Binge Eating Disorder (BED) Help!!

Cathy_Daydreams

I can relate. I swung from anorexia to binge eating my way back to health, back to anorexia, intermingled with bulimia through the years. I am currently struggling in a major way with the impulse to binge once a week, usually on over 5000 calories of sugar laden food such as cookies, cheesecake, doughnuts, chocolate and danish pastries. I purge also, which makes it that much more unhealthy. It is so very hard to get a grip on, and it seems that even if you know factually all the solutions and tactics to change it, actually putting it into practise is ridiculously difficult.

I can give the best advice to others about their binge issues, but when it comes to myself, once that urge/impulse strikes, nothing seems to prevent it, not even having my usual healthy foods. I am currently just trying to keep it to one day a week, and having it as a cheat day, and doing my best to keep my other days as clean and healthy as possible. I also exercise 6 days a week, which helps to curb my tendency to binge... I find when I do not work out as hard, or have a rest day, I am far more prone to crave the binge foods. Also, a lack of sleep can influence things quite negatively, I have found.

I totally empathise. Even if it is a planned binge, it still feels horrible and out of control. I hope you find a solution, and echo the suggestion of seeking some sort of therapy, or at least doing some research online and using the information available there to come up with your own plan/tactics for getting this under control. Until then, try to be gentle on yourself (hard, I know, we are often our own harshest critics) and feel free to add me for support.

Same goes for anyone else with binge eating/bulimia tendencies. The more support and encouragement, the better.

Thank you,
First of all, best of luck in combating all the ED's ... I'm always here should you need support and I can relate completely to the losing control stuff. So many people ask me what my 'trigger food' is and if I have one I don't have a clue what it is because I will eat anything in the house, healthy or otherwise when on a binge.
The worst thing about binging, for me personally, is because I recognise now that it's purely emotional, so there's no routine to it which makes it harder to control when it does strike because it often catches me off guard . I try to work out but I find it hard to actually 'work out' I will walk and go to sports classes but I don't 'work out' as such. Which annoys me a lot.
Thanks once again

mrskatiepowell

I completely believe in BED.
Things that trigger my binges are crisps, biscuits, pizza and ice cream. Basically things that come in large portions.
Once I start on these foods, I don't stop until they are gone. Then I feel sick, miserable and ashamed.
My only way to avoid these is to not have these foods in the house, then if I go into a feeding frenzy the worst I can get my hands on is a BabyBel light and some Ryvita.

Keep smiling x

Crystaleyed

Thank you so much for this post it has really helped me have the confidence to tackle my own eating issues.
I have just been to my GP, which was the scariest thing I have ever done, I was so scared that he would just turn around and tell me to go on a diet, like everyone else, but he's given me a number to call so I can get some help and I cannot be happier. Knowing that there's a possibility of me fighting the binge for good is an amazing feeling and without reading this post and all the encouragement, I wouldn't have had the confidence to even tell my GP, I still haven't told my dad yet and very few people know but I hope that now I have someone to help that in the future I will become a little more open about it all.
So yeah ... thanks all of you for helping me through this .

lilah808

I'm so impressed by the intimate sharing and compassion on this thread. How nice. :flowerforyou:

To the sweet OP: I too have had this problem and I still have to manage it almost daily.

My story:
I was so unhappy, and used food to temporarily bury and numb my sorrows. Obsession with my weight and food SEEMED like it was my main problem, however it was only the SYMPTOM of deeper problems. Until I began really examining myself on the "inside" (dealing with my emotions, my past, my childhood, bad decisions I made in life), I continued abusing my body with food. And in the process of actually STOPPING the "food abuse", I learned what it actually felt like to feel. It was SCARY! Sometimes I felt like I was going to literally go insane, because I had used food my whole life to temporarily numb my negative emotions, and not eating to fill that empty sad place, I had to feel what it felt like to feel empty and sad. Whew! Not easy! But you know what? It gets easier, I promise. It's a journey, but you're young and you're starting to face this now. I didn't begin until I was in my 30's. I know you can do it. It takes commitment to yourself. It takes wanting to make a change. It takes courage in facing your past, your emotions, choices you've made, bad things that may have happened to you, but with a support group or friends that care, a good therapist, or some good books, I know you can begin to feel what it's like to be self-loving instead of self-loathing. Stuffing food down your throat when you aren't hungry is self-loathing. I know. :brokenheart:

Hugs to you.

lilah808

Just wanted to say that this is such a lovely, gentle, caring thread... and Cathy, it's hard to believe you're just a teenager, you have a lovely manner - so respectful of others, and so responsive and appreciative of the heartfelt posts from other members. I say this just in case you don't realize that you have a wonderful personality.

I whole heartedly agree! :-) This thread is wonderful and so are you, Cathy. :flowerforyou:

tonilizzy88

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.
However, I did spend over a decade as actively bulimic. Being a guy and not a wrestler, there was really nothing in the so-called "professional" field for me.
I have to admit I laughed when a dental hygienist assumed the enamel wear on my teeth was from Acid reflux.
For me, it was also a case of "changing seats on the Titanic." I replaced binge drinking with binge eating but then purging to avoid the consequences of eating the way I was.
Turns out I am carb sensitive. You may find that when you get into a binge that there are a lot of carb heavy foods involved.
I finally started getting a handle on thing last year after gaining 130 pounds over a 22 year period. It was rather shocking to realize I weighed more than my wife and I did combined when we first met.
It took about 3 weeks to get over carb cravings. But now I don't miss them.
I started using a scale to weigh out food portions too. That helps keeps my eyes or stomach from overriding my brain.
Shrinks love to blame everything on a chemical imbalance. But that is not the case for everyone. Food allergies can cause problem that go away once that food is eliminated.
Check out OA too. That may help you find people nearby with the same issues as well.

i was thinking this last night. every time i become stressed about som,ething or a big event is coming up i EAT EAT EAT carbs and fats like there going out of fashion, and tomake it worse im not even hungry. i then sometimes cry after it. i feel like a failiour evry time i do it, sometimes it can last for 3-4 days.im to emmbaressed to talk toanyone about it, even my boyfriend asked me why im eating so much, he blamed it on TOM.
i shall add u as a friend and we can support each other x

nadsazombie

Been there for sure!
I over ate at every meal it seemed like.
Binging was just the way I ate, and I never knew when to stop
But for me when I decided to change it was hard and turned into, mind over matter.

The first step was acknowledging I have a problem with food.
Everyday still remains to be a challenge, and then I found this site and it has become a lot easier.

Hope things get easier for you as well!

kaseysospacey

Just want to throw this in-
I've lessened the carbs I've been eating. Not fruit carbs (I really couldn't care less about carbs/sugar in fruit. If I'm going to get fat from fruit, so be it.) but bread, crackers, cereal. I used to eat cereal all the time, sandwiches, etc. Cookies and crackers. These were the same foods I would binge on. If I avoid them, I don't have as much of a problem with them. But if I made cookies for the family and had one, I just eat them...until they are gone. But if they aren't here, I don't miss them.

Now, a couple of times I have had binge issues even on mfp. And I've looked and realized they were all when I had a very carb-heavy food that I normally avoid on my "diet". I don't know what it is, but it is almost as though I can't physically stop myself. I feel like a zombie, stuffing my face with pizza until I puke.

Maybe you could use mfp to help you realize triggers. The combination of seeing someone to help you through the emotional causes for BED and avoiding your food triggers may work really well.

bekkaL85

Ok OP, here is what you do.

Make the appointment. Take a friend that either believes you or that you trust. Every time I go to the doc for my BP I take my sister - in- law. I've known here since I was 13 and she was 12. Support at the actual office helps more than you think.

If you DON'T want to solve this by meds right away, TELL HIM! He is your doctor...not your king. Discuss alternatives....and if you are still uncomfortable around him, get a different doctor. One who won't automatically go for drugs and will listen to what you have to say. There is no law saying that you have to keep the same doctor until you die.

I admit, I haven't read every single reply, because the one's that I did upset me. People blame carbs for everything it seems. If the no carb diet works for you I'm very happy for you. It doesn't work for me. And I don't binge on carb heavy food every single time. I binge on food that is high in fat if you want to know the truth. It's my weakness and sometimes my body overrides my head and I eat WAY to much of it. But I don't blame it for binging. I try to learn from it.

Crystaleyed

Ok OP, here is what you do.

Make the appointment. Take a friend that either believes you or that you trust. Every time I go to the doc for my BP I take my sister - in- law. I've known here since I was 13 and she was 12. Support at the actual office helps more than you think.

If you DON'T want to solve this by meds right away, TELL HIM! He is your doctor...not your king. Discuss alternatives....and if you are still uncomfortable around him, get a different doctor. One who won't automatically go for drugs and will listen to what you have to say. There is no law saying that you have to keep the same doctor until you die.

I admit, I haven't read every single reply, because the one's that I did upset me. People blame carbs for everything it seems. If the no carb diet works for you I'm very happy for you. It doesn't work for me. And I don't binge on carb heavy food every single time. I binge on food that is high in fat if you want to know the truth. It's my weakness and sometimes my body overrides my head and I eat WAY to much of it. But I don't blame it for binging. I try to learn from it.

Thanks for replying,
As I have mentioned before my general anxiety around my various GP's was from a number of GP's at the practice who kept trying to stuff drugs down my throat (not literally, but anyway you get what I mean) and although I now have a doctor who really cares about me and isn't trying to do that I still have the nervous disposition so to speak, even if I know that I shouldn't I still have that anxiety that they won't help me.
At the moment I don't know what my triggers are because it seems when I binge I grab anything I can eat, anything I can afford really, there seems to be no pattern at all but perhaps with MFP and some additional support I can make more sense of it.

kskalniak

I would say if you think you have a problem then find a therapist who deals with eating disorders. It is very real and if you truly want to get help then don't listen to people who say you don't have a problem but call or go to a place that deals with eating disorders. I think just going to a professional will help you to feel free....it is a stepping stone to bettering your life.

kellilyn85

Cathy, first let me say kudos to you for recognizing that you need help and for putting yourself out there. Binge eating disorders are not a new phenomenon and have been studied at length. If you are uncomfortable about seeing your physician and worried that he/she will want to put you on medication my suggestion is this... do your research! There are many articles out there written about behavioral treatments for BEDs that are used in conjunction with therapy. Most of the treatments work on identifying antecedents that trigger the urge to eat and then on building appropriate alternative behaviors. I am a behavioral therapist by trade and work with people with a wide variety of impulse control disorders often. A therapist that specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy would be ideal since it sounds to me like you would be more comfortable attacking this problem from a pragmatic and logical perspective. I wish you the best of luck!!