When overeating is more than a diet issue

onmyown70
onmyown70 Posts: 233 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all,

I had had an awful week with constant bingeing. I think it was triggered a few weeks ago when I had stress at work and obviously I don't have the best stress reduction techniques! This coupled with broken sleep.

I think one of the hardest things about overeating bingeing, for me, is the way it takes over my life. I am not sure if others can relate, but it's like a desperate, frantic feeling. My stomach can be hurting, tugging, I can feel sick and yet I am thinking "what can I have next". At the time, I'm willing to drive wherever I need to go to get the food. I raid my husband's stocks of food in the cupboard and it's like I'm a beast unleashed from my chain. Then I can have days when the bingeing has past, I'm calm, have a healthy relationship with food...

I am not justifying it, it's my shameful secret. But with bingeing/overeating/compulsive eating, for me, it feels like I'm losing time. I can be conscious that it's ridiculous, I can watch bad things happening in the world and be aware that I'm very fortunate, but during a binge I'm just focused on that. It's slightly euphoric and the NEEED to keep going is there, but I have had stomach cramps and been dying in the supermarket buying binge foods before- that's how mad it is.

I'm still learning, I went to bed early last night and my little omen didn't wake and this morning, first time for a while I didn't feel that frantic need to shove down chocolate/coffee etc.

I am wondering about signing up for swimming lessons (I can swim) but professional lessons so I can do an open water swim- I wonder if we need some focus that forces us to eat healthily.

Something other than food....

For all others, a little tip, I have realised, even if it looks healthy, I have it for someone else, if it's in the house, at some point I'll eat it. I know I should have faith in myself, a little shouldn't hurt, but that's what I've found, when I reflect 9/10 I will eat all of it at some point.


For me it's quantity too, interestingly, I never want just "one"!

Replies

  • keyer23
    keyer23 Posts: 114 Member
    My middle name is "MORE". I can so relate to your bingeing behavior. I wish I had the answer. Let me just say it is nice to know I am not alone. I think it is a sickness, the compulsive overeating. It doesn't seem normal - it is much more than just eating too much. I feel so ashamed and out of control, yet the behavior continues. I will be anxious to see what is said here in reply to your post.
  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
    Do you do some kind of physical exercise regularly? And do you log everything in your food diary, including what you need during the binges?

    I used to binge eat as a teenager and what really helped me get over it was when I started exercising regularly and accurately logging ALL my food. Also not just light exercise but a mixture of everything, including about three times a week a workout that pushes me to my physical limits. When I let the exercise slide and am stressed, I still have that inclination to binge but I'm much more in control than I used to be. I don't think I'll ever be the kind of person who can buy a pint of ice cream and only eat one spoon but hey, that's ok with me ;)
    I lost a bunch of weight about three years ago with that method and haven't kept a food diary afterwards. But about two months ago I had a phase where I was really stressed and hadn't exercised regularly and started ever so slightly getting into old habits. It took a while but when I realised that, I started a food diary again, logging everything, and also started a four week workout programme so that I'd have a set routine to follow.

    You might also try forcing yourself to do some (challenging) physical activity first when you get the urge to binge eat.

    That being said, and I hope you find some of it helpful, binge eating generally is much more a psychological issue than anything else. When you find that you can't tackle it alone, there's nothing wrong or shameful about seeking out professional help/counselling.

    Good luck! :)
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    Unless you have underlying mental health issues (I'm NOT saying you do), I have found that learning not to binge was all about retraining my brain. It's pretty specific to the person, because bingeing is not usually about just the food. I have been losing for about 2 years ( a little over 100 lbs.). It took the first year to really begin to see changes in my behavior. Thank goodness I now have the ability to think through the times when I want to eat too much. I am also finding (and this one really shocks me) that during meals, I will sometimes leave some of the food on my plate.

    I have worked hard to keep the foods I love in place and to learn correct portions. I do this by weighing and measuring everything. My "eyeballing" portions was ridiculously OFF the mark. I also did a lot of self talk ( in my head, of course). I used a mantra of sorts, to snap me out of that time when I was going to eat without thinking. I also did this when I would contemplate the secret eating that many bingers partake in.

    I never feel deprived ( I eat between 1600 - 1700 cals a day) and have realized over the second year that I could do this for the rest of my life. Good luck to you. You can be successful - it's not easy - but it's so worth it!
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    Be sure that when you do eat "normal" you eat a mix of carbs and protein and/or fats. I have found that eating carbs by themselves sends me off like this and makes me want more and more. But eating regularly throughout the day and trying to never eat carbs alone keeps my blood sugar level (I am hypoglycemic). If I eat just carbs, I start a roller coaster of highs and lows, and my head thinks I need food constantly to stop it.

    Worth a try.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,154 Member
    It is an issue many of us have. It's funny that I never binged when I was eating what I wanted and getting fat. Yeah, I ate huge portions of greasy, disgusting, unhealthy foods, but I never for a second got that out of control, almost out of body experience of a true binge. So I think it's a response to deprivation, perhaps a mix of physical and emotional.

    I know if I start eating certain foods, especially early in the day, I'm setting up for an all day binge. If I don't get enough sleep the night before, I'm also in danger.

    Stress doesn't seem to be as much of a factor, but it probably contributes. However, I can be perfectly happy and content in my little world, and if I introduce chocolate for breakfast, it's still going to be on.

    My best coping strategies still aren't good enough, but they cut down on incidents. If I don't buy it for myself and bring it home I'm far less likely to go get it. If I don't eat anything early in the day, I'm far less likely to set myself up for an evening binge. Low carb worked for awhile (except for an unfortunate Halloween candy incident two years in a row). I can't afford that diet at the moment, but it might be worth a try for someone else. I'm doing Alternate Day Fasting now, but that isn't recommended for binge eaters and the jury is still out as far as whether it is helping me or not. I'm also trying to meet all my nutritional needs, which is a lot harder than I thought it was. I do seem to be craving healthier foods lately, and I have less capacity to take in as many calories in a short time period as I did before, so that's good. Sipping coffee and tea all day helps.

    Edit (As if this weren't long enough!): Positive reinforcement helps, too. Losing some weight with careful calorie counting, then going out to buy myself something to wear that I know darn well a binge or two will ruin the appearance of helps me resist. Think jeans, think snug, think close fitting tops, think clothing that will definitely show even a few pounds gained.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    Have you ever considered Overeaters Anonymous? Check it out at oa.org.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    Please watch this youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

    It explained to me why I binge. When the brain realizes you're dieting, it freaks out and send out signals of "hungry!" and makes food taste really good.

    As dieters, if we let our guard down for a minute, those signals will overcome us. We've got to fight a good fight and not let the Hungries win!

    Support, logging, exercise and whatever else you can do to protect yourself.

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