I started eating junk food again and this time I am binging regularly
unnichaacko
Posts: 116 Member
I used to be a junk food eater. I somehow controlled it but it has been three days I am eating them regularly and I eat the whole packet of anything I open. I am feeling full but even then I can not control stuffing my face and end up feeling sick afterwards and even then I buy them the next day and eat them. This is becoming a viscous cycle. Everyday, I think I won't do it from tomorrow and open another packet of something and stuff it anyways.
This is ridiculous and I think I need help. I do not know how to control it. My stomach hurts but I am eating anyways.
This is ridiculous and I think I need help. I do not know how to control it. My stomach hurts but I am eating anyways.
3
Replies
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Three days is not very long to break a habit. There is most likely something in your life that is a root cause, depression, stress, or perhaps you really are not ready to make a full on commitment. That's ok too, we all have to get to our "its enough point"..
I could give you a long list of things to try, but when you are "truly" ready the rest follows automatically. If you do think you have an issue that is bigger than you, its always ok to ask for real professional help..1 -
Can you stop yourself from buying it in the first place? If I have it in the house (or the office), I'm more likely to eat it (or eat too much of it). I can talk myself out of buying it most of the time.0
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Three days is not very long to break a habit. There is most likely something in your life that is a root cause, depression, stress, or perhaps you really are not ready to make a full on commitment. That's ok too, we all have to get to our "its enough point"..
I could give you a long list of things to try, but when you are "truly" ready the rest follows automatically. If you do think you have an issue that is bigger than you, its always ok to ask for real professional help..
I think it's because of a certain change in life but I never stress ate before. But it could be the reason. When I ate healthy, it not only reflected in my body but my mood was better. I did not feel cranky or sluggish. I must think straight and stop this overeating saga.0 -
Can you stop yourself from buying it in the first place? If I have it in the house (or the office), I'm more likely to eat it (or eat too much of it). I can talk myself out of buying it most of the time.
The problem lies there. I need to be strict about what food to buy from next time.0 -
I have a tenancy to stress eat as well. I also have a tendency to binge eat. I find that it is worse the days leading up to my "monthly bill".
I have been working really hard not to binge and so far so good! I keep telling myself that binging is only counter productive to all the hard work I've been putting in.
You will get there! It just takes time.1 -
I'm sorry to hear this is happening to you. Are you getting enough fat in your diet? Sometimes that satisfies my cravings. Try eating some sliced avocado in a salad or some almonds. Buy some fruit for the sugar and maybe you can taper down.2
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Assume that if you buy it, you will eat it. Can you buy a mini pack instead of largw one? Thank s way you can satisfy the craving, butyoy won't go overboard, since theree wouldn't be more than a small bag or a slice, not sure what junk food you're talking about?0
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It sounds like something more than cravings or a bad habit -- a reaction to being overly strict or some kind of emotional eating/stress thing (has anything changed, like some way you used to deal with stress being gone or was the restriction reasonably new?).
I'd check out something like Geneen Roth's books on compulsive eating or think about maybe talking to someone (therapy) if that's a possibility -- it could help, as I know feeling so out of control can be awful.0 -
unnichaacko wrote: »Three days is not very long to break a habit. There is most likely something in your life that is a root cause, depression, stress, or perhaps you really are not ready to make a full on commitment. That's ok too, we all have to get to our "its enough point"..
I could give you a long list of things to try, but when you are "truly" ready the rest follows automatically. If you do think you have an issue that is bigger than you, its always ok to ask for real professional help..
I think it's because of a certain change in life but I never stress ate before. But it could be the reason. When I ate healthy, it not only reflected in my body but my mood was better. I did not feel cranky or sluggish. I must think straight and stop this overeating saga.
I had a horrible year three years ago and I started stress eating. Mindless trips to the food cabinets, etc etc.., I had to learn to take a step back and remember why was I was doing what it was I doing.
There are just things that you have to do mindfully every single day to break bad habits, not matter what they are. Its being present and in the moment at all times and telling your self each and every time you have to make a choice/decision to step back for a second and think about that choice.
Easier said than done, but most everything we do habitually starts in our brains if you will. You will find a strategy that works for you. You might even get great ideas here to try, and some may work and some may not, in the end your results will come from you!!!!2 -
Do you eat normally after a binge eating period?0
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Perhaps you have been restraining yourself too much. Junk food is not good and I do not miss it at all but a similar thing happened to me with chocolate. At first I was banned and once I committed the "SIN" I was afraid to have spoiled my diet. Nothing happened. Now I allow myself a bit of chocolate when I feel like it and despite 1200 kcal diet I manage to squeeze it in my calorie limit.1
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Perhaps you have been restraining yourself too much. Junk food is not good and I do not miss it at all but a similar thing happened to me with chocolate. At first I was banned and once I committed the "SIN" I was afraid to have spoiled my diet. Nothing happened. Now I allow myself a bit of chocolate when I feel like it and despite 1200 kcal diet I manage to squeeze it in my calorie limit.
I ate a lot of cereal at first. Four bowls of cereal and then six cups of yogurt and then I felt might as well just eat boxes of everything I have.
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What's the calorie deficit that you set yourself up? Do you restrict yourself from eating junk food usually? You don't have to, just fit it into your calorie goal for the day/week. There is also nothing wrong with 'junk' food, hell I've been eating chicken nuggets a few days recently, but I still lost a pound when I went up on the scale because I log it and see how much calories I have left for the day.
I know this is easier said than done but you do need more willpower, a lot of the things we suggest won't work unless you have enough willpower. This is probably going to sound harsh but every time you want to binge, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you want to look like that for the rest of your life. Ask yourself if you want to feel like trash every single day you wake up, if you want to look like trash for the rest of your life, or if you'll regret binging a year from now. That usually gets me to stop and go to the gym whenever I feel lazy, or if I'm tempted by sweets.2 -
unnichaacko wrote: »Do you eat normally after a binge eating period?
If there is an underlying cause related to emotional/mental aspects of life's events, this is your trigger point. identifying it, calling it a name LOL and then working on dealing with that differently than using food to cope.
If there is not, and you have not clue why you are doing it then take what you do know about your day to day, your eating habits, how you feel through the day, etc etc and find the root cause. Cause there is one..
1) Is your calories too agresive? And I mean to the point that you are not even eating up to your BMR calories?
2) Since its new behavior, could it be medical related (hormonal, stress/elevated cortisol, etc)
2) Are you really having a fight with your brain and just wanting to rebel against the diet?
3) Are you exercising? If you do, could you spending a great deal of your energy in exercise causing you excess hunger?
4) Are you eating cause you are bored? Boredom is terrible when dieting.. this is when you get up and do something else..
5) Have you completely revamped your diet, too restrictive in your eating choices?
6) Are you meal times not working to provide you with satiety and fullness?
You you sort of have to dissect the things in your day to day to and work with what you know to figure this out. Its sort of like taking data points and analyzing them to come up with a conclusion..2 -
You may be an Abstainer, and as such Moderation is not a good strategy for you.unnichaacko wrote: »I used to be a junk food eater. I somehow controlled it but it has been three days I am eating them regularly and I eat the whole packet of anything I open. I am feeling full but even then I can not control stuffing my face and end up feeling sick afterwards and even then I buy them the next day and eat them. This is becoming a viscous cycle. Everyday, I think I won't do it from tomorrow and open another packet of something and stuff it anyways.
This is ridiculous and I think I need help. I do not know how to control it. My stomach hurts but I am eating anyways.
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
However, the above sounds like the cereal did not provide enough protein and so you were eating and eating and eating in a futile attempt to find what you were missing. I've been there!unnichaacko wrote: »Perhaps you have been restraining yourself too much. Junk food is not good and I do not miss it at all but a similar thing happened to me with chocolate. At first I was banned and once I committed the "SIN" I was afraid to have spoiled my diet. Nothing happened. Now I allow myself a bit of chocolate when I feel like it and despite 1200 kcal diet I manage to squeeze it in my calorie limit.
I ate a lot of cereal at first. Four bowls of cereal and then six cups of yogurt and then I felt might as well just eat boxes of everything I have.
What are your macros normally?0 -
Would an enema help?
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kshama2001 wrote: »
You may be an Abstainer, and as such Moderation is not a good strategy for you.unnichaacko wrote: »I used to be a junk food eater. I somehow controlled it but it has been three days I am eating them regularly and I eat the whole packet of anything I open. I am feeling full but even then I can not control stuffing my face and end up feeling sick afterwards and even then I buy them the next day and eat them. This is becoming a viscous cycle. Everyday, I think I won't do it from tomorrow and open another packet of something and stuff it anyways.
This is ridiculous and I think I need help. I do not know how to control it. My stomach hurts but I am eating anyways.
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
However, the above sounds like the cereal did not provide enough protein and so you were eating and eating and eating in a futile attempt to find what you were missing. I've been there!unnichaacko wrote: »Perhaps you have been restraining yourself too much. Junk food is not good and I do not miss it at all but a similar thing happened to me with chocolate. At first I was banned and once I committed the "SIN" I was afraid to have spoiled my diet. Nothing happened. Now I allow myself a bit of chocolate when I feel like it and despite 1200 kcal diet I manage to squeeze it in my calorie limit.
I ate a lot of cereal at first. Four bowls of cereal and then six cups of yogurt and then I felt might as well just eat boxes of everything I have.
What are your macros normally?
True that. I will not eat it or I will eat the whole box. I do not know what moderation is. This is bad. 1 -
unnichaacko wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »
You may be an Abstainer, and as such Moderation is not a good strategy for you.unnichaacko wrote: »I used to be a junk food eater. I somehow controlled it but it has been three days I am eating them regularly and I eat the whole packet of anything I open. I am feeling full but even then I can not control stuffing my face and end up feeling sick afterwards and even then I buy them the next day and eat them. This is becoming a viscous cycle. Everyday, I think I won't do it from tomorrow and open another packet of something and stuff it anyways.
This is ridiculous and I think I need help. I do not know how to control it. My stomach hurts but I am eating anyways.
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
However, the above sounds like the cereal did not provide enough protein and so you were eating and eating and eating in a futile attempt to find what you were missing. I've been there!unnichaacko wrote: »Perhaps you have been restraining yourself too much. Junk food is not good and I do not miss it at all but a similar thing happened to me with chocolate. At first I was banned and once I committed the "SIN" I was afraid to have spoiled my diet. Nothing happened. Now I allow myself a bit of chocolate when I feel like it and despite 1200 kcal diet I manage to squeeze it in my calorie limit.
I ate a lot of cereal at first. Four bowls of cereal and then six cups of yogurt and then I felt might as well just eat boxes of everything I have.
What are your macros normally?
True that. I will not eat it or I will eat the whole box. I do not know what moderation is. This is bad.
Yes.
Not eating it then eating the whole box is not abstaining.
Don't let people try to sell you a way of eating that isn't right for you. You're young enough to learn you can moderate.
Don't buy into the myth that food is either good or bad. All food nourishes in one way or another.
Don't buy into the myth that women are powerless over sweets and chocolate.
You are not powerless over food, an inanimate object.3 -
You should consult a professional. I have binge eating disorder and sometimes I can control it and other times I will binge on anything I can eat. I thought if I only keep healthy/ nutritious food in the house I would be fine then I ate celery til I began to vomit. It is time for you to make a decision, if you can't control yourself buy whatever it is in an individual package and only buy one. Get a small bag of chips and after you finish it have a glass of water and say I'm finished and find something to do. I play games on my phone, I will eat a serving of whatever it is, I had 12 tater tots last night a serving is 11 I put 11 on my plate and when I was washing dishes there was half a tray of them sitting there and I ate one and picked up another and had to say out loud I'm finished which was applauded from the next room lol then I finished dishes and still wanted more tots (I threw them away) so instead I played a game on my phone (distraction). It's difficult to say no but say no and say it out loud over and over again if you need to. Look at the serving size and read it out loud. Always remember you are in control of what you eat.1
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Seek therapy. I currently have two binge eaters as clients but I wouldn't help them until they got help first.
Both are now going on a year with no binging.
As a side note, I don't ask them to track calories and all of my clients use intuitive eating.
Best of luck.1 -
Helloitsdan wrote: »Seek therapy. I currently have two binge eaters as clients but I wouldn't help them until they got help first.
Both are now going on a year with no binging.
As a side note, I don't ask them to track calories and all of my clients use intuitive eating.
Best of luck.
This is my second time doing this. I think I'll give myself some time to see if it happens again.0 -
unnichaacko wrote: »Helloitsdan wrote: »Seek therapy. I currently have two binge eaters as clients but I wouldn't help them until they got help first.
Both are now going on a year with no binging.
As a side note, I don't ask them to track calories and all of my clients use intuitive eating.
Best of luck.
This is my second time doing this. I think I'll give myself some time to see if it happens again.
A binge is a habit. If you put energy into a habit it grows. Habit is triggered by an event that usually has an emotion attached to it.
Your job in beating the binge is to identify what happens BEFORE the binge.
I'm not going to dig because binging is also related to past events and sometimes emotional trauma. My recommendation is talk to a doctor. Identify the triggering emotion, insert a new habit where the binge should be, and put energy into that.
Best of luck2
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