Please help, out of control binge eating!

ShaneK1994
ShaneK1994 Posts: 22
in Motivation and Support
For a start, here are my details: I am 19, 6 foot 2, and male. I run 3-5 miles daily, weight train 3 days a week and live a busy lifestyle (eg. always try to be on my feet). I seem to maintain on around 2800ish calories a day , which was almost all healthy, nutritious food up to about 3-4 months ago. Then the binge eating became a real problem....
It started off as a simple little treat once or twice a week, then turned in to a full blown cheat day every week. On these days, I was consuming 10 000 calories a day. My weight was starting to creep up and up, but I keep justifying it to myself, 'ah it is just water weight', that kind of stuff. I got in to a vicious cycle of binge-restrict-binge-restrict, until I got to a stage where I wasnt restricting anymore, I just binged. It has basically been like this for 3 weeks now, my average daily intake is up to the region of 7000+ calories a day of junk.
I have noticed huge physical problems as a result, my running is suffering, I am less motivated, I can not do as much throughout the day because it simply takes to much effort. I have gained about 30 pounds and I am at my wits end. It has taken over my life, and my family and friends are suffering as a result of my mood swings.

I have a small frame and 149 pounds was optimal running weight, I need to get back to where I was......does anyone have tips on how to overcome this issue and regain my body and life?

Replies

  • ShaneK1994
    ShaneK1994 Posts: 22
    I will not clog up the forum and wont post like this again, but if anyone out there could possibly help me some wee bit I would be forever grateful
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    It is kinda impressive you are able to even do that. I have no helpful advice as I don't have that issue so I could only say to stop it...but I know it is not that simple. Good luck man, hope you find some help, bumping your thread in hopes someone useful will come along.
  • ShaneK1994
    ShaneK1994 Posts: 22
    Thanks
  • micheledavison39
    micheledavison39 Posts: 821 Member
    Don't worry about "clogging up the forum", this is what it is here for.

    For myself, now when I have the urge to binge eat, I stop and ask myself if 1. I am really hungry? 2. do I really want the junk food and how I will feel later about it (physically and emotionally) and 3. am I prepared to do the amount of exercise it will take to work it back off. Granted I have only started doing this in the last couple of weeks, prior to that I was doing the same as you. Eating anything and then griping that I wasn't losing weight even when I did work out or saying, well I worked off 700 calories so now I can eat more! I had seriously cut back and managed to lose a couple of pounds but this last week was stressful so I slipped and had pasta (trigger food) and that set me back a bit and now I need reprogramming to appreciate fruits and veggies again.

    I would suggest finding a therapist or a counselor. There may be an emotional reason why you suddenly can't control your eating where talking about it with someone other than friends or family could be helpful. Or keep a journal of how you feel (physically and emotionally; before, during and after) when you get a craving for junk or end up binge eating. Look at why, when and what you are eating uncontrollably and then find ways around, through or over those feelings that doesn't involve food.

    Are you eating at home alone or in public with friends/family? If it's at home alone, STOP BUYING the junk, if you don't have it you can't eat it. Buy veggies, nuts and fruit for snacks (I know, it's not the same when you feel that you want fat and salt), but have some lean protein and a fruit or veggie and some water and then find something to do...often I find myself binge eating if I am bored or feeling lonely.

    Good Luck and I trust that you will get yourself back on track, it sounds like that until recently, you were doing pretty well but got detoured.
  • BITEME_GRRR
    BITEME_GRRR Posts: 150 Member
    Have you tried Meditation? What triggers your eating cycles?

    Generally the brain creates a neural pathway and then you are in this habit mode now. you need to break the neural pathway one day and meal at a time.

    You clearly are eating due to emotions/unhappiness or at least that's how it started and now it is spinning out of control.

    I highly recommend you change ONE thing, on your normal pathway to binge eating. Eat in a different room. do something different.

    Go to Yoga.
  • alyssamaryw
    alyssamaryw Posts: 84
    Do you weigh your food? For me, sometimes just the act of putting the food I want on the scale and thinking about how many calories that is, is enough for me to say, "No, I don't want this." It's the extra step to really think about what I'm doing instead of the mindless eating I was used to.
  • tennisgirl444
    tennisgirl444 Posts: 57 Member
    I would strongly suggest that if you are experiencing binge eating (and even if you are experiencing overeating with distress relating to it), you seek out a therapist who specializes in eating behaviors. There are several therapies that may be effective for you if you experience binge eating, and you should speak to someone about treatment options. You can also look through the research literature (google scholar!) to see if any therapies specifically resonate with you, then seek out a therapist who specializes in it (off the top of my head, some success has been shown with therapies like ACT, CBT, DBT, IPT... but again, I suggest you read through the literature and talk to people who specialize in treatment. It may also take trying 1 or 2 different types of therapies, or 1 or 2 therapists, to find the right fit for you). I'm not sure where you're located, but you can find a list of local providers through your insurance, or through a website like Psychology Today.
  • tennisgirl444
    tennisgirl444 Posts: 57 Member
    I would also like to state that colloquially, we often use overeating and binge eating interchangeably. However, they are really two different things.

    While some of the advice on these forums may be helpful for overeating, I personally feel that for binge eating, it is most appropriate to talk to a therapist with a specialty in this area.
  • calliope_music
    calliope_music Posts: 1,242 Member
    I was a binge eater for years - I gained over 120 lbs in about a year and a half. To say that my health suffered would be an understatment but my mental health was what suffered more.

    I strongly urge you to get professional help. I did an intensive outpatient group (IOP) for binge eating disorder and it has literally changed my life. I am not sure if I will ever have a healthy relationship with food, but I haven't binged since I finished the program in early July. Before that, I was bingeing daily. Treatment was incredibly difficult but I learned a lot about why I used bingeing as a coping mechanism.

    Good luck! If you ever need to chat, I am here! :)
  • Mikkimeow
    Mikkimeow Posts: 1,282 Member
    I would agree that looking into therapy could be a great option. I gained 60+ pounds with a binge eating disorder and only through counseling was I able to tackle it head on and defeat it. It is still hard some days, but I have been able to consciously remember how my emotional health and well being were sabotaged when I binged. Good luck to you.
  • ShaneK1994
    ShaneK1994 Posts: 22
    "Are you eating at home alone or in public with friends/family? If it's at home alone, STOP BUYING the junk, if you don't have it you can't eat it. Buy veggies, nuts and fruit for snacks (I know, it's not the same when you feel that you want fat and salt), but have some lean protein and a fruit or veggie and some water and then find something to do...often I find myself binge eating if I am bored or feeling lonely."
    I find that a massive trigger is either having a free house, or even being in a room by myself. Normally, I would never keep junk in the house, but when the urge comes it just takes over, it is like you go into autopilot and must go and stock up.....it is an awful sensation.
    "Do you weigh your food?"
    The thing is, I am a meticulous calorie counter and weigh everything, but I when I get these urges, all my normal habits and ways seem to go out the window.

    Through resource looking for a cure, I have found that a lot of people are similar to me in that they have picked this up on the back of anorexia and/or bulimia, which I have suffered from in the past.
  • tennisgirl444
    tennisgirl444 Posts: 57 Member
    What is holding you back from seeking professional help? (Not judging, just genuinely curious if there's a specific reason, like you tried it before and felt it didn't work, or insurance costs, etc.)

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