Binge eating help

Options
2

Replies

  • Becky_charles29
    Becky_charles29 Posts: 125 Member
    Options
    I also used to binge and from sept last year, I was eating to the point of being uncomfortable. I have bipolar so hated the feeling of not being in control so I started purging. I knew it was wrong but it seemed the only way to control myself. I bought this up to my psychologist and her advise was to identify my trigger foods (pizza is mine, as well as sweets, sharing bags of chocolates and sharing bags of crisps) and stop bringing them into the house.

    She then said to focus on making a note of everything I was eating (mfp was great for this) to give me some control back which helped. I still have to be careful with my triggers, but if I fancy something, I'll only bring home a small/individual portion. If it's not there, I can't have it.

    There is an element of will power, but it's finding ways to help your will power become stronger

  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    GogoGirlBA wrote: »
    I've developed BED after juice fast several times, so I don't recommend fasting to curb the cravings unless you have strong willpower. I am also a vegan and have stayed on it for 4+ yrs. After finding out my BED problem, I stop buying "junk" food. If those foods are not surrounding me, I am fine. I start to store low calories fruits and veggies just in case I want to dig something out of my fridge (usually at night after dinner). Also, I drink green tea and find it is better than water to curb cravings.

    That's a really good idea. Yeah, most times I will just be forced to not binge because I have nothing in my house like chips, ice cream, etc. But sometimes the urge is so strong I even drive to the store and get something to satisfy it. And yes, I think that fasting will just make it worse for me. Thank you so much!!
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    I never really considered whether or not I had an issue with binge eating until recently. When I think about it, throughout high school I was sort of a loner. I would come home from school and while my brother was out skateboarding or practicing drums, I would grab a snack and sit down in front of the TV. A sandwich would turn into a sandwich and a large bag of chips. When the chips disappeared I would be craving something sweet and end up eating almost an entire box of cookies or half a carton of ice cream. Then I would make macaroni and cheese and eat the entire box. Then my mom would come home or my brother would get hungry, and since no one saw me eat all that food, I would have a big dinner too. And dessert. It seemed like no matter how much I ate I was never full or satisfied. I would never eat a lot in front of other people though.

    When I finally started working out in my 20's and got my diet together, I would give myself 1-2 "cheat days" throughout the week. I thought this was a normal thing, and for many people it is. Except their "cheat days" consist of eating a different dinner or having a couple of drinks. I would go to the grocery store and buy EVERYTHING I had wanted to eat throughout the week. Lots of bread, cheese, meats, chocolates- anything. I would order Chinese food and/or pizza and eat the entire pizza or enough Chinese food to feed three to four people. I would stay home alone and enjoy it all. I didn't pay attention to the calories, but I'm positive it had to be around 4,000-5,000 a day easily. It didn't matter much to me because I would just get back on my diet and workout after the weekend.

    Now I'm living in India, in a different culture, working from home for the first time and without a gym membership for the first time since about 2006. I gained back 30 lbs that I had lost before moving here a year ago, and I'm really reflecting on my eating habits because I don't have the option to go and burn off 1,000+ calories at the gym everyday. I've been back on my healthy eating routine for 17 days. In the last 17 days I really slipped up bad once. I wanted to "relax" after over a week of doing well. I ordered a medium pizza and asked my husband to get me a box of chocolate marshmallow pies (6 total in a box). I thought I would just have a few slices and a pie, but I ate the entire pizza in a couple of hours, and finished all six pies. Then my husband ordered his dinner out and I ate a plate of his mutton biryani (greasy Indian rice with meat). I would have eaten two spring rolls too and a chocolate bar but (thank God) the restaurant was out of rolls and I didn't have any chocolate left in the apartment. I woke up the next day and was going to just ignore it, but I thought it would help to see the damage I had done, so I logged all of the food. It was nearly 5,000 calories. That was kind of a wake up call. I think I may actually have this problem. Since that day, I've had just one other little slip which was no where near as bad, but still I could have avoided it. I ate three pieces of fried chicken with cheese, 5 vegetable momos (steamed dumplings), and two scoops of chocolate brownie ice cream for lunch, knowing full well that I had to go to a birthday dinner party where there was a LOT of fried food later that night. I guess it was almost as bad- I consumed more than two days' worth of calories in one. The next day I wanted a pizza so bad, but I just sat on the MFP forums all afternoon and distracted myself by reading what other people are going through in their weight loss, diet, and exercise struggles. It helped.

    My main motivation not to binge right now is that I know I won't ever work out as hard at home as I would in the gym. I guess I don't really have any advice for you that you haven't heard before, but for me, seeing that so many other people face these issues and are struggling with them too is inspirational in its own way, and hopefully reading my very long story helps you by just knowing there's another person out there facing the same kind of problems.

    It sounds like we struggle with a similar mindset. I, too, have just eaten like that ever since I was kid. Out of boredom, because it was there, because I could and it made me feel good about being alone. I then got older, started caring about how I looked more, and started starving myself. That went on for a couple of years, before I woke up and realized the damage I was doing to myself (I also ran a LOT and went to the gym almost every day). But after that, the bingeing came back and it felt like all that control I once had was lost once again. It seems food as comfort has just been with me my entire life which makes it that much harder to reverse. I think it has a lot to do with the struggle to love myself and feel positive about my life, but I'm working on it every day. I am not sure the exact issues in your life that cause you to think this way and struggle with this, but you can most definitely get through it and so will I <3 I am here if you ever want to vent about a binge or anything! You're very strong and admirable, it seems.
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    toe1226 wrote: »
    A few things,

    I wholly support veganism- especially if it is for political / ethical reasons, and if that is your reasoning - more power to you, but I will also state

    - one of the most helpful things in eliminating binge eating for me, was stopping the demonization of any food, food group, or food type. NO BAD FOODS, ONLY BAD FEELINGS. that was HUGE!
    - I can eat chocolate every day, ice cream every day, just portions of them. No food on this planet all by itself can make me fat or less worthy of a human being!
    - Not undereating. You can still lose weight without undereating, and it won't leave you starving and desperate.
    - Realizing that I was quite literally, killing myself. I got to the point where my heart would be bumping, I couldn't leave bed, it was not how I wanted to go.
    - Cognitive behavioral therapy.
    - Recognizing that every moment is your new moment. It's not all or nothing.

    And finally, I really did love this blog post:

    http://www.andiemitchell.com/2014/11/05/how-to-recover-from-binge-eating/#more-13213

    Yeah I am vegan for ethical reasons. So I don't really look at meat and dairy foods as "bad" or "can't have"....I don't WANT them, because I'm not about taking lives to satisfy a food craving. I could go on and on.... (also anything non vegan has a vegan alternative, just saying) so it's not like I'm missing out on anything.
    But anyways, yes I see what you are saying. Those "bad" foods for me are pizza, chips, ice cream, chocolate, chicken (vegan) nuggets, ranch, etc. etc. I always feel bad about eating them, but when I take a bite of ice cream, for example, I'm like "*kitten* it, I want more" and a bite leads to the entire pint. All the other things you mentioned are totally right, thank you for that advice! <3 I will also check out the blog post.
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    I also used to binge and from sept last year, I was eating to the point of being uncomfortable. I have bipolar so hated the feeling of not being in control so I started purging. I knew it was wrong but it seemed the only way to control myself. I bought this up to my psychologist and her advise was to identify my trigger foods (pizza is mine, as well as sweets, sharing bags of chocolates and sharing bags of crisps) and stop bringing them into the house.

    She then said to focus on making a note of everything I was eating (mfp was great for this) to give me some control back which helped. I still have to be careful with my triggers, but if I fancy something, I'll only bring home a small/individual portion. If it's not there, I can't have it.

    There is an element of will power, but it's finding ways to help your will power become stronger

    You're so right, thank you!
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    Also, just want to say, thanks for everyone for offering advice and support. I didn't really expect this many people to really respond.
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    toe1226 wrote: »
    A few things,

    I wholly support veganism- especially if it is for political / ethical reasons, and if that is your reasoning - more power to you, but I will also state

    - one of the most helpful things in eliminating binge eating for me, was stopping the demonization of any food, food group, or food type. NO BAD FOODS, ONLY BAD FEELINGS. that was HUGE!
    - I can eat chocolate every day, ice cream every day, just portions of them. No food on this planet all by itself can make me fat or less worthy of a human being!
    - Not undereating. You can still lose weight without undereating, and it won't leave you starving and desperate.
    - Realizing that I was quite literally, killing myself. I got to the point where my heart would be bumping, I couldn't leave bed, it was not how I wanted to go.
    - Cognitive behavioral therapy.
    - Recognizing that every moment is your new moment. It's not all or nothing.

    And finally, I really did love this blog post:

    http://www.andiemitchell.com/2014/11/05/how-to-recover-from-binge-eating/#more-13213

    Yeah I am vegan for ethical reasons. So I don't really look at meat and dairy foods as "bad" or "can't have"....I don't WANT them, because I'm not about taking lives to satisfy a food craving. I could go on and on.... (also anything non vegan has a vegan alternative, just saying) so it's not like I'm missing out on anything.
    But anyways, yes I see what you are saying. Those "bad" foods for me are pizza, chips, ice cream, chocolate, chicken (vegan) nuggets, ranch, etc. etc. I always feel bad about eating them, but when I take a bite of ice cream, for example, I'm like "*kitten* it, I want more" and a bite leads to the entire pint. All the other things you mentioned are totally right, thank you for that advice! <3 I will also check out the blog post.

    Also, I am reading the post now, and this really speaks to me lol. This is usually my exact mindset that I am trying to get out of:
    "Maybe there are these three doughnuts. And you need them. Look, you’ve chosen the best ones even! And that’s all you’re having, obviously. Because that’s all you wanted anyway, right? Right. Right. Well but wait — remember two weeks ago when you wanted an eggplant parm? God that sounds good. You just wish they’d use more cheese. You know, and maybe this is crazy but — wouldn’t it be wise to just get that today, too, so that it’s all out of your system? Get them all done and out of the way on the same day, so you can start fresh tomorrow? And that way, you won’t even want them again, because you just had them! (Logic!)"
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
    Options
    I would never, ever suggest a fast to help with BED. While I wasn't clinically diagnosed because mine never got that bad, my binges are similar to yours. Thousands of calories in a single sitting. Eating until I'm stuffed and then eating more even though I want to stop because I'm physically in pain. Using food as some kind of self-harm mechanism when I feel bad. In my personal experience, fasting would have made it a hundred times worse, and for many it's going to set up reward/punishment cycles that can devolve into deeper eating disorders.

    Beyond just finding Dianne very helpful, I'd recommend this as well. I used to (and once in a while, still do) use food as a self-harm mechanism. It was hard to look at my eating habits to untangle which were coming from genuine hunger, which were coming from regular emotional eating, and which were coming from a really deep self-loathing. That said, I was not diagnosed with BED at any time, and I've only had one of two truly out-of-mind binges, where I had to stop suddenly and realize what I was doing. (Once a friend was over when it happened, and we were both bewildered by the suddenness and compulsion of it. It was terrifying, frankly.) So I may be describing something completely different from what you're dealing with.

    I didn't end up seeking therapy at a time when I really, really should have because I didn't (and don't) have the finances to deal with it. What I did (and do) have are friends who I could talk to when it got bad, to help untangle a lot of the anger that made me want to do myself that much harm and sabotage. If you can do that, and figure out what your binging triggers are, that'll help a lot. None of it will be as helpful as therapy, probably, but it can still be overcome.
  • Yvonnie16
    Yvonnie16 Posts: 67 Member
    Options
    Veganxpizza, I go through phases of BED. I am a vegetarian. Have always been. I dont do milk but I binge eat chocolate. I used to eat 2 boxes of double stuff Oreos. Mind you that is 60 cookies with stuff inside of it. And I would eat it all in one go and go on a sugar high and get sick. Yet do it all over again.

    There are times when I would go to store at 1 AM 4get 2 boxes and binge and get sick.

    I am now done with Oreos. And now working on other items and areas. Care to join me and lets do this.

    Regards.

  • MNMsMonique
    MNMsMonique Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    Binge eating is almost always associated with mental health and psychological issues. It may not necessarily be something major. I would recommend finding a local Eaters Anonymous group. I know that sounds silly, but they do exist and it often helps to talk to people with similar issues. It may be an alternative to therapy, which is expensive. If the group is not free, it should be very little cost. I've tried the smoothies and water and they work in the short term, but not in the long term (at least my experience). Hope this helps!
  • missjrcam
    missjrcam Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    The only thing that helped me with this was counseling. You really have to understand your reasons for this type of disordered eating. Also, for me, cutting out the all or nothing perfectionist thinking, as well as the good or bad food ideas has helped. If I want something I eat it. Just not the entire container of whatever it is. I've maintained a 30 pound loss while getting help for it, and now I'm finally back to actively losing 96 more pounds to get to goal. Good luck!
  • PhreePanda
    PhreePanda Posts: 22 Member
    Options
    Do you notice a pattern? Personally I binge eat a lot before I start monthly. So maybe it's an iron thing or some other defecicancy. Maybe talk to your doctor about your patterns.
    Exercise (for me) is a natural appetite suppressant. Intense exercise is anyway.

    I hope you find something that works for you!
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    Binge eating is almost always associated with mental health and psychological issues. It may not necessarily be something major. I would recommend finding a local Eaters Anonymous group. I know that sounds silly, but they do exist and it often helps to talk to people with similar issues. It may be an alternative to therapy, which is expensive. If the group is not free, it should be very little cost. I've tried the smoothies and water and they work in the short term, but not in the long term (at least my experience). Hope this helps!

    Yeah I'm am 100% sure it's connected to my depression/anxiety. I will try to find one of those, thanks!!
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    missjrcam wrote: »
    The only thing that helped me with this was counseling. You really have to understand your reasons for this type of disordered eating. Also, for me, cutting out the all or nothing perfectionist thinking, as well as the good or bad food ideas has helped. If I want something I eat it. Just not the entire container of whatever it is. I've maintained a 30 pound loss while getting help for it, and now I'm finally back to actively losing 96 more pounds to get to goal. Good luck!

    Thank you!
  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    phreexx wrote: »
    Do you notice a pattern? Personally I binge eat a lot before I start monthly. So maybe it's an iron thing or some other defecicancy. Maybe talk to your doctor about your patterns.
    Exercise (for me) is a natural appetite suppressant. Intense exercise is anyway.

    I hope you find something that works for you!

    I definitely get crave-y about a week before that time, for sure, but I don't notice much of a pattern honestly.
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    Options
    Kinda like binge drinking -- Overeater's Anonymous helps (and it is free/peer support). Also not getting too hungry, angry, lonely and tired (HALT) -- a technique encouraged by Overeater's Anonymous. While they don't support any particular food plan, not getting overly hungry and not eating my trigger foods really helps me too -- that means I eat 5-6 smaller meals a day that meet my protein/fat/carb macros and I don't eat my trigger foods (they just set me off) -- different people have different trigger foods but mine usually involve the trifecta of sugar, fat, and white flour. For me (and many people don't have this problem) I never stop at one. And I have huge amounts of willpower (long distance running, job wise, etc) just doesn't work for me with food. To each their own.
  • ohiotubagal
    ohiotubagal Posts: 190 Member
    Options
    Hi veganxpizza,

    I've struggled with bingeing since I was a kid. I've been able to be "okay" for long periods of time, but always seem to go back to it. Right now I am doing better and have figured some things out that I didn't see before.

    I believe a big part of bingeing is habit, and triggers. For me, there are two times that are dangerous - when I get home from being out, especially after work, or after after/when my kids go to bed and it's time to relax. So I've been working on making routines for myself during those times. The key is doing them enough to where I go on autopilot and don't think about them.

    For example, after dinner, here's my routine:

    Clean up kitchen
    Make a cup of tea
    Make a healthy, pre-logged dessert (yogurt with cereal, graham crackers, etc)
    Sit in a certain chair near the fireplace and have my treat
    Go say goodnight to the kids
    Brush my teeth/put on PJs

    I tell myself that I'm satisfied and feel good, and do some kind of chore or project upstairs away from the kitchen.

    Another thing I've done is when I want to binge, to set a timer for 10 minutes. I get the food that I want out and give myself permission to have one serving after 10 minutes. Most of the time I don't even want it after that time.

    I recommend a book about habits called "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. It's been very helpful to me.

    Feel free to add me!
  • SaraAhmad117
    SaraAhmad117 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    I never really considered whether or not I had an issue with binge eating until recently. When I think about it, throughout high school I was sort of a loner. I would come home from school and while my brother was out skateboarding or practicing drums, I would grab a snack and sit down in front of the TV. A sandwich would turn into a sandwich and a large bag of chips. When the chips disappeared I would be craving something sweet and end up eating almost an entire box of cookies or half a carton of ice cream. Then I would make macaroni and cheese and eat the entire box. Then my mom would come home or my brother would get hungry, and since no one saw me eat all that food, I would have a big dinner too. And dessert. It seemed like no matter how much I ate I was never full or satisfied. I would never eat a lot in front of other people though.

    When I finally started working out in my 20's and got my diet together, I would give myself 1-2 "cheat days" throughout the week. I thought this was a normal thing, and for many people it is. Except their "cheat days" consist of eating a different dinner or having a couple of drinks. I would go to the grocery store and buy EVERYTHING I had wanted to eat throughout the week. Lots of bread, cheese, meats, chocolates- anything. I would order Chinese food and/or pizza and eat the entire pizza or enough Chinese food to feed three to four people. I would stay home alone and enjoy it all. I didn't pay attention to the calories, but I'm positive it had to be around 4,000-5,000 a day easily. It didn't matter much to me because I would just get back on my diet and workout after the weekend.

    Now I'm living in India, in a different culture, working from home for the first time and without a gym membership for the first time since about 2006. I gained back 30 lbs that I had lost before moving here a year ago, and I'm really reflecting on my eating habits because I don't have the option to go and burn off 1,000+ calories at the gym everyday. I've been back on my healthy eating routine for 17 days. In the last 17 days I really slipped up bad once. I wanted to "relax" after over a week of doing well. I ordered a medium pizza and asked my husband to get me a box of chocolate marshmallow pies (6 total in a box). I thought I would just have a few slices and a pie, but I ate the entire pizza in a couple of hours, and finished all six pies. Then my husband ordered his dinner out and I ate a plate of his mutton biryani (greasy Indian rice with meat). I would have eaten two spring rolls too and a chocolate bar but (thank God) the restaurant was out of rolls and I didn't have any chocolate left in the apartment. I woke up the next day and was going to just ignore it, but I thought it would help to see the damage I had done, so I logged all of the food. It was nearly 5,000 calories. That was kind of a wake up call. I think I may actually have this problem. Since that day, I've had just one other little slip which was no where near as bad, but still I could have avoided it. I ate three pieces of fried chicken with cheese, 5 vegetable momos (steamed dumplings), and two scoops of chocolate brownie ice cream for lunch, knowing full well that I had to go to a birthday dinner party where there was a LOT of fried food later that night. I guess it was almost as bad- I consumed more than two days' worth of calories in one. The next day I wanted a pizza so bad, but I just sat on the MFP forums all afternoon and distracted myself by reading what other people are going through in their weight loss, diet, and exercise struggles. It helped.

    My main motivation not to binge right now is that I know I won't ever work out as hard at home as I would in the gym. I guess I don't really have any advice for you that you haven't heard before, but for me, seeing that so many other people face these issues and are struggling with them too is inspirational in its own way, and hopefully reading my very long story helps you by just knowing there's another person out there facing the same kind of problems.

    It sounds like we struggle with a similar mindset. I, too, have just eaten like that ever since I was kid. Out of boredom, because it was there, because I could and it made me feel good about being alone. I then got older, started caring about how I looked more, and started starving myself. That went on for a couple of years, before I woke up and realized the damage I was doing to myself (I also ran a LOT and went to the gym almost every day). But after that, the bingeing came back and it felt like all that control I once had was lost once again. It seems food as comfort has just been with me my entire life which makes it that much harder to reverse. I think it has a lot to do with the struggle to love myself and feel positive about my life, but I'm working on it every day. I am not sure the exact issues in your life that cause you to think this way and struggle with this, but you can most definitely get through it and so will I <3 I am here if you ever want to vent about a binge or anything! You're very strong and admirable, it seems.

    Thank you so much! I am trying really hard this time. Since I came back to MFP I've been on here way more than FB. This is my fourth time down on the weight roller coaster and as usual I'm hoping it will be my last once I lose all the weight. I'm also here and you can talk to me any time! <3
  • saralthrash
    saralthrash Posts: 105 Member
    Options

    I totally agree! I used to binge very often several years ago and any type of diet change that was majorly restrictive always left me back at where I started. I appreciate everyone's opinion on MFP because we are here to support each other. However, it is important to take others opinions with a grain of salt. Do research and talk to a doctor if possible, especially questions regarding physical and mental health. I can't give you advice because the use of antidepressants has greatly reduced episodes of binging without any real effort on my part. I have never been diagnosed with BED. I never even mentioned it to my doc. I suffer from anxiety and the medication also helped with the binging.
    srv524 wrote: »
    You want me to help you with binge eating? Let's share.

    In all seriousness...it's willpower. After a couple hours your cravings will go away and you'll be fine. I often do a 24hr water-only fast and after a few hours you're good.

    It would be nice if it was this easy. To just decide to not binge. However BED is a medical condition that often requires help from a doctor or therapist. Telling a person with BED to not overeat is like telling someone with anorexia to not starve. It's an eating disorder.

  • veganxpizza
    veganxpizza Posts: 40 Member
    Options

    I totally agree! I used to binge very often several years ago and any type of diet change that was majorly restrictive always left me back at where I started. I appreciate everyone's opinion on MFP because we are here to support each other. However, it is important to take others opinions with a grain of salt. Do research and talk to a doctor if possible, especially questions regarding physical and mental health. I can't give you advice because the use of antidepressants has greatly reduced episodes of binging without any real effort on my part. I have never been diagnosed with BED. I never even mentioned it to my doc. I suffer from anxiety and the medication also helped with the binging.
    srv524 wrote: »
    You want me to help you with binge eating? Let's share.

    In all seriousness...it's willpower. After a couple hours your cravings will go away and you'll be fine. I often do a 24hr water-only fast and after a few hours you're good.

    It would be nice if it was this easy. To just decide to not binge. However BED is a medical condition that often requires help from a doctor or therapist. Telling a person with BED to not overeat is like telling someone with anorexia to not starve. It's an eating disorder.

    Very true.