A question for fellow binge eaters

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  • kait_marie24
    kait_marie24 Posts: 99 Member
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    I've struggled with this for a long time now. I have it under control at this point but it's been really bad in the past. Here's some tips.

    - Therapy. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's a pain in the *kitten*. But it helps.
    - Educate yourself, read books, research online - I'd recommend Overcoming Binge Eating (the author escapes me right now)
    - Try and reduce your stress (Take relaxing baths, Meditate, Go for walks)
    - EXERCISE! Nothing too crazy but a little every day helps.
    - I've been taking supplements (mostly stress relieving ones) Lately a mix of Ashwaganda, Rhodiola & L-Glutamine (to help with my sugar cravings). It's been helping a lot.
  • caitconquersweight
    caitconquersweight Posts: 316 Member
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    I've found that eating more nutritious food and drinking a ****load of water helps tremendously. I'm not saying that you can't eat junk food ever again, because I do that regularly (as long as it fits my calories). But I'm sure you know how easy it is to get ahold of a trigger food and binge on the whole thing. Well, I've noticed that when I eat things with enough protein/fat/complex carbs/fiber, I stay full for longer. I want to binge when I get hungry. If I'm not super hungry, then I don't want to binge. And staying hydrated helps my body not confuse thirst with hunger.

    And staying busy has helped. It just becomes a habit to *not* binge.
  • AMW47
    AMW47 Posts: 23 Member
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    5. Brush your teeth tight after you eat (your teeth will be dazzling::)

    HA! I thought I was the only one that did this! :flowerforyou: Seriously though, brushing my teeth if I feel a binge coming on helps me so much. And my dentist loves me.

    I've learned that I can't let myself be bored. When I'm bored, I'm eating. I know it sounds nerdy, but I've taken up knitting so I can pick that up whenever I feel boredom coming on. It's working for me so far!
  • nykismile
    nykismile Posts: 198
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    It's all about small successes.

    For example, when I was in my eating disorder days, I would fast for a few days a week (0-100 calories), eat very low other days of the week (400-600 calories) and then once/twice a week, I would have a ridiculous binge day that would make me feel awful/sick/guilty/worthless/anynegativeadjectiveyoucanthinkof. I think I consumed anywhere between 5,000 and 7,000 calories on those binge days, and sometimes I would throw up afterwards (not from purging, but because my stomach couldn't take it).

    I haven't had a binge day like that in months, I don't even remember the last time. So, there's a small success for me.

    On occasion, since I exercise a lot and my caloric intake is still set to lose weight, I'll feel the urge to binge on organic homemade almond butter. I'll try to satisfy this craving with maybe a tablespoon with a banana, or a skimpy sandwich (one slice of bread) with one tablespoon of almond butter and one tablespoon of organic jam. No dice. It doesn't work for me. I wish I could handle that kind of moderation, but I haven't mastered it yet.

    So now, if I really feel the need to eat almond butter, I do it the full-calorie, full-fat way. I take two slices of Ezekiel bread (160 calories) two tablespoons of almond butter (160 calories) and two tablespoons of jam (100 calories) and it feels like a real treat, something I wouldn't allow often, and it satisfies the craving for me. It's not the lower calorie sandwich I mentioned earlier, but it greatly decreases the chances that I'll end up swallowing a ton of almond butter via spoonfuls. And it only costs me 420 calories. :)
  • LMYERS94
    LMYERS94 Posts: 32 Member
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    Thanks for posting this! I am horrible at controlling what I eat and reading these responses have given me some good ideas. Its so hard living with two family members that love to bake and I'm the one with the sweet tooth... at least i'll be moving out soon haha
  • love8383
    love8383 Posts: 169
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    for me i write down all my calories throughout the day no matter how much i eat, so that way i hold my self accountable.
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    It's all about small successes.

    For example, when I was in my eating disorder days, I would fast for a few days a week (0-100 calories), eat very low other days of the week (400-600 calories) and then once/twice a week, I would have a ridiculous binge day that would make me feel awful/sick/guilty/worthless/anynegativeadjectiveyoucanthinkof. I think I consumed anywhere between 5,000 and 7,000 calories on those binge days, and sometimes I would throw up afterwards (not from purging, but because my stomach couldn't take it).

    I haven't had a binge day like that in months, I don't even remember the last time. So, there's a small success for me.

    On occasion, since I exercise a lot and my caloric intake is still set to lose weight, I'll feel the urge to binge on organic homemade almond butter. I'll try to satisfy this craving with maybe a tablespoon with a banana, or a skimpy sandwich (one slice of bread) with one tablespoon of almond butter and one tablespoon of organic jam. No dice. It doesn't work for me. I wish I could handle that kind of moderation, but I haven't mastered it yet.

    So now, if I really feel the need to eat almond butter, I do it the full-calorie, full-fat way. I take two slices of Ezekiel bread (160 calories) two tablespoons of almond butter (160 calories) and two tablespoons of jam (100 calories) and it feels like a real treat, something I wouldn't allow often, and it satisfies the craving for me. It's not the lower calorie sandwich I mentioned earlier, but it greatly decreases the chances that I'll end up swallowing a ton of almond butter via spoonfuls. And it only costs me 420 calories. :)

    that is a really great idea. i think i'll try that out! i tried to satisfy my cravings by working out a ridiculous amount so i have the extra calories but its not really workin out so well. i still end up overeating half the time somehow haha. but i think filling my day with good clean food and exercise and allowing a 400-500 cal treat will really help.
  • niecey61
    niecey61 Posts: 54 Member
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    I've struggled with this for a long time now. I have it under control at this point but it's been really bad in the past. Here's some tips.

    - Therapy. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's a pain in the *kitten*. But it helps.
    - Educate yourself, read books, research online - I'd recommend Overcoming Binge Eating (the author escapes me right now)
    - Try and reduce your stress (Take relaxing baths, Meditate, Go for walks)
    - EXERCISE! Nothing too crazy but a little every day helps.
    - I've been taking supplements (mostly stress relieving ones) Lately a mix of Ashwaganda, Rhodiola & L-Glutamine (to help with my sugar cravings). It's been helping a lot.

    Great post! I agree! :smile:
  • niecey61
    niecey61 Posts: 54 Member
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    Agree wholeheartedly with therapy and even then it's taken me a while to progress because I was not being honest. This is the first time I have started tracking my binges and somehow it has taken some of the power away.

    REALLY IMPORTANT - while you're doing this try not to judge yourself when you don't make good choices - just look at it as a learning tool.

    Pema Chodron has some really good stuff out there and so do Geneen Roth
  • shartran
    shartran Posts: 304 Member
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    I haven't read through everyone's comments, so this might have already been said (in so many words...)

    When I was a patient in the ED program (anorexia - though I did not binge) we all ate 'mechanically':
    three meals and three snacks.

    Most of the 'Bingers' in the group were so conflicted by this, they would binge for days at a time...

    However, so many of them would comment on how eating all 'necessary' meals - including snacks
    really helped them.
    We of course, went through lots of psychotherapy too...living in each moment - being fully conscious - self talk, etc.,

    Good luck to you...
    p.s. now that I am trying to eat more, I am finding that 'binging' is something I have contemplated but yet to do...eating more (even though it's a normal amount of food to consume) makes me feel as though I AM binging.

    Anyways, good luck to you...
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    Well, my binge eating was caused by three issues: hunger, exhaustion, and stress.

    My binges started whenever I cut calories. Small deficits resulted in major increases to hunger.

    My body did not feel comfortable at maintenance.

    So I gave up on the idea of weight loss.
    I ate at maintenance for about six days. It felt like dieting at first, but my body got used to it by the end of the week. Going on maintenance for a week cut out most of the binges by leveling out the hormonal issues that accompany the diet / binge see - saw.

    The second cause was physical exhaustion. I used to run up to 20 miles a week. It was too much endurance activity. My joints took wear and tear. I would go from these runs to an evening job, and binged when I finally got home.
    It's just easier to eat less and do moderate exercise.

    The last problem was stress. There was a lot of pressure to chase the "perfect size" and keep the weight off. I would lose a couple pounds in a month by dieting and running all the time, then binge it back in two or tree days.

    I finally gave up on losing weight. I threw away the scale and tape measure. I try to stick to maintenance calories and to lift heavy weights to maintain a decent body composition.
  • swertyqwerty
    swertyqwerty Posts: 81 Member
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    Happy to find all these great tips. What works for me is to never have that first bite of something I will binge on. I never want to binge on salad, and I don't even binge on all rich desserts. Only a few ones are irresistible. I can treat myself with coconut macaroon treats without binging, but not nata coco pudding cups from chinatown (those I will eat 6-10 individual servings in one sitting).
  • JennyElRad
    JennyElRad Posts: 10
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    This is a great Board. There have been some great tips here!! All of the tips here are great, but I particularly like the ones that say do something else right away when wanting to binge (Much easier said than done) like taking off and going for a walk or some other self soothing activity.

    I have created another board for another topic that some of the people on here might be interested in called "Ideas to REWARD Yourself After a Workout" Check it out and share your ideas. Thanks:happy:
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    thank you all so much for the feedback. yesterday i kinda binged on pizza hut after a fight with my boyfriend. but i logged every morsel and took a long walk by the river afterwards (i know i shoulda done this before eating everything lol.) and ended up burning 860 calories so there was no serious harm done. in the past, i would have chosen to binge all day and lay around cause i 'deserve it.' but after this particular binge i was left feeling so disgusting and i knew the only thing that would help would be working out. i had even asked my boyfriend to bring me home a big ol bacon cheeseburger to eat that night too. not only did i save the burger for today, i also took off the bread that i so desperately wanted to eat because its my favorite freakin part lol. so today i've managed to not binge on the endless bagels and cake that is in my office AND i made a smart decision with the burger. its all about the baby steps :)
  • JennyElRad
    JennyElRad Posts: 10
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    thank you all so much for the feedback. yesterday i kinda binged on pizza hut after a fight with my boyfriend. but i logged every morsel and took a long walk by the river afterwards (i know i shoulda done this before eating everything lol.) and ended up burning 860 calories so there was no serious harm done. in the past, i would have chosen to binge all day and lay around cause i 'deserve it.' but after this particular binge i was left feeling so disgusting and i knew the only thing that would help would be working out. i had even asked my boyfriend to bring me home a big ol bacon cheeseburger to eat that night too. not only did i save the burger for today, i also took off the bread that i so desperately wanted to eat because its my favorite freakin part lol. so today i've managed to not binge on the endless bagels and cake that is in my office AND i made a smart decision with the burger. its all about the baby steps :)

    Congrats on a good day! Hope it's another day of great choices.
  • angelb1983
    angelb1983 Posts: 160 Member
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    For me it's having a good support system. I would talk to my sister about having bad days and she would say "log it" There were days I was eating 3,500+ calories a day (That's at least 2 lbs gained a week at that rate!) after awhile I just realized what I was doing to myself.... and I said "No more." Now Before I eat anything I tell myself... do you want to be happy for 5 minutes or happy for years to come?

    Ouch! I love this idea! It def would be humbling. I would be so ashamed to log some of my days....but I think that is exactly what I need to start doing.
  • emmaxbon
    emmaxbon Posts: 123 Member
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    I read something a while ago which has helped me - the urge to binge is like a wave, it will get bigger and stronger until it reaches a peak but then it will go away. Although it can be hard to believe at the time, it is true. Now whenever I get an the urge to binge, I say to myself, not today but I will tomorrow if I feel the same. Since I usually binge in the evenings, this helps me a lot as the next morning I don't want to. I feel sorry for my poor husband though who has to put up with my bad mood in the evening though (what's that all about?!)

    Apart from that, not restricting too much and having crisps or chocolate everyday but working it into my calories, logging it all when I do binge or binging but not eating everything that I bought (the whole not keeping stuff in the house doesn't work for me, I'll just go to the shops. My husband thinks that going and buying the stuff is actually part of the binge process / urge for me), going for a walk or a run to distract myself. And also realising that the urge to binge isn't that at all but is normal hunger and just eating a normal meal or snack will do just as well.

    It's hard but I like to think I'm getting there. Nothing worse than "zombie eating mode".

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