Binge eating; HOW TO STOP

I am terrible with obsessing over things that I know are in the pantry like potato chips (hubby has them with his lunch) Only problem is I can't just eat one or two it has to be all of them. The other day I went through and worked out the calories of the junk in the pantry and put post it notes on them with how many calories was in them all. Totally worked for putting me off eating it (for that day at least.)

Depends on you and your triggers. I eat when stressed. However, once I start eating sugary foods, that's it, game over. So for me, I've given up processed foods. I last binged about 2 months ago, but was away from home helping family deal with life threatening emergency - so extenuating circumstances and I'm not beating myself up about that. I've found just plain cutting grains/processed foods and eating more healthy fat keeps me full. Also exercise helps my mental health and helps to keep me on the straight and narrow. The combination means I just don't eat cheap chocolate - I still have a bit of 80 - 90% dark choc, but that's it. I look to paleo for ideas, but really for me it's keep it simple and focus on whole foods that I've prepared my self. I am not obsessed about it and don't think I'm allergic to wheat, but I do find I'm more likely to go way off balance if I eat it - so don't!

For others the opposite works, they need to plan in a little of what they fancy. But my feeling is anyone that binge eats, eating food like that is setting off a trigger.

There have still been days where I've over eaten - say I've had 3 pears or apples in a row, or something like that....so I'm not going to claim I'm perfect. But really 3 pears once a week or twice a month will not completely derail me. I'm more likely to go out for a run.

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- Jen

My suggestion is to aim for the source, your emotions. Pick up a book and begin learning what's going on inside of you that you're using food to hide from. A book by Susan Jeffers called "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" is a great beginning point.

Here's what works for me; I portion those foods into little bags as soon as it comes into the house and then I only allow myself one of the snack baggies each day. I try to only have one sort of food like that in the house at a time, right now it's gummy bears and there's 5 sacks in my fridge, each one weighs 100 grams and because there's only the gummy bears they last longer because it's just not something I crave each day. When the bears are sadly extinct, I'll get a new snack food if I want. I keep and reuse my bags too so throughout the day I see that little empty bear death sack to remind me that I've already done my part to rid the world of their sweet tastiness.

I think of it as a kind of addiction.
I am better than I used to be but I still do it occassionally.
What I do now is:
Recognise trigger points - for me it's if I feel I've been a bit of a failure or if I'm feeling lonely. Acknowledge the craving for food but tell yourself you won't eat for the next 30 minutes. Find something to do in that 30 minutes (in my case, the dog often gets an extra walk or if its late in the evening I'll have a bath or a face pack or something). At the end of the 30 minutes ask yourself if you still feel the same way - if you do, tell yourself you will start eating but in 30 minutes.... Distract yourself again for 30 minutes (at that stage I normally get the Wii out and start doing some of the daft balance games).
Quite often the distraction technique works and you put off bingeing.

On the occassion where I have binged, I actually work out the calories I've consumed then I spread them across 2-3 days of the rest of the week and reduce my calorie intake for that week only (I'm doing that this week, as it happens as I had a bit of a blow-out on Sunday evening. Didn't use the distraction technique, I just went for it and hoovered up most of the Christmas goodies that were left over). It's ok but not ideal. It does mean you don't put weight on that week though, which is a relief come weigh-day.

If I feel myself wanting something I will just have a small amount to curb my craving but stay under my calories. This is how i am managing.

I used to let myself get starving before cooking, so I would cook really quick unhealthy junk to eat fast! Now I plan my meals and allow time so i am not getting too hungry to let my stomach rule over my mind!

- Keep junk out of the house.
- Look up what your cravings mean. If you crave chips, you may be craving the sodium in them, this can be found in healthier ways. Chocolate, may be the iron or the sugar or the calcium - look online and see what things you can switch with. I did this not long ago and it's amazing what things can mean, sometimes my body wants something I would never have thought of - like the potassium in something etc.
- Allow yourself the food you like, regularly, as part of a regulated diet - you'll be less likely to binge. I am obsessed with chips/crisps and could eat huge bags in one go. Instead, I have smaller, healthier bags often - I don't binge on big packs anymore.
- Realise when you need help - coming online and posting or talking to someone when you're struggling can really help.
- Chin up - dieting isn't easy, especially at first. We have to learn to control our cravings and we do! It just takes time.

I've had the same issues since my teens and it's taken 10 years to really work out the triggers and what originally caused it. I'm a complete emotional eater and the evenings and weekends are the worst for me.
Currently, when I get a craving to eat something bad I think about how I'll feel afterwards and if it's worth it, plus I also look at the 'big' pictures of me on Facebook, etc. Helps motivate me to stick with it. Also, recently, I've taken to playing solitaire on my ipad to distract me from any major cravings.

I've just started reading a book called NLP for weight loss. Its good so far, maybe you could look at buying a book like that?

I've had binge eating disorder, but haven't binged for several years thanks to a book called 'Beyond Chocolate' by Sophie and Audrey Boss.

It did literally change my life. It you want to know anything else please don't hesitate to message me.

xx

I did it the other day. I ate potato chips, some Mexican food, and 3 Little Debbie cakes before I realized what I was doing. The best thing to do is REALLY feel the guilt of eating all that. Realize that behavior does NOT get you what you want.

no...I'm sorry, I disagree.

What did we all do when we were little? Sometimes, if we didn't get what we wanted, we cried, screamed, and became miserable. Sometimes we got our way, sometimes we didn't. What Im saying is, if you ignore too many cravings, you WILL be more inclined you binge. You can only hold out for so long.

Also, you should NEVER feel guilty about eating. Its not a healthy mindset, so it will lead you to a very unhealthy relationship with food. An unhealthy relationship with food does not result in weight loss. Sure, sometimes we cant help but feel guilt when we've eaten too much or too junky---but you must do your best to try to find some self forgiveness.

Things to try:
-if your hunger is boredom driven, whereas you eat and you're not really hungry, just bored or stressed, try to take up doing something that you really enjoy. If you really cant, physically remove yourself to prevent binges by going to a clothes store and looking around, take a walk, take a drive, etc.

-make sure to eat plenty of what you want, but try to surround it with nutritionally rich food, as well. I love pizza, and when I get pizza sometimes ill put my own spinach on top. I love oreos, so I make banana "ice cream" and crumpled a few on top or have some with some soymilk for protein.

-recognize triggers, and do your best to avoid them, but know that it may not always be possible.

-if you feel like you cant keep certain foods in the house right now, when you want them, go out for a small serving bag.

I did it the other day. I ate potato chips, some Mexican food, and 3 Little Debbie cakes before I realized what I was doing. The best thing to do is REALLY feel the guilt of eating all that. Realize that behavior does NOT get you what you want.

This is not a healthy relationship with food. Having guilt for eating something is never good and is completely disordered.

I think a lot of the advice other people have offered is really good stuff. Be mindful of what triggers you to binge and work on either avoiding your triggers or acknowledging them but not letting them take over. It'll take practice, for sure. And you'll screw up. Just try not to let it hurt you too much. You should never feel guilty for eating. Your body needs fuel to survive! Eating is NOT your enemy. Please remember that.

However, if it's affecting your daily life or causing you a lot of emotional distress, I highly recommend you see a doctor to express your concerns. I can't diagnose you (nor would I try), but a lot of people don't know that Binge Eating Disorder is a thing. It is. And it's every bit as damaging to a person as any other eating disorder.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, I've just known a lot of people who struggle with eating disorders and whenever I read something like this my brain immediately goes into crisis mode. You deserve a happy and healthy relationship with food. You deserve to eat junk food without feeling out of control. You deserve happiness!

What has helped me is reading about mindful eating, also called intutive eating. If you google you will find some good books. There are several, find one that strikes you.

You need to find out what works for you. Try different things.

Someone else said that she buys small bags of chips and eats them. That doesn't work for me at all.

I cannot have any junk food in my apartment. Nothing at all or I will eat the whole thing in one go. I know that about myself, so when I go grocery shopping I only shop the perimeter. I don't go down any of the center aisles that I know are full of my triggers--corn chips, pita chips, cookies, bread, frozen pizza (I love me some simple carbs).

I admit that sometimes I fail. Sometimes I go to the store and I head right for the frozen pizza. I acknowledge then and there what I am about to do and I do it. I own it. I eat the whole damn thing and then the next day I pick myself up and go back to eating healthy. No guilt.

I do keep chocolate in my apartment, but it's like 80% cacao and doesn't taste great. It takes care of the craving but it's bitter and there's no way I want to eat more than a square.

As I said, try different things. Try buying smaller portions. Maybe that works for you. If it doesn't, try only buying food around the store perimeter (dairy, meat, fresh veggies and fruit) that you have to prepare or cook. No one wants to binge on carrots!

2 books I highly recommend: "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" and "Salt Sugar Fat." Easy to read. Not diet books. They explained to me why I eat what I eat. Knowing that it's party the food industry making money off of me makes it easier to resist temptation.