Binger trying to break the habit.

forgetregret
forgetregret Posts: 66 Member
edited September 28 in Introduce Yourself
Hi I'm 21 and have been a binger for as long as I can remember. Last year I managed to get closer to my goal weight but the past few months I've gained about 25 pounds, I still can't believe it. All of this from binging, it just took over my life, it's how I deal with things and I haven't been able to stop.
I actually already binged today (like 2600 calories) and yesterday, after 5 days of keeping my calories under control. I've had worse days when I honestly have no idea how many calories I've eaten but I managed to stop myself today and I plan on working out and keeping my day as normal as possible, probably won't eat anything else for the rest of the day since I'm super bloated.
I can't do this alone, I know I need help so I'm hoping that this forum will help me break the habit and lose the weight.

Replies

  • Lstrhi
    Lstrhi Posts: 132
    As someone who used to bulemic, i know how you feel. even though i'm no longer throwing up my food, my body still feels like eating everything in sight is normal. :(
    as for your lil slip up, everyone has bad days, just start fresh tomorrow. oh, and i'm more than happy to help if you need some encouragement or to talk about stuff :)
  • sarahlyzzibeth
    sarahlyzzibeth Posts: 108
    That's what we're here for!! If you ever feel like binging, send me a message to get your mind off of it :) We're rooting for you!
  • Jconner30
    Jconner30 Posts: 311
    Play by the rules (exercise, proper diet) 6 days a week. Take ONE day off - I use Saturday because I work out like CRAZY on Friday's. Use Saturday to eat what EVER you want (Pizza, sodas, etc etc). Look forward to that day. It will be like a reward. You can eat a lot of the foods during the non 'free days' by eating smart.

    Once I started my food journal - BAM - I lost 9 pounds, within one week. I know I wont continue this path forever, but I killed my plateu with a double-knockout blow! My daughter told me yesterday that she could see a difference.
  • BastaConLaPasta
    BastaConLaPasta Posts: 76
    hi there - hope you find the support you need here. I too am a binger (nearly 30 years now) but it's a it different for me ..... when I 'binge' it's actually a reasonable amount of food, something that to someone else might seem normal (say, a sandwich) but because I suffer from mild orthorexia, where I demonise certain foods and then punish myself for succumbing to them, to me something like this seems huge and I compensate by making myself sick.


    At the age of 38 I've never actually been overweight but would love a better, less fearful relationship with food.

    If you think I might be able to help or support you at all, please just send me friend request
  • hollyknouse
    hollyknouse Posts: 232 Member
    I am right there with you. I had a major binge last night. It is an unexplainable feeling. I hate it but it happens to me. I can go months without it happening but when I do it, it is horrible!! I am back on the wagon today myself!
  • brockman8742
    brockman8742 Posts: 13
    I know how you feel, sometimes once you start binging you figure what the hell I might as well go for it and continue. I had to really look at the times and reasons why I was binging. The best thing that happen to me was writing down what was going on when I felt like binging. 90% of time it was stress and being upset and only 10% because I was actually hungry. Now when I feel like binging I drink a tall glass of water and start doing air squats until my legs feel like they are going to fall off. Once Im done Im to tired to binge. I don't know if any of this helps but keep at it, YOU WILL BEAT THIS!!!
  • GetFitE
    GetFitE Posts: 247 Member
    I would suggest going grocery shopping and trying to plan out your meals in advance. That would help you to prevent the binging. If you cook from home, you are likely to eat less, and you can portion control your meals out. Also, try to eat slower--it takes about 20 minutes for the brain to realize you're full, so try to eat slower and get in like 20 chews per bite. Also, try not to eat out--most restaurants give you WAY too much food, so try to stay away from that. If you can't avoid eating out--as SOON as you get your plate, cut your meal in half, and box up half of your meal.

    And also, try to log your calories before you even eat the food. If you log it, sometimes seeing the amount of calories something has will help you to avoid eating it. I usually do that when I go out to eat--and that way I stick to whatever I've logged.


    I hope these suggestions help; Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • k8mcgowan
    k8mcgowan Posts: 6 Member
    I applaud you for trying to kick the habit on your own. :) I wonder if it would help you to sit down and list the kinds of food you usually binge on and at what times you do the most bingeing. This can probably tell you a lot about your habit (e.g., do you eat when you're bored/stressed/needing a distraction/etc.).

    I've also found that if I can take the focus off of the food I'm less likely to binge. Recently I've been focusing on how good foods make me feel physically better than foods that are bad for me, and I'm trying to help myself feel better by eating foods that make me feel good in the long-term instead of tearing myself down for bingeing on foods that only make me feel good in the short-term.

    Hope this helps! :)
  • forgetregret
    forgetregret Posts: 66 Member
    Thank you SO much for all of your replies, it feels so great to have support. I'm gonna try hard to break this awful self destructive behavior and hopefully change my life for the better.
    All of your suggestions are great, I'm gonna try to think about why I feel like binging because even though it feels like a switch goes on and I can't stop I know that there's a moment where I make a conscious decision to allow myself to binge.
    I'll also try working out when I feel like binging and log in the calories I plan on consuming.
    I definitely need to plan my meals better and keep healthy food around the house, I can't get rid of unhealthy things because I don't live on my own but I can at least try to have healthy alternatives.

    Thanks again :) you made my day a little bit better
  • sbechdel
    sbechdel Posts: 29 Member
    I too have and do the same. I reached my goal weight over a month ago (took 9 months to get there), just to pack it all back on again in a few short weeks! It's really hard to eat right when you are stressed, especially if you have made it a habit to eat those feelings away. MFP is super helpful in making new good habits - if you keep up with logging in everything you eat , even the bad stuff, some foods you realize you can have a handful of and it's not as bad as others. I've stopped myself before from buying that "package of cupcakes" just because I don't want to have to enter it in (and putting back cupcakes is almost as bad as sawing an arm off)! Additionally, there is always someone online for support, someone always has a success story to motivate or a similar struggle you can relate to. We're all here doing the same thing...trying to lead a healthier, happier life. I know it's possible for a binger to do this, because I have done it. I recently realized my weight came back because I didn't deal with the meat of the issue that causes me to binge, but I am aware of it now and hopefully identifying that stressor can allow me to change my old binging habit of dealing with it to a new positive one, say running! I hope the same for you, and know you have someone out there that somewhat understands. Best of luck, you can do it!
  • catniss
    catniss Posts: 326 Member
    Hi,
    I am been a binge eater since I can remember--I mean that--even as a little kid--it was like I could never feel full enough or believe that I would have enough food--and it wasn't like I wasn't given enough food.
    I've had off and on times--times where the drive to eat is almost impossible and times where I don't feel the urge (much--I can't say it isn't usually lurking in the background).
    I'm 45 now (well, in a few weeks) and still dealing with it. I don't tell you this to discourage you, rather to encourage you to deal with it--in whatever way will help, whether it's with therapy, or just with the support from here (I've found MFP to be INCREDIBLY helpful.
    Have you read anything by Geneen Roth? Her stuff is from the 90's but I'm sure it's still valid and helpful.
    I've been on MFP since January and have lost about 25 pounds, but I've been stalled for a while now, mostly because of the binging times. I don't keep anything other than healthy food in the house and I guess you can't gain a ton of weight back on frozen mango and granola bars and cinnamon raisin toast, but I've also been working out like crazy so that's probably kept me even.
    This is what I've found to be helpful so far--drink a lot of water...put off eating something, anything for 5 minutes...write to someone here...don't keep the really damaging food in the house (or whatever triggers you)...DON'T go grocery shopping when you're hungry...eat lots of small meals....congratulate yourself every single time you want to eat something and don't (this will build your anti-binge muscle, just like doing exercise builds your skeletal muscles)....take a second before you eat and ask yourself what you're feeling (tell yourself you can eat, but first you have to think about how you feel--this might be really hard because, for me at least, I eat so I don't have to feel)...tell yourself that you don't want to be 45 still struggling with the same thing and you simply aren't going to do it--don't get mad at yourself, just be firm and determined and be the person you imagine yourself being and then you will be.
    For today, forgive yourself and MOVE forward. Work out, but for the workout, not as a punishment. Drink lots of water, that will help flush out the feelings of being bloated and if you're hungry later--eat something small and light. Treat your body well--maybe imagine that it is a little kid and you're going to take care of it and protect it and help it grow up.
    Someone (at a party of all places) just told me that she just discovered that she needs to reparent herself. She said that her parents were great people and they were great with children, but they didn't know how to get them to a successful adulthood. I don't know why that resonated with me in terms of my binge eating but it did and I plan on thinking long and hard about that.
    Boy, this is disjointed and probably doesn't make any sense. You can friend me if you want and perhaps we can talk each other through the tough times.
    Oh, one last thing. I've come up with a plan--everytime I want to eat (when I'm not hungry, just the old pattern of eating) but I don't, I'm going to put $1 in a jar (I'm going to get $50 from the bank) and then I can spend it on whatever I want (even food, as long as it's not part of a binge). Now, I'm cheap (especially with myself) and NOT rich so it's going to be tough, but I'm going to try to learn to reward myself for positive behavior instead of constanly engaging in negative behavior, then torturing myself with self-hatred afterward.
    Good luck to you. Be strong, be confident, be proud of yourself for getting here and being willing to make changes.
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