Binge eating! There might be more to it.

Breadoholic

Hey guys and girls,

I have been reading a lot of messages on here about gorging/bingeing and it's really struck a chord with me. I'd like to offer my perspective.

For nearly 2 years I binge ate quite frequently. It started off when I was unhappy living overseas and then when I returned home it continued. I would literally eat ANYTHING I WANTED for an entire day. I would eat normally for about a week, then binge, then eat normally for a week, then binge. Gradually I put on weight. When I started gaining weight, I started bingeing more because I was depressed. It was a vicious cycle.

It got much worse when I returned home and everyone had noticed I'd put on weight. I would diet for a week or two and then I would binge for about 3 or 4 days to the point of making myself feel very ill. I realised something wasn't quite right, especially when people commented about my eating habits. I decided to visit my local GP and they recommended I see an eating disorder specialist.

Anyway to cut a long story short I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder. They are very common and no-one should feel ashamed about them. Many binge eaters obviously purge, but I (thankfully) wasn't one of them. I have only binged 5 times in 8 weeks (one was a two day binge, the other was a three) and I am very very proud of myself.

Biggest signs to look for:
Uncontrollable, mindless eating
Telling yourself that now you have started eating - not sticking to your diet - you may as well eat ANYTHING YOU WANT!

I am hoping that my story will encourage others to seek some help. Just go to your local doctor, tell them that you mindlessly eat and literally cannot control yourself and they should recommend someone. Once the binge eating is under control then obviously weight loss is inevitable. I think that if more people were aware of this "disorder" then more people would be able to control/maintain their weight.

Anyway best of luck,
Christina