Are there really deeper issues tied to BED?
ObtainingBalance
Posts: 1,446 Member
Hi,
I am in the middle of reading Brain Over Binge for the first time, and I am amazed at how differently she looks at the problem as compared to other popular ideas.
Most say there are always underlying issues causing the binges -- such as loneliness, guilt, boredom, failure, happiness, stress, etc.
She said she spent years in therapy, and tried to link other problems to the binge eating. But she saw that sometimes she ate when she felt a certain way, but she also had urges other times. She could be happy, or sad, or stressed, or calm, and the urges still came. Its difficult to find triggers when it seems like everything can end up being "a trigger".
Is it really that complicated? Or did our binges start to appear after we restricted our bodies and dieted? Is it really just our body to begin with, telling us to eat more and sending survival messages? Maybe we eventually dropped the diet, but now our body is used to the habit and still sends urges.
Well, in the book the answer sounds simple. I'm still not sure if what this book has to say will help me, or not. But I'm going to be more detached from my thoughts and urges when they try to get me to binge.
The only concern is that I can try to ignore the urges, because I am the one in control.... but if I follow my restricted calorie plan to lose weight, my body will fight it and send more cravings and urges.
It seems like the best way to get rid of binges is to eat normally, without restriction, and to acknowledge that the voice telling me to binge is just a survival tactic my mind uses when it feels like I might not eat for awhile, or that I need to take all the calories I can get while I have food available (since when I restrict, Im sending a message that I don't always have enough food).
Have any of you finished the book? Did applying it to your life help you in any ways?
I am in the middle of reading Brain Over Binge for the first time, and I am amazed at how differently she looks at the problem as compared to other popular ideas.
Most say there are always underlying issues causing the binges -- such as loneliness, guilt, boredom, failure, happiness, stress, etc.
She said she spent years in therapy, and tried to link other problems to the binge eating. But she saw that sometimes she ate when she felt a certain way, but she also had urges other times. She could be happy, or sad, or stressed, or calm, and the urges still came. Its difficult to find triggers when it seems like everything can end up being "a trigger".
Is it really that complicated? Or did our binges start to appear after we restricted our bodies and dieted? Is it really just our body to begin with, telling us to eat more and sending survival messages? Maybe we eventually dropped the diet, but now our body is used to the habit and still sends urges.
Well, in the book the answer sounds simple. I'm still not sure if what this book has to say will help me, or not. But I'm going to be more detached from my thoughts and urges when they try to get me to binge.
The only concern is that I can try to ignore the urges, because I am the one in control.... but if I follow my restricted calorie plan to lose weight, my body will fight it and send more cravings and urges.
It seems like the best way to get rid of binges is to eat normally, without restriction, and to acknowledge that the voice telling me to binge is just a survival tactic my mind uses when it feels like I might not eat for awhile, or that I need to take all the calories I can get while I have food available (since when I restrict, Im sending a message that I don't always have enough food).
Have any of you finished the book? Did applying it to your life help you in any ways?
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Replies
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I haven't read this book, but my own issues began in childhood, long before I even knew what a diet was. I don't know that this applies to me, though I may eventually read this book.0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »I haven't read this book, but my own issues began in childhood, long before I even knew what a diet was. I don't know that this applies to me, though I may eventually read this book.
I think it can be informative even if dieting didnt happen first for you. It talks a lot about how habits develop and how to change them.0 -
Yep, I totally and wholeheartedly agree with what she says in the book.
The solution is simple but NOT EASY. I am currently re-reading it for like the 10th time. Sometimes it's easier to do than others. I was able to get five weeks binge-free last year using this technique, which has NEVER happened unless I was in a 12-step program (I used to go years ago but the urges never really subsided. Not for good, anyway. Even with all the work I did on myself.) So yea I think most of the time my urges are because I'm either not eating enough or because of habit. Or both. I don't think there is any deeper meaning than that, FOR ME. I've been working on this crap for over 25 years and I don't think it is as complicated as it is made out to be. I only binge when I have urges to binge. That could be when I'm happy, sad, stressed, bored, on and on...but there are many times I feel those emotions and don't have the urge to binge. And I don't.
I don't bother trying to figure out the cause and all that anymore. Because I don't think there's any deep hidden meaning to my urges. But again, that's just me. Hope this helps.1
