise atleast 5-6 days a wk. I always do vigorous workouts like Tae bo or dance aerobics and such i even do light weight lifting 2-3 days a week. For about a year i was eating between 1100- 1400 cals a day except for like a cheat day here and there and i was doing great . I have a goal weight of 105-107 lbs. But i started gaining here and there and i would go back down only to gain those few pounds right back. So then i researched the amount of calories i should be eating and so i upped it and started eating breakfast. On the days i eat breakfast i find myself hungry all day and snacking ,going over my calories. I love fresh fruit and veggies and normally eat fruit for breakfast with a peice of whole wheat toast. I am taking vitamins to boost my energy level and still working out but now with all of this stupid binging my weight is all over the place one day im at 114 and proud of myself and a few days later I am back up to 116 because of a binge . I do not know the exact number on how much i should be eating as every calorie counter is different. I work out for about an hour a day 5-6 days a wk then go around cleaning the house and such ,I usually do not really sit except for some meals or when im driving so when i do finally sit down in the evening i fall asleep. I have been averaging about 5-7 hours of sleep a night. I drink about 6-9 glasses of water a day and only drink a diet soda maybe 3 times a wk depending on the week. Hope all of this helps. Again thank you!

jlohcook

Sounds like your.daily activities are quite hectic, and you might be over exercising too, and not eating enough to compensate that. I was researching on this topic, that after an exercise, we tend to need more because metabolism is up, blood vessels open, need more food. Need to give it a rest to balance it. I'm trying to do that now, and i do feel better, ie not hungry all the time and want to try to steal a chocolate or chips or cracker. And not sure what's your diet sounds like its mainly vegetables and fruits and not something substantial to keep you full. Perhaps add more than just 1 slice of whole wheat, i usually load up in the morning with bread, this keeps me full till 11am, and add in fruit. If I really need to snack, walnuts or almond, and you may also want to try brown rice, or oats to fill you up, in the afternoon. I usually avoid complex carbo at night.

Try different ways to avoid binging, different body works differently.

jessienmiller

Well besides the fruit for breakfast i do eat carbs, I eat a sandwich for lunch sometimes a PB sandwich which gives me my protein since i hate most meat and it gives me fat. I love pasta but i love my vegetables too! Everytime i try to up my calorie intake is when i start gaining everything back and then i feel like i need to eat all of the time. It's the same for me as eating breakfast. But yesterday i was really busy all day and didnt eat breakfast and i had 2 slices of raisen bread on the go for lunch and then a subway sandwich for dinner(6'') with a small bag of sun chips and i did eat a snack a couple of hours before bed . A nd it only put me at between 1100-1200 before my exercise calories were taken off. But i didnt have that urge to grab everything in the cabinets.

ElizabethRoad

I am not depressed and have not had any trauma in my life so it is not emotional.

Well what else would it be? It has to be in response to hunger, emotion, or habit, unless someone's forcing it down your throat.

jessienmiller

I do not know thats what im trying to figure out, maybe it could be when im getting tired that i feel that will help me boost up, I dont know. I have three kids and try to do stuff with them when im not working or working out but i really feel that i am happy. Other than the everyday stressers of life(bills, appt, ) you know. I am actually enjoying time. I also wonder if it could be an underlying health problem, as i have had a few things going on that i do not understand. My fingertips tend to go numb sometimes no matter what i am doing, Sometimes i get dizzy, fatigue but other than that i do not kow. I have went to the doctor and they do not know why the dizzness occurs.