feeling down and binge eating

I used to do this alot. I still struggle with this, but it's getting better. when I feel down, I take a step back, take a deep breath and try to process my feelings about what the situation is and realize that eating will not solve the problem, it only makes my problem worse. I will also try to do something to distract myself, drink a glass of water, squeeze a piece of ice, take a walk or just yell if I'm alone in the house or car. Good luck, if you need extra motivation please add me and good luck with your journey!

I so have been struggling for 10+ years with binge eating. I can be good all day and then binge at night. When I am work throughout the day though I also binge when there is staff junk food left everywhere and I hide it and take it in a room whre nobody can see me. Its on and off depending if Im bored with life, how much I am working and how the weather is. I also have motivational quotes everywhre. My binge eating is due to my many food intolerances and IBS. I have to be so restricted with my diet that I get frustrated and feel like I can't eat anything or go anywhere then I get upset and say screw it and binge on food Im not supposed to eat. Is it ok if I add you guys too.

Increase your lean protein intake- Protein Shake- like Myoplex or Herbalife protein beverage mix, or protein pancakes. Increase protein and you will level out your blood sugar- less binges, less cravings. Hope this helps.

I used to be both a stress eater and a binge eater. I finally got over it by changing my outlook on food. Food is (and is only meant to be) fuel for our bodies. Good fuel runs our bodies better. Why on earth would we give food any emotional pull? Why would we use a body fuel as a way through an emotional time? Food is only fuel. Food won't make you feel better (has anyone ever actually felt better after bingeing?). Food is only meant to fuel your body. Emotional problems need to be handled through an emotional outlet (counseling, talking to friends, writing your issues down in a blog or a journal, working out,etc.). Working out is a fantastic way to work out emotional issues because it naturally raises the level of endorphins in the system and endorphins make people feel better...like natural stress relievers and antidepressants in one).

To get over my binge eating I used to ask myself 2 things. 1 - does my body need fuel right now? (if no, don't eat. if yes, make a healthy meal). 2 - will eating this (popcorn, chips, chocolate, cake, ice cream, etc) actually make me feel better? If you can think about your emotional issues and honestly say that food will make you feel better, then by all means, go ahead and binge away but after adopting this method of thinking for about a week or so I found myself re-thinking my "need" to emotionally eat. I actually wrote these 2 questions down on a piece of paper and taped it to both my fridge and my pantry doors.

Another way to deal with binge eating...just don't keep excess food in the house. I cut the junk in my house and that meant not buying my old "go-to" binge foods. I save so much money (and temptation) by not buying chocolate, ice cream, cookies, chips, and other unhealthy foods. Out of sight out of mind, and out of house out of mouth.

It's a daily struggle for me. I will do great for a few months and not binge and lose some weight, then something happens and I start binge eating again. I know that I'm like a drug addict, and as soon as I start, I can't stop so I just have to stay away from the things that trigger a binge. One day at a time is all I can say, there is no easy answer. Just be honest with yourself because the only person we are hurting is ourselves. If you eat a box of donuts, own up to it and count the calories! Sometimes it helps me if I see just how far over I went for the day by stress eating or binge eating!!

This past weekend a friend of mine called me a typical stereotype emotional woman! This weekend, I was feeling a little blue... So Saturday, I ate a WHOLE pint of icecream while watching Heros reruns and crying like a baby. What's crazy is that I still woke up the next morning and had lost weight. I'm learning to redirect those emotions into excercise and cooking healthy meals so that when I do have a REALLLLLY bad day.. it's not all that bad. I don't regret that icecream.. not one bit, but after that, I threw myself into meal planning and gym schedualing.

many people use food as a coping mechanism, if you have done it historically, it makes it easy to use that as your "fix" when you are having a rough time.

when you feel yourself getting bummed out, try to do something healthier, call up a friend, grab some coffee, go to the gym, do anything besides sit by yourself and mindlessly snacking. Sometimes just having a quick conversation with a friend or someone you are close to can snap you outta that funk and keep you focused on your goals.

I used to binge a lot when I was eating less. I could go a week or two eating 1400 cals but with the workouts it was never enough food. My body adjusted to the intake so I wasn't hungry but I rarely ever lost weight but the minute I endulged I gained.

In my case, binge eating was fixed by eating enough healthy foods. This site doesn't have all the answers and everyone's body, life, situation and goals are different. All you can do is try some things people suggest worked for them and see what works for you.

Good luck.

I have always struggled with emotional and binge eating, and I still continue to do so. I work at it every day, and I find that if I fill up a few waterbottles and just go for a drive, it really helps. I bring some blueberries or some other fruit in a small container to munch on with drinking all the water. I bring a magazine or 2, grab my waterbottles and snack, and go somewhere peaceful where I can take some time to breathe.

I just did this yesterday =( I was doing well all day and binged on Papa John's pepperoni pizza.

I think that emotional eating is definitely what got me this big. *sigh* When I started counting calories, I cut out chocolate altogether (my biggest weakness!) and of course, haven't had chips etc. It was VERY hard. The hard thing was to really have to feel all my feelings, instead of numbing them down with food. Twice I have gone to the supermarket on a mission to buy a lot of junk food, but I force myself to look at the calories on EVERYTHING and as I really don't want to go over too much, I have ended up coming home with a reasonably healthy choice (for example, I start looking at calories on all the lovely ice cream I want to have, but end up buying small tubs of weight watchers ice cream as I can easily fit those into my daily calorie allowance). I also always keep some Pepsi Max in the fridge. When I really feel the need for a treat, I have a glass/can of that... a treat for 1 calorie.

just up your head and start over the next day... thats what i do! You can do that!

You are SO not alone; I've been struggling with binge eating my entire life. The key is to DO SOMETHING ELSE. What are you interested in? When I want comfort food, I write about it in my journal, take pictures, do schoolwork, watch a movie, take a walk, grab a giant bowl of blueberries, something to keep my head out of greasy and unhealthy foods.

Just keep in mind that you are not alone and, another great tactic, is to talk to yourself. Imagine being friends with someone who is confiding in you about their binge eating. What would you tell them? How would you suggest they improve? Every time you get an emotional craving, stop, and be your own friend : ).

Thanks for being confident enough to share this. I am an emotional eater and a binge eater. If I am alone, bored, stressed, I have the tendency to make several trips to the kitchen in search of something to eat. I have instituted rules like not buying the junk food for the house and I know that is a good step but I just want to not want to do it period. UGH! I so sympathize with your plight.

Me too! I've been working on this for 4 years but especially since Sept 2012 when I realized exactly what I was doing to myself and why. Now I can't go that mindless anymore. I don't find myself standing in the kitchen, elbow deep in a chip bag anymore; I catch myself opening the cupboard and redirect myself then and there. Sometimes I have to leave the house to keep myself out of there.

At times, I almost wish I could go into automatic pilot eating again because it's so much harder to admit why I'm bothered and how powerless I am to change it. (it has to do with a family member's drug addiction; I really am powerless to change it) Sigh ...........