Is there something wrong with me....

josiereside

No, there isn't anything wrong with you. First of all, admitting and seeking help for binge eating is the first step. I have a history of compulsive overeating, and have gotten much therapy for it (and now I am even medicated..Celexa 20 mg has helped the "cravings" BIG TIME). It's all about a lack of dopamine in the brain. Face it, food makes you feel GOOD. For me, it numbs my pain. I also get in trouble at night, and have to tell my husband on a weekly basis to take certain foods to work or just get them out of the house!
Some other tricks that have helped me:

Don't eat while watching TV or on the computer
Low sugar hot chocolate or Italian ice take longer to eat, but still satisfy my sweet tooth
Brush your teeth or use Listerine if you are feeling like eating alot.

I am in the same boat as you, and would love to help or listen in anyway. I am reading a book called, "When Food is Love" by Geneen Roth, and I am finding that overeating has a lot to do with past pain or unresolved conflicts. LOVE any of her books!

Good luck and thanks for being honest! There are so many there with you who struggle with this, including me!

I certainly have a lot of past pain that I am sure I never fully dealt with... guess that is step 1... probably need help but not sure I am comfortable with therapy although I know I would benefit.... stupid I know that I at this point won't do it...

jeffnjack

Hi, I can realy relate to this. I've been doing it for a very long time. I am attempting to break the cycle and here's what seems to be working for me:
1. Do not sit in front of the tv mindlessly surfing.
2. Remove yourself from what ever room you eat in after hubby is in bed. I have discovered I really love my living room much better than the family room! And that spare bedroom is now my craft room!
3. Occupy your mind and hands! I get involved with on line games like "Chuzzle" ,MaJhong, whatever you're interested in. A good book works too.
I guess breaking the old habit is the key. Do I fall back once in a while? YUP! So expect it but let it go & move on. I hope this helps.

josiereside

Hi, I can realy relate to this. I've been doing it for a very long time. I am attempting to break the cycle and here's what seems to be working for me:
1. Do not sit in front of the tv mindlessly surfing.
2. Remove yourself from what ever room you eat in after hubby is in bed. I have discovered I really love my living room much better than the family room! And that spare bedroom is now my craft room!
3. Occupy your mind and hands! I get involved with on line games like "Chuzzle" ,MaJhong, whatever you're interested in. A good book works too.
I guess breaking the old habit is the key. Do I fall back once in a while? YUP! So expect it but let it go & move on. I hope this helps.

Yes, it helps, thanks... just knowing I am not only in this particular struggle helps too!

josiereside

What is really crazy is that I am home alone tonight and have not desire to binge eat and I am not even near eating all the calories I am supposed to today! I do need help! :laugh:

nxd10

I can't tell you the number of times I have been hungry an hour after dinner, drink a big glass of water, and it goes away. If it does not go away. I drink another glass of water and go to bed. I have actually said to my husband I have to go to bed early because I can't stop feeling hungry. Most of the time it's just my body telling me I need more water.

Me too. I feel my body confuses hunger with thirst sometimes. Skim milk is good too because it has protein, which makes me less hungry. But if I go to bed I'm not hungry later.

FINALLY . . . Is your body looking for something? Do you take a daily vitamin?

josiereside

I can't tell you the number of times I have been hungry an hour after dinner, drink a big glass of water, and it goes away. If it does not go away. I drink another glass of water and go to bed. I have actually said to my husband I have to go to bed early because I can't stop feeling hungry. Most of the time it's just my body telling me I need more water.

Me too. I feel my body confuses hunger with thirst sometimes. Skim milk is good too because it has protein, which makes me less hungry. But if I go to bed I'm not hungry later.

FINALLY . . . Is your body looking for something? Do you take a daily vitamin?

Yes, I do take a multivitamin and some other vitamins. I honestly cannot go to bed hungry.. I will lay there and obsess and cannot sleep. Last night I did well even though I was home alone. Maybe just voicing it helped!

nxd10

If you're not hungry, something else is going on. This isn't a dieting thing.

It sounds like you are letting go of something - breaking lose of constraints/boundaries that you feel. Stress relief - like yelling from the rooftops. But stress and tension (which requires tension release) aren't the same thing.

Life stress isn't going to go away, but maybe you can learn to deal with it in a healthier way. Can you find an hour for tai chi or yoga or kickboxing or something you like ONCE A WEEK?

And practice five or ten minutes a day?

Can you breath deep or write things down?

Can you jump rope or pound pillows?

It's really good you identified the problem. Now you have two things to work with - finding small ways to reduce your stress and finding other ways of releasing it. Because eating too much will make you feel worse and add to your stress. And you don't want that.

josiereside

If you're not hungry, something else is going on. This isn't a dieting thing.

It sounds like you are letting go of something - breaking lose of constraints/boundaries that you feel. Stress relief - like yelling from the rooftops. But stress and tension (which requires tension release) aren't the same thing.

Life stress isn't going to go away, but maybe you can learn to deal with it in a healthier way. Can you find an hour for tai chi or yoga or kickboxing or something you like ONCE A WEEK?

And practice five or ten minutes a day?

Can you breath deep or write things down?

Can you jump rope or pound pillows?

It's really good you identified the problem. Now you have two things to work with - finding small ways to reduce your stress and finding other ways of releasing it. Because eating too much will make you feel worse and add to your stress. And you don't want that.

One would think with the daily workouts, I would be relieving stress... No, my stress is not going to go away in the near future for sure but there are certain things happening currently that are not permanent... I have always been an anxious person and, as my husband would say, stress about things that I don't need to. But the thing is, I am not feeling stressed when I do this... I think it has some component but I would still go back to boredom. Who knows, I will try alot of the suggestions give for sure the next time I find myself about to have this situation.

nxd10

One last thing . . . How did you decide on your 138 pound goal?

You're very close to it now.

I ask that because of my own experiences when I was nursing my sons. At that time I was losing weight like crazy. My normal adult weight is 150-155 (I'm 5'10"). When I was nursing I was below 150 and dropped down to 140. When I was below 150, I got grumpy, short tempered, and sometimes my blood sugar would drop to the point where I just needed to eat SOMETHING before I was going to kill someone.

Is your body at that point? Maybe you should be maintaining your current weight for a while and not worry about losing for a bit?

I thought about you yesterday when I was doing a lot of carpentry. For two days in a row I did around 8 hours of heavy work around the house. The first day I didn't eat my calories back and netted 830 calories fewer than I should have. Yesterday afternoon I was suddenly dying to eat - just wanted to put anything in my mouth. I wound up eating a lot of healthy snacks and a very satisfying dinner. I was still under, but only by 400 calories. But that sense of I NEED TO EAT was really compelling.

Perhaps it's time to maintain for a few weeks until you get this under control - you did great last night - and then decide what you want to do. We're all not destined to be the same shape and size. And if you maintain now, you might be ready to lose those last 8 lbs in a month or so. It's the long term success and health that's important.

sixfootaliw

Nothing wrong with you, most of us have emotional issues with food- hence our struggles with weight loss. Maybe take away the temptation and not even keep the food in the house? Or find something to do with your hands while you're relaxing and watching tv? Something as simple as knitting or needlepoint will keep your hands and mind from becoming idle. The struggle will always be there, it's just a matter of realizing that YOU are stronger than temptation.

^^ This is what works for me!

I binge/closet eat when I am bored and lonely. My husband knows I do it, but I am much worse when I am on my own than he would ever know! To help myself prevent it, I don't keep junk food in the house so I can only binge on fruit, yoghurts or bran flakes! Also, I knit or sew when watching tv so my hands are kept busy. I still binge from time to time, but I make myself log everything which makes me recognise what I do; this stops it being mindless eating and makes me more accountable for my own actions and decisions.

Don't beat yourself up about it. Many of us have the same issue. Stop feeling guilty about it and start working out why you do it and how you can cope with it or prevent it.

Good luck
Ali