Binge Eating Help and Tips for Accountability

stephxfit · February 2015

Hi everyone,

I've had a MFP account for years but used it sporadically and had a horrible habit of "starting over" every time I messed up. I would delete my past entries, re-weigh and measure then start "day 1" all over again. This has gotten me nowhere, kept me from feeling accountable, and long story short Ive gained 100 lbs in the past 4 years.

I'm trying something new-ish.
First of all I'm going to allow myself to eat up to 2,000 calories every day. I've always had a big appetite and finally learned that trying to eat 1200-1500 cals to lose weight only caused me to binge hardcore a week later.

Second, I'm vowing to enter everything into MFP every day, no matter what. No more "starting over" and trying to pretend all those week long binges never happened and never mattered.

Over my 10+ years dieting (since I was 13) I've learned a lot about weight loss and consider myself somewhat an expert in mind but obviously not in practice. I've always been afraid of losing weight slowly even though I've read plenty of good about eating only 20% under maintenance.

I've struggled with binge eating since I was 11. Sometimes I forget how long I've struggled and expect to be able to stop a 12 year habit cold turkey with the snap of my fingers.
Not to be overly dramatic, but food has sort of "been there" for me for years. To escape emotionally from an unsafe environment I would prepare large amounts of food and curl up in a blanket and eat it all. I remember turning to food durning 3 particularly traumatic times in my life. My point is that the roots are deeps.

I currently have no friends or family I can be open with about my struggles. I suspect I need emotional support and accountability to succeed long term since it is an emotional problem at its roots. Does anyone have any recommendations for this? I love the MFP community but wonder if I also need more specific and/or intimate help. I've thrown around the idea of seeing a counselor/psychiatrist.... Anyone have any luck with that?

Also, any general tips for dealing with binge eating disorder would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all... Reading fellow MFP'ers stories and advice is always a huge encouragement to me.

39flavours · February 2015

It's good you're being honest with yourself, that's the first step to success. As you know, denial just gets you nowhere, fast.
Second is to plan to succeed so chuck out that comfort food and plan your meals straight away - eating 2000 shouldn't mean just having whatever you feel like and logging it later, get into the habit now of logging your food before you eat it and being very accurate. Yes it's a hassle at first but it only takes a few weeks to become a habit.
- Third is to get support, like you said. So defo see a councillor if you think talking it out will help. Also maybe try joining a weight loss group like weight watchers, it'll keep you focused and you could make some great friends. For me, having mfp friends has been a huge help- we seem to take it in turns to have high days and low days so we're always there to help each other along. Have an open diary too, that accountability is priceless, the thought that others are seeing what you eat helps you to make healthier choices.
- fourth is love yourself, be compassionate and forgiving towards yourself when you slip up. Allow yourself some treats. (Log everything!) Eat healthy food and definitely exercise, it does wonders for creating a positive mindset and is a great outlet for stress and a place to escape from it all when life gets tough.

Glad you're back and sounding strong and determined. If you need a friend, add me xxx

39flavours · February 2015

Sorry, just realised I didn't really answer your question re binge eating. There was an interesting blog about it on mfp the other day, did you see it? It talked about keeping a diary and assessing your feelings before and after the binge. It didn't really focus on stopping the binge if i remember, more on recording it and understanding it.

39flavours · February 2015

5 Steps to Break Free From Binge Eating ‹ Hello Healthy http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/how-to-break-free-from-binge-eating/

Whitezombiegirl · February 2015

Hi I've been binge eating and then restricting from 13 to 38.....(as a result of the concequential restriction I've never really got large enough for anyone to notice a weight gain). First of all, like you, I identified the root cause of it- BUT that did'nt really help as it has become and ingrained behaviour now. Unlike you, I've never been a big eater, as a child I would rather skip lunch and dinner to play- and it would take my parents over and hour to get me to finish a meal. This is what I'm trying- and it seems to be working:

Since 2010 I have kept a paper journal which details my food binges and also what else is going on in my life at the time. It helps to go back and re-read it from time to time. I never erase it.

I have a healthy list of meals and snacks I stick to. I have built this list up over time and it's full of things I like to eat. (it's stuff roasted peppers with pesto and feta tonight- yum!)

I plan ahead and ALWAYS keep healthy foods in the house , at work and in my handbag.

I never go shopping when upset or hungry. I don't reward myself with food or drink.

I do not buy junk food and I avoid my trigger foods. If I do want an occasional treat I buy a mini choc bar and eat it slowly. I used to buy multipacks and then eat the whole lot in one go- to the point of sickness- so I can't trust myself to have them in the house/ work.

I am hyper aware of my menstrual cycle as i find that most of my binges occur around PMS time when I'm feeling depressed.

I tried councelling but it doesn't work for me. I like to vividly remember times when I was slimmer and listen to music from that time etc. It keeps memotivated.

Hope that helps. Good luck

cheshirecatastrophe · February 2015

stephxfit wrote: »

I've struggled with binge eating since I was 11. Sometimes I forget how long I've struggled and expect to be able to stop a 12 year habit cold turkey with the snap of my fingers.
Not to be overly dramatic, but food has sort of "been there" for me for years. To escape emotionally from an unsafe environment I would prepare large amounts of food and curl up in a blanket and eat it all. I remember turning to food durning 3 particularly traumatic times in my life. My point is that the roots are deeps.

I currently have no friends or family I can be open with about my struggles. I suspect I need emotional support and accountability to succeed long term since it is an emotional problem at its roots. Does anyone have any recommendations for this? I love the MFP community but wonder if I also need more specific and/or intimate help. I've thrown around the idea of seeing a counselor/psychiatrist.... Anyone have any luck with that?

So in my opinion and experience, by the time someone can bring themselves to mention that they "might" need a therapist, it's a really really good idea to take the plunge.

I'm posting, though, to suggest that you check into a specific kind of therapy called CBT, cognitive-behavioral therapy. Rather than being "tell me about your childhood," it's a more dynamic, sometimes shorter-term therapy focused on changing thought patterns around a trouble point. It was very helpful for me in overcoming compulsive exercise. I learned how to "short-circuit" some of the automatic thoughts about needing to burn calories or all this horrible stuff was going to happen and I'd get fat overnight and the world would end etc. From your post, I sort of gathered that you turn to food when a stressful thing happens, so, maybe something similar would help you.

(It's also true that I like to attack and solve problems and NOT talk about my feelings, so CBT is more my style. A lot of people have great luck with more traditional psychotherapy and if that's your thing, good for you!)

stephxfit · February 2015

rowanshepherd3 wrote: »

5 Steps to Break Free From Binge Eating ‹ Hello Healthy http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/how-to-break-free-from-binge-eating/

Thank you for the advice and the link, it was a good read!

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

Hi I've been binge eating and then restricting from 13 to 38.....(as a result of the concequential restriction I've never really got large enough for anyone to notice a weight gain). First of all, like you, I identified the root cause of it- BUT that did'nt really help as it has become and ingrained behaviour now. Unlike you, I've never been a big eater, as a child I would rather skip lunch and dinner to play- and it would take my parents over and hour to get me to finish a meal. This is what I'm trying- and it seems to be working:

Since 2010 I have kept a paper journal which details my food binges and also what else is going on in my life at the time. It helps to go back and re-read it from time to time. I never erase it.

I have a healthy list of meals and snacks I stick to. I have built this list up over time and it's full of things I like to eat. (it's stuff roasted peppers with pesto and feta tonight- yum!)

I plan ahead and ALWAYS keep healthy foods in the house , at work and in my handbag.

I never go shopping when upset or hungry. I don't reward myself with food or drink.

I do not buy junk food and I avoid my trigger foods. If I do want an occasional treat I buy a mini choc bar and eat it slowly. I used to buy multipacks and then eat the whole lot in one go- to the point of sickness- so I can't trust myself to have them in the house/ work.

I am hyper aware of my menstrual cycle as i find that most of my binges occur around PMS time when I'm feeling depressed.

I tried councelling but it doesn't work for me. I like to vividly remember times when I was slimmer and listen to music from that time etc. It keeps memotivated.

Hope that helps. Good luck

Thank you for taking the time to share your tips! The journal sounds like a particularly good idea. I too have noticed a trend of turning to food even more during PMS related negative feelings

looks like you have a good binge recovery thing going, keep up the good work

softblondechick · February 2015

I see binge eating as really an emotional response, rather than being physically hungry. I binge eat when I am upset. What is helpful is to identify the root of the problem, why are you upset? What is the "trigger"? What do you binge on? Is it a specific food?

I really have felt stressed the last few days, and wanted to binge eat...I looked around the fridge, celery, carrots, eggs....chicken, turkey...nothing good there, looked in the cupboards, nothing good, freezer, nope. There was yogurt and cereal. Nah. I wanted pizza, pasta, ice cream, cookies, nachos...I was really too lazy to go out...binge desire over. Set up your environment so it is not easy to binge.

You may want to get a book, by Judith Beck, it is a CBT approach to dieting. But seeing a counselor might be a good step for you.

salemxo · February 2015

First of all I just wanna say that you are definitely not alone, I am in the exact same boat as you.

As much I really want to lead a healthy lifestyle, I always seem to turn to food when I'm angry, upset or stressed out. My binges are horrific. Today I felt lonely and depressed so I binged on 4,000 calories worth of pizza and chocolate. These binges have been happening extremely regularly for the past few months (I'm way too scared to weigh myself). I feel so disgusted with myself and I ended up in tears. This has seriously got to stop. I'm just so glad that I'm not alone in this and other people struggle with it too.

I'm actually starting to believe that quitting my "trigger" foods (e.g. chocolate, pizza, cake, ice cream, alcohol) cold turkey is the way to go. I can't eat a little bit of something and just stop, I keep going and going and I somehow lose complete control and eat thousands of calories in one day. It's horrible and I hate it. If I avoid these foods then hopefully I won't miss them.

Because I'm in the same position as you I can't really give out any tips, but I'm with you on beating our binge eating habits for good

I also really like Whitezombiegirl's tips.

ev1214 · February 2015

Hi,

These posts have been helpful for me to read. Would everyone suggest that it is best to log food in before it is eaten? So, essentially planning the day and being proactive as oppose to reactively logging in the food afterwards?

stephxfit · February 2015

ev1214 wrote: »

Hi,

These posts have been helpful for me to read. Would everyone suggest that it is best to log food in before it is eaten? So, essentially planning the day and being proactive as oppose to reactively logging in the food afterwards?

Hi there

Since I'm the poster, obviously I am not recovered and therefore may not be the best one to reply to your question, but this is my opinion:
About 80% of the time planning works best for me (logging before, buying the groceries or knowing exactly where I'm going to eat out, etc). BUT... When I've made it a "rule" that I have to log before I eat it has made it easier to slip up because occasionally I want to go out with friends or eat with my family, and if they wanted to eat something that didn't have the food opinion I considered "perfect" sometimes I would give up completely for the sake of being able to have a social life

Nearly every restaurant has a decent food option now days, it's ok if it's not 100% perfect or what you planned.
So my answer would be that it's wise to try to stick to a plan most of the time but don't have an "all or nothing" mindset about it, because for me that led to giving up and binging. Make some room for flexibility. Don't let logging beforehand make you phobic of not knowing exactly what you're going to eat.

Good luck!

Binge Eating Help and Tips for Accountability

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