I'm Robin- 34 years old. I am a mother to 4 kids: 7, 3, and twin 1yos.
I'm also a military wife, teacher, grad student, writer and runner.
I'm in great shape- just ran my first half-marathon, but I have one little problem that holds me back....
I have been a binger for 14 years and have seen my weight go to 192lbs at my highest.
I lost 40lbs over the past two years thanks to increasing my fitness, but I've been lousy with eating
So, I've turned over a new leaf and made the commitment to get the eating under control once and for all.
I am 35 days binge free today, and going strong. I did it by doing a 30-day detox system. That worked for me so far, but I've seen hundreds of other people fail miserably as the first week on it was hellish. So, I'm not sure if I recommend it for anyone- what works for some, does not work for all.
My father is a recovered alcoholic. He hasn't had a drink in 31 years. I see this addictive eating disorder in the same way. It's totally a one step at a time thing, and I'm starting to really believe now that I can tackle it better when I just set really short-term goals for myself... i.e "I'm not binging this month" than really unrealistic ones.
So, I like this group.
Thanks Megan for starting it. We've got this!

I'd love to hear more about the 30-day detox you did. I'm desperate to get past this binging & would definitely try anything that might help.

In general, I also view the addiction to overeating in the same light as an alcohol or drug addiction. My partner has been a struggling alcoholic for 25 years, & has frequent relapses, so I see his struggle in the same light as my own. To a degree though, I think the overeating addiction we all suffer from is much more difficult to manage because we have to eat SOME in order to live. It's like telling an alcoholic to just have one glass of wine or telling a druggie to just do one line of coke. It's nearly impossible to control yourself when you literally MUST put your addiction into your body daily to stay alive. Once it's in your hands, you taste it, you feel that familiar feeling... it's the hardest thing to say "That's enough. I'm good with just that bit". Most people don't understand that. Thankfully, due to his own struggles, my partner understands what I fight daily, but it's not the same as someone who also overeats in an addictive manner.

I came here looking for supportive, positive people who can understand this plight. Please feel free to add me.

Hello Everyone!

New to MFP as of today! I have been a binge eater all of my life, however the issue has gotten progressively worse through the years and this year it's affected my my weight, my health, my finances, attendance at work, social life, romantic life, relationships with family and friends, and my zest for life. I'm currently going through the intake process at a hospital for the eating disorders program.

I have 49 lbs to lose and have decided to go paleo. The paleo lifestyle makes sense to me and the eliminated foods are all triggers for me, so it looks like it can only be beneficial.

I'd love to have some friends for encouragement and to encourage! None of us are alone in our journey's, so let's share it!

I am a 24 year old male loving in Charlotte, NC. I have struggled as long as I can remember with Binge Eating Disorder, but only recently discovered that my struggle had a name. I have researched extensively and discovered my passion for Nutrition and a need to battle this, before I develop serious health issues.

The main thing I am struggling to find is other males who relate to my issue / accountability within my community. Eating disorder research, support and communities all seem to be female only. I am unable to afford therapy, so I am looking for all resources and community to help. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

hello my name is Karen. I have been a binge eater for a long time. I have lost 120 pounds and recently began binging again and gained some back. I even reset my ticker such as weight lost since restarting again in March.

I don't have a lot of time to post here but I am very active on my newsfeed if anyone wants to add me as a friend.

Hello. I'm seeking treatment for binge eating disorder, but wanted to look for support on MFP also. I've had some type of eating disorder for years, and I suspect that my diagnosis will actually be Eating Disorder -- Not Otherwise Specified. I've had weight problems my whole life and remember my first diet when I was about 11. I lost a lot of weight on Weight Watchers, only to get to a goal weight and start gaining it back within the first week on "maintenance." I've gained 50 of the 80 that I lost. Prior to WW, I'd lost weight thanks to Xendadrine diet pills. Every time I get to a goal, I begin the binge process again. I'm really good at losing weight and not good at maintaining a weight. I also have an OCD diagnosis which factors into every decision that I make and keeps every thought about EVERYTHING cycling forever. I have an intake appoint on May 6 with UPMC COPE (Center for Overcoming Problem Eating) and can't wait to get the help I need.

Hello. My name is Jessica. I am 27 years old. When did it change? What made it change? My brain went from the idea that you eat to live to thinking that I needed to live to eat! I remember the day that I decided to make a change. It was the beginning/middle of 2011 and I was in my bathroom balling my eyes out picking at every imperfection I saw about myself. What got me to this point you ask? Well, a few days prior, I was told by a smaller child that I was so huge and then proceeded to ask if I had eaten another person. I laughed it off at the time but deep down, it hurt. I didn’t know how to change. I didn’t want to change to become healthy. I wanted to change to be sexy and get a man! I know, not the best reason.

So here I was, a twenty-five year old woman who was scared, weak, embarrassed, had multiple health issues, insecure, and lost. In the first week, I think I failed around seven times. My thinking was that if I wasn’t eating, then I wouldn’t gain. That would last about two hours! I had to realize that I was eating for everything. Whether I was happy, sad, angry, depressed, excited, bored, or it was a Tuesday night! I always struggled with eating habits growing up. Even went as far as lying to people telling them I wasn’t hungry because I was embarrassed to eat in front of people. I was afraid of being judged. I would only eat in the privacy of my room late at night or in my car after a drive thru run. A lot of the times, when I did eat, I would make myself sick so I wouldn’t gain. All the lying and secrets caught up to me. And when it did, I made a promise to someone that I would not do that anymore. To this day, I have kept my word. However, there was still so many underlying issues.

When I decided to tell people I wanted to try to lose the weight, I got responses stretching across the board. I heard encouragement and negativity. Some people thought I could do it, and unfortunately some people had no faith in me. I took the negativity to heart. The beginning was really tough for me. I didn’t know how to cook, I didn’t know how to read labels properly, and I think the only exercise I got was walking into work. I started to doubt myself. I didn’t think I could do it. But I had to. I was on the verge of diabetes, had bad knees, had multiple stomach issues, and so much stress from the way I looked and me being upset about it. If I didn’t do something, I was worried that I wouldn’t make it to thirty. So I took it one day at a time. Some of the days were bad. Some days I wouldn’t eat. The majority of the days were good. The weight started dropping off. However, I wasn’t proud of the changes I had made. All I could focus on was my appearance and I thought I looked the same. I had lost 50lbs at this point. I would still look in the mirror and see all my imperfections. Which would then turn into a binge.

I was finally going fairly steady and in July/August of 2011, I was in a relationship after years of not being in one. A few months later, it ended horribly! I sunk back to my old self. I blamed myself and my weight for everything. I would not eat for days and then consume a weeks worth of calories in 20 minutes. Any confidence that I had gained was gone! I was completely broken! I didn’t care about myself at this point and it took every ounce of my being to make it through the day. I felt like all the hard work I had done was for nothing. I was still in the mentality that I was making this change for everyone else. I was still trying to prove a point to everyone.

However, lately, I have REALLY be struggling with over eating and I cannot seem to stop.

Hi everyone

I am so glad this group is still active, and I have been reading everyone's stories. My name is Jan and my story is very similar to many of yours. My highest (known) weight was 222lbs and I have managed to lose around 65lbs. I always had episodes but lately my binge eating has returned to the bad old days, where I am hiding food packages, getting up in the night/early morning to eat, and binging until I feel physically sick. It seems like I have fallen back into that deep dark pit again where I feel I am never going to get out.

But I found this group, and I am hoping this will be a place where we can support each other, share and understand without prejudice. My main problem is that I eat to punish myself and to run away from my emotions. My focus is going to be on emotion regulation and mindful eating.

Good luck everyone xx

Hi I am Danielle

My story is not dramatically different from many of the introductions. I am an emotional over eater. I really want to free myself from this dysfunctional relationship who some call ED. I am now in the 300's, borderline diabetic and hypertensive. My intention is to work to plan and prepare healthy choice meals, journal, therapy and reading.

Looking forward to cheering us all on!

Hi everybody. I'm a 31 year old stay-at-home mom who has struggled with overeating/binge eating since I was a small child. I have always been an overeater, but I started binging during my first pregnancy 6 years ago. I got up to 235+, and then lost down to 180 and stayed there for a few years. Since last Christmas I have started bingeing again, and I am ready to stop! The big factor in my eating is the sexual abuse I went through during my childhood. I started working through my memories with a therapist this last year, and I have been able to heal a lot....but I am going back to the overeating, which I loathe. I come from a long line of binge eaters, and being around them during Christmas seemed to trigger me as well. I am so happy to have found a group that deals with this disorder. A lot of people don't take overeating seriously. I liken it to someone who drinks a beer a week vs a six-pack every night-binge-eating is not just overeating. Thank you for all the support, and feel free to friend me or send me a message. I really need the support!

I'm 26 and I've binged my way to pretty bad heartburn, acid reflux and haemorrhoids.
I'm 10 lbs away from being obese and feel old before my time.
Just by drinking more water, I lost 5 lbs.
Looking forward to losing the other 50!