Binge eating and bipolar-sick of this.

rosiecbolton

This is becoming a routine! I manage for a few days and lose some weight, then I have a day like today where I have been emotionally all over the show and have eaten my body weight in chocolate!

I have been like this for years but it only seems to be getting worse! I comfort eat and due to the bipolar I have far bigger mood swings than a "normal" person.

I am not quitting MFP, but want some advice from anyone else who binges about how to avoid it.

BTW The piece of advice "keep alcoholic foods out the house" is sadly lost on my husband who currently has 300 packets of crisps in the house.

Jebo200

I am an emotional eater myself. I have found that I try to "put off" the binge... so for example, right now I am REALLY wanting a snack... probably chocolate or chips, heres what I have done. 1) I started the laundry and cleaned my oven 2) had a glass of grapefruit juice (for taste) and 3) check MFP... all to keep myself busy in hopes the craving passes. Since it hasn't (and sometimes it will sometimes it won't) I told myself that if I still want it in a half hour I can have it. When I have it, I will take out excatly one serving size and then get very busy before I sneak any more!! Good luck

rosiecbolton

that is a really good idea will try that

TaminaShock

I understand i'm bipolar too and for some reason when that time of the month hits i'm in the frig every five mins looking for something something anything to satisfy my sweet tooth. I always sucumb , the stress of not giving in makes me think about snacking even more. So i make sure i have healthly snacks to binge on. Last night i went over my calorie count eating weight watchers icecream grapes and oranges sunflowerseeds. One thing is try to get in a routine of going to bed at the same time every night i found that the longer i stay up the more likely i'll snack. Also, i agree with the person that commented on staying busy that helps too.Another thing, when i'm a little stressed i want to snack as well so my replacement is art. Find a different replacement that feels good other than eating. I hope this helps! I root for ya! Keep going it will pan out in the end when you get to know yourself and triggers!

abak819

Though I am not bipolar, I suffer from depression and anxiety issues which cause me to binge ALL THE TIME. For instance, Saturday morning I just wasn't feeling up to working out, so I ate like 3 bowls of Lucky Charms with 2% milk, BIG BOWLS. Its like, when I have these crazy cravings, a dab WILL NOT DO. I have to completely over-do it every time. I get so sick of it, and I feel like when I have these binges, I lose so much progress. I still have not found a way to combat the really bad cravings. What I have found helps cravings in general is to have healthy munchies around the house. Also, if I have a bag of something like crackers, I split them out into servings right away. That way I can go induldge in a little baggie, instead of eating the whole box! Something else that I think helps me is to eat healthy the rest of the time and continue to follow my exercise program. I didn't feel as bad when I had a "bad day" when I knew I would be burning tons of calories later...

10kaday

When I'm tempted for unhealthy snacks I get healthy ones out (like veggies) and then the unhealthy ones (like whatever is bad food lol). Make it a rule... eat two bites veggies, one bite bad food. Try to up it to three bites veggies, one bite bad food. Drink lots of water too!

jimmie65

It's good to see people willing to admit and discuss being bipolar. I also have bipolar disorder and - let's just say that food binging is one of my least destructive behaviors.

I have found the only thing that keeps me sane is activity. The more intense, the better. If I feel a swing coming on, I go and hit the weights, run, or do something strenuous.

rosiecbolton

Right, no excuses will buy the elliptical cross trainer off eBay!

Thanks so much everyone for your help and support

anaduffy

I have a brother in law who is bi-polar and he used to be almost 400lbs now he's dropped to under 200 what he did was when he got the craving to eat a lot he would have a half glass of chocolate milk and a banana and he said that if he wasn't hungry he would be to full to eat anything else and it satisfied his chocolate craving too

ladynica

I'm not bipilor, but like a couple of other people, I do live with depression. I've not had total success with stopping the binges (in fact, I had one just last night). honestly, what's been helping me is really mentally reviewing what issues/situations are causing me to binge. I know my triggers now so it's a bit easier to stop the binge sooner or attempt to prevent it.

I try not to keep horrible things in the house. I absolutely cannot buy oreo cookies. I've been known to eat an entire package in one setting. But I will keep a single serving to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I also try to drink water to "fill up" before the binge happens. Also, it's a lot hard to wrack up thousands of binge calories when all that's in the house is fresh fruit and veggies. Yes, eating a bag of carrots and a head of lettuce and four tomatoes will still make you feel icky afterwards if you eat it all at once, but the ickiness doesn't last nearly as long and at least I got some nutrients out of the deal.

For some reason, a graham cracker with peanut butter works really well for me to keep from eating everything in the house. I'm not sure why. I guess it might be the perfect combo of sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy in my mind.

If all else fails, try going for a walk or getting up and moving around mid binge. It's harder to eat when you're body is in motion.

onelifeonebody42

Hi Rosie,

I can absolutely relate to what you are going through. I am bipolar, "mildly" my doctor likes to call it, but nevertheless moods are pretty wacky. I started MFP three weeks ago and was doing great, all gun-ho to stick to this, and then last week I cheated on Mardi Gras and the rest of the week went downhill pretty quickly...chicken wings, small pint of ice cream in one sitting, chinese food.....ugh....but someone I friended here sent me a message since she hadnt seen me post anything in three days.....that was really helpful and bounced me back on plan.

One day at a time

juicyisme

I'm an emotional eater and my downfalls are ice cream and chocolate. I really can't have them in the house or I'll attack lol What I've done are several things. Depriving oneself of chocolate and ice cream altogether just doesn't work!!! I have to have it or I'll try other things only to find I still want it. Hence overeat crap. Those strong cavings really get to me. Yes, it is a craving. You just have to have it and nothing else will do it for you. Those 100 calorie snacks are perfect. One bag is 100 calories. I purchase Nabisco 100 calorie oreos (if I want something crunchy). Textures mean a lot to me.

If I crave a chocolate bar, Hershey kisses pack a nice chunk of chocolate. Creamy milk chocolate sets me off for a binge. Dark chocolate is more satiating for me. Take out one serving then put the bag somewhere that is real pain in the *kitten* to get to. They also sell small snack bags of them. Another thing I purchase is small snack size chocolate protein bars. They come in a variety pack and are 130-140 calories. For something more healthier, try Met-RX Minis. They come in peanut butter caramel crunch, chocolate toasted almond and super cookie crunch. I find the protien content (10g) fills me up only for a snack time.

There are also ones that are meal repacements. Go for high protein content. The two I enjoy are Pure Proten 20g Chocolate peanut butter (200 calories) and chewy chocolate chip (200 calories). Not shabby at all for a meal replacement. All you need then is a piece of fruit(goes much better with chocolate lol) or a vegetable :)There are more that I can list. You have to try them. Find what works for you.

When shopping, choose a high protein value. They're more satisfying for my chocolate cravings. Bonus is they're filling. Anything that's 10g or less of protein for me is a snack. Watch the calorie content. Try to keep snacks as close to 100 calories as possible. Find healthy substitues where you can. It's all trial and error.

With mood swings find what keeps you stable. Work with your doctor and therapist (if you don't have one I recommend one to help support you) I think a lot of people have mood swings especially with emotions. Life circumstances make you/me that way. Things happen we have no control over.

Hope you find this helpful...Best wishes on your journey

FJMilner

I used to binge quite badly...I went for a one to one hynotherapy session and I don't know if it's because of that session that I very rarely binge now. Might be worth looking in to. Don't get me wrong, I still overeat I just no longer feel the need to go round the kitchen like pac-man eating anything and everything in sight. Best of luck xx

christypaxson

I'm not bi-polar but I was diagnosed with PTSD - It's a hard battle no matter what you have. I am currently doing the same thing. I do great for a few days and then I am back on the carb kick. If I don't settle a craving I binge I attack like a wild animal. I can eat a bag of Doritos in one setting. I am now starting to buy small snacks in the 100 calorie packs. My partner actually hides them and will give me one if I become total biotch about it. If I have had to many calories she doesn't give it to me. I get mad, but I get over it because I keep myself busy while being mad. By then the feeling passes. I am just now starting this over as of yesterday after having a breakdown about being unhealthy. I have heard you shouldn't avoid a craving because it makes it worse so the best advice I can give and listen to it myself is to have a healthy snack around that's filling. I also drink a bottle of water when I get the craving. If I still want it after about a half hr I grab the healthy snack. Not the best of advice and a lot of rambling but best of luck to you and keep your head up! Don't give up

ISABELCOADY55

don't want to sound like I'm looking for a plug or anything, but there's a group 50 day binge free chanllenge.
I haven't completely stopped, but it's helped me reduce my binging massively!!
there are also lots of lovely people in th group who are going through the same thing.

elleryjones

I used to be the queen of self sabotage as well and lurked on these boards for quite a while before trying something different. For the past few weeks I have been trying the "eat more to lose" concept and it's been amazing. My energy has gone way up, my mood has improved, and I have had no urge to binge eat. I used to beat myself up and feel like it was weakness, lack of self control, etc. that would lead to my overeating. Now I'm thinking that I was just hungry. I feel satisfied each day now and I'm no longer seeing food as the enemy. Just something to think about. From what I can tell, there are two main camps on these boards - the people who try desperately to stick to the 1200 calories thing and swear by it, and the people who swear by the "eat more to lose" philosophy. From my own experience trying to do the low calorie thing just makes me plateau and I binge and have low energy and I beat myself up emotionally. May be something to consider, but again, just one person's experience.

bdreilly84

I have been a closet binger most of my life. What I am doing to try to curb my binge eating is thinking about why I am so unhappy with myself in the first place. Then I go for a walk, or watch an episode of biggest loser. Watching people put so much effort on that show really motivates me to do treat myself better. I also look back at how well I do when I am eating right and try to remember how much better I felt/feel when not eating my weight in something. If all else fails, I take a nap

a_mandolin_

I feel you. I have both as well. Although medicated, I'd still self medicate and I thought I was good when I overcame substances, only to turn to food(sugar) instead. That one seems to be the worst, you can't cold turkey food! The bf is nice and keeps snacks out of the house, but that only makes me feel bad because I'm depriving him for no reason. I just end up sneaking food anyways I'm very proud of all of you who have found ways to cope!

I do like the above posters idea of going for a walk andgetting away from it. That helps me as well - except in the bitter cold crappy midwest winter!

ACrowsDay

I'm not bipolar either...all the tips above are great...I've got one to add! It will help hold me off until my nexted planned meal...I chew a piece of (Juicy fruit) gum??? Helps me...I guess the chewing, only 10 calories of sweetness! Doing it right now and think I'll jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes! It's hard but you have to want it really bad! Jen

HotAshMess

Anxiety ridden, allegedly BPD, some symptoms of PTSD, diagnosed binge eater here. I've been off-track for awhile....I left for months, stopped logging, and now I can't seem to keep my calories in check. Pretty sad because I worked so hard and lost 26 pounds and gained it all back (with extra). Super mad at myself lately. Which might be part of the problem.

But....some things I was doing for awhile: I started by making sure I was getting in the bare minimum of all my vitamins (a multi, fish oil, Super B-Complex, and Vitamin C and D-notice all the feel good vitamins in there?) I once had a dietitian/therapist team that suggested I log my foods and how I was feeling at the time to figure out what triggered me (emotions, boredom, anger) because after awhile I'd be able to sit down and learned what triggered me so I could find a better way to deal with it. And because writing down what I was feeling made me ask myself.... "am I really hungry? do I really want to eat this?" And after awhile, I stopped logging the emotions and just started asking myself if I really wanted whatever I was about to eat.

I cannot stress the importance of making sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and then some! Rome wasn't built in a day and I knew I wasn't going to change all at once, and I couldn't be drastic or I'd fail from the stress and pressure and unrealistic demands on myself. So step 1 for me was to log every day. After a week or 2, my second goal was to drink at least 8 oz of water every day. Once I started getting that water in then my goal was to eat at or just below my calories. Staying below calories is easier when you're getting your water in, for sure.

I never deny myself anything and I don't ignore cravings. But I needed to learn to do things differently. For starters, I stopped keeping crap in the house. And if I did, I put it away where I couldn't SEE it. If it's in my face, there's a near guarantee I'll be going at it like a wild animal. Which meant no more candy dish of M&M's or Hershey's kisses next to the couch, no more ice cream in the freezer, no more pop, no bags of chips. I'll eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting if left to my own devices. And I learned I just can't have it until I'm doing really good. I bake for enjoyment...I had to stop doing that for awhile, but then I learned I could leave a few cookies/pieces of cake at home and have one or two a day and take the rest to work so they weren't sitting there, staring at me. What I learned is that I can binge on almost anything, so I've tried to make smarter choices. No....eating a half a bag of baby carrots isn't "good" per say, but half a bag of baby carrots beats a whole bag of chips. A 50-125 calorie cup of sugar free cocoa beats a whole candy bar. Reading Eat This not That types of things about food really helps me to know what similar alternatives I can have more of for the same calories (or less calories). Check out this site http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew. And when I have to have something, like ice cream or a candy bar or fast food...I buy one, or I buy the smallest container of the good quality stuff. 2 things I've learned, once you get rolling....one serving is incredible and you don't need more than that. When you buy something that is better quality, lower quantity and costs more, you savor it. And fast food calories, after awhile, just don't seem worth it. But sometimes one cheeseburger is good and tastes like heaven.

High fiber/protein fills you up faster....I like to choose protein bars, and snacks packs in 90 calories to keep at my desk to munch on.

At meals....load your plate with 2x more healthy veggies than meat, starchy vegetables, or bread.

I'm always looking for good, supportive friends. My diary is open to my friends, so you can see all of my binges and bad days and my good days. I share recipes if I have them. I blog about my journey, and eating cheap on a budget. Feel free to add me.

giveMEbeauty

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