HOW TO STOP BINGING

tnelson5287
tnelson5287 Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
How to stop binging?
I used to be anorexic and was extremely restrictive with what I would eat. Then one weekend on vacation I decided to let myself have a good time and bam! Now I can't stop...and that was two months ago! In that time I have gained 15lbs. I eat like mad, even when I'm not hungry. I eat until my stomach hurts. I sneak out at night to get ice cream, Mcdonalds, candy, anything and everything that I never ate before when I was restricting. How do I stop this? I can't can't anymore weight, really I can't because of my short height. I do good all day and then at night the thoughts start and I can't stop them. Please I can't even look at myself anymore and my clothes don't fit right, but yet I still can't stop :'( any advice? I hate myself. Some nights I eat 4,000+ calories. I have the past 3 nights in a row. I used to have so much determination and will power, but now it feels like I've lost it. How do I get the motivation back? Have any of you had weight gains or issues with this? Any advice is appreciated, thank you!!

Replies

  • kkimpel
    kkimpel Posts: 303 Member
    Honey,
    I think this is too complicated for advice here... Talk to your family or friends and find someone to talk to. It sounds like two sides of the same coin.. If you don't have anyone to talk to there, call your family doctor..
  • lemonyradiomen
    lemonyradiomen Posts: 8 Member
    This is definitely an issue for a doctor and especially any family or friends you have a good relationship with.

    However, I know at least one other person with the same problem as you so maybe I can give you some things to think about. She found a lot of comfort in starting a workout program - light cardio and heavy weightlifting and high-intensity interval training. As long as you keep the weight HIGH and the reps LOW, you won't get really bulky, but feeling yourself get stronger is an amazing feeling. It also helps you realize that your body uses food to do a lot of really neat stuff, and it gets rid of that feeling that the only options are deprivation or binging on junk food. If this is not your thing, I understand.

    Like kkimpel said, it is two sides of the same coin. When you're depriving yourself, you're getting "out of control" with restrictions, and as crazy as it seems, it takes willpower to keep eating when stuffed, to sacrifice your free time and comfort (not to mention $$$) to try to resolve some inner discomfort with fattening food.

    I have a problem with binging. One thing that helps me is keeping myself busy and getting plenty of sleep. When I get less than 9 hours I ALWAYS binge. It's horrible - i just can't stop thinking about food the entire day. On the other hand, I've sat down at my piano halfway through a chocolate bar and gotten so distracted practicing that I almost forget to swallow the bite I had just taken. Sometimes you just need to devote all your time an energy to something more important than being thin (: Unfortunately I'm a physics major and math just makes me hungrier... this is why I need art in my life!
  • kellehbeans
    kellehbeans Posts: 838 Member
    I am exactly the same. I am seeking counselling, so go see a professional. Maybe see a dietician so you can come up with a plan that helps you stay fuller for longer and do not feel the need to binge. I binge mainly when I am hungry, but I go over the top and go into a 'trance', and I just stuff my face. I used to have very strict self-control, but now I just manage to lose myself.

    Just try to keep yourself busy for now, but please do seek help from a professional. I know it's not much, but if you want to talk, I am here and you can feel free to message me. Keep your chin up chick. It's hard but you can do this. :flowerforyou:
  • joanna_82
    joanna_82 Posts: 151 Member
    Definitely see if you can find a therapist to talk these issues through.
    I had problems with bingeing, eating junk all day and then junk all night.

    What helped me was to tell myself one day I would eat three meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It didn't matter what I ate at those meals, but it was more important to find some sort of routine again and not restrict at all.

    I did this for a week or so, and then once I felt like I was back in my routine I started to look at what I was eating, and made small changes here and there. Once I then felt like I wasn't going to binge, I then started the weight loss on here with a very small calorie deficit.
    It worked for me, but I had reached the point that I truly needed to stop bingeing. It was making me so unhappy, much more than just about being overweight.

    Hope this helps.
  • fitness4life78
    fitness4life78 Posts: 69
    I have no problem motivating you to keep your eye on the prize! Lets stay healthy and help each other out!
  • tnelson5287
    tnelson5287 Posts: 2
    Thank you all so much for the kind words. Even my mother has told me I should talk to someone. I know I really should I just feel so embarrassed. I talk to my mother about my binges after each episode, and I always feel guilty. Yet I am doing it to myself. I'll look to seek help, I'm just afraid that it might not work. They can't be there at night when the thoughts kick in. I need to gain my control back, and someone rid myself of these night time thoughts.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
    I will post here what I posted in another binge eating thread in the hope that it will help you.

    One thing I wanted to add, when I was having the most problems with binging was also when I was restricting the most. I got help because the lack of control associated with the binging scared me. I couldn't understand why I was going crazy when I had been "good" for so long.

    Throughout the process of getting help, and working with my nutritionist, I found out several things. The first is that over-restriction and not eating enough for my activity level was one of the major causes of my binges. Even now, if I work out too much, I will get that same urge again. Sometimes I will be fine for a week, and then it will hit me. So now I have to make sure I eat ENOUGH, or I don't work out as much.

    Another thing I learned was to make sure I had a good level of fat in my diet. Even today, I try to keep my fat around 30-40% (G-d I love peanut butter!!). This really seems to help.

    I also have to make sure I get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major culprit with my binges, especially if it is combined with any of the above (too little calories, too little fat, or too much exercise).

    One big thing is not to try to "make up" for a binge. Because then you restrict, and workout too much, all leading up to another binge, and the cycle just goes on and on. The important thing is breaking the cycle.

    I hope some of this might help you!

    TLDR version:

    Eat enough calories
    Don't over train
    Get enough sleep
    Eat enough fat
    DON'T try to "make up" for binges
  • DaveDeLange
    DaveDeLange Posts: 48
    It's a tough one to answer and probably different for different people.

    I binged for about six years. I got to the point where I was really sick of what I was doing to myself. I set myself some long and short term targets and took it from there. I wanted to get fit and slim again more than I wanted to eat crap all day. Once I made the decision to change, the rest was easy. It's all in the mind.
  • pagefan
    pagefan Posts: 31 Member
    pro help. yes. logging in WHY you are doing what you are doing is MORE important than just logging in calories.. that's the ONE thing about this site that doesn't work.. you need to stop, breathe, count to ten, twenty, 100, whatever, try to catch yourself in the middle and really get in touch with WHY you are doing this.. there's something you are trying to control, and in doing so, you're taking it out on yourself. i was in your shoes in my 20's and 30's and did finally learn to allow myself to eat three meals a day and two snacks. i have found (i am now 56) i still on occasion get into a "thing" > almost a fugue state where i want to eat everything.- have i ? yes, i have... you have to STOP and breathe and walk away, and go do something else. NOT saying i never have - and or that this works for everyone, but it does work. agree- it is a different answer for different people. i had so many f'd up food issues from such a young age, i was bulimic, i was anorectic, i was nuts. (yes. hello) i said it. all in the mind? way easier said than done.. i found that i would be screaming and crying at myself on the inside on WHY i wanted to STOP doing what i was doing and i would be walking into 7-11 at the same time to buy junk to just take home and eat like a squirrel for the winter.. I don't know what finally clicked for me. Probably allowing myself the ability eat regular meals like a regular person and have a routine. That, and finding healthy choices, and learning new things. I'm no skinny mini, I'm average, i have 12 lbs to lose, i was close to my goal and sidelined by a surgery last year. You can get this nipped in the bud.. we all have faith in you.
  • hmrambling
    hmrambling Posts: 321 Member
    I can't share experience where I have none. I encourage you to seek therapy or counseling or consider OA (Overeaters Anonymous). It is a 12 step group. If you find that it does not work for you, then you are out nothing. I would guess that there are folks there who would share their experience, strength, and hope regarding their struggles and recovery with food.
  • robinkay2
    robinkay2 Posts: 46 Member
    I relate totally to what you shared about wanting to eat so much. I went to my first overeaters annonymous meeting a few weeks ago and find it to be helpful and encouraging to be aruond several others who struggle with the same things I do and apply the 12 step program to their issue with food. Maybe it would help you? look them up online...
    gentle hugs~
    ~R
  • joanna_82
    joanna_82 Posts: 151 Member
    Talking to a professional about these issues will help you with it, yes they can't be there to stop you and they can't be there all the time to change your behaviour for you, but they can help you understand why you do it.

    for me, it was a form of self harm. I was bingeing to punish myself for not being good enough or being a failure or not a success or all those things. I thought I was being nice to myself and treating myself but I wasnt, I was hurting myself.

    As soon as my therapist helped me realise that, something changed in my head. I didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't want to hurt myself or make myself feel ill or guilty or low. I started changing my behaviour to look after myself, to eat better, to be more active and to try and like myself.

    It has taken a while, and I do find that in hard moments I automatically think about food, but the binges don't happen anymore. It will happen but you might need support to help you get there.

    There is a book called 'overcoming binge eating' that you might find helpful.
  • adge1475
    adge1475 Posts: 77 Member
    Learn to recognize your triggers. It might be time of the day or a certain type of food or even a song. Recognize your triggers and actively do whatever you can to remove yourself from a situation where you might be triggered. Often, I realize I'm in a bad mood early enough to be able to do something to stop it, and I have to actively make the choice to remove myself from that mindset or that situation.
    That's what works for me :) Definitely talk to a professional, of course. But 12-step groups really are the best thing I've ever found (recovering drug addict, here, not OA, but all the steps I've taken to overcome drug addiction can absolutely be applied to food).

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