Looking for MFP friends that struggle with binge eating

alkav1
alkav1 Posts: 9 Member
edited December 2 in Motivation and Support
Seeking others on MFP that also struggle with binge eating! I was doing really well for about a month and then recently had 2 late binges. I think it would help to have friends on here that can relate and also provide encouragement from their own journeys.

Replies

  • mcm175
    mcm175 Posts: 1 Member
    I struggle with this at times as well. If you figure out a magic billet to crush the cravings, let me know.
  • CamCamsMommy
    CamCamsMommy Posts: 6 Member
    I struggle too. I'll be doing well until something happens emotionally or I let myself get too hungry. That is when I lose control. It helps to not keep food/make food that makes me binge. My biggest are potatoes and Pasta. If I do cook it I just try to cook a little. Not enough to have a ton of left overs or I will end up eating 3-4 servings.
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
    Whole binge eating story, with tips:) Feel free to add me too!


    “I can’t believe it,” I thought to myself. I had just left a family Christmas party and was not sick from binging nor did I feel the need to punish myself for eating cookies and drinking beer. At that moment, I closed my eyes and smiled realizing the massive journey that began in 2011.

    In fall of 2011, as my days of playing high school football began to wind down, I sought to lose weight. I was always fat growing up, but I played offensive line so I accepted it and the teasing. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this part, I just lived my life. Once football ended, the desire to lose weight was much greater as there seemed to be no logical reason to keep it; plus, I just started dating this gorgeous girl.

    In the winter of 2011, things began just like everyone else who looks to lose weight. I started to lift weights and do cardio after school. I also began to watch my diet, even a single carrot was an improvement. As the weight loss progressed I became more obsessed with vanity in myself and my physique. The pendulum swing had begun; I went from being a kid who would eat every edible object in a room to someone who you thought was training for the Mr. Olympia.

    The transition did not take place overnight, in fact it happened so slowly and gradually that I did not notice the self-centered monster I was creating. I soured the internet for information online from bodybuilding sources, I learned about “clean” foods, meal prepping, cardio, all kinds of supplements I never even heard of. As time progressed, I became more and more focused on my vanity and physique.

    I was spending easily in upwards of 800 dollars on month on supplements and more than 40 hours a week, a “full-time” job on my body and it was not because I enjoyed it, it was simply because I wanted abs because that would make me happy. I was doing 30 minutes of fasted cardio every day, then I would lift weights 5-6 days a week followed by another 90 minutes of cardio, and lastly my caloric intake was 1800 calories (mind you I am 6’-0”). To make matters worse, when I did sneak a homemade cookie (deemed “unclean” food), I would just throw my hands in the air like, “Dammit James! You will never have those abs by eating this quote dirty food!” Thus, since mentally I thought I wrecked all past progress from that single cookie, I would proceed to consume all the cookies, a box of sugar cereal, ransack the cupboards for any other source of sugar or food that I banned myself from. Within minutes to an hour I would consume the caloric intake of a small village. The cycle would then proceed to be placed on repeat like your favorite new song, that never seems to escape your head, except this song lasted 3 long years…. restrict, restrict, binge, restrict, restrict, restrict, binge.

    I would then sit down, cry and sulk in my room, thus proceeding to punish myself for this bad behavior like a toddler who threw a toy at his brother. However, my body had no more to give, but I did not care….I WANTED ABS!!! So, I pushed myself harder and the world further away, more cardio even less food. Oh, and also James no going out with friends or eating at family parties because the food is not up to par for you and your abs.

    This would repeat itself every weekend for several years with no end in sight. I tried IIFYM which morphed into If It Fits Your Mouth, I was scared that if I ate a reasonable amount of “normal” food I would blow up and all of my results would go away. I sought help and nothing seemed to work; was this ever going to end?!

    I was frustrated. Was I really broken? All of my friends could blow my doors off in the gym, they looked better, lifted more, and actually had happy relationships with girls and a social life. What the hell was I doing wrong? This was my tipping point, the steps that follow are the exact steps I used to end the cycle. I still use these to this day, if I feel the urge to binge.
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
    First, admit there was a problem. For three going on four years, I blamed externals, my drive, and my dreams for my actions. Ignoring people in my life hinting at me that I may have a problem, including family, close friends, and girlfriend. I lied to myself, rationalizing it with the mask of a cheat meal. As the punishment for binging increased so did the amount of times I binged. At first once a week, then every couple days, every other, until it consumed my thoughts. At times I would drive to Walmart just to eat it all before coming home. Chances are if you are reading this it is because you are looking for help. Good for you, you are lightyears ahead of where I was!

    Second, I learned to love myself for me, as a matter of fact I am still learning how to do this. Today, the emulated physique is seen as happiness. It is published on social media, magazines, and posters as the symbol of happiness. I believed it, I chased it and chased it. I had it for some time and I was still just as miserable. How you look will not make you happy! Now don’t twist those words as an excuse to just let ourselves become overweight. Chances are you will break step 1 which is lying and rationalizing it. We have to learn to accept our imperfections. We all have them and everyone tries to hide them. Here are my flaws (some I can fix, others are what they are):
    Relationships: I am aweful. I wrecked a 15 year friendship with a highschool sweetheart, I was selfish and an *kitten*. I can also be abrasive and brutal with little to no compassion. However ever since I shared this personal story, I have gotten better. Although I am by no means finished working on this.
    Skin Damage: I never wore sunscreen as a kid. Now I have moles, freckles, and scars. Some I wish weren’t there. Some girls won’t talk to me because of them. I am not “sexy” enough. They aren’t “interested”.

    Don’t let your imperfections stop you from loving yourself. You are the only you this world will ever see, embrace yourself. Perhaps the worst thing about this cycle was I hated myself, I hated my life, I did not want to look in the mirror, I thought I was a failure that I would never make it, I contemplated suicide. When I would binge, I would punish myself. Don’t do that we are human, life is meant to be enjoyed. Life is much too short to never treat yourself to what you love to eat whatever that maybe for you. Look yourself in the mirror directly into your eyes saying “I LOVE myself” at least 10 times a day, if not more. P.S. try not to smile when you say this (harder than you think).

    Thirdly, there is no such thing as good food, bad food. Placing labels on food, leads us to ban them from our intake. We say, “No, No, No, No, No…” We push for the perfect diet, once we eat this food that does not fall into this neat diet box; we throw our hands up, saying we failed so now is the time to eat everything we can. This leads to punishment. Which leads to more restrictions. This is the vicious cycle we as binge eaters face. I used to believe it myself, that there was clean food and bad food. It simply is this manifested idea. If you ask a vegan, he/she will say animal based foods are not clean. Someone who is a vegetarian will disagree, and say it is just animal products that are not clean. Then a paleo guy runs in screaming about how meat is clean, but grains aren’t. So someone has to be right? They are all wrong. Instead, adopt my grandmother’s wise old adage of “everything in moderation.”

    Fourth, going along the lines of moderation. You can eat whatever you want just not all at once. I believe I heard Layne Norton say this, I believe this, like the 11th commandment, in fact it should be an amendment to the constitution. When I first began to escape cycle, I would eat one “treat” at every meal. Nothing crazy, but it will allow you still get your “fix” but you won’t binge on it. Any action in the right direction gave me more motivation and encouragement to keep improving. The small wins kept snowballing into large victories later that slammed the door on binging. Disclaimer, it is wiser to eat this food item from a plate not from the container. Don’t test your will to fight binging if you do not have too. As the old saying goes, “work smarter, not harder.”

    Fifth, no more crazy spreadsheets and tracking of nutrients line item by line item like an accountant. I did not worry about counting calories and the works. I would instead eat (3) meals, breakfast, lunch and supper possibly a snack if I was hungry. I would eat slowly, and as I began to feel fuller I would stop eating. You may be like me and scared that you’ll get fat. Well what is our other choice? We can keep binge eating which is not working, because you wouldn’t be reading this. Or we can reach out and try something new. I need to be conscious of my eating, instead of speed eating (still struggle at times).

    Sixth, 180, 190, 160, 225, 200…what number was it going to be today I thought I as I closed my eyes scared to look down at the scale after a night of binging (these were all weights I reached during this cycle). You do not need a scale to help you. It’s about small wins, small wins, they add up trust me; I have been there too. Most people overestimate the damage of a binge. You need to eat in excess of 3500 calories over your normal intake to gain a pound of fat. It is not as bad as we create in our minds. Additionally, when we stand on the scale after a binge our body is bloated, full of food, sodium, and other goodies. This only compounds the guilt feeling.

    It is your lucky day! I said six, but here is a seventh tip. So, what about eating at restaurants and parties? Parties were my kryptonite, the amount of food that I saw and I thought I had to eat three people’s worth of everything. What helped me to win at parties was I made this a game in my head (who cares no one else knows..plus now you know I did it). I am very competitive; I hate losing even if it’s go fish with a girlfriend (I will be a terrible father I will never let my kids win). Since eating slower and not getting seconds was a struggle at first. The game I created was to be the last one done eating, and the last one to get seconds. This helped me in many ways, first to help me eat slower I talked with people, this helped to repair the relationships I had damaged in the past, plus I was not over eating (win/win). Which is why I was last to get seconds, so often I would eat so quick that my stomach didn’t even know it was fed until I was already 4-5 plates of heaping food deep.

    Make that eight, workout for fun! For so long in this process I trained for results no I do not mean goals; I simply worked out to look good that’s it! It was the complete wrong direction, it made training no fun, I dreaded every gym session, and was having a miserable time. It doesn’t matter if you are into bodybuilding, figure, physique, cross fit, powerlifting, strongman, marathons, etc. just train for fun, train to get better and challenge yourself. For me this was powerlifting.

    I began to cry happy tears as I feel asleep. This journey was long and I learned many tough lessons along the way. I want you to learn from me, because those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.

    I strongly, I repeat STRONGLY urge you to look deeply at this, sit down and think about everything. I do not want you to walk my path. As a final “motivator” I chased the physique, the abs, the arms, and the “sexy” look. In doing this I burned down everything in my path to get it, including relationships that I am still trying to repair as I write this. Regrets that still haunt me, because of some look that society indicates as happiness. Please if you do nothing else, consider this.

    If you made it this far, congratulations!! You are already on the road to success and ending the cycle it’s just a matter of time. Before you go, have you ever wished you had someone to confide in that understood? Someone who's been through it too? Let me be your accountability partner.
  • Racheldasilva174
    Racheldasilva174 Posts: 87 Member
    I'm currently going through this as well. Anorexic turned binge eater
  • adawn1981
    adawn1981 Posts: 32 Member
    Please add me! I'm really struggling with this as well.
  • AshleighAnn72
    AshleighAnn72 Posts: 83 Member
    You can add me if you want. I was doing ok and lost 12lbs, lost my way abit but trying to get back on track now x
  • adevlin751
    adevlin751 Posts: 8 Member
    This has been a huge struggle for me, and the cause of a 40 pound weight increase. Would love to have the support!!
  • nostalgicmeadow
    nostalgicmeadow Posts: 9 Member
    I struggle with binge eating daily, l realize now that my belly wants to feel full whether l like it or not. If l eat about 3 to 4 pounds of veggies daily like cabbage l don't binge but if l start eating prepackaged foods...uh oh, my appetite is like a flood gate. That's my battle, l have to find the best methods to eating the foods my body requires to stop binging rather than foods that open the flood gates to my appetite.

    I only have 20 lbs of body fat to be where l want to be (170 to goal weight 150) but it is so hard to control my diet. Any helpful suggestions?

    P.S. I know about drinking tons of water, getting plenty of sleep, making healthy food choices, counting macros, reducing stress, and l already strength train.

    My issues are more psychological rather than physical,
    what are some of the mental motivations that help others with binge eating?
  • bvff35
    bvff35 Posts: 74 Member
    I am a binge eater. My brain likes my stomach to feel very full at all times. Even as I start digesting what I just ate, my brain wants me to replace that amount in my stomach. I do good with trying to eat healthier and healthy amounts for awhile by keeping track in MFP but then I seem to go back to my old, unhealthy habits and gain weight. I have a constant struggle with binge eating even when I want to be healthy. Of course I dont want to binge on veggies, I want carbs and melted cheese. This is tough but I am really trying to get control of myself and my eating. Feel free to add me!
  • ericthornton43
    ericthornton43 Posts: 4 Member
    I tend to binge in the evening. Watching TV for some reason makes me want to eat constantly. I think it's just because it's boring and I need something else to do. So, I avoid watching TV unless it's something very interesting to me. I'll play a computer game or read instead. Going to bed early also helps me, since I'm sleeping through the hours when I'm most tempted.

    At other times of the day, eating consistently is what helps me avoid binges the most. If I go too long without eating, I get very hungry and cannot control myself and I'll eat whatever I can get my hands on, and quickly, which of course results in eating more than what is really needed to not be hungry anymore. I'm learning to enjoy the feeling of being a little hungry - it means I'm not overeating. So if I get a bit hungry, eat a healthy snack, and don't feel hungry anymore, that's the sign that I'm balancing things well. But again, it's important for me to eat before that hunger gets out of control, otherwise I'm gonna pig out!
  • Ugh, I've been struggling with it for 2 years. Gained back ALL that I had lost :(
  • I'm currently going through this as well. Anorexic turned binge eater

    same here, although I went through a bulimic phase too
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