How to quit binge eating FOR GOOD?
ObsessedMonster
Posts: 150 Member
I've been going through a lot of stress physically and mentally this last week and went all out on Saturday. I ate everything I was craving and more. Yesterday went by fine, but then today, the same thing happened again. I used to have really good control and my longest record for being binge free is one month (the month I lost the most weight). Now I can't go a week without binging atleast once. I don't know what's wrong. I have been going to the gym more often, but I'm not doing anything too intense. I eat 1600 calories daily (when I don't binge) regardless of how much exercise I get for the day just to maintain my weight. Any advice on how to quit binging FOR GOOD?
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For me, my goal (every day) is to not binge today. I can't promise myself I'll never do it again, but I can promise myself I won't binge today.0
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It's very difficult, and people who don't binge don't understand. I too stay clean for a month or 4-5 lbs loss, then binge and put those pounds back. Then I start again. What I am doing this time is that I am analyzing the cause of binge eating - its mostly mental - tiredness, stress, boredom, anxiety. It also is usually during a specific time of day - 3 PM - 7 PM for me. I find that if I am very busy, then I don't binge eat. So I am trying to move my meetings, commitments, shopping, exercise to that part of the day to stay more busy. The other thing is for the mind to be in a good place. I try to meditate for 15 minutes a day to calm myself, think about the goals for today etc. That seems to help as well. I am cutting down on most processed food, sugar, some salt and white carbs. I think there is some relationship between processed food and mood. Also, drastically increasing veggies, protein (for me being a vegetarian, this is around 80-100 ) and reducing overall carbs. This seems to increase satiety. Finally, I take a multi-vitamin, omega 3 oil and planning to add a pro-biotic. I hear the gut bacteria also affects the mood. In essence, I am trying to be a busier, happier person. If there are any other ideas that work for you, I'd be happy to hear.0
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Develop a positive relationship with food.
Eating should never involve guilt or shame unless you have stolen the food.
Try choosing foods you really love, and then eating appropriate amounts, slowly and mindfully, savoring the flavor. Try paying attention to not only how it tastes, but also how it makes you feel. Try not cleaning your plate, and putting some of the tastiness away for later (some things even taste better after having sat in the fridge for 24 hours.) Invest in some really good herbs and spices, add bits of savoriness like nuts and cheese, find some amazing and versatile recipes that work with more than one protein or veggie and use them interchangeably.
Try smaller, more frequent grocery shopping trips, with more fresh foods, and try to find outlets for local and organic produce, meats and dairy. Try buying a couple of smaller, very beautiful plates and bowls, and pay attention to presentation. Think of how food looks at a very expensive restaurant...small servings, displayed with an eye to aesthetics. Try doing that with your food at home. Make mealtime an event, not something you do on the fly or while watching your shows.
Love your food in a respectful and reverent way, instead of a furtive, gluttonous way. Make it sexy instead of a dirty secret.
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1) I work at engaging in mindful eating: I sit down to eat and as often as possible I sit down by myself with no other distractions and just focus on getting through the meal, acknowledging each bit and each flavor and each texture.
2) I also eat way fewer carbs: there are not any starches or sweet treats on deck for today. I haven't finished my plan for tomorrow, yet, but there will probably not be any starches and one sweet treat.
3) I work at identifying my triggers and coming up with alternative ways to deal with them. Exercise, meditation, telling someone to go fvck themselves...
Check back in at the end of my life to see if it works forever. So far, it has only been a little over a month, but I didn't even binge for Thanksgiving, so there is that.0 -
What worked for me was finding another activity to replace the eating. When the impulse came, on went the running shoes and out the door I go.
But it sure ain't easy....good luck!0 -
I am so turned on right now. I'm gonna go eat. LOLSnuggleSmacks wrote: »Develop a positive relationship with food.
Love your food in a respectful and reverent way, instead of a furtive, gluttonous way. Make it sexy instead of a dirty secret.
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pincushion14 wrote: »
I am so turned on right now. I'm gonna go eat. LOLSnuggleSmacks wrote: »Develop a positive relationship with food.
Love your food in a respectful and reverent way, instead of a furtive, gluttonous way. Make it sexy instead of a dirty secret.
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ROWR!SnuggleSmacks wrote: »pincushion14 wrote: »
I am so turned on right now. I'm gonna go eat. LOLSnuggleSmacks wrote: »Develop a positive relationship with food.
Love your food in a respectful and reverent way, instead of a furtive, gluttonous way. Make it sexy instead of a dirty secret.
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I only ever binge when ive had a few doobies on the weekend. Now that i have relised thats the issue and its holding me back alot that will stop.
I will still log on thoes days, eg sunday was 3900 cals, Saturday was 2500. I stick to 1800 Monday to Friday
Still loosing but the extra cals are slowing it down
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We all get dealt a deck of cards at birth. Some get the alcohol card, some get other addictions, issues, problems.
I've always struggled with food, as did my mother. After all these years I understand it will never magically disappear, that I have to educate myself, get some rules down, and rarely break my rules unless I want my eating plan to weaken. I think it will always be an issue of 'managing' my problem, instead of the wishful thinking that my problem will disappear.0 -
I have that same problem thanks for all the advice that was given0
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I have found that brushing my teeth can sometimes help. Something about changing the flavor in my mouth and not wanting to dirty up my nice clean teeth. Also having a plan helps. for example if I feel a binge coming on I plan to start with a 15-20 min walk, when I get home I will eat an apple, then I could take a long bath or shower, if I still feel like I need to eat then maybe some nuts of veggies.0
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It helps to find some really delicious low calorie filling foods that you can eat more of, and that you really love. For me, butternut squash with goat cheese, or a spinach and caprese salad (tomatos, herbs, fresh mozzarella) with balsamic and a little oil and fresh cracked pepper...I can go really light on the cheese and oil, and heavy on the squash or spinach and tomatoes and balsamic, and eat really large servings if I'm very hungry. And love every second of it, for usually around 300 cals or so.0
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The only way to stop for good is to find the underlying cause of your binge eating, and deal directly with it. It may take working with a professional if it's an emotional reason. There is a lot of good advice on here with ways to manage or prevent it as you get there.0
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I think, as someone already said, its all about figuring out the reasons and timing of your binges. For example mine are always after dinner at night time so lately I'll leave some calories for desert (usually a banana smoothie because they're one of my favorite things) but the catch is if i have desert I have to go to bed immediately afterwards, that way I go to bed feeling satisfied and avoid sitting around watching tv (which sometimes triggers it). I dont tend to binge between dinner and my smoothie because I have that smoothie to look forward to.. I'm not sure why it works but my point is the solution for you will probably be very personal to your situation. Good luck!
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Deal with the problem.
Be aware and have an effective strategy to redirect you away from the binge as a solution, every time it occurs as an option. Its worth spending some time on this if its important to you. Maybe get some support that you will listen to if you cant do it on your own. Lot of ood advice on this thread.
From your avatar if thats current then you look pretty slim as is, so check your BMI and whether you really need to slim at all.
As for exercise, it all sounds a bit too imprecise and people often overstate the amount they think they are doing or have unrealistic expectations of the amount they are burning. For a theoretical 1lb loss then to burn 3500 calories you are talking anywhere between 5-12 hours of continuous cardio activity, depending on intensity and weight. Thats a lot of activity, are you really doing that much?0 -
This probably isn't a helpful post but I've never managed to kick the urge, I just have to fight it constantly. I've eaten clean for 8 months now and lost plenty of weight but I still want to binge constantly
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Therapy - and if you can't afford it, then the book: Overcoming Binge Eating (it's a CBT based book I've suggested to college aged clients who only can get 6 sessions for free and can't afford more)0
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I'm not sure why it works but my point is the solution for you will probably be very personal to your situation. Good luck!
I agree. It's taken me ages to get myself ready to stop eating crap every single day and start eating mindfully. In preparation over the last couple of months I've been thinking about the consequences in my life of being hugely overweight, for me, for my daughter, for my family etc. Mostly it's my 3 yr old daughter who is my reason.
I don't want her to have "the fat mummy" AND the oldest mummy at school LOL (I'm 40).
I don't want to die earlier than I have to just because I'm overweight or I leave my daughter without her mum for most of her life. I'm an older mum as it is so that thought just wrecks me!
In short, I guilt myself into exercising and eating healthy. Also, I gave up smoking last NYEve so I figure if I can do that, I can easily lose some weight.
It's all in my mind, all of these reasons, but they work for me Like Bekk said, it's a very personal thing. People ie. Docs, have been telling me I need to lose weight and it's never made me do anything about it before.
It all feels very different now so it's working nicely.
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sheepotato wrote: »The only way to stop for good is to find the underlying cause of your binge eating, and deal directly with it. It may take working with a professional if it's an emotional reason. There is a lot of good advice on here with ways to manage or prevent it as you get there.
^^^This.
You also need a different coping mechanism, because there will always be stress in life. I'm currently working on this issue, I don't really binge, but I definitely turn to overeating unhealthy foods during times of stress.
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I eat what i crave. I realized a while ago that if i don't eat what i am craving then i will graze through anything and everything that is available until that craving is satisfied. In the end i will consume way more than i would have if i had just eaten whatever it was that i wanted in the first place.
If i am craving something salty and crunchy then a pudding snack pack isn't going to do it for me. If i just eat a couple chips or pretzels then i can be satisfied. At least until the next craving comes along. Sometimes i just want to chew and i think that is because i get anxious. Anxiety makes me grind my teeth and chewing is so much easier on my jaw. When i am like that i crave things like tootsie rolls and sticky candies but i realized that crunchy veggies sometimes work. Any food that doesn't require much chewing just wouldn't help that.
Stop and take the time to think about what it is you are craving and why. You might be able to satisfy yourself sooner.0 -
Don't resist the urge to eat. If you want a donut, have a donut. Continue eating what you want and be happy eating it.
Give yourself permission to eat whatever you want and do it.
Eventually, you will learn to eat what you want, when you want and will not be fighting with yourself, giving in to urges and feeling that it's out of your control, because you took control.
Of all the theories, it makes the most sense and seems to work well for those who put it into practice.
It's hard to eat cookies because you feel like eating them if you know they're not good for you. But give it a shot.
That's my advice.0 -
I binged a lot right after my dad died and gained 3 pounds before I started freaking out about it and stopped.
For me, a big thing was keeping food out of my reach. My husband would bring me home chocolates, etc. and I would leave them on the end table right beside where I sit on the couch. Bad idea. So I started hiding things in the kitchen so they'd be out of sight until I was actually hungry.
I did the same thing while in college. I kept all my food in drawers so I couldn't see it, and any big meals like lunch and dinner, I had to walk across campus to get, so I actually had to put in the effort to go and get it.
When I was at my parents', I stayed in my room a lot, and the kitchen was all the way downstairs. So again, food was out of sight, out of mind.0 -
for me it's just focusing on my goals, is 30 minutes of food worth postponing my goals, and then it gets really simple when i try to be real analytical about it0
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I have the same problem. Honestly, I usually find that my drive and ability to resist temptation just comes back on it's own. Nothing in particular helps. Very odd. This time I think it's because I set a mental deadline for myself. But doing that in the past never helped. So it's different each time. Sorry, not much help. Just trying to show you there is still hope!0
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Kgerber777 wrote: »I have found that brushing my teeth can sometimes help. Something about changing the flavor in my mouth and not wanting to dirty up my nice clean teeth. Also having a plan helps. for example if I feel a binge coming on I plan to start with a 15-20 min walk, when I get home I will eat an apple, then I could take a long bath or shower, if I still feel like I need to eat then maybe some nuts of veggies.
I'm the same way! It sounds really weird at first but it works really well. I try to wait 30 minutes after I eat a regular meal then brush my teeth and floss. After that time period is when I would do my worst binging. But, after my cleaning routine, I'm not messing that up!0 -
Eat more.
You are not eating enough on daily basis. I don't know what your weight/hight is, but 1600 is almost definitely lower then your maintainance, especially if you are doing sports.
Take that seriously now, because if you have to binge so often and can't control yourself, you are very close to developing an ED.
Eat More 2 Weigh Less Group on MFP has good advice on correctly determining your TDEE and developing a healthy relationship with food.
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SnuggleSmacks wrote: »It helps to find some really delicious low calorie filling foods that you can eat more of, and that you really love. For me, butternut squash with goat cheese, or a spinach and caprese salad (tomatos, herbs, fresh mozzarella) with balsamic and a little oil and fresh cracked pepper...I can go really light on the cheese and oil, and heavy on the squash or spinach and tomatoes and balsamic, and eat really large servings if I'm very hungry. And love every second of it, for usually around 300 cals or so.
This is great advice along with other advice on here. But when I want to binge, I don't want spinach and tomato's. I want donuts, candy bars, frosted cupcakes and cookies. An entire pizza or cheeseburger and large fries, followed by a milk shake. No butternut squash with goat cheese is going to satisfy that when I am wanting foods like these.
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I used to binge eat. The only thing that worked for me was to cut out my binge foods completely. I've been off desserts / candy for nearly 10 years and I don't miss them at all.
I still overeat from time to time on tasty foods, but overeating is nothing at all like the insatiable binges I used to have.
Good luck and I hope you find your solution soon.0
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