At what point do you consider yourself as having 'binged'?

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  • TheAmbitionist
    TheAmbitionist Posts: 13
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    For me a binge was characterized by the sense of a loss of control over what I was doing. It was like my rational brain couldn't overcome my lizard brain that demanded I eat all the things. It didn't matter if I ate 500 calories or 5000. It was the loss of control for me that made it a binge. But I've had issues with disordered eating.

    omg this right here! Have you read that book Brain Over Binge? Basically explains that bingers have the animal side of the brain that takes over the human part and we don't have the control to listen to our human side when the binge happens. I highly recommend it to anyone that is struggling with BED!

    +1, excellent book

    Reading the book right now and it absolutely makes sense and is neurologically sound. Your hypothalamus (primitive part of your brain) tells you you need an excess of food to survive (especially when you diet a lot) and your prefrontal cortex (the most developed part of your brain) always has the choice to either go with it, resist or ignore. And I love how the book explains that ignoring it will help you stop bingeing. I have applied it and I am losing weight and more importantly: my brain is no longer preoccupied with food all the time. Seems to good to be true... But it is. Bingeing is always something you ultimately do yourself. (the book gives the example: you cannot move your hands without your prefrontal cortex giving them the "demand" to move them).

    I recommend this book to everyone who struggles with BED or bulimia.

    edit: for me a binge is that it seems like my brain goes autopilot and I stand in front of the fridge and eat everything and anything in sight. Not even necessarily food that I love - also just food that doesn't even taste that great. I've also had times where I would buy an entire cheesecake, cookies, chocolate and buns and stuffed my face with it all day and then hide what is left for the next day.
  • Prettypedalpower
    Prettypedalpower Posts: 54
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    If it involves feelings of guilt it's a binge for me.. However sometimes a chocolate bar makes me feel guilty. And I used to eat 6000+ calories a day. It's a personal thing I think. If you feel sick then I think it's binging over a treat or indulgence
  • jimwon953
    jimwon953 Posts: 20 Member
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    To be honest, eating things out of jars with a spoon is not really a very good start.

    Try spreading it on a piece of toast next time, it will actually curb some of your hunger and it's far better behaviour from a psychological viewpoint than just digging in with a spoon.
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
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    If I go 500+ calories over my daily goal. That is the point where it hurts weight loss because 1 lb/week is 500 calorie deficit per day so I would have no deficit at that point.
  • pleasepleaseno
    pleasepleaseno Posts: 166 Member
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    It 100% depends on that particular situation and how you feel about it.
    Was there a loss of control?

    Sometimes a binge is 500 calories, sometimes it's 5000.
  • amwbox
    amwbox Posts: 576 Member
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    When I realize I'm not eating satisfy hunger, but because of compulsion. Its a loss of control. When I start to buy cheap, calorie dense food at the store on the basis of how much of it I'll be able to eat without puking as soon as I get home, I know its time to just drop whatever and walk out immediately.
  • ChristineRoze
    ChristineRoze Posts: 212 Member
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    When i feel out of control, like i am mindlessly eating and generally feel guilty afterwards.

    Lately i have been eating high calories but I'm okay with it as long as i am under maintenance i don't feel guilty and therefor don't count it as a binge.
  • punkuate
    punkuate Posts: 127 Member
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    I would define a binge as not caring in the slightest about what you are eating. I had a chip roll yesterday, but it wasn't a binge. Thought about it first. Checked the calories and logged it before I had even ate it. If you genuinely don't care how many calories are in something and will just keep eating, I'd call that a binge.
  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
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    When do you guys differentiate between a binge and just a bit of an indulgence?

    When I'm hungover.

    For sure. This is one of the reasons why I stopped drinking.

    Same - basically stopped drinking because of this too. Binge drinking especially (but that would be a whole other thread)

    I consider I've had a binge if I can't feel feelings anymore. Or my face. If I completely hate myself and question my life choices.
  • irenematilda
    irenematilda Posts: 45 Member
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    Most of the things already mentioned, but I can usually be pretty sure I'm mindlessly bingeing (actually, I'm not even sure it's always 'mindlessly' - sometimes I'm well aware that I'm behaving 'destructively') if I'm hiding what I'm eating from other people.

    That pork pie sneaked upstairs from the kitchen in my pocket because I realise everyone else knows we all had a filling meal an hour earlier, the family size bag of chocolates hidden in my handbag that was quickly emptied down my throat a handful at a time whenever I was sure no-one was looking, or the overstuffed sandwich that I made after deliberately waiting for everyone to go to bed. That kind of thing.

    I don't think I do these things nearly as often as I've done in the past and do at least recognise what I'm doing if I feel the need to hide what I'm eating these days, but I don't think anything I ever ate that I was too ashamed or embarrassed to eat in front of other people came with a feeling I could call 'indulgence', so yes, binge - definitely.

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