binge eating/food addiction

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  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    I've struggled with binging for years. This year I decided it was time for me and I joined a boot camp. I find the gym gives me a boost that I don't feel the need to eat. I also found that when I tell myself I can't have something immediately my head goes into overdrive and craves. Over Christmas I bought in loads of stuff for the family and told myself I could eat what I wanted. And I did just that. I found that I didn't binge or look to binge at all. I also didn't overeat and weight wise stayed the same. I'm taking it as a sign that things are finally changing for me and I'm trying to run with it. I hope you find your way x
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    I'm guilty of the same thing. I can say that when I understood what was causing me to over eat and why I thought about food all day it helped me get a grip on it. I have lost 15 pounds so far and have a long ways to go but I know I can beat this now. Watch this documentary (hungry for change) it's on netflix but I'm sure it's other places as well. It changes me , maybe it can help you too.
  • gigmaster
    gigmaster Posts: 20 Member
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    I feel your pain. With me it's not so much eating as it is cooking. I am a chef by trade (among other things), and when I get depressed, instead of drinking, I cook. If I cook, obviously I am going to eat. I haven't found a good cure for this, yet, other than try not to get depressed.
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    I have to comment on the person who said you can't get addicted to food. .... um hello they have proven that sugar sets off the same endorphins as cocaine. The brain is addicted to sugar like a Crack head it to crack. Do some research before you say something that makes no since at all. Stay away from things high in sugar fructose and corn. Just for starters . Watch hungry for change
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    LavenderLeaves wrote: »
    eldamiano wrote: »
    There is no such thing as a food addiction. You are just telling yourself that you are because you have no willpower and do not want to carry out the necessary steps to lose weight.

    In what way is this comment remotely helpful or constructive? There are people who genuinely have no idea how to come with an overwhelming urge to eat because of various reasons, whether it simply be they just love the taste of something too much or have use food as an emotional coping mechanism. Either way requires learning to cope in healthy ways.




    I Have to comment on the person who said you can't get addicted to food. .... um hello they have proven that sugar sets off the same endorphins as cocaine. The brain is addicted to sugar like a Crack head it to crack. Do some research before you say something that makes no since at all. Stay away from things high in sugar fructose and corn. Just for starters . Watch hungry for change.JD
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
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    Once binge-eating begins to affect your entire life in a negative way, it certainly has moved into the realm of addiction or, at the very least, addictive behavior.

    Honestly, professional help + some type of medication might be best. Not weight-loss medication, but perhaps an anti-depressant or something along those lines. Getting to the root of the problem would be a good first step.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    I have to say I agree with it not being an addiction. I haven't seen anyone who takes out second mortgages on their house to pay for their "sugar addiction", end up be coming homeless, having sex for sugar etc.
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=TKGxVLzADpCtoQSRpIHwBQ&url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/&ved=0CB0QFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGTZ1AvMiBYUHInmmW2taGTAOhbtQ
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited January 2015
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    having sex for sugar etc.

    Oh...other people don't do this????

    Oh I am seriously embarrased right now...
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=TKGxVLzADpCtoQSRpIHwBQ&url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/&ved=0CB0QFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGTZ1AvMiBYUHInmmW2taGTAOhbtQ
  • LavenderLeaves
    LavenderLeaves Posts: 195 Member
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    Davisjenn, I wouldn't even bother responding to a person like that. Anyone who feels the need to make those sort of comments clearly has no interest in actually trying to help. :)
  • LavenderLeaves
    LavenderLeaves Posts: 195 Member
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    ...I say that, but I also can't help mouthing off to peons. :#
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited January 2015
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    As to the OP.......

    Sweetie, I feel you. I have had binge issues literally for decades. Until I was in my late 30s, I was able to maintain a very thin weight as I would alternate binges with severe restriction.

    I can only tell you what is now working for me; I can't say this is anyone else's issue. But what I figured out after much soul searching and brutal honesty was that actually, I WAS addicted to something...and it wasn't any one food or food group specifically. Rather, what I was after was the bloated, zoned out feeling I got following a binge. After a binge I would get hazy and very sleepy and I would just drop right there, bed, couch, whatever, with no thoughts at all. Everything just...went away.

    I wanted that and I thought I needed it. Just to be absolutely focused on gorging, then so overstuffed and so physically exhausted from the frenzied binge itself that the world just disappeared.

    When I realized that, everything changed for me. Again, that's just me.
  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member
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    I don't know about binges (except for mine), but I find that intense exercise really helps with my hunger levels. That and getting enough protein and fiber, and making sure I'm meeting my micros. When I'm craving, I sometimes have a small amount of a food that I find really filling. For me that is yogurt or brown rice. If that doesn't work, I have a glass of water and get active.

    Good luck :)
  • davisjenn
    davisjenn Posts: 18 Member
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    LavenderLeaves wrote: »
    Davisjenn, I wouldn't even bother responding to a person like that. Anyone who feels the need to make those sort of comments clearly has no interest in actually trying to help. :)

    I agree it is just so hard sometimes ! Lol
  • RainDrops930
    RainDrops930 Posts: 46 Member
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    I share a problem very similar to yours. In fact, I was shocked to see this post, since sometimes it feels like I'm the only one. I've battled with this problem for years, and it's a cycle. I've gotten my weight to a healthy range, but the problem isn't fixed. I generally restrict my calories for 5-6 days a week, and binge for the remaining 1-2. And I mean BINGE. I literally think about food all week, during classes, whenever. I plan my cheats, waste my money hoarding my snacks, and go to town once the weekend comes. Although my weight is under control, I hate being like this. I feel like a slave to food.
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
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    I have often wondered if I am a binge eater. I certainly find it difficult to eat only one or a few biscuits from the package and most often will polish off whatever I start eating. This type of food usually falls squarely in the junk food category and I am imagining that is a function of the salt/sweetness/crunchiness of the food material i am pushing into my body at a dizzying speed. I sometimes wonder if I ought to purge following these eating frenzies and have not moved in that direction (no pun intended). Consequently, my weight rockets in a matter of days and then I force myself to stop eating almost completely and exercise my face off. Not exactly the perfect plan you might say.
    I may have discovered a way to thwart this deeply entrenched pattern of eating and would be willing to share it if I am not hogging the conversation. Just let me know.
    I wanted to comment on the reference to addiction. In my mind, the most helpful way to understand an addictive process is if the behaviour meets a few criteria:
    1. Not doing the behaviour (which in this case is over-eating) creates withdrawal symptoms what can be extremely unpleasant and even painful. The brain begins to ruminate on the discomfort and finds amazingly clever and effective ways and means to get the person "back on track" to continue the behaviour. It can almost seem like it happens automatically.
    2. The ongoing habitation of the behaviour interferes with the quality of life of the person and can in fact create destructive consequences over time (health-wise, financial, social, psychological etc)
    3. (related to point number 1. )stopping the behaviour, over time, becomes almost impossible to maintain without enormous support and resources.

    Hope that was helpful

    Shel

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