Binging

Yes, I am having the same issue after losing some people in my life, I was at the gym daily and pretty strict about eating healthy and now been binge eating for a month which leaves me too tired and depressed to get working out. Bit of a nightmare, no idea how to break free, have tried and dread to think how much weight I have gained. Just as well I started off slightly underweight.

I'm exactly the same. It usually happens when I'm feeling stressed or down, which is a lot of the time at this time of year. I can't seem to stop myself. I know I'm doing it and know what it's doing to me but I just cannot stop!

Anyone else get the urge to eat eat eat eat ad nauseum until vomiting? I know that isn't normal but sometimes when I feel down I get the urge to binge - not even appreciate what I am eating but just stuff myself with everything in sight as quickly as possible until I hurl. I think this has more to do with feeling depressed than feeling underfed or hungry.

Sometimes these issues need to be addressed by a doctor before starting on a calorie deficit.

Being on a calorie deficit is hard. You can't do this journey on will power alone. You must set up your environment for success. Have a team around you in your real life, not just online. Get trigger foods out of the house. It will take some sacrifice and it's not easy. You might have to say no to some social events sometimes.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

I get like that where I just can't seem to stop eating, and like everyone else I find it's usually when I'm stressed out. I always think it's going to make me feel better, but usually it's just the start of a cycle of binging, being pissed that I binged, getting upset and doing it alllll over again

I don't throw up, but this is how I would look after every meal if I wasn't motivated to get skinny again:

Yikes!!!

i know it sounds so cheesy, but these prompts i made up really helped me get to my 30+ day no binge point. I bought myself a new journal with my favorite painting on it (Van Gough, Almond Blossom) in order for me to actually sort out my confused and jumbled thoughts i felt right before binge eating. at first i thought journaling was stupid and time consuming, but in all honesty bingeing IS time consuming so i really needed to crack down on myself, be patient, and write out my feelings. here we go:

1) write a letter to your urge to binge as if it were a person. what would you say to it? how would you explain how it makes you feel?
2) if the men in black were to erase ALL of your memories except for one, what would that single memory be and why do you think it is really special to you?
3) explain 5 things about you that make you unique/happy/excited for the future.
4) write out on a piece of paper one word descriptions about exactly what you feel at that point. do you feel anxious, bored, angry, upset, tired, frustrated, etc? use varying font sizes, different colored pens/crayons to show the different intensities of each feeling.
5) if you were to look in a mirror and see an inanimate object that represents your personality, what would it be and why? explain it as thoroughly as possible
6) come up with a metaphor for your binges....do they feel like roller coasters? hurricanes? being gently rocked to sleep? fireworks? getting beat up by a giant? the more you shed light on your binges the less it acts like a phantom....so try to get to know and personify your `binge urge`
7) identify your exact feelings before, during and after a binge. dont hold back, let it ALL out in your journal.
8) write a love letter to yourself, talking about how you want to do what is best for you and why you are WORTH it (it sounds narcissistic...but once youre in `binge self sabotaging mode` you really need a HUGE pick-me-up and no ones gonna do it but yourself so start loving yourself!)
9) find a picture in a magazine that really speaks to you, cut it out and paste it in your journal, and explain why you put it there.
10) who is your fitness hero? what do you think they would tell you in your time of need? (i pictured jillian michaels saying, `Naomi, WHY would you want to eat all of this garbage? You`re hurting yourself, you don`t deserve to live like this. You are a beautiful person who doesnt need to feel this sort of self-inflicted pain`). Yeah...I really like jillian, okay?!

i truly hope this helps you guys...they really helped me better understand myself and why i binge. i am sort of a creative person so i really enjoy taking these weird/creative approaches to my problems, and i feel like its definitely been working so far. hope it helps you guys too!!!!!

YES!!! It is about depression. The brain releases dopamine when eating (especially sugar), and that is why we do it. It has nothing to do with food; it's all about the malfunction of the brain.

Yes! I was doing great with my eating for a while, but the past month has been horrible!! I've been binging every day! I've tried to clear my house of possible binge foods, and yesterday I still found random things to binge on in house: turkey bites, dried dates, unsalted sunflower seeds, piece of leftover chicken, apple, quesadilla with weight watchers cheese on whole wheat tortilla, banana, etc. It just shows that it's not just sugar and carbs for me-I will eat anything to fill the void! I was eating jars of peanut butter and boxes of cereal and toast with butter and brown sugar, whole pizzas, bags of almonds, pretzels, popcorn, etc. I know I do it out of stress and boredom because it's an escape, until I stop eating. Then, immediately, I am angry and depressed! Luckily, I've only put 4 pounds back on as of right now because I'm still exercising, but this has got to stop! My stomach hurts every day and I am miserable! Help!

I feel the same way alot of the time , i just eat and eat ,and eat some more . Then when i realize just how much i ate , im so deperessed that i hate myself and become depressed. Im not a big meal eater im a huge grazzer , espically at night.

Hope things get better for you

Ive been trying to adjust bedtimes , and doing more things to keep away from all the food . Ive also stopped buying snacky food because i tell myself , if you eat your lunch stuff you wont have lunch lol