BINGE EATING!!

Funny, I have just about an hour ago posted something similar! But my question was to try find out the cause of my binge eating.

Someone sent me this link, although it's for the UK. Not sure where you are in the world, but have a read anyway. Might be relevent to you.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Binge-eating/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Binge eating is a difficult thing to break. I am just like you, I can binge when I'm happy, sad, or bored.

I have improved my binge eating a lot over the last year and now only slip up occasionally, and I firmly believe that there is no magic cure, you just need to want to lose the weight more than you want to eat.

You can help yourself along the way though. Try eating plenty of protein and fats to keep yourself full, and don't cut out everything that you love, just make an allowance for it in your calories.

I am overtaken by uncontrollable binges sometimes. I thought I had a handle on them but last night it happened again for the first time this year and I felt (and still do feel) pretty crappy about it. It's really hard trying to explain to someone that binging is not necessarily the same as treating. When I really want a treat, I'll go ahead and have one and won't feel guilty about it but when I binge it's like something takes over, I'm not in control, and I can't stop even if I don't want any more or feel sick.

I need to work on it and I don't know what causes it but I just wanted you to know you're not alone.

I am strange because I tend to binge on mostly healthy food. It took me a while to shift but I have officially shifted for good. At least I have fixed the foods I crave. Rice is my downfall but I have changed my shift to brown rice instead and I do crave chocolate sometimes but it is only the dark kind. I looove veggies and fruits and now and when hungry, I pick up a banana, orange or apple, or all 3 lol and that usually satisfies my sweet tooth. I have a very large appetite (I eat more than my husband most of the time). It is my biggest problem so I changed the foods I craved and went to. The biggest thing I gave up was gluten. On a bad day I will make gluten free pancakes with gluten free flour, otherwise I stick to my fruits and veggies. I do believe the calories from those are somehow different. So I do allow myself unlimited fruits and veggies, especially when I am ravenously hungry. Juicing helps me a lot too. At least then, I am getting all the great vitamins and minerals from my food. Maybe if you tried changing the foods you craved, it could help you too. Portions is a problem for me but fruits and veggies give me so much energy and satisfy like nothing else does.

I can identify exactly with what you're saying. What is helping me at the moment is developing an attitude of mindfulness where I really think about my actions and make conscious decisions. I'm trying not to be scared of hunger, and only eating when I'm hungry. When I eat I'm trying not to do anything else, ie. I don't play on the computer, I don't watch TV, I concentrate on the food and I chew it properly. I definitely have a way to go on that aspect but I'm trying. If I want a treat I build it into my calorie intake. I'm trying to look at calories over the week rather than the day. I'm trying to make every calorie count so that I'm eating natural food that will fill me up. All small steps perhaps but it seems to be changing my attitude towards food which can only be good.
I'm also cultivating the attitude that what's done is done, I can't uneat something, but I can get right back on it.

this is so helpful! thankyou everyone. its just little changes that makes big differences. the other thing i struggle at is the concept of going for a run or walk after a binge. i mean, ive ruined it so i may aswell ruin it proper and do nothing. however does anyone know if it helps by doing excersize like if it is beneficial to weight loss?

I feel it helps to exercise. I have always had a problem binging. Now if I do it, I try to wait an hour and get a good burn in. This isn't justified, but, I think it's helping me to turn away from binging because it's so hard to work the cals off. It is important to log all of it. I know how much this can be but, feel it helps to look back and see why. I know emotions...my problem too. Seeing it in writing opens eyes. My doc wanted me to go on anti depressants to calm down a bit. I tend yo want to eat when I am aggrivated/stressed. When I am alone in house...it can be really bad. Try not to bring trigger food in house. I know this is hard too...especially, when you live with kids and husband (lol). You could always talk to a friend. Therapy even from a friend helps. Friend me if you want. This isn't something made up and people need to understand it's similar to being an alcoholic and o swear it's hereditary. Hood luck, Hon.

I have a seriouse problem with binge eating its always affected my life. If i cheat and have a slice of toast of a biscuit I feel i have failed and then spend the rest of the day/night eating and eating until i feel sick. There are so many places for anorexia, bulimia etc asnd not as much for people struggling with binge eating. just wondered if anyone had stories we should share and tips?

I am exactly the same! if i eat anything 'bad', i end up ruining the whole day and sayin il 'eat better tomorrow'

As a problem eater, this is my advice. It is based on what worked for me. I am a person with lots of food issues. It used to be my comfort and I needed to change that way of thinking:

1) Read Brain over Binge - available on kindle too. Great book. Highly recommend as a starting point.

2) Read and work through books on emotional eating: The Beck Diet Solution is good. There are others I can recommend. You don't have to listen to EVERY bit of the advice in the book, but read a rew and pick what works for you. Do the journaling, note cards, etc - see what works and what doesn't. Lots of books in your public library!

3) Change your diet to include more filling foods: fiber - i.e. veggies, fruits, whole grains - and good fats - i.e. nuts, seeds, olive oil (and I"m not afraid of saturated fat like butter, but that's me, you might think differently).

Accept that you will never be perfect - you can only try your best! This is so important. One piece of bread is not a failure! It doesn't have to ruin all your hard work. Keep making steps forward in your journey.

Ive also had a problem with binging, to the point where I would wake up at 3 am and help myself to 900 calories! I stopped knowing what it felt like to be hungry, because i never let myself get hungry. Because I always ate and was never hungry, I was never satisfied either. I didn't even have a stomachache after my binges. and then I read a book last week called "Thinside out: How to have your cake and your skinny jeans too"

It taught me alot about the dieting mentality, and included studies about how we set ourselves up for failure and then we "eat because we ate" (i.e. "Well i already ruined my diet today. I might as well go all out and just be good tomorrow" ). Which leads to restricting and deprivation and ultimately more binging. Then the cycle repeats. Anyways, the book also tells you how to decipher your true hunger signals and it's helped me immensely.

I've only binged 2 or 3 times since last thursday, whereas i used to eat ALL day and binge in the middle of the night. WIth the help of that book, I even managed to not turn to food for comfort when my bf broke up with me on thursday. Best of luck!

I meant toast as a starting point. say i binge after dinner. my typical binge is on average. 4 slices toast with butter and cheese. 1 bag of popcorn(butter) , 3 tbsp peanut butter. 6 bags of crisps. 1/2 packet of digestives. 4 yoghurts. 3 apples. 4 sandwhiches with mayonaisee cheese. 1 cheese toastie. 4 cereal bars, 1 bowl pasta cheese and olie oil. 1 cup chocolate milk. 1/4 block of cheedar cheese eaten straight. 2 bowl cereal with lots of sugar. that was my last binge but thats fairly regular. i also tracked that i ate that in 45 mins. its awful to actually write down. and that was between 7-7.45pm. if i binge all day it will be that X10. not sure if this is an average size binge for everyone b ut thats how much i eat.

Yepper, I'm with ya. Tons of nuts, toast with peanut butter, plus peanut butter by the spoonful, cereal, popcorn...and this is all after dinner.