What made you stop binge eating FOR GOOD?
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Something I noticed was that when I eat foods with a lot of carbs like pastas or have some junk food even if it is in moderation, that the next day or later in the day I am REALLY hungry and it is hard to resist. So I have started avoiding those foods because I hate feeling like that. I'm not on a low carb diet or anything so I do still eat some of those things sometimes but I try really hard to fill up on veggies and things like that on the days that I add these things to my diet. Because if I feel hungry and I start raiding the cupboards, it's already over...0
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god. true story.0
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I haven't binged in over a month, which doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal for someone who has always either not eaten enough or chowed down on thousands more calories than I needed in a day.
I went low carb, but that is no cure all. Yesterday I had binge cravings like mad. I tried to reason myself into giving in because my appetite didn't exist for foods that aren't binge friendly like eggs or steak. Then logic kicked in. If I was really hungry, I'd eat the eggs or steak or whatever, woudn't I? Which means those cravings were at least mostly mental. I know I take my vitamins, I know I don't feel lightheaded or sick even now that I'm too low on calories for two days. I know if it was hunger, real hunger, I wouldn't have a specific food craving.
So that's what I'm trying to teach myself. A test to see if I'm really hungry. I ask myself, yeah, you want a burger? Would a steak do as well? Or eggs? If the answer is no, then it's not real hunger. I'm sick of my body's demands for specific foods and I'm going to keep right on denying those demands. If food is for fuel, then any reasonably healthy food should do the trick.
Wow, that is like a lightbulb for me!0 -
I try and not buy the items I know I am going to binge on.0
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Binge eating and over eating have nothing to do with will power or control. It has to do with Choice.
I have spoken at length about binge eating and over eating in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/656765-bingers
Give it a quick read :-)
I have to say I disagree with that. Choice isn't everything. Binge eating can come from a place that you don't even know about. Choice, control and willpower are not the same thing. They're all psychological and as such are all complicated but it's not as simple as just choosing not to do something when you don't know why you're choosing to do it.
Well it's your right to disagree, but I must ask, did not read the post I linked to, or my replies to it? Choice and control are what I talk about in them at length, you might have a different opinion. :-)
I'm just sayin'.0 -
I feel the same way! If I post it, I see it; it's right there for me to see every time I post what I have eaten...it either helps or it hurts but either way it's right there for me to see what I have just eaten!0
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I haven't binged in over a month, which doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal for someone who has always either not eaten enough or chowed down on thousands more calories than I needed in a day.
I went low carb, but that is no cure all. Yesterday I had binge cravings like mad. I tried to reason myself into giving in because my appetite didn't exist for foods that aren't binge friendly like eggs or steak. Then logic kicked in. If I was really hungry, I'd eat the eggs or steak or whatever, woudn't I? Which means those cravings were at least mostly mental. I know I take my vitamins, I know I don't feel lightheaded or sick even now that I'm too low on calories for two days. I know if it was hunger, real hunger, I wouldn't have a specific food craving.
So that's what I'm trying to teach myself. A test to see if I'm really hungry. I ask myself, yeah, you want a burger? Would a steak do as well? Or eggs? If the answer is no, then it's not real hunger. I'm sick of my body's demands for specific foods and I'm going to keep right on denying those demands. If food is for fuel, then any reasonably healthy food should do the trick.
Wow, that is like a lightbulb for me!
It makes me really happy if what I'm struggling with can help someone else. I'm new at this, and it's tough, but I know if I can resign myself to eating 'boring' foods when I'm hungry instead of 'entertaining' foods, I'll have this weight thing beat for life.
Edit: Here is a study that might back up my new philosophy of food:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110722/food-boredom-may-lead-to-weight-loss
July 21, 2011 -- A new study suggests that one path to successful weight loss might be culinary boredom.
Researchers found that when people were offered the same food over and over again, they tended to eat less overall.
The study expands on a growing body of research suggesting that the unprecedented level of variety in the American diet may be a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.0 -
Variety of reasons for me.
1. Reframed my mind, my perspective on food and my body. I learned to love myself more, to not worry as much as I have in the past, became less restrictive, more tolerant of mistakes and junk food, stopped obsessing over what the scale said, etc.
2. Upped my calories, a lot. I now eat my TDEE (calories needed to maintain my weight) minus 15% and never net below my BMR (calories needed to sustain your body daily if you just laid in bed all day) as calculated by scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator and per the Eat More to Weight Less group. And I lose about a 1lb a week at this rate of 2100 calories.
3. Stopped buying my trigger foods as much. Still have them occasionally and in moderation.
4. And when the urge comes (rarely does now, three months since my last binge), I remind myself of why I'm doing this: I want to be healthy and there was nothing healthy about that period in my life.0 -
Therapy is the only thing that has truly helped me... and that's not to say that I don't slip up once in a while. Once you find coping skills that do not involve food, binge eating becomes less inviting.0
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WOW! You are all amazing. Thank you so much for the responses!
I think I'm going to bite the bullet and see a therapist. To answer someone's previous question, I do live alone. I buy only healthy and mostly whole foods, but the minute I am out at a restaurant or at a friend's house I immediately lose it if there is an option to eat something sugary and unhealthy. I would love to be able to eat these things moderately but I can't. I'm very black or white when it comes to food and if I eat one cookie then dammit, I need 12 more, plus some chocolate cake and ice cream on the side. I'm determined to change that, though.
In addition to the therapy, I will try eating more throughout the week and maybe taking some of that Inositol stuff. Again, I don't know if I'm ready to moderately insert "treats" into my diet, but I'll get there.
Thank you again, sooooo much. :-)0 -
As soon as I started eating a healthy amount for my weight, I found that the binges stopped completely. I also found the cravings began to subside and now have totally disappeared. Find out your TDEE and eat just under it. That should help! http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ Hope this helps
Yep. A very small deficit. I eat at a 250 cal/day deficit and don't binge anymore. I'm losing weight slowly but permanently. It's actually been a very long time since I've binged, but the cycle of trying to make up for it just perpetuates it.
The OP said she wasn't overweight at all... I'd suggest she find her TDEE and aim to eat that every day on purpose. That may help.0 -
I'm a binger too. I hate the guilt and the hiding and the need to explain myself to my family about why I'm eating a second dinner. I hate it all.0
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Ugh. I'm typing this from my bed and I feel like dying. I ate over 5000 calories yesterday and it's like I can't even look in the mirror without being disgusted.
To give a little background on me: I'm not overweight and never have been, but I've developed a ridiculously unhealthy relationship with food. I will eat MASSIVE amounts of food - and generally do, a few times a month - but I always feel like crap afterward. I always tell myself that I'm going to stop binging and that I will eat normally and healthfully but a few days or maybe a week down the road I'll always come back to those cookies and cakes. Of course, I eat below my calorie limit for several days in a row in attempt to "make up" for these binges, but that's just textbook yo-yoing. I feel so dumb, and I feel like I'll never learn.
I'm sick of this. I'm sick of my obsession with food. I'm sick of counting calories every single day as I've done for the past 5 months - literally, I've not missed ONE day. I want to go back to the old me who knew when to stop eating, who exercised and enjoyed it and didn't use it as punishment. But it seems like no matter what I do, I can't break free from my mind. When I get in that binge zone, I am in the zone, and I go at it, hard.
To all former bingers, what did it in for you? Was it therapy? Was it something someone said? Was it the feeling after a particular binge? I'm so desperate to stop binging for good...I appreciate the support. Thank you.
Drop some money on a good personal trainer. You are going to get your *kitten* kicked in the gym, have someone to hold you accountable to your decisions, and begin to see results. Once you see results you want more results. My trainer has become like a brother. I text him almost everyday. We work out 2-3 a week. He is as excited for my weight loss as I am and as disappointed in my falls as I am. It's hard not to be motivated when you put a lot of money into something.
If I ever ate 5000 calories in one day and then told him about it... I'd be running suicides til I threw up.0 -
ABC... antecedent, behavior, consequence.
Antecedent: what happens before you binge eat? what are you doing? how are you feeling? what are you thinking about? what has happened within the previous 12-24 hours that might trigger your binge?
Behavior: actually binging.
Consequence: you feel awful, you fee shameful. you can't look at yourself in the mirror. not only do you feel terrible emotionally and mentally, but you probably feel physically terrible and painful from the excess food in your stomach, eventually leading to some digestive pains as the food makes its way through you.
you know what you're doing. you know what happens after you do it. you need to figure out WHY you're doing it. it will take a lot of "come to jesus" talks with yourself, you will really have to figure out what your trigger is. if you can pinpoint the triggers that cause you to want to binge eat, you can develop specific actions to take to keep yourself from allowing the trigger to play out. if you recognize something is triggering you, you can be proactive in preventing it from leading to your binging.
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This is really good because I ask myself these questions or something close to them before I overeat/binge. I look alot at my triggers too and am I really hungry or trying to cover up some feelings? Thanks for the past and all the replies.0 -
I gave up sugar, and anything else that was unhealthy. As someone else stated, when I began to eat the correct amount of healthy foods, I quit craving the crap. I advise you to get control of this now. You are very young and I did this for many years with no real consequences that you could see outwardly. As I got older, the weight began to add up. It will add up as you age. You are smart to get control now. I wish I had! Good luck!0
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I was on a trip with two friends and they are both gorgeous, normal weight girls and I just suddenly got sick of being the fat girl. After that trip I have had an amazing self control that I never thought I could have. I've eaten under my calorie goal and not even touched the foods that used to make me over eat. Idk something just snapped in me and made me decide that this is it, my life is going to change NOW.0
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Don't buy it.
If it's in the house, I'll eat it. If they aren't here, well... I can't eat them.
Best defense IMO.
I freak out and make my husband get me stuff if it's not here.
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I've only binged one weekend in the last 30 days (it wasn't a bad binge and I had no mfp crutch). What has helped me a lot has been two things. First, upping my calories to 2100 (still lost 8 lbs in the 30 days) and Second eating whatever I wanted within the calories and finding delicious low calorie/healthy item. The binge monster is triggered by me not feeling like I am satisfied with what I'm eating. By upping the calories and finding things I really like (toaster streudels are my fave) I haven't really felt deprived and I don't feel that true screw it mentality and loss of control that comes with a binge. Good luck!0
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As soon as I started eating a healthy amount for my weight, I found that the binges stopped completely. I also found the cravings began to subside and now have totally disappeared. Find out your TDEE and eat just under it. That should help! http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ Hope this helps
Maybe I will try this. 0 -
I'm on my eighteenth binge free day. I was on holiday with my husband and son and I realised that I had gone from being 'someone who could drop a few pounds' to being one of the fattest people there.
I did this to myself. My mom is an emotional eater, and I'm the same. I got ill three years ago, and I found it hard to deal with. I had social anxiety and panic attacks, at one point I found it hard to leave the house. I used food to get me through it, now I have to deal with the food addiction.
It's tough, but we can do it!0 -
Binge eating and over eating have nothing to do with will power or control. It has to do with Choice.
I have spoken at length about binge eating and over eating in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/656765-bingers
Give it a quick read :-)
I have to say I disagree with that. Choice isn't everything. Binge eating can come from a place that you don't even know about. Choice, control and willpower are not the same thing. They're all psychological and as such are all complicated but it's not as simple as just choosing not to do something when you don't know why you're choosing to do it.
Well it's your right to disagree, but I must ask, did not read the post I linked to, or my replies to it? Choice and control are what I talk about in them at length, you might have a different opinion. :-)
I'm just sayin'.
I did read it and I still disagree. Yeah, you do choose to binge but like I said, if you don't know why you're choosing to do that then it's not as simple as purely coming down to choice. Control for me, is everything. I now know why I binge and that knowledge gives me the power to control it and my cravings. Everyone's different and uses their own methods.0 -
I have a few trigger / binge food items that I can not not not have in the house. I KNOW I cant behave and have
them in moderation so I will not allow myself to have them at all. Chocolate of any kind will trip me real bad. Also
an old time favorite of mine is what we called "Poor Mans Gravy" over boiled potatoes. OMG I salivate even thinking
about it. I HATE how I feel when I binge on anything........I HATE that over full feeling........I HATE the guilt it causes...
I HATE the dread of having to face myself during and after a binge.
I finally was able to stop any binging (currently anyway) by remembering how bad I feel after one. I hate it.
Please dont beat yourself over this......just try really hard to get back on track. You CAN DO THIS!!!! You're
stronger than the food0 -
Had 2binges this week...both times I was very tired and poorly focused...thought I was beyond my binges. A day at a time.0
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I used to do the binge/fast thing, I lost weight that way because I did so much exercise on the fast days. It was just getting worse and worse and I had to accept it couldn't be controlled through will power or any tricks.
I found that eating enough pretty much stopped it cold, for a while I ate a bit more, and the binges were a lot smaller, so I upped some more and now it's gone. I use MFP now to make sure I eat a minimum amount of calories. For me a net of 1500 is a comfortable place to sit at for weight loss and I up it to maintain, but under no circumstances will I drop to a lower net. It was quite amazing actually what a difference this made. Also not leaving big gaps between meals is another big help, and never skipping meals.
Also it's worth noting I don't have any off limit foods anymore, if I really want something I'll factor it in to meet my goal. But I found that once I stopped the very low calorie diet, the desire to eat all this cheat food went away.0 -
antidepressants.Seriously. It was never about food for me. I thought it was,but binging was just a symptom. It was deeper. Psychological. I actually got help for a totally different problem. I had started taking antidepressants and stopped binging. I had been far too proud to seek help from a therapist for this other problem I had.
I finally did and when the meds started to take effect I could face my previous nonbinge related problem. And a nice side effect was that my binging ended.0 -
Fear, desperation, and common sense.
I was hurting so bad with the extra weight I feared I would not be able to function.
Desperation to eliminate all breads, pasta, rice and potatoes and go on a program that was totally alien to my Texas cuisine.
Common sense. Utilizing an on line calorie counter to make sure I was getting enough calories even though my program told me I didn't need to count calories.
Once I put myself on a strict plan, I realized that I could control what went in my mouth.
Once I realized I could control what went in my mouth, I didn't want to binge or use food for anything but to get healthy and fit.0 -
Bump0
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I worked hard for three months to lose weight while struggling with binges on and off, but I still managed to lose nearly 20 lbs. Well, during three very stressful WEEKS I managed to gain it all back. I knew I had to make a change and couldn't keep going at that rate. I was bingeing and purging, and the vomiting was bursting blood vessels on my face, giving me heartburn, and making me feel miserable physically and mentally.
I had already tried therapy but it didn't help. I started journaling every day and it sounds so simple but it helped tremendously. I also made a "binge box," which is a small box filled with ideas (written on little strips of paper) for alternative activities to deal with stress/boredom/etc instead of turning to food. I've never even had to use that box. But I am two months binge-free. It also helps to confide in other people. Not just online - people you know and trust in real life.0 -
Therapy, yo! It is NOT about self control. While I often mock therapists (no offense to anyone who is one... I've just been to too many in my day lol), it really can work. OA can be a good place to go as well because you work through the 12 steps of addiction. As an atheist, I HATED AA/NA/OA, but to each his own 0
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Eating binges at times can be over exaggerated. Someone who is constantly eating anything on their path and with an uncontrollable hunger, extreme attachment to certain foods emotionally and spiritually tend to be what defines someone who is in a true eating binge. I'm not sure if it has gotten that worse for many of you people if you were at this point and you snapped out then I respect you. I grew up in a culture where we ate quality food but along with that quality food usually comes those things that you love eating a lot. There are these pastries that I still love with creme filling inside but I don't crave for them honestly. They are not the fuel that my muscles want.0
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