What do you consider a "binge"?

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  • joyincincy
    joyincincy Posts: 228 Member
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    i find myself binging when i have been drinking with friends so i make sure to make it a rare occasion!
    After too many drinks (a binge in itself) anyone will eat too much. It's such a viscous cycle! :grumble:
  • TheBaileyHunter
    TheBaileyHunter Posts: 641 Member
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    Family sized bag of Doritos...MINE ALL MINE... and the post-ugh that goes with it.
  • Cheeky_0102
    Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
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    I consider it every time I have more of a treat than I wanted to, or when it gets the better of me *the day I had 4 servings of dessert for instance) I don't consider the pie last night a binge, because I stopped at the pie. If I had gone on to eat the rest of the pie, or another treat because "it's already too late I'm already over" then I would consider it a binge.

    In the last almost 90 days (that I have been logging on mfp) I have only had a few nights that I consider "binging" so I think I'm ok.

    I have yet to carry it past a single meal too
  • VistaJerry
    VistaJerry Posts: 45
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    It's different. Usually it's when I know I'm so full I can't eat another bite but I do anyway.

    Calories of the day after a binge is usually over 4,000. Luckily it hasn't caught up too much but it can't be good for my intestines.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    a planned event of eating junk
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    Unplanned and uncontrolled consumption of a large amount of food

    ^ This.

    These days, I occasionally have very high-calorie days (like, in the 3000-4000 range) that were totally planned (e.g., a potluck, a celebratory special dinner out). I enjoy them completely guilt-free, log them as best I can, and carry on the next day with my normal eating and exercise habits. This is not a binge.

    In the past, usually in the evenings after my partner was asleep (therefore in secret), I used to quietly and rapidly stuff my face with whatever I could raid out of the fridge and pantry - hunks of cheese, handfuls of chocolate chips, a half dozen tortillas smeared with gobs of peanut butter and honey, or stuffed with more cheese, spoonfuls of maple syrup, etc. Probably 1000-2000 calories in a span of 10-30 minutes or so. I did not talk about it, I felt guilty and out of control while doing it and even worse afterwards. These were binges.

    Although the caloric overage is probably about the same in both cases, the reasons behind them and the accompanying feelings are vastly different.

    Exactly this, there are plenty of days where I eat over my calories that I definitely wouldn't consider a binge
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    For me there's a switch that goes off mentally in my brain and I can't think or do anything else until I start eating, and continue and continue eating. Thousands of calories in 30 minutes. So much eating my jaw hurts from chewing so much in a short period. It is the exact same mental process I had going on when I tried to quit smoking five million times. Some switch just gets flipped in my brain and there is no turning it off.

    This is what I consider binge eating.

    I think the term "binge" gets used too lightly here. A binge is a sincere mental health concern, the overwhelming urge to eat and eat until you are passed the point of being sick. An emotional outburst that leaves you feeling drained, confused, and filled with self-loathing. It is just as much a psychological problem as it is physical.

    Medically, going over your goal by 100 or 300 or 500 or even 1,000 isn't a binge. That's just overeating.

    A binge constitutes large amounts of food, eaten in a near panic, that equals thousands of calories over.

    and these also
  • confetti_blind
    confetti_blind Posts: 91 Member
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    Eating until it hurts and you vomit or feel close to vomiting. Usually involves consuming 2500-5000 calories in one sitting but can be more.

    A binge would look something like this:
    1 family bag of chips
    1 pint ice cream
    Several large spoons of peanut butter and/or nutella
    12 cookies
    1 family bar of chocolate
    1 red velvet cake (yes, the whole cake)
    Cupcake frosting (yup, just eating the frosting because now there is no room left to eat the cupcakes themselves)
    Several brownies...

    ....and vomit before round 2.

    Eating a little bit over your TDEE or having a 'splurge' meal is not a binge, it's just eating. It annoys me when people think a binge is eating 300 calories. It is like they are completely belittling BED and how serious, medically, it can be and how much it affects the people who genuinely suffer from BED.
  • confetti_blind
    confetti_blind Posts: 91 Member
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    Honestly...I considering a "binge" eating above 100-200 of my normally allotted calories if it is a non-workout day (few and far between) or using all my exercise calories on days that I workout. But that is just my personal opinion, of which I will probably get blasted for, but it does happen and I do binge on occasion!

    ^^ignorant
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    For me there's a switch that goes off mentally in my brain and I can't think or do anything else until I start eating, and continue and continue eating. Thousands of calories in 30 minutes. So much eating my jaw hurts from chewing so much in a short period. It is the exact same mental process I had going on when I tried to quit smoking five million times. Some switch just gets flipped in my brain and there is no turning it off.

    How did you switch it off and has it kept off?
  • Frankii_x
    Frankii_x Posts: 238
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    I'm loving reading everyone's responses!

    A binge to me - excessive consumption of my guilty pleasure foods. This will usually lead to me being over my calorie goal for the day. My 'binges' are usually linked to emotions, I have always been an emotional eater. The biggest food types for me are crisps (chips if you're American) I could eat them all day and never get bored!
  • untogether01
    untogether01 Posts: 23
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    To me a binge is when I don't try to stop and ask myself if I'm really hungry, I just go for whatever junk craving I am having. And I am too ashamed to log any of it.

    This. On Sunday. Felt horrible all day yesterday but better after getting back on track.
  • emelia_
    emelia_ Posts: 91
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    For me binging is when I cannot stop eating until I have stomach pain. Everything sounds good, I usually eat a little of everything, bagel, chips, pancakes, granola bars, cheese and crackers. Haven't done this for YEARS though, thank goodness!
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
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    A binge is eating for the taste.

    I wouldn't even call eating 3 bad meals in a day a binge, and you wouldn't go over your calorie deficit for a week doing that.

    big bars of chocolate, then a whole loaf cake, then hunks of cheese, thats just bingeing.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    Eating junk food
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    For me a binge is defined by being out of control of my eating. The word is thrown around way to casually.

    There are times that I know I shouldn't have that chocolate cake but make a conscious decision to eat too much of it anyway. This is not a binge. I made the decision and I will accept the consequences like an adult.

    When I'm binging there's a little voice in the back of my head begging me to stop, to drink water, to fill up on salad, to walk out of the house, to wait an hour, to breath, anything. But that voice has no control over my body. I don't even recognize it as being a part of myself. I'm not eating for taste. I'm not even eating because it feels good. I'm eating to fill an emotional black hole that can never be filled. At that point I usually feel bloated and overly full. And I don't mean oh no! I had a big dinner fullness. I'm talking about feeling like one more bite will make me pop. And then I eat two more sandwiches. With peanut butter and cream cheese on them.

    I once traveled to Kyoto during cherry blossom season. They had attendants at the train station to pack as many people onto the public buses as possible. Then we stopped at three more bus stops and even more people got onto the bus. I couldn't move, could barely breath. This is what a binge feels like. I just want the food out of my stomach at that point but I keep eating more. I can't sit down without serious discomfort.

    Binging is about more than just guilt. At the end, I still feel empty inside even though I'm so full. I feel disgusted and disgusting. I don't want to face myself and I can't stand the thought of anyone finding out what I just did.

    For me, a minor binge is 3000 calories over maintenance. It is not a single cupcake.
  • SoLiveItUp
    SoLiveItUp Posts: 115 Member
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    To me a binge is when I want to eat everything and I mean everything and really fast almost as if there's a time limit and I have to get all of it down me I'm not even chewing. I don't care about the calories I just want to push the feeling down with food. I think its also the taste, my stomach can be aching and I'm cooking away food and still then I'm eating while I'm waiting. Force feeding almost. I only stop because the food won't go down any more and pain is unbearable. Thankfully I'm been binge free for a couple of months. Eating over calories isn't a binge because if I truly enjoyed the food, sat down and ate it without feeling like I have to rush then it's not a binge just me having too much of a good thing.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    if you're sneaking food, you're probably binging.

    For example, let's say you're getting out dessert for everyone. 2 cookies each. And you eat 2 while you're getting them. That's a binge.

    So is eating an entire bag of anything that has over 2 servings, I think.

    I disagree. Eating two cookies while getting them out of the bag, is a good way to add unnecessary calories but it's not a binge.. Neither is eating more than "2 servings" of something. Calling this a "binge" is like calling someone anorexic for missing a single meal.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    For me a binge is defined by being out of control of my eating. The word is thrown around way to casually.

    There are times that I know I shouldn't have that chocolate cake but make a conscious decision to eat too much of it anyway. This is not a binge. I made the decision and I will accept the consequences like an adult.

    When I'm binging there's a little voice in the back of my head begging me to stop, to drink water, to fill up on salad, to walk out of the house, to wait an hour, to breath, anything. But that voice has no control over my body. I don't even recognize it as being a part of myself. I'm not eating for taste. I'm not even eating because it feels good. I'm eating to fill an emotional black hole that can never be filled. At that point I usually feel bloated and overly full. And I don't mean oh no! I had a big dinner fullness. I'm talking about feeling like one more bite will make me pop. And then I eat two more sandwiches. With peanut butter and cream cheese on them.

    I once traveled to Kyoto during cherry blossom season. They had attendants at the train station to pack as many people onto the public buses as possible. Then we stopped at three more bus stops and even more people got onto the bus. I couldn't move, could barely breath. This is what a binge feels like. I just want the food out of my stomach at that point but I keep eating more. I can't sit down without serious discomfort.

    Binging is about more than just guilt. At the end, I still feel empty inside even though I'm so full. I feel disgusted and disgusting. I don't want to face myself and I can't stand the thought of anyone finding out what I just did.

    For me, a minor binge is 3000 calories over maintenance. It is not a single cupcake.

    YES YES YES! Binges used to really confuse me because I didn't even try to eat my favorite foods.. it was like I was just trying to throw the most calorie laden things into my belly.. it was the feeling of getting them into my belly that I was after.. I barely even chewed.. I also ate things during a binge that I wouldn't otherwise eat. For example, Lintzer tarts..They have a ridiculous amount of calories and taste like chalk.. but THEY were something I'd always want if binging. I wasn't even a serious binge eater.. it only happened a few times a year.. but when it did, it was horrifying. Thank you for explaining so well how it feels.
  • mmfit4fun
    mmfit4fun Posts: 9
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    After my massive binge last night, I really needed to read these posts. Feeling very out of control at the moment and have no idea why. Everything in my life is awesome - good job, supportive partner, finishing Masters, good friends and family. Went to bed last night to stop the binge. But that was only after I had gone to the shops to buy more food to stuff in my belly. If anyone has any tips for "flipping the switch" to off, I'd be happy to hear them. So sick of this cycle. And thanks to everyone for sharing their out of control experiences. Good to know I'm not alone.

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