compulive eating disorder

Karasene

Does anybody else have this disorder? I have been feeling like there is more to whats going on with me then just wanting to loose weight. I have researched this topic a lot today and feel this is def what I have. I cope with food, find happiness in it, plan my whole day around it, binge everyday, and either control it by obsessivley counting caolories, or let it control my every thought. I need help!

clairol

I'm pretty sure I have this which is why diets to some extent are never totally successful - for a while I can be "good" but then the eating in secret and binging tends to start again. 18 months ago I lost 30lb and have now put it all back on again. I nearly always eat for a reason other than hunger but I am trying to get to grips with it.

Rodderick89

I can relate - I can be "good" and super strict, stick to my 1500-1700 calories a day, hit the gym daily etc for 2-3 weeks.. then have a day like today where I eat one biscuit.. and then it turns into some sort of frenzied eating whereby I sit and eat about 20+ biscuits and a slice of cake and want to just get as much junk food into my mouth as possible ha! I only caved today as I took biscuits into work (with the intent to share, oops!).. the way I try to avoid bingeing is by not buying ANY junk food and having lots of healthier alternatives in the house!

Have to agree with what both of you guys hve said - plan my day around food, diets not successful, eat when not hungry, think constantly about food etc, eesh! Trying to "retrain" my brain and not need to eat constantly!! xx

qwertymcherty

It sounds like you're just associating normal behaviour as symptoms with this.

Coping with food and finding happiness in it is normal. our brains release dopamine in the brain making us feel rewarded and pleasure for eating (which is where our body gets energy so it makes sense why it likes food)

Most people have to plan their day around meals, if you eat healthy then you have to prepare a lot of that food. Their idea of "planning a day around food" is like planning to go to mcdonalds 3 times tomorrow because it's the weekend.

We all binge sometimes, and once you start, well, you body doesn't want to stop, but that's why the body has the brain I suppose

Keep strong and carry on

felisha_ortiz

I am currently conquering my BED (binge eating disorder) and COE (compulsive overeating). I have been a compulsive over-eater for about ten years, but I only started gaining weight after my pregnancy with my twins. The lbs piles on and on. I literally would binge at LEAST once a day. I started starving myself during the day to try to avoid gaining on my nightly binges. I went from 111-220 during my pregnancy, dropped to 175 after having them, and gained back up to 220. Over the last month, I really started charting everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that I ate. The mass and volume was embarrassing. It was an obscene amount of food, sometimes reaching up to 6000 calories or more a day...

My normal binge pattern usually began around two pm. So, I started my trying to be out of my house around two pm. I would take my kids out to play, go for a walk, drive, anything to be out of my house and away from food.

It helped!

Breaking your normal routine can really be helpful. I also stocked upon lower calorie foods such as celery, carrots, plain popcorn that I could air pop, and things like that. Whenever I wanted to binge, I would eat ONLY these things, and eat however much I wanted.

Honestly I think the biggest assistance for me was chewing. I am a FAST eater. I scarf everything. I started chewing every bite 40 times. Sounds silly, but it worked, A LOT. Slowing down really helped me to be able to feel fuller with less food, and my jaws and teeth would just get tired, so the binges ended earlier and earlier. I still fall sometimes. I still make mistakes, but they are fewer and farther in between. Plus my stomach has shrunk, so the volume of food I could have eaten, I just can't consume now. Good luck, if you really have BED or COE they can be embarrassing, hard to deal with and scary... But they are treatable and beatable.

MeganG12345

Two things:

1. The vast majority of people use food as a coping tool sometimes
2. If you spend enough time reading about medical conditions on the internet, you will convince yourself that you have some sort of rare disease or psychological disorder.

If you think you may have a problem, then seek out a professional opinion. Don't rely on Dr. Internet.

tripitena

Wow, felisha, get out of my head! That sounds much like me. I lost 36 lbs in my first year on MFP but the last several months of irl chaos have really set off a slide into the abyss.

Getting back to food logging is helping a lot, so is finding things to do. Like you, around 2p.m. something goes off in my head & I binge. I've been putting of my housework till later in the day now so I'm busy with that around the time I feel the urge to eat myself sick.

I plan my day around food in a way too but its about shopping, washing/cutting veggies, prep so I can finish soon after T gets home, etc. I only obsess about food when I'm in that zone where I am eating nonstop and thinking about what I can eat next. I eat when I'm not hungry.

I do eat too fast for sure. I know its from a cpl of decades of nursing and having to find a second or two at a time to try eat on a 10 hour shift. I'm currently workibg on s l o w i n g down. Old habits and all that.

fro99erann

Hi everyone, glad to hear that i'm not alone. Overeating and binging is becoming number one in my life (secret eating is the worst)..i really look forward to hearing tips and even the struggles to learning how to eat healthy!

quirkytizzy

Two things:

1. The vast majority of people use food as a coping tool sometimes
2. If you spend enough time reading about medical conditions on the internet, you will convince yourself that you have some sort of rare disease or psychological disorder.

If you think you may have a problem, then seek out a professional opinion. Don't rely on Dr. Internet.

This. If you don't have this disorder, then you are flooding your body with tons of unnecessary stress that will probably cause their own mental problems as a result. If you DO have this disorder, then sitting on the internet will only stave off treatment, which WILL make it worse.

Cassierocksalot

Two things:

1. The vast majority of people use food as a coping tool sometimes
2. If you spend enough time reading about medical conditions on the internet, you will convince yourself that you have some sort of rare disease or psychological disorder.

If you think you may have a problem, then seek out a professional opinion. Don't rely on Dr. Internet.

This. If you don't have this disorder, then you are flooding your body with tons of unnecessary stress that will probably cause their own mental problems as a result. If you DO have this disorder, then sitting on the internet will only stave off treatment, which WILL make it worse.

I agree. If you really, truly think you have an overeating disorder, try going to a meeting. Overeaters Anonymous. Trust me, they'll let you know right away if they think you're just using it as an excuse or if you truly have symptoms.

purpleridinghorse

glad this isnt just me, I lost over a stone before christmas last year...and have almost gained it all back.

I guess you need to remember you are responsible for what goes in your own body...easier said than done though....

lambchoplewis

I do the same binge eating as you!!! I think about food all the time and every once in a while, go crazy!! Eat everything in site as fast as I can shove it in my mouth!! It especially happens if I have a drink or two. I have been physically ill from eating so much. It takes two days to feel better and 4-5 to get back to pre-binge weight. I drink a lot of hot tea and go to my bedroom and watch TV (or type like this on computer) if I think I am about to binge.

Karasene

I lost 55 lbs a year and half ago. That was with me obsessively counting my calories staying at 1200 and working out alot. I would binge all day on saturdays and still lost the weight. I gained 35 of those pounds back over the last 8 months. I have been binging alot. This is my coping mechanism. When I obsess over everything I eat I am in control, I feel freakin fantastic. When I'm over whelmed with life and feel out of control I binge. My life has been this way for last 8 months with a couple weeks at a time trying to gain contriol back ( counting calories), but always going back to binging.

I started to research because I feel something is very wrong. I know how to lose weight I did it before. I know binging is going to just make me more depressed after I do it but I still crave to just eat as much as I can. I secretly order delivery and hide the evidence from my husband. I want to fix this problem but first I needed to understand it. I was trying to find ways to help me on the internet and here. I feel some of you are just judging.

This site is my one and only support, where I can be honest with out judgement, where people actually now how I'm feeling, and can maybe help me.

Thank you to everyone you gave advice and support I appreciate it. This is a very tough time for me and I'm just asking for help

Karasene

It sounds like you're just associating normal behaviour as symptoms with this.

Coping with food and finding happiness in it is normal. our brains release dopamine in the brain making us feel rewarded and pleasure for eating (which is where our body gets energy so it makes sense why it likes food)

Most people have to plan their day around meals, if you eat healthy then you have to prepare a lot of that food. Their idea of "planning a day around food" is like planning to go to mcdonalds 3 times tomorrow because it's the weekend.

We all binge sometimes, and once you start, well, you body doesn't want to stop, but that's why the body has the brain I suppose

Keep strong and carry on

I actually do plan my day around ordering delivery or take out and hiding it from my husband. I just posted this to see if there was anybody else with this and to see what advice they could give. This was sort of my first step of getting help!

lambchoplewis

A huge victory!!! I was hungry and bored and decided to eat something. I had ONE protein bar, some yogurt and veggies as a snack. I STOPPED right there - no binging!!! A major victory!!! I logged the food and removed something from dinner (I don't think I will be as hungry)!!! Over 100 cal for day but........ a victory!!

Chibea

I searched this topic because, after two months of relative calm in my eating, I went on a 24 hour binge I too am looking for support and ideas as to how to deal with this. The best input I have gotten on MFP is to just get back up tomorrow and log your food and get yourself back on track. Being guilty or beating yourself up is not going to help. I have spent years in Overeaters Anonymous and a slogan from them keeps coming to my mind -"Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today." I get a calmness and a strength from this as I accept that I am a compulsive overeater therefore I sometimes lose control over my eating. Fact. Stay scientific and objective. But that is no reason to stay out there with the food obsession. MFP is great because it is a support group that is always available. As soon as I stop eating, I can come here immediately and get energy from the success of others. I don't need any help figuring out what is a healthy way to eat.....I can tell you that. How to make my self eat that way is where I have problems!! Anyway, I am so glad you posted this topic. I also welcome suggestions from others who know what this is. Overeaters Anonymous in not a 'magic bullet'..another slogan: Take what you need and leave the rest" - Good advice for MFP forums :laugh:

jjmnet

If I have anything in the house.....like cookies, Turtles chocolate or brownies I will just eat, put it back, get it out and eat again - repeat until it's gone. Sugar is sooo addictive and it's really hard to get off it, but when you do you feel free! I now buy treats for my kids that I do not like so I won't eat it. I don't order in much, but maybe you could add up what you spend on average each month on take out and try to save half that amount this month and order half the number of times this month. That way you can wean yourself and save up for some special.

dangerousdumpling

Have you looked into cognitive therapy? You'll need to look into your thought cycle when you're doing this and learn to challenge those thoughts. Ask yourself if they're true and if they're beneficial to you. It can be difficult to identify specific thoughts when you've developed what seems like an automatic response: 'I'm stressed so I need to eat' or 'I'm upset so I need cake.' You need to retrain your thinking to something like "Will a burger and fries really make me feel better? Yes, but only temporarily and then I'll feel worse so I have to find something else to do'.
At the end of the day you have to learn how to fight the urge to binge, which is so hard because we have to eat. It's not like a drug or booze that you can quit and live without. And you're not the only one. Lots of people go through this. I think some people might sound dismissive because maybe they haven't experienced extremely unreasonable thinking about food. Try not to take it personally.