Success for Bingers Too?

I used to binge (that's a lie I still do) but I don't hate myself for having a hiccup anymore I wake up the next day and just start over. Getting through a need to binge I honestly compare it to quitting smoking. You know if you eat the entire quart of ice cream it will be awesome for the ten or twenty minutes so just gotta breath through the want. I have had success by not following macros or any special diet just staying within my calorie range and knowing my triggers like I binge at night so I save atleast 500 calories for a snack and try to fill up on veggies. Another thing that helps is logging binge, if you have made up your mind to eat the entire family bag of Doritos log it. Make it so you can reflect on when and why you are binging. This is of course what worked for me.

I have found that I have certain trigger foods that encourage binging. I have learned to avoid those foods. It helps. It took me a really long time to understand that there were just certain things I couldn't handle in moderation. I have only really had 1 binge in the past 7 months so this has worked for me. Good luck to you in your journey!

I was a binge eater. The first step was to stop restriction. I was allowed to eat anything I wanted, but tried to keep it to about 200 calories in the beginning. Second was to set my calories to lose 1 pound per week. Having more calories helped. For a while I kept my trigger foods out of the house, but I've been able to get over that.

usmcmp wrote: »

I was a binge eater. The first step was to stop restriction. I was allowed to eat anything I wanted, but tried to keep it to about 200 calories in the beginning. Second was to set my calories to lose 1 pound per week. Having more calories helped. For a while I kept my trigger foods out of the house, but I've been able to get over that.

+1 This is what I did.

Aiming for major restriction is a sure way to go around in circles. Set yourself a nice steady goal and try to go easy on yourself.

Remember, you're human and humans all have off days.. We all slip from time to time, it's how we get back up and what we learn from each time that defines our future path!

Keep consistent, want it enough and you'll get there!!

I'm too early on in my path to call myself a "success" yet, but I can say I have been feeling very mentally strong doing a low carb/high fat way of eating. My binges have always been very heavily carb/sugar related, and when the need hit, not having it in the house or telling myself I didn't really want it would not stop me- I've been known to walk several blocks each way telling myself the whole way I would hate myself for doing it and still buying massive amounts of food and eating until I felt sick.

After the first few days of cutting dramatically down on the carbs, sugar stopped calling my name- in fact, ALL food stopped calling my name. I know it doesn't work for everybody's lifestyle, but eating foods high in fat and protein and keeping my carbs to an absolute minimum keeps me so full that I frequently get to the end of the day and see I am still well under my calorie goal without even trying to restrict my eating.

I'll be honest, I don't know that I will live this way forever, but for right now, its working for me very comfortably and rather than saying "Can I do this the REST OF MY LIFE?" I'm taking things one day at a time and celebrating small victories along the way.

If this resonates with you at all, I would recommend giving it a week eating along a "Keto" style food plan to see how you feel- you may find like I have that it is about more than willpower, and what amounts to a sugar addiction may be triggering these behaviors.

I've recently started reading a book called intuitive eating. It's been really helpful for me regarding binge eating etc. I'd really recommend reading it for any one struggling with binges etc.

I'm a big advocate of not restricting. The second you tell yourself you can't or shouldn't eat something, that's when the binge can start. If you know you can have it if you want it, usually you realise you don't actually want it that much.

For me binging is a big emotional thing. Usually there's a reason behind it and it's a matter of finding out what is really bothering me.

You can still lose weight regardless of what your binge behaviour is like. I've lost 20 odd pounds in the last six months. It's just a matter of having less binges than 'on plan' days. This being said. I honestly don't feel any better for the weight I've lost because my binge behaviour is still there. If anything it's getting worse. Losing weight won't fix binge eating. Hence why I've started on the intuitive eating book.

evebittheapple wrote: »

I allow myself 200 to 300 calories of unhealthy food per day. I make it desserts or snacks that are easily measurable. I put my cheat snack in first thing so I always have those calories accounted for. I have been eating one large marshmallow cookie every day and I know it's 150 calories.

I am trying this for this week. Weekdays while at work, I'm very disciplined. However, the weekends are just brutal! I have all this unstructured time to myself, plus I'm purging my house of clutter, and because it's so hard, cause there is so much, plus all my other housework....well, I eat as I clean so I can mentally and emotionally deal with all the work I have to do. And I have to do this. I cannot going into 2016 with this clutter.

I think this Saturday, I'm going to walk 3 miles in the early morning with my doggies, come home eat a sensible meal, then attack my cleaning for 2 hours. Then I will call it a day and go to the movies or something. Sunday, I will again walk in the morning, then hopefully church, then.... (crickets...)....yeah I gotta fill that void...normally I cook a good Sunday dinner with all the trimmings every Sunday, but that is not an option any more cause of the calories.....soooo.....hmm...

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janda923 wrote: »

One thing my therapist said to me in the beginning that I loved was to imagine walking into my garage and seeing one my car's tires flat. What would I do? Would I go about addressing the popped tire and moving on with my day, or would I pop all four tires because I was so mad about the situation? When I would binge or emotionally eat, it would often lead to a spiral of "popping all the tires" because i was so mad and frustrated at myself for failing. Now, I'm now much better at recognizing when I'm starting to binge, and can rationally and without judgment decide what I want to do next. More so than ever my answer is that I want to stop, and I do .

I really like this. Thank you for sharing it!

My post randomly got deleted. Too long to write it out again but in a nutshell . Identify your triggers, are u binging because you are :

1) stressed or going to be stressed very soon ( i.e. You anticipate things are gonna get tougher when it comes to a particular personal issue)

2) have you drank enough water for the day? Sounds silly but makes a massive diffrence!

3) have you had ar least 5 portions ons of fruit and veg? If i have im less likley to binge

4) am I being put in situations out of my control ( or where my will power is tested) too often? - maybe you are entertaining guests too frequently or your social calender is more packed than usual ? Makes it harder to stick to your target.

The answer is usually simple. But if you mess up keep going ! I dont feel guilty if i mess up anymore because I know im on the road to sucess! Keep it up!!!

I used to be 100 lbs before my four babies. I gained 75 lbs after my last one was born (she was 4 years old when I gained it) I binged on bread all day every day for two years straight. All I ate was 4 pieces of bread and o.j. for breakfast and for lunch a cheeseburger, coke and fries from fast food. Then I'd get home from work and eat another 4 pieces of bread for an afternoon snack. Then dinner of maybe Mac and cheese or spaghetti. I probably drank 5 cokes a day. Don't forget I smoked too!

I just gave up. This was how I was going to eat, it made me happy when I ate it.

It was a gradual beginning of my new lifestyle. I woke up one day and couldn't walk. I had plantar fasciitis from the weight gain. I'm only 5'1. My body is not supposed to be big!

I started weight watchers. I did ok for 30 days. I decided to graduate. I started mfp and stayed counting calories. I began walking every day at 5 am. My motivation was my darn feet! They hurt but I knew I need to lose the weight!

I lost 20 lbs from counting calories and staying under my calories. Then I decided since I'm in control of my body, I cut out gluten and dairy. Lost 5 inches immediately.

Turns out I was addicted to wheat.

Wheat causes so many health issues. It causes binge eating, turns your thoughts into I'm still hungry thoughts. And you can never get enough. Guess what? Everything has wheat in it. Look at your pantry, I bet it's filled with wheat just like mine was.

I thought I was being healthy by not eating a cupcake or donuts every day.... Now! Wheat isn't that much different than a sugar treat.

I hope my story helps!