How did you help yourself stop binge eating?

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  • pauladgoodman9
    pauladgoodman9 Posts: 4 Member
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    This is all great advice! I have just started on my official weightloss journey. I have been making life changes over the last few years. The biggest one is not keeping those bad foods in the house, reducing my drinking of sodas ( this was HUGE for me). I do agree with the "planning" meals out. Taking your lunch to work is a huge part of dieting. Not only do you really know what you are eating but you can plan and take healthy snacks. I even calculate prior to packing my lunch this way there are no surprises. you know those foods you THINK are healthy and then BAM you just blew your diet at one meal. I am learning so much from using this app. The inventory of foods is incredible. It is quite enlightening.
  • aka_Kamalevantis
    aka_Kamalevantis Posts: 133
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    I have struggled with binge eating for all my adult life, mine is usually linked to emotional situations (that time of the month, upset, happiness or at the moment, frustration) but I have managed to get a handle on it (most of the time) and now I am always honest with my family when & if I do binge (I did recently, a whole 378g box of Thorntons Classic Collection chocolates, it's linked to the problems at work and the fact that I hate my job and it's dragging me down right now).

    I would say that (as everyone else has already said) avoid keeping the tempting foods in the house (my box of chocolates was a thank you gift from one of my service users & I pigged out on it before my family got home, but I kept the box and showed them the evidence - including the gift tag to prove I hadn't bought them myself - as soon as they got home).

    My binge food is chocolate, it is the only thing I've ever binged on, so now I allow myself 3 little pieces of Green & Black's 70% cocoa chocolate every day (I buy a 100g bar and eat 3 pieces at a time, which amounts to 10g) and it seems to quench my desire to want chocolate and it makes me thirsty, so I follow it with a large glass of water (which is very filling too).

    If I get the urge to binge I sit down and write my feelings down (I keep a mood diary to record feelings, progress and just anything that has an impact on my food intake) I try to work out what has caused my urge to binge and I look for ways to distract my attention; exercise is a great side tracker for me....

    My final piece of advice is.... There is no such thing as bad foods, we can eat whatever we want to eat, the problems lie in our mindset that screams "Ooh that's BAD...." whenever we fall of the wagon (so to speak).... So you've over eaten on your calories today.... so what.... exercise a little harder later the same day or the next day.... plus tomorrow is another day....

    I don't believe in denial, denial leads to desire....
    I don't believe in diets, they don't work....
    I believe that if your body is craving something, it is trying to tell you something; there is no early warning signs for thirst, so therefore our body sends the hungry message, it's up to us to translate that message....

    I heard a fantastic motto a few years ago and it has been a life saver for me on this journey: "Don't turn a bad day into a bad week...."

    xXx
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
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    The "No S Diet" helped me a lot - nosdiet.com - it's free. It put boundaries on my eating. No snacks, no sweets, no seconds, except on Sat/Sun. Not snacking was the key for me during the week. Sitting down to 3 meals a day has been very stabilizing.

    The other thing is spontaneous exercise. Whenever I get the urge to binge, like when I'm about to lose it, I drop and do pushups, or jump rope, or some other intense exercise. 1 or 2 minutes of that seems to break me out of binge mode.
  • kazzsjourney2goal
    kazzsjourney2goal Posts: 56 Member
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    I created a list of no go foods...foods I know that set me off...I avoid those...one you get a few weeks in I found the desire to binge has subsided. That said there is plenty of yummy foods that dont set me off so I still incorporate treats etc :)
  • YorriaRaine
    YorriaRaine Posts: 370 Member
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    The foods that really get to me are always in the house because I live with three other people. However, what really helped me is everytime I wanted to eat but knew I wasn't really hungry is I just chugged water down my throat. Sometimes I would add lemon or something to it.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    The "No S Diet" helped me a lot - nosdiet.com - it's free. It put boundaries on my eating. No snacks, no sweets, no seconds, except on Sat/Sun. Not snacking was the key for me during the week. Sitting down to 3 meals a day has been very stabilizing.

    The other thing is spontaneous exercise. Whenever I get the urge to binge, like when I'm about to lose it, I drop and do pushups, or jump rope, or some other intense exercise. 1 or 2 minutes of that seems to break me out of binge mode.

    I would die without my snacks! I weirdly hate the feeling of a full stomach, so I never eat a lot at one time.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    And do you have any tips for people that do?
    I know it's terrible for me and my health. I dont know what to do, i cant stop no matter how hard i try.
    I dont realize I'm doing it until after i have finished eating all of it.


    http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=149467
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    What did I do? First I went to Overeaters Anonymous. I read the "Big Book" (link below) and followed the 12 Steps from the program.

    I read books such as "Food Triggers" by Rhona Epstein to educate me about my eating dysfunctions. I read the "Boundaries" books by Cloud and Townsend to learn to deal with my people problems.

    I journaled about my thoughts and feelings and ideas and dreams.

    I prayed.

    I finally stopped fighting life and myself and God and submitted myself to the process of getting healthy.

    I finally admitted that there were certain foods that I could exercise moderation with (such as chips, fried foods, cheese, salty almonds, popcorn, etc.) and certain foods that I would never, ever have a healthy relationship with (such as ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, chocolate bars, caramel corn, sourdough bread, pasta, etc.). I chose to abstain from the latter and chose to do so indefinitely. Over two years later, and almost 70 lbs down, I'm still abstaining.

    THEN I started doing all the things people are telling you to do here.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    Oops. Link to the OA Big Book: http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm

    May as well include the 12 steps while I'm at it, in case it seems interesting to you:

    The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous

    1.We admitted we were powerless over food — that our lives had become unmanageable.
    2.Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
    3.Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
    4.Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
    5.Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
    6.Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
    7.Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
    8.Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
    9.Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
    10.Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
    11.Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
    12.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs
  • frantim528
    frantim528 Posts: 48 Member
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    I went to Overeaters Anonymous. Check out their website. The support of others who tend to binge eat is very helpful. There have been some really great tips in the post so far but you really need to get at the root cause of your binging. Just telling you to not have certain foods around you may be like telling an alcoholic not to have booze in the house. While this is good advice, it won't stop them from binging. Anyway. That's how I stopped.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    ....you really need to get at the root cause of your binging. Just telling you to not have certain foods around you may be like telling an alcoholic not to have booze in the house. While this is good advice, it won't stop them from binging.

    Amen. You need to heal the disease/wound, not just put a band aid over it.
  • rk_19
    rk_19 Posts: 92
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    whenever i crave chocolate, i eat an apple. the fiber keeps you satisfied for a long time and the sugar/sweetness cuts off the craving for the sweetness in chocolate.

    oh and i dont stock any chocolate/chips etc at home so its harder to binge. if the foods right in front of you its easier to eat it as opposed to going out in the freezing cold to buy it
  • Charlottesometimes23
    Charlottesometimes23 Posts: 687 Member
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    I have struggled with binge eating for all my adult life, mine is usually linked to emotional situations (that time of the month, upset, happiness or at the moment, frustration) but I have managed to get a handle on it (most of the time) and now I am always honest with my family when & if I do binge (I did recently, a whole 378g box of Thorntons Classic Collection chocolates, it's linked to the problems at work and the fact that I hate my job and it's dragging me down right now).

    I would say that (as everyone else has already said) avoid keeping the tempting foods in the house (my box of chocolates was a thank you gift from one of my service users & I pigged out on it before my family got home, but I kept the box and showed them the evidence - including the gift tag to prove I hadn't bought them myself - as soon as they got home).

    My binge food is chocolate, it is the only thing I've ever binged on, so now I allow myself 3 little pieces of Green & Black's 70% cocoa chocolate every day (I buy a 100g bar and eat 3 pieces at a time, which amounts to 10g) and it seems to quench my desire to want chocolate and it makes me thirsty, so I follow it with a large glass of water (which is very filling too).

    If I get the urge to binge I sit down and write my feelings down (I keep a mood diary to record feelings, progress and just anything that has an impact on my food intake) I try to work out what has caused my urge to binge and I look for ways to distract my attention; exercise is a great side tracker for me....

    My final piece of advice is.... There is no such thing as bad foods, we can eat whatever we want to eat, the problems lie in our mindset that screams "Ooh that's BAD...." whenever we fall of the wagon (so to speak).... So you've over eaten on your calories today.... so what.... exercise a little harder later the same day or the next day.... plus tomorrow is another day....

    I don't believe in denial, denial leads to desire....
    I don't believe in diets, they don't work....
    I believe that if your body is craving something, it is trying to tell you something; there is no early warning signs for thirst, so therefore our body sends the hungry message, it's up to us to translate that message....

    I heard a fantastic motto a few years ago and it has been a life saver for me on this journey: "Don't turn a bad day into a bad week...."

    xXx

    Fantastic advice IMO. :flowerforyou:
  • GBPackerFan14
    GBPackerFan14 Posts: 55 Member
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    Bump because I need some more tips. I just cannot break the cycle, I logged everything from last nights binge as breakfast today and it was over 8,000 cals and that is a bit in the higher end for me but the typical binge is 3k+ and happens multiple times a week. I am not overweight and I a marathon runner (M, 5'10" 150, although probably around 155 now, too scared to check). I try to eat healthy satisfying meals but I cannot seem to stop and innocent dessert or snack from turning into this. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
  • Frank_Just_Frank
    Frank_Just_Frank Posts: 454 Member
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    I always binged at night. In time I came to believe my body was hungry for something it wasn't getting and it wanted to be fed at night…so that's what I did.

    The better books I read (meaning, helped my appetite better) were Perfect Health Diet and Simple Science Of Slim. Omnivorous, whole foods works for me.

    I also realized I'm not hungry in the morning but I am hungry at night, so that's how I eat…rarely have breakfast, big lunch, bugger supper.

    You need to tinker around with finding what satisfies your body and eat according to your hunger. It takes time but you'll get it. Good luck!
  • Hartman1986
    Hartman1986 Posts: 45 Member
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    First, relax. With your weight where it is at, the bingeing does not seem to be a major problem for weight loss as your are right in the middle of the heathy BMI scale. If the bingeing worries you, then get rid of the foods that you like to binge on. Such as the Ice cream.
    If you take out the ice cream and the extra box of cereal your cal count would be 1866. For me that is a pretty reasonable binge. You can reduce that even further by buying those premeasured cups of cereal and then keep only one of those in a place that is easy to access.

    If you plan out what you are going to eat each day you can lock up the rest in a place that is hard to get to.

    What does your daily exercise level look like? Do you work out heavily? Is your job an active one? It is possible that you are bingeing because you are burning up all of your calories in training and work.
  • callyart
    callyart Posts: 209
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    Whenever I fancied something unhealthy I would eat some fruit and drink some water, it takes the edge off.

    It worked for me, anyway!
  • BOC57
    BOC57 Posts: 44 Member
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    Great Ideas here. I don't know that I have much to add. Just today I put "limit uncontrolled eating" as one of my goals. I had several action steps that are the same as others here. Keeping trigger foods out of the house, or at least out of sight. Eating some protein with every snack or meal, logging everything no matter what..

    One thing I have changed about my logging is that I no longer log Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Instead I log time periods 5 am to 9 am, 9 am to 1 pm, 1pm to 5pm and 5pm to 9pm. I find this has been helpful because it helps me to see my hunger/ eating in terms of 4 hour increments. I think this is what is really helping me to avoid getting overly hungry. Also I feel freer to eat whatever I feel like without it needing to be a breakfast food or dinner food.

    I added a couple of other actions steps as well. One is to avoid alcohol 6 out of 7 days. All it takes is one glass of wine or a beer to suddenly make me lose my perspective.

    Also be sure you are eating enough calories up front! For years I feared being hungry at night and so would limit my calorie intake at the start of the day figuring I had an extra calorie buffer. But when I do this, there never seems to be enough to fill me up. I end up with this insatiable hunger at night. So now I'm learning to eat more in the morning to avoid the late night bingeing. It's taking time. Be patient and kind with yourself.
  • chachicopley
    chachicopley Posts: 9
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    Lots of the old school tips didn't work for me. And I am a creature of habit and laziness, so I used them to my advantage. Cut up all veggies the day we buy them, so we can just grab and go. Keep fruit near the cookie bin. Keep often-sought foods in parts of the kitchen and basement I rarely touch. And JUST SAY NO. Late night, instead of binging, I go walking for a bit instead. And, using my stubborness, I just say no, and think before eating, calories refused easier than calories to have to burn later. :)
  • GBPackerFan14
    GBPackerFan14 Posts: 55 Member
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    Edit: Meant this part to be @Hartmann I was running about 70 miles per week + lifting 4 days per week leading up to a marathon I ran recently last weekend but I cut back mileage a bit. I am not even trying to lose weight but I know this cannot be healthy no matter what the person's weight is.

    Recently I had a plasma test done and they said I was protein deficient which really surprised me, great tips though from people. I think I need to keep certain foods like ice cream and cereal out of the house for now (normally don't have that much in the house but it was on sale and I thought I would "stock up")

    Thanks for the tips would always appreciate more.

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