Binge Eating

Save some food for late night binging and it will be all legal.....

I found this in another forum:

Strategies to avoid b/ping-


1. If you feel the urge, wait 20 minutes. If it's still there wait another 20 minutes. Take baby steps.
2. Don't berate yourself with thoughts like "I will 'not' do x". Stay positive and say things you WILL do. "I 'will' take care of my body."
3. Remember, the food is always going to be there.
4. Remember that bingeing and purging will not erase the reason you decided to do it this time.
5. Leave your house, and do not take your wallet with you. Get some fresh air.
6. If you smoke, replace a binge and purge with only allowing yourself a cigarette as a reward for not engaging in that behavior. (If you don't smoke already, please ignore this.)
7. Get rid of the credit/debit cards and check books and start relying on single trips to the bank when you need groceries- don't withdraw more than you can spend on a normal amount of food. If the money isn't there, you can't use it... and banks are closed on the weekends .
8. Start being proactive and look up some OA or other support groups in your area. Even if you aren't completely sold by the program, it's still free and couldn't hurt you to at least check it out.
9. Make a schedule from day to day- including a food plan, if you like.
10. Make sure you aren't under-eating as this can trigger some people without them realizing it's even happening.

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i hope this helps

Boy where do I start. I have been binge eating off and on for 18 yrs. Then I discovered a interesting key to losing weight. Something I forgot when I was successful before my Twin's were born. That is to set my calories only 100 calories below my BMR and eat no higher than my BMR and net no lower than 1200 calories. Right now, I am 239lbs, 5ft 5in, and 29 yrs old and working my way down again after 5 kids, I eat around 1700 calories a day. I also try to only exercise 30 minutes to 1 hour 3-5 times a week. If I am losing at only working out 3 times a week then that is what I do, as I get smaller I exercise more but only if I need to. I lost from 298 pounds to 164 pounds just working out on my treadmill 30 minutes a day in 1.5yrs. The reason I do that is because your body gets used to exercising a lot and then plateaus. I then over eat because I don't eat enough, bad cycle. Then something else happens, I binge or take water pills or laxatives such as prune juice and so on and so on. I didn't realize there was a name for what I did to myself to lose weight. The key is to be satisfied but not stuffed or hungry at the end of the day. If you are hungry, then eat up to your BMR. You will lose less that week but you will lose weight. There is no magic pill to help but you can put cinnamon on your toast or apples and it helps your blood sugar levels balance out. My father who is a diabetic taught me this and it works. If I am hungry, I have cinnamon apples with Stevia or Plain Sugar mixed with Cinnamon. Diabetes alone can make you binge so set your calories at losing 1.5 pounds a week and work with it. This is my key to success, no book has told me how to do this or why it works. The proof is in my 25 pound weightloss in 5 months. It isn't fast but it comes off and stays off. You can friend me if you want and we can encourage each other. Good luck and best wishes.

I struggle with occasional binge eating as well. I sometimes consume over 1500 calories before bed. It feels like I am trying to choke myself with food. I feel horribile the next day. Stomachaches, nausea, loss of appetite etc. But generally I am doing fine. I believe that a binge eater first should stop blaming herself for what she did. An occasional binge speeds up your metabolism and replenish your glycogen storage. A binge is usually caused by deprivation. You consume 1500 calories a day but you are exercising. So you may be still undereating which may be triggering your binges. ALSO you are diabetic, are you following a special diet for diabetes? Some food may be triggering your binges. For example I am hypoglycemic but I have found out I cant handle fruit. Fruit is healthy right? But not for me. It's causing an insulin spike and a crash on me. After I ate watermelon, I was having urges to binge so badly. Watch how you feel after you eat certain food. Your diet may be triggering your binges. Increase your calories according to your activity level. Watch what you eat. Some healthy food are not healthy for you because you're diabetic. Increase your slow digesting carbs to stabilize blood sugar. Good luck!

I need help with this as well. It seems that loneliness is often subdued by those yummy late night snacks. I always feel awful afterwards. It is never worth it.
I feel your (stomach) pains!

Since you've identified it as emotional eating, food will not satisfy it. Remind yourself of that. Long-term you need to deal with the underlying emotional issues and figure out other ways to handle emotions. Shorter term try
* any habit breaking technique - most of the best ones replace a bad habit with the formation of a good one; for instance, every time you want to binge, do 5 minutes of exercise
* meditation
* yoga
* reading
* any other distraction that uses both hands and preferably one you enjoy
* brush and floss your teeth
* put on some music and dance
* drink at least 4 ounces of something
* write an entry in a gratitude journal
And make sure it's really emotional eating. A binge is never healthy.
But if you really just mean minor grazing that puts you over your daily goal calories, check to see that it's not based on a real physical craving. For instance, I used to have a problem when I was low on protein or magnesium. Eating tons of other stuff wouldn't stop it, but just a small amount of what I needed would. Another common cause of cravings is dehydration. If it's a craving rather than binge eating, see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/cravings-282817 for more ideas.

BEFORE you put it in your mouth, put it in your food diary! I have always been a late-night binge eater, but since starting on MFP, I enter things before I eat them so I can see what I am really putting into my body. It's like my brain shut off all judgement and let my tastebuds and stomach take control. Out of curiosity, I entered a typical nighttime snack for the 'old me' into my food diary, and I was shocked and disgusted to see that it totaled more than the DAILY calories I am eating now.

It's not always easy to control the urge to pig out at night, but if you can force yourself to look at the calories of what you are putting into your body before it happens, you may lose your appetite!

Friend me if you need any support, I know what it's like

Hi,

I have binge problems too. I was told about Overeaters Anonymous http://www.oa.org/.

Look for a group in your area. I am going to start going to one in my area next week.

An aquintance of mine who is an Psychologist (she deals quite a bit with clients that have eating disorders) suggested this to me.

BUMP = Bring Up My Post - In other words, move it up in the "recent" list. Also used (incorrectly some would say) by many posters on MFP to add a posting thread to the person's "My Topics" list to make it easier for the person to find again later.

For other MFP terms, see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/mfp-terms-introductory-274185