Binge Eating / Emotional Eating

afigirl113 wrote: »

I'm a bored/emotional eater. My bf works nights, so I'm home alone a lot. I do fine with my eating at work, but when I'm home and I don't have anyone to talk to, I eat. When I have a rough day, it's worse. It's a hard thing to deal with, but using this app has really helped me. People on here are truly supportive and helpful.

Etherealglow wrote: »

some people think binge eating is like several 100 cals over ... if you're like me ... I can eat and eat and eat and eat when this happens and its nothing. Neither full nor satisfied and I don't know why, but its like a frenzy. I literally feel out of control and just can't seem to stop.

About 2 weeks ago -- I tried to log every bit of it just to see -- I'm sure I missed some -- but it was like 4,000+ cals

My triggers seem to be when I'm too tired. I try to get as much sleep as I can, but my daughter has a condition which doesn't allow that most nights. Other triggers, food was withheld when a child. I literally got about 200cals a day for months ... now it's like I have to eat it all when these feelings come on. Other triggers are boredom and just feeling lonely or isolated. Also, I stopped my birth control. That has surprisingly helped.

I've learned that sometimes I can evade these binges when I stop, breath and pray. I've taken on a 30 day yoga boot camp challenge (just doing it by myself in my home) and it has helped SOOOOO much!!! I'm on day 17 and I'm feeling so much better.

AmandaOmega wrote: »

I usually get triggered by a high stress day at work. What I do to help combat it is I agree to let myself have a cup of chocolate frozen yogurt during lunch. It equates to about 200 calories, but usually it's enough to keep me from going nuts and making really bad decisions when I get off work (and can say, drive to a McDonald's or something similar and binge on burgers and fries).

If you frequently have these high stress/emotional days, it may be useful for you to find out what triggers it and if there are other things you can do that will make you happy. Maybe take a hot bath with scented candles or fancy bath oils? Watch your favorite movie? If you've lost weight successful and keep track of it (I keep a daily weight log), look it over and praise yourself for your success?

You can also try doing what I do and develop methods to combat binge eating too much. Like I said, having that cup of frozen yogurt in the middle of a stressful day usually keeps me from going over the edge. If you can find a way to eat a small/reasonable portion of your favorite junk food, then this may help keep you from going overboard in general.

It also helps for me that the frozen yogurt is the ONLY junk food that we keep in the house. I don't shop too far in advanced, so there is normally very little food lying around that isn't accounted for (ie: for making that day's/week's breakfasts, lunches, dinners, or are leftovers from a previous dinner.) As a result, there isn't much for me to binge on in the first place (I know for some people/families, this isn't realistic).

Hope this helps.

valentinebluexx wrote: »

Love this post and reading about other people's struggles with binge eating. Makes you realize your not the only one struggling with it. I'm a binge eater. It's usually healthy foods though (I e I'll make a salad chicken wrap, but eat two, then have two big bowls of fruit, then cashews, protein shake etc...) I seem to be able to eat and eat and eat and not get full. I can't have bad food in the house, or eat bad food in moderation.. because if I have one biscuit, I can't stop thinking about the rest of the packet. It drives me a little crazy.
I did a couple of things that seem to work. I started writing a diary of my food, and when I did binge I wrote down my triggers straight away or how I was feeling. I noticed I did it when I was tired, watching movies or bored. So I've tried to improve in those areas. I also have a thing with my friend where we send each other daily food updates. This helps me be accountable for my food too, as I become embarresed and therefore think twice about eating it as I write it down to her.. drinking water helps too. When I'm dying to binge, I drink like a litre of water, which bloats me well before I can eat too much. It's a mental thing too. You gotta be strong, breathe, think hard about what your about to eat and if you will regret it. That works sometimes for me too! I think the main thing for me is distraction.. if I'm not thinking about someone or something, I'm thinking about food!

emmajaneway wrote: »

Yes I totally struggle with this! My biggest binge trigger is STUDYING. (Probably followed by lack of sleep, IF it lasts more than a few days).

I'm in my 3rd semester of going back to college after taking 20+ years off. (Single mom, 2 teenagers left at home, [no child support] working 45 hrs/wk, commuting 2 hours a day, running 5 days/week, sleeping ~ 5 hrs/night, & taking 8 or 9 credits per semester).

But NONE of that sets me off worse than staying up extremely late, or skipping sleep altogether, to study for a big test. (One thing they taught us in anatomy is that the brain takes up less than 5% of your weight, but more than 20% of your glucose, so maybe that explains it a little).

What's so frustrating is, the utter LOSS OF CONTROL. I eat well most of the time. But then I'll start studying and get tired & brain-foggy & think "I'll just have one little piece of chocolate as a pick-me-up." Then it's over. I start eating things I typically never eat, donuts, cookies, candy, chips, everything in sight. It's like someone else's hand is shoving all that food in my face and I absolutely cannot stop no matter how much I want to.

*What worked for me one time (I NEED to try this again) is this: I knew I had to study, knew I'd want a snack, so I made sure I had no junk food around and just took a bag of carrots upstairs. Soon I was compulsively eating the carrots. Since I was so mindlessly eating them, I didn't really notice that they were just carrots, so I didn't sabotage anything. (NOTE: This wouldn't have worked if I had even ONE piece of candy beforehand. My brain would've tasted the sugar & demanded more. But since I didn't, it worked really well)!

cross2bear wrote: »

The relationship between food and emotions is fraught with difficulty. I try to approach it with all the logic I can muster. If I am angry, I used to eat it - but then I thought heck, I am now still angry AND I've just sabotaged myself by binging - now I am even angrier! If I am lonely, having a meal doesnt magically produce someone to talk to. So I have had to learn new strategies for dealing with these emotions. Oh heavens I am just a work in progress, and by no means have this perfected in any way! But I try to talk myself through it, and try to avoid as much damage to my self worth, wallet and eating plan as I can!

embersoul0417 wrote: »

Fay84Vegan wrote: »

Has anyone got issues with Binge eating / Emotional Eating?

I had a great week last week but this week I've got a cold and my emotions are getting the better of me and eating is what I do to 'feel better'.

I Binge on Healthy Food most of the time but that still puts me over my calories & wrecks my day because I find it extremely challenging to stop!

YES!!! I binge eat when my emotions and moods are manic. I am a recovering drug addict. I have been clean for 12 yrs. I transferred my addiction to food. Sweet food, I gained over 100 lbs in one year. It was a sudden and dramatic change that sent me into an all time low. Over time I added another 63 lbs. Eating what I wanted and when I wanted was the one thing I could control. I would go all day without eating anything. Then around 10pm I would get hungry. I was craving sugar because of the effect it had on my brain like drugs did. At 10 I would eat a little something { sweet } then after everyone was in bed it was on. I would eat sweets until I was sick. 1whole family pack of oreos 48 cookies, Then almost a whole box of baked brownies. Not to mention the milk I had with all that.My physical health was affected and I,m bi polar I had no control of my emotions and moods. I was miserable. It took me several years to get this under control. I am now on the proper medication for my bi Polar and OCD. I made a decision to get my life back, my health back and to get my weight under control as well. I educated myself on weight loss and excersise I Learned what foods were a healthy choice. How sugar,carbs and calories effect the body and weight. Tracking my food and calories helps me to see exactly how much I,m eating and what kinds of food I eat and it helps me pay attention to the calories and fat thats in the food I eat. Discovering MFP was the best thing I could have done. I started only 18 days ago. I lost 29lbs and 9 inches in the first two weeks. I am determined to see this through. My first goal is 150lbs. I have 94 to go. I weigh in once a week and measure once every two weeks. My emotions try to get the best of me. I still have mood swings and the first thing I want to do is eat something sweet because I always used food to feel better. I stop and think about how miserable I have been, how over weight and unattractive I have became. I think about my health and how I ache all the time how I have no energy and I just don,t want to live like that anymore. I realized I am the only person in this world who can change me. I have control over my happiness and health no one but myself. I realized there is no magic pill, drink or machine that is gonna do it for me. I know it will be difficult at times and it won,t happen over night. By next year this time I will look back and see that it was possible. My goal is reachable and I can do it. I know that now. I understand the effects that uncontrollable emotions can have on someone. If you ever need to vent, cry, yell, get angry or whatever you are welcome to e mail me or message me any time you need to. I will just listen and if you want advice I will offer the best I can. I know you don,t know me, but I will encourage you. I will support you and help you along your journey. I apologize for the long detailed reply. I am a talker, your question and comment hit home. If you decide not to respond to my offer I wish you the best. All this is probably to much information and again I apologize. It,s just a topic that really affected my life and I can relate to. Good Luck in your journey!!