To all binge eaters only, what has worked?
Options
Replies
-
One really interesting thing that I have notched all experts say binge eaters should eat regularly, but for me, this gets me thinking about food even more. I also fascinated that some bingers on here are doing well with the 5:2... this really provides me with hope and well done all those of you that are finding a way to help themselves.0
-
I get you!
I have problems with BED too.
I tried many many things... OA, therapy, support groups, diets, hospital groups, etc. The only thing that seems to work for me is reducing to a maximum my intake of grains and sugar. In my case it is clearly biological. When I tried Paleo, the urge to binge just disappeared. Felt totally normal for the first time since early childhood! Now, I don't do paleo anymore, but low grains and low sugar, with the occasional ''treat''. No binges in the last 21 days!????
I also noticed that exercising regularly helps me , so I do at least 30 minutes per day. There is also some medications that can help, it seems (my doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin for the binges, but I did not want to use it, so I don't know...)
Binge eating disorder is not eating too many brownies a couple of time a month, it's an eating DISORDER, same as bulimia or anorexia!! Bugs me so much when people are treating this like it is just a silly little thing, a lack of self-control. It is so much more people, so much more...0 -
I never frantically drove anywhere and I didn't eat a bunch of different things, but I used to eat large amounts of pasta all the time. I had no energy. My thyroid has kind of gone on strike. When they fixed me, I stopped the massive bowls of pasta and sugar stuff successfully.
I cut it out. After about a week of eating very little (comparatively), the urges to eat massive amounts of food calm down. I'd tried it before but never managed it.
Now that I pay attention, I notice that I eat mostly carbs before my period and somewhere during or after, I stop the carbs and eat lots more meat. I don't do weight loss math and I don't eat up to or down from numbers. I just eat whatever I want (from a limited selection) and the carbs and meat thing just happened...over and over agon. It happens every damn month, so there has to be some physiological reason for it.
I really think these cravings aren't just mental. I think something up, maybe something chemical. I don't think the docs have figured it out, though. Not yet.
I know that's not really HELPFUL, but I know what it's like to feel like you're out of control and wanted to lend a little support.
Hope it's okay. Did NOT mean to discourage anyone!
0 -
The only things that help are not restricting myself and pre-logging everything I eat. If I think of ANYTHING as forbidden, it makes me want it more. I'll happily indulge my cravings now and then. I log everything I'm going to eat in the morning, that way I'm not making it up as I go.0
-
As I read this post, it describes me to a tee! Which has brought me to tears and is quite embarrassing. I have done all things listed, especially driving to "get a fix" and so on. I've made myself so sick that I don't feel like and cannot eat the next day, so I don't. But then, I have learned I cannot do that because it has caused me to faint. I know that "no control" feeling so well. Just reading this gives me those feelings but thanks for the post because I really needed to see this.0
-
i binged yesterday and ate 5 brownies (every one of them was delicious) i just made sure i worked off all of those extra calories to still have a good day! But for professional help, I am not sure.
Binge eating and working the calories off is also an eating disorder. You should get some help. Eating disorders are tough. Binge eating is not normal behavior. (do you purge?) I mean what would you tell someone who is binge Drinking?
Good luck. You can beat this0 -
I've eaten an entire bottle of mustard because there was nothing else in the house for me to "binge" on.
When I exercise and keep myself busy, I am less occupied by food. Go on a long, slow, walk if you don't have the energy for something more vigorous. Meditate, do yoga. Try staying out of the house, don't bring any money so you can't buy any snacks from a shop. And when you're at home or work, keep your mouth fresh with gum or toothpaste so you don't feel like putting other flavors in there.0 -
i binged yesterday and ate 5 brownies (every one of them was delicious) i just made sure i worked off all of those extra calories to still have a good day! But for professional help, I am not sure.
I don't consider that a binge. That's more like overindulgence. A binge is when you don't even taste the food, in some cases you don't even remember eating it -- you're overcome with feelings of anxiety and panic and you just stuff your face until you feel physically ill and your belly hurts and you can't move and you can't think until you go completely numb and then you just want to crawl into a hole and die.
:laugh: Agreed! I only laugh because I know this feeling!0 -
I have been a binge and secret eater since I was tiny as well. I'm working through the emotional junk behind it (my parents asking me why I couldn't be more like my sister - feelings of inadequacy - hearing that I'm fat and ugly and useless from not only my peers but also my mom and sister...and the list goes on...), however I have found that eating a lower carb diet helps me to stay satisfied longer. I have lowered my carbs to between 3- and 35% of my total daily intake (anything lower makes me feel weird/different in a way that I don't particularly care for) and my protein and fat adjust as I fill those carb calories with other foods. I try going with healthy fats (avocados, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, etc), but sometimes it's fries that fill that hole. My protein and fat can vary from day to day, but I have seen good results from the way that I am eating (lunch has become baked chicken breast with a green veggy and I am full and it equates to no more than 350 calories - that still shocks me).
Good luck! I definitely recommend therapy if that is an option for you. I read a few responses that said it helped them just as much as it helped me. Good luck on this journey! It's not easy, but it is worth it.0 -
"one bite leads to a temporary feeling of euphoria and an extreme urge for more!". You just described my life. I have tried every kid of diet. Eating more, eating less. I tried to get help but it isn't something taken seriously apparently. The things it drives you to do. Like steal food, spend rent/bill money on it, hide it away to binge on later, to ashamed to eat in public because you don't know how to eat like a normal person. Even when i'm not in binge mode I inhale my food.
I'm like an Addict out for my fix. I swear I go through withdraws and if you get in my way and try to stop me someone is getting hurt. It's disgusting and embarrassing. I have managed to maintain a healthy weight even with bingeing by "getting rid of it". Another not so healthy habit that i'm working on. It's an addicting cycle.
My binged are typically 1,500-3,000 calories. I get so frustrated when someone says "I just binged, I had a candy bar." *kitten* you very much. Lets trade.
Anyway sorry for the annoying long rant. I guess I haven't really answered your question and I sadly don't have an answer. Nothing has worked. More water, Coffee, Exercise, Food, Diet pills. I can't find anything to stop me. I hope you can and us all know if you do.0 -
I am only buying foods that I know I won't binge on. Foods I kind of like but not a lot. And lots of water. And so far it's working.0
-
**if foul language offends you then don't read any further))
What works is:
*remembering the extreme agony my stomach is in for 24 hours AFTER eating until I want to puke.
*not being able to **** for days.
*Burps smelling of boiled eggs
*Sewage smelling flatulence
*my clothes feeling tighter yet still SQUEEZING them on.
*climbing stairs and feeling out of breath after 3 steps.
*NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE
How I stopped:
*Identifying why I ate and removing those emotional triggers by replacing the eating with something else. For me, I watch weight loss transformations on Youtube or weightloss stories on Bodybuilding.com (lame, I know), I look at dresses I'd like to be able to fit into by the end of this year.
*Drank more water - I used to rubbish this claim but seriously, hydration is key to not craving crap! And you kow what, when you stop eating ****, you stop craving it. I would eat for eatings sake. Never hungry but I'd pile it in
The first 72 hours are hard but you know what? There are things you can have in place of all the **** you are abusing your body with. Low Carb/Low fat alternatives (depending on YOUR goals).
As I type this, there are Jaffa cakes, Bacon flavoured Wheat Crispies, Chocolate digestives ad a whole host of other goodies in my fridge for my siblings ad you know what? I don't want any of it0 -
I have binged about 3 times and each time it just left me feeling horrible and sick to my stomach. I have to say that the feelings of over eating as well as cravings, etc. have all but gone at this point as I think my body has finally adjusted to my new life style. So in my case I don't believe it was a mental thing but a physical thing. I was not eating enough calories.
However, the thing that worked for me was the process of elimination and distraction along with a boat load of will power. It was terribly hard at first but like anything else, after a while it becomes a habit. I removed and/or stopped buying items that I knew I had no control over, like peanut butter and white chocolate and I asked my husband not to bring those things into the house for a while. If and when I felt the urge to start snacking I would distract myself... go for a walk or a run, do a work out, get out of the house, or stay in the house and do house work, laundry, re-organize something, call a friend, paint my nails, take a shower, crank up some music and dance my *kitten* off... anything that would take my mind off. And as corny as cliche's sound, they worked for me like saying to myself over and over "The food you've craved for an hour or the body you've wanted for a lifetime"?0 -
I never binged until after my last relationship. It took me a long time to figure out why I was doing it and how to stop it. I've noticed since I've changed what I'm eating (hardly any processed foods, lots of fruit and veggies and protein), I'm able to control the desire. I could easily eat 10 000 calories in one sitting. And logging my binges helped. That way I could see that one binge could easily ruin a whole month's progress. I really didn't even notice that I stopped binging, and I can eat just a serving or 2 of my trigger foods now and be fine.0
-
Think about what you are doing to your body!
After being a serial eater (learnt from the best, the wife) I ended up in A&E and came out without a Gall Bladder, a real eye opener!!
Never binged since and lost over 25kgs so far with the help of MFP and a Nike Fuel Band.
Keep positive, you can do this.0 -
I definitely binge eat and I do it away from judging eyes.
I find 2 things help, one not buying things I am likely to binge on - for example biscuits. If I buy a pack I will eat a pack so it's safer not to have them and if I really really want one I have to go to the shops especially.
Second is to log it afterwards. (If you look at my diary you can see sat was a baaad day) but it makes you face up to actually how much you ate. Was it really that delicious and worth it? Definitely not in this case.
Also I think it helps not to cut your calories too much. If I try and keep to 1200 as I have in the past I manage it for about 10 days and then go on an almighty binge because I've been hungry. I recently upped my calories and it's been less tempting as I've felt satisfied.0 -
I get you!
I have problems with BED too.
I tried many many things... OA, therapy, support groups, diets, hospital groups, etc. The only thing that seems to work for me is reducing to a maximum my intake of grains and sugar. In my case it is clearly biological. When I tried Paleo, the urge to binge just disappeared. Felt totally normal for the first time since early childhood! Now, I don't do paleo anymore, but low grains and low sugar, with the occasional ''treat''. No binges in the last 21 days!????
I also noticed that exercising regularly helps me , so I do at least 30 minutes per day. There is also some medications that can help, it seems (my doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin for the binges, but I did not want to use it, so I don't know...)
Binge eating disorder is not eating too many brownies a couple of time a month, it's an eating DISORDER, same as bulimia or anorexia!! Bugs me so much when people are treating this like it is just a silly little thing, a lack of self-control. It is so much more people, so much more...
It's so nice to hear your story, it really makes me feel less alone. I honestly believe in my heart, there is something biological about it. I feel it is easier to accept and combat it if I look at it that way. Then I feel guilty and think am i trying to justify greed. However, like you say, it isn't just an extra few brownies or finishing off the rest of a chocolate bar or eating too many biscuits for me it's manic, bizarrely always carbohydrates but as I have said before it can even be porridge. i wonder if it is because of a lack of dopamine/brain happy chemicals and carbs lift the mood. When on a carb binge I'm frantic not happy.
I think I said but at a wedding recently we had eaten loads, a few courses, then they brought out a huge chocolate mousse cake. It was massive, and most people couldn't eat it (as we have had so much already!) but all I could think was "how can I get more I want more!" I felt, sick and ill, my stomach hurt and i didn't feel great but that frantic want for mrs made me realise I was different from everyone else and that advice of just have one slice to satisfy a craving doesn't work for me personally.
So nice to know I'm not alone.0 -
Think about what you are doing to your body!
After being a serial eater (learnt from the best, the wife) I ended up in A&E and came out without a Gall Bladder, a real eye opener!!
Never binged since and lost over 25kgs so far with the help of MFP and a Nike Fuel Band.
Keep positive, you can do this.
Bless you, you poor thing, sorry to hear you have been unwell. Hope you are feeling better. Interesting you haven't binged since.
I am not sure even a health scare would stop me in mid binge zone - how bad is that?0 -
I think not having the 'binge trigger' foods in the house helps a lot.... If its not there... You wont binge on it!!!
Also I find if I have my calories too low & workout too much I will go crazy over food.
Just trying to find that happy healthy balance in between...!
Of course you can have cakes, sweets, bread, pasta, crisps, mcdonalds etc without feeling bad. You either fit it into your day... Or burn it off in the gym!
Hey - Don't beat yourself up about it. Today is a fresh day
Drink plenty of water..... AND MOVE ON : )
You can do this girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
Loving the positivity - thank you :-)
I definitely think not keeping binge food in the house helps - problem is I binge on "healthy foods" wholegrain bread and porridge - which others eat!I think not having the 'binge trigger' foods in the house helps a lot.... If its not there... You wont binge on it!!!
Also I find if I have my calories too low & workout too much I will go crazy over food.
Just trying to find that happy healthy balance in between...!
Of course you can have cakes, sweets, bread, pasta, crisps, mcdonalds etc without feeling bad. You either fit it into your day... Or burn it off in the gym!
Hey - Don't beat yourself up about it. Today is a fresh day
Drink plenty of water..... AND MOVE ON : )
You can do this girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 959 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions