vada44 wrote: »

I am definitely a binge eater especially when I have PMS. I have learned to buy the mini snickers blizzard instead of the large or get the 50 cent bag of doritos instead of the $3.00 bag from Sams club. This does not always work I often find myself eating other stuff just because. I feel terrible when the binge is over so I try to do other things to keep my mind off the constant hunger. i drink alot of flavored water or plain water with the the sugar free flavors this helps. I love food a lot but when I am home with others I try to be more conscious of how they see me. I see me like a cow and I wonder if they see the same so i try not binge but when I am alone it is terrible. I exercise a lot so that I can have more calories so basically I am in maintenance. I have not gained so that is good but I have not lost. I need to get this under control these spells can last up to two weeks. I want to lose 30 pounds and it is taking forever!! I know what I need to do I just need to do it

I also only binge when I'm alone. When I'm with other people I barely eat because they all think I'm so put together and conscientious and that I never make mistakes when it comes to food. It makes me feel so pressured! I drink so much freaking water because they say that it's supposed to make you feel full, but it never does. I exercise 5 days a week, but I out eat my extra exercise calories when I binge so it hasn't helped me keep the weight off. I have seen therapists for my eating disorders before and it helps, but then when I don't have enough money to pay my copays I have to not go and I end up just spiraling back down again.

ahealthiercara wrote: »

loribethrice wrote: »

I just weighed myself tonight and it was the first time in a few weeks. I weighed 144.0lbs and the last time I weighed myself on the 1st of the month I was 135. So I'm pretty devastated right now. I've been 3 days binge free so far and I'm hoping seeing that weight was a wake up call for me. I'm 5'9, so it's not like 144 is bad health wise but to me it's freaking terrible. I am just constantly starving...I've had this issue since I was very little. I think it's due to my dysautonomia because my brain doesn't get the signal that I've eaten food and a lot of us with this illness are always hungry because of it. But, when I get stressed out or over tired I'm even more hungry and all I want is sugar. I'm trying so hard to just ignore it now.

I have struggled with this my whole life - always feeling hungry. I have days when I eat a nice healthy filling breakfast but as soon as I'm finished, I start snacking and I'm hungry until I eat my lunch. I just get so ravenous that I can't stop. Also - I know that it takes my body a LONG time to recognize that I've eaten something. When I can recognize that and wait after eating breakfast for about an hour, I'm ok. I just have to distract myself during that time so I don't keep eating.

The best thing I've found to counteract that cycle is going cold turkey on sugar. If I have sugar in my diet at all I find I am hungry all the time. If I can keep it out completely, my hunger is very manageable. It is so hard to get off sugar - I get very emotional and cranky the first couple of days but after that its ok. I've gone long stretches without sugar and it makes my day to day hunger so much better that I feel like I can live without sugar forever. But one slip up and the cycle starts again... its an ongoing battle.

I've been trying to eat fruit to counteract my need for things like cookies. It seems to be working somewhat. I just wish that doctors knew what to do about this never feeling full thing. I just keep getting told it's a side effect of my dysautonomia. I try to eat something once an hour so that I don't have insulin surges and even with that I'll be so hungry in between that I can't stop thinking about what I'm eating next. And I make sure to eat breakfast everyday because that and all the water I drink are supposed to help me not be extra hungry! I just get so frustrated. It makes me feel better to know that someone else has this issue though.

idalooses wrote: »

my sugar addiction reared it ugly head again last 2 days... yesterday was my grandson's 1st birthday, so of course, we bought a cake for him; my son served me a small sliver of the cake yesterday and i did fine with that, that is, until last night when i found the leftover cake in my refrigerator; i knew i wouldn't be satisfied until i had a big whopper of a slice of cake; i couldn't even sleep knowing that big cake was in my refrigerator, so i caved in and ate the whopper piece!!! then today, i couldn't keep my mind off having another piece of cake, so i had another whopper piece and a 3rd whopper piece after supper tonight.... i gave the rest of the cake away before i totally consumed the whole thing and had racked up 1,000s of calories!!!

I hate that! When I know there is something near that I just HAVE to have I can't sleep or stop thinking about it. That's when I usually take it to work and put it on the counter so everyone else will eat it.

rebekahzinn1 wrote: »

Hey there. I have suffered from binge eating disorder for many years. Decades, actually. What you are discussing sounds like clinical binging. We often use the word "binge" to mean overeating or unplanned eating, but it is actually a compulsive behavior that is distressing to the person, who does not feel in control of her behavior.

DIETING CONTRIBUTES TO BINGE EATING DISORDER. The cure for binge eating disorder is not to count calories, exercise more, substitute one food for the other, or prohibit certain foods. In fact, these things all cause stress and a sense of shame, which increase episodes of binging. Binge eating disorder is a mental health issue, and the best treatment is working with a counselor who is trained with eating disorders.

It can be overcome. I have not binged in years, even in times of great emotional distress. But dieting did not cure it. Finding healthy ways to respond to stress and emotional upset, while accepting my body and resisting anything that increased binging (including counting calories), was the path out.

Check out the Binge Eating Disorder Association for a wealth of materials. http://bedaonline.com/


Take great care of yourself. Feel free of message me if you want to talk.

I do feel a ton of shame. I won't eat in front of people most of the time because my mom constantly loves to brag about how disciplined I am with my calorie counting and exercise and how beautiful I look since I lost weight. When I was larger she would always talk about how my face was fat or clothes were too tight. And as soon as I started losing weight she started saying how amazing I look, so now when I binge and I know I've gained I get totally panicked that she's going to notice. I went to an eating disorders clinic before, but they couldn't help me then because I was there for my SED/ARFID and it was too much for them. I am thinking I should go back to discuss my binging and shame and my anorexic issues and maybe they can get me on Vyvanse to help me. I have a calendar and I write in it daily my weight, how many calories I burned, and if I haven't done anything wrong food wise that day then I highlight it so I know. That way I know how many days each month I have been "good". I was doing fine last week, but then I realized we were having a retirement party for my uncle over the weekend so I just allowed myself to binge on Sunday on cake and Monday on cookies and candy and pizza and everything else I could find. I refuse to weigh myself until next Sunday after I have exercised all week and made sure to eat under my calories.

My mom was anorexic in her late teens and early 20s and is very focused on how my sister and I look. It upsets her if we're overweight. My nana (dad's mom) was also very critical of what we looked like. She measured and weighed us monthly and wrote it down in a notebook when my sister and I were kids. my sister just eats what she wants and is bigger and doesn't seem to care, but my mom has made her cry a few times as an adult by criticizing what she looks like in clothes.

I have been looking into OA meetings. I have found one here in Pittsburgh that meets on Thursday nights that I want to go to. I am just trying to lose the weight right now that I gained since April which is obviously taking much longer to come off than the few weeks it took me to gain it.

Roaringgael wrote: »

I like OA because it gives me that focus on my emotional needs. If "pulling myself" together had been an option I wouldn't have got to where I ended up. I have a friend who has the same story as loribethrice, her grandmother is over 90 and still obsessed with physical appearance. Sad to think she went all her life obsessing about the superficialness (her Nan) of physical appearance. At my age - 56, body size is all about mobility and health. Of course I look better, and of course I feel better, now I have to maintain the changes. I wouldn't doubt the hardship of an over critical mother and grandmother, they can ruin your emotional health if you let them. Building healthy boundaries between ourselves and family/ loved ones is often necessary.

I loved my nana and I love my mom, but sometimes I will say that it's hard. I can't see anything but bad when I look at me and if anything on me changes for the worst then my mom will tell me. I have issues with my skin on my face that have gotten worse with the more weight I lose and she comments on that all the time. She always says that I would be so beautiful if my face would clear up. And I've paid like $2000 to get treatments for it, but rosacea, acne, and seborrheic dermatitis just don't give in as easily as I wish they would. I wish I could look at my body and realize that I have gone from 204lbs down to the 140s, but all I see is how fat I am and how my stomach won't flatten out. I have all this disgusting excess skin that I want removed, but it's so expensive.

Roaringgael wrote: »

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/overstressed-and-overeating

I thought this article had some interesting ideas. I am not supporting the actual programme at all just thought there was some food for thought.

I will read this. Thank you!