Anyone have binging issues???

Also it gets bad if I eat crappy food I need good wholesome foods to keep me full.

I can't help either since I do the same thing you are doing. But I can help motivate if needed. I try to do great during the week but always fall short on the weekends by a lot! I always try to start fresh on Monday's but I fail.

Do you know why you binge at weekends? I.e is it because you run out of healthy food in the house? Or is it because you go out? Or are you on your own and feeling down? If you can isolate why you binge then its easier to work out how to fix it.

If you are eating super healthy during the week then you are more likely to want a 'treat' and then not be able to stop at just one. Restricting your diet of foods you like is going to make you want to binge.

I deal with it my introducing foods that I like into my diet at regular intervals. But instead of having a whole packet of biscuits, I have one at work. Instead of eating a family size chocolate bar, I have a small chocolate bar. Etc. If you put the things you like in your diet in small amounts, and fit your calorie goals, you are less likely to binge on them.

After weeks and months of eating crap, I started for a few weeks just trying to eat proper meals rather than bingeing. Then I was able to make changes to my diet and over 4 months later I am in a much better situation than I was. I feel in control of food now whereas I didn't before.

I am in a similar situation and can't work out the best solution... To stay away from chocolate, biscuits and cakes altogether (my trigger foods) to try and curb my cravings or to have treats regularly so that I don't feel deprived.

I feel that the former could work but don't think I have enough will power to get through the first week or so. And the latter I've been trying, but the more sugar I have, the more I want and that's when a binge happens.

It's so frustrating isn't it

spickard34 wrote: »

Also it gets bad if I eat crappy food I need good wholesome foods to keep me full.

^ I'm not what I'd call hungry...more stressed or simply a habit causes it.

I have issues with this too. What I've found that works the best for me is to plan a "cheat day" into my weekly calorie deficit. So for 6 days of the week, I'll eat 1600ish calories, then one day a week, I'll allow myself to go up to more like 3000 calories. That way I know I always have that day to look forward to. Really helps me keep it in check the rest of the week.

Yes, I definitely do. They've gotten much better though. I agree about having a non-restrictive diet. That has really helped me.

Had the same problem. Would do great all week and then binge on weekends. Read this book "How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too" by Josie Spinardi Its on amazon for $9.99 in e-reader format. It's basically a breakdown of dieting psychology and how dieting leads to food obsession and binging. Teaches you techniques to get back in touch with real hunger rather than responding to physiological cravings brought on by food obsession caused by dieting. I think all dieters should read this. Helped me realize why I was binging and has made a huge difference in how i use food.

I started out losing weight by only counting calories when I was 300 lbs, and I was eating 1500 calories a day. Then I moved to only counting calories and eating 1200 calories a day. Then I plateaued and added exercise. Eventually I moved to eating around 1000 calories and working out for around 3 hours a day when I could manage it. I thought, well, if a little exercise is good, more must be better. And if 1200 calories was good, less must be better. On top of that, I was eating very little fat. I was good for about a year, and ended up losing down to around 110. Then, out of nowhere, uncontrollable binges would start. I would go crazy with anything that contained carbs and fat. And then after my binges, I would go crazy again with over restricting and over exercising to "make up" for those binges. I got desperate because I was gaining weight back, and I just couldn't get out of the cycle, so I decided to get help (with the strong urging of several friends).

I ended up seeing a nutritionist that specialized in eating disorders. She taught me several things that were a BIG help. The first thing was that I was sleep deprived because I was getting up at 4 am to work out, but going to bed around midnight (I had just started dating my boyfriend). Being sleep deprived can make you crave carbs. The second was that my body was going crazy craving carbs and fat because I was expending energy like crazy, but never replenishing. I needed to start eating more, and working out less.

It's still hard to find a balance, but as long as I listened to her AND listen to my body, I have very little issues now. The below is what I try to keep in mind, and what I suggest for anyone else having problems:

1) Make sure you get enough sleep
2) Make sure you are eating enough (especially enough fat)
3) Don't over exercise, and make sure you eat enough for you level of activity
4) DON'T try to "make up" for binges.

I have found that I eat to avoid doing other things. Like housework. I was home Monday by myself and ate all of the foodz. I've been on a 5 day binge streak and its been awful. I'm lacking in sleep (I have a 1 year old), and I haven't been able to get out in run because my husband hasn't been getting home early enough. I feel your pain but I can't offer help, only understanding. I guess you can just tell yourself to stop now. Right now. Not later. not tomorrow. NOW. Spend the rest of your day eating healthy. it's like quitting smoking. You go cold turkey. You slip and have a smoke. Figure it's the end of your quit, so you just go back to your pack a day. That one cigarette is not as harmful as the whole pack. So stop at the one. Start fresh. Make a plan to eat healthier today, and maybe get a walk in. A 15 minute walk is better than a 0 minute walk. Baby steps. Any step in the right direction can be repeated!!

lorelax wrote: »

oh btw, i think there's a huge difference between binge eating and just not sticking to a restricted/healthy diet. Sure you can have a day where you don't eat that healthy, or when you crave something sweet. Especially when you are on a diet or try to lose weight or in other ways restrict what you eat. I still have days with cookies, or ice cream, or both.. But for me bingeing is when I absolutely lose control and eat anything and everything that I can get my hands on.

I get why we use the word binge to describe different situations and in no way do I want to disrespect the feelings or situations of others.. But for me the binge-eating was definitely the out-of-control, eating so much that I made myself literally sick-situations (and oooh the guilt and shame afterwards) and not the ooh I ate a whole chocolate-bar days..

I don't know if this makes sense to you all. And I still have (and need) those cheat-days. just not the binges anymore.

I totally agree. By definition, a binge is different than over-eating and/or overindulging. I feel as though many people (and i'm not saying people here specifically as i've just seen this in my everyday life) confuse 'binging' with 'eating more than i planned'.

Anyways - i used to struggle a lot with Binge Eating Disorder. I found a particular medication (short term) combined with therapy and support from my boyfriend is what really helped me to get better. My struggles are in remission, but i always have to practice mindfulness to ensure that they don't resurface. It's a battle everyday, because unlike most other addictions/struggles of that kind, you can't just cut the trigger out - it's something you have to face numerous times a day to survive.

I suggest that you try out numerous treatment paradigms before you settle down with something. There are so many out there, and some people respond to some better than others. I responded well to psychopharmacology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, while i know some people who responded well to DBT. There is also a good book that may provide you with some insight (assuming you don't have a Ph.D in neuroscience that is....since it's a really basic over-view of some of brain structures) about binge eating, and a really interesting perspective. Actually, that book is what inspired me to get off the medication that allowed for me to kick-start my recovery and to use therapeutic techniques from there on. While the medication definitely was what i needed to start my recovery, i found that i continued to depend on it, which was unrealistic and unnecessary.

If you want to talk or need anything, feel free to reach out and PM me!

Oh! Also, i suggest that you try to find a DBT diary card, learn how to use them, and use them for a few weeks. It'll help you see if there are any situation-based or mood-based triggers that cause you to engage in binge eating.

Been there, for sure. I haven't binged in about a month as of now, and I will say that the longer I'm away from it, the less I need it. It gets easier as I build momentum and learn to cope in healthier ways. I used to weigh over 300 lbs. I lost over 90 lbs. in 2012 before I got pregnant and didn't binge for a whole year. It felt great. Can I blame the pregnancy for why I started again? That contributed, sure, but I had never fully fixed the underlying causes. I really enjoyed Geneen Roth's books on food and psychology, and am reading through them now.

Anyways, giving you my history to let you know I get it. I KNOW how powerless you feel, the self loathing, the frustration. I would be glad to be your friend on here!

beamer0821 wrote: »

read Geenen Roth's Breaking Free From Emotional/Compulsive Eating. its a short book and it basically changed everything for me. my mindset saw this whole weight thing quite differently after this book.

Appreciate you bringing up the title of this book, going to hit the library up and see if I can find it! Thanks again.

So many good nuggets in the posts up above, OP, trust me, you're NOT the only one many of us struggle as you do and are working our way through this. There ARE ppl that were once bingers that no longer binge so there is light on the other side..

I so agree with 'Big' when she shares : "I totally agree. By definition, a binge is different than over-eating and/or overindulging. I feel as though many people (and i'm not saying people here specifically as i've just seen this in my everyday life) confuse 'binging' with 'eating more than i planned'."

I do think some simply do not understand a binge for what it is. To me it's not an extra 2 cookies and another glass of milk etc. It's a hard thing to talk about to someone that doesn't live it or have understanding of it. It helps when someone brings up a thread and then one sees there are others dealing with it and looking for ways to move past it!